Updated USDA Regulations Effective June 27 Will Help Stem the Tide of Harmful Non-Native Plants & Pests

Photo of whitetop / hoary cress, Lepidium draba, which is listed as invasive in the state of Idaho as well as WA, OR, CA, AZ, CO, WY and MT. “Arlington, Va., June 15, 2011. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized changes to regulations governing international trade in plants used in gardening and landscape [...]

Yellow Finch Enjoying Western Coneflower

A male, yellow finch caught snacking on the Western Coneflower, Rudbeckia occidentalis, outside CSR’s main office in Kimberly, ID. Notice how the birds seem to eat the mature seeds starting from the bottom up!

Restoration with Native Seed

This field is progressing nicely in its native restoration. Conservation Seeding and Restoration Inc seeded a native grass mix and has conducted chemical applications to control annual weeds such as blue mustard and kochia. While there are still plenty of cheatgrass, the Great Basin Wildrye is established and will continue to spread over time as [...]

CSR Community Garden

CSR folks are enjoying the first year of our in-house community garden!

2011 INPS Photo Contest, Deadline Drawing Near.

Have you submitted your photos for the INPS 2011 Idaho Native Plant photo contest? …The deadline is drawing near… Idaho Native Plant Society is requesting that INPS members submit photographs of plants native to Idaho to use in an INPS calendar and/or in documents which promote native plants and habitats and bring greater public awareness [...]

Snowberry clearwing, Hemaris diffinis

Snowberry clearwing, Hemaris diffinis (Boisduval, 1836) Family: Sphingidae Subfamily: Macroglossinae Identification: Adults are quite variable in appearance; Bumblebee mimic. The thorax is golden or olive-golden in color, abdomen is black dorsally with 1-2 segments just prior to terminal end being yellow to various extent, while black ventrally. H. diffinis is the only eastern species to [...]

The Nature Conservancy’s 6th Annual Photo Contest

(Photo from Jonathan Hey, 2010 finalist) The Nature Conservancy invites you to enter your stunning nature photos to their 6th annual digital photography competition. “We’re looking for beautiful nature photography representing the diversity of life on Earth. Your own original digital images of our lands, waters, plants, animals and people in nature are all eligible [...]

SOLV in Oregon

Learn more about what SOLV is doing to combat invasive non-native plants. “We are Oregonians volunteering to improve the environment and build a legacy of stewardship.” -SOLV.org

Cheatgrass is Extremely Flammable!

(photo) Dry cheatgrass, nature’s kindling… Dry cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), is one of the most easily ignitable substances on Idaho’s rangelands. It is the kindling that fuels many of our wildfires. Once ignited, cheatgrass fires travel very fast…faster than you can run! Don’t start a cheatgrass fire… Cheatgrass fires have been started by catalytic converters on [...]

CSR Biology Monitoring

CSR Biology Team conducting a 100m line and 3m transect before heading out to conduct well pad surveying. Learn more about monitoring on this past CSR blog post: Inside the CSR Biology Monitoring