At Wild Ones, we’re dedicated to connecting people and native plants. Our Native Plant News blog delivers the latest stories on native plant conservation, scientific discoveries, and habitat restoration from across the nation. This monthly, volunteer-written feature is designed to educate, engage, and inspire action, empowering readers to support biodiversity and promote sustainable landscaping with native flora.
Utah: National Monuments Area Slashed
President Donald Trump has shrunk the size of two southern Utah national monuments, reducing Grand Staircase-Escalante from 1.87 million acres to just over 181,500 acres and Bears Ears from 1.36 million acres to around 121,100 acres. These new cuts will eliminate protections for iconic areas within these monuments including The Grand Staircase in Grand Staircase-Escalante and Valley of the Gods in Bears Ears.
Both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments have ancient cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. These areas also have coal and uranium deposits that some officials want open to development. President Bill Clinton designated 1.87 million acres as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in 1996. President Barack Obama proclaimed 1.35 million acres as the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016, the first national monument protected at the request of tribal nations that consider the land sacred. During his first term, President Trump reduced the size of Grand Staircase-Escalante by 50% and Bears Ears by 85%. President Joe Biden restored both monuments to their original size during his term.
Tribal nations were not consulted before the latest land reduction. “From a Navajo perspective, Bears Ears is not simply a piece of federal public land,” Davina Smith-Idjesa, Navajo Nation citizen and co-chair of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, said, “This is a living cultural site that holds our histories, our ceremonies, our traditional foods and medicines and our ancestors’ footprints.”
Trump reduces the size of 2 national monuments in Utah as Republicans reshape land management-PBS.org
Pennsylvania: Hundreds Acres of Mature Trees Earn Old-Growth Status
Around 600 acres of forest at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Bear Run Nature Reserve in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, were added to the national Old-Growth Forest Network (OGFN). OGFN contains over 345 forests in 40 states today with Pennsylvania with the most forest acres inducted.
The Bear Run Legacy Forest is a mixed hardwood forest, with eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands. While the preserve had been used for farming, logging and other activities for the last two hundred years, the stream valleys were less impacted. These valleys have 600 acres of older-growth hemlock-tuliptree-birch forest surrounded by mature red oak (Quercus rubra)-mixed oak forest, dry oak-mixed oak hardwood forest, and successional tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera) forest. The larger hemlock trees exceed 24 inches in diameter, and some trees are greater than 34 inches. These forested sections also have large standing dead trees (snags), downed deadwood which have become nurse logs for other trees, and canopy openings caused by natural disturbance.
Andy Zadnik, senior director of land stewardship at the Conservancy, said, “Bear Run Nature Reserve is integral to biodiversity conservation in the Laurel Highlands and mid-Appalachian region. Inducting Bear Run as part of the Old-Growth Forest Network is an important affirmation of our intent to manage the forest to develop old-growth characteristics.”
Delaware Takes Action to Protect Wetlands
The Wetlands Stewardship Act, passed by the Delaware General Assembly last month, establishes protection for the state’s 75,000 acres of freshwater wetlands that have lost federal protections over the last few decades
Delaware was the only state in the mid-Atlantic region that hadn’t passed its own protections until now and Senate Bill 9 was the 7th attempt to protect these wetlands since 1988. This Act focuses on building an efficient permitting process that includes wetlands screening tools, clear timelines for permit decisions by theDepartment of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and assembling a regulatory committee that includes agriculture, business, conservation organizations, and scientists.
“Freshwater wetlands are nature’s superheroes, and for years these vital ecosystems were under-protected in Delaware, but Senate Bill 9 is a game changer,” said Emily Knearl, The Nature Conservancy’s director of government relations and external affairs in Delaware. “In Delaware, we rely on our wetlands to serve as natural sponges to reduce flood risk, filter pollutants for cleaner water, store excess carbon, and offer a home to native plants and wildlife.”
Florida: Protecting Monarchs, One Roadside at a Time
Thanks to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and an initiative led by the University of Illinois Chicago to transform roads, powerlines, and train tracks into pollinator corridors, pollinator habitat is being added to Florida roadsides.
The Daniels Lab was awarded $150,000 by FDOT in 2023 to grow, plant, and maintain 9,000 milkweeds along Florida roads for 3 years to study the most effective strategy for milkweed planting and establishment. The grant was then extended through 2029 to add an additional 6,000 plants. The Daniels Lab focused on pinewoods milkweed (Asclepius humistrata) and butterfly weed (Asclepius tuberosa) which thrive in tougher conditions. Their efforts will help guide future initiatives in other counties and states.
Milkweed is a host plant to the monarch butterfly and these corridors not only help them complete their life cycle but also provide energy reserves for the butterfly that can travel more than 100 miles in a single day. These corridors also are important for other pollinators and wildlife and many of these spots are adjacent to conservation areas and serve to increase biodiversity. Additionally, other spots are near farmlands that get an added benefit from the increase in pollinators.
Nebraska: Creating Tallgrass Prairie Corridors
The City of Lincoln, the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, and Solidago Conservancy recently purchased 100 acres of land southwest of Pioneers Park to add to the Prairie Corridor project.
With this new land purchased from the Lauk family, the project is now at 70% land acquisition and in total, will span 7,400 acres. This property contains several ecologically distinct features such as saline wetlands and an old oxbow pond formed by the Haines Branch creek which could support rarer plants such as the endangered saltwort (Salicornia rubra). Plans are in place to restore 2,000 acres of prairie and preserve 3,400 acres of native grassland. Less than 1% of native prairie in Nebraska remains.
A public trail through the corridor is 25% built and will be 14.5 miles round trip. “By advancing the Prairie Corridor, we create more opportunities for residents and visitors to hike, bike, explore nature and experience the beautiful landscape that shapes our region’s identity,” Lincoln Mayor, Gaylor Baird, said. “We protect vital natural resources that improve water quality and help reduce flood risks downstream. And we preserve an important part of Nebraska’s natural heritage for future generations.”
Lincoln acquires nearly 100 acres for Prairie Corridor tallgrass restoration-NebraskaPublicMedia.org
Connecticut: Smart Strategies in the Battle Against Invasive Species
Controlling and eradicating invasive plants is a daunting but necessary task as they often outcompete native plants for light, water, and nutrients and don’t usually have natural controls to their population. The volunteers with Collinsville Pollinator Trail in Canton, have tackled invasive species on the trail for a decade and are an example of how consistent work, partnerships, and education is key to making a difference.
The Collinsville team began in 2017 as a Master Gardener project led by Karen Berger and Holly Hambleton and consists of a core team, volunteers, residents, and service organizations as well as collaborations with the Canton Department of Public Works. Since 2017, volunteers have spent thousands of hours removing invasive plants, planting native plants, restoring habitat, tracking plant data, watering when needed, and engaging with the public. Berger and Hambleton encourage and mentor new volunteers and Master Gardener graduates create schedules, coordinate volunteers, and are involved in public outreach.
The Collinsville team uses the following strategies for successful invasive species control and eradication. This includes consistent efforts at removal and monitoring the sites for regrowth, adapting removal practices for each species, and restoring the areas with native plants. They also focus on priority species that cause the most ecological harm such as Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolate), mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), round-leaved bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), and bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.). Finally, partnerships with municipal departments and utility companies to support improved vegetation management strategies and promoting policy such as the Native Plant Policy adopted by the city in 2022, has helped the group’s efforts as well. Their incredible efforts have seen a payout as well: native plants such as trillium (Trillium spp.), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), and winterberry (Ilex verticillata) have become more common along their trail.
Lessons from the Collinsville Pollinator Trail on Managing Invasive Plants-Today.Uconn.edu
Missouri: Rare Prairie Plant Discovered
A rare species was found in April 2026 on the 19-acre remnant prairie area of Noah Brown’s Prairie, an upland dry-mesic remnant prairie in Newton County.
Discovered by Bruce Schuette, Vice-President of Science and Management at Missouri Prairie Foundation, pinnate dogshade (Limnosciadium pinnatum) also known as tansy dogshade, is a member of the carrot family and is listed a critically imperiled in Missouri, found only in a few counties.
Schuette said that Noah Brown’s Prairie is also home to other rare plant species such as Kansas arrowhead (Sagittaria ambigua) and Barbara’s buttons (Marshallia spp.). He also emphasized the need for preserving Missouri’s remaining remnant prairies or other species dependent on these prairies will disappear. “Noah Brown’s Prairie itself, which the remnant prairie — there is only like 19 acres,” Schuette said, “but we have about 180 species of native plants there, but about over 40 of those are restricted to or considered remnant dependent species that they are basically restricted to pretty much undisturbed or remnant natural habitat.”
Rare plant is documented on Newton County native prairie remnant-KSMU.org