Restoration ecologist sees hope in New Mexico’s plant biodiversity

Restoration ecologist sees hope in New Mexico’s plant biodiversity Posted: Monday, November 9, 2015 9:00 pm | Updated: 9:38 pm, Mon Nov 9, 2015. By Staci Matlock The New Mexican | 1 comment With all the talk about global warming these days it is rare to hear “promising future” and “native plants and pollinators” in the same sentence. But restoration ecologist Melanie Gisler makes a career out of the hopeful act of researching and restoring native plants. She directs the Southwest Program of the Oregon-based Institute for Applied Ecology. The group is launching new projects in New Mexico with federal land managers and local farmers to raise native seeds for restoring wildfire- and flood-damaged land. Gisler will give a free talk, “A Promising Future for Native Plants and Pollinators in New Mexico,” at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18. The talk, sponsored by the Santa Fe chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico, will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso Road. Gisler launched the Native Seed Network in 2002 and has spent years working on collaborative restoration projects with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and communities. The nonprofit Institute for Applied Ecology started in 1999 in Corvallis, Ore. The group researches and restores native ecosystems in addition to educating communities about the green benefits of native plants. Increasing the number of native plants adapted to different regions is good for degraded or eroded land and for pollinators such as butterflies and bees. Pollinators in turn are essential for healthy flowers, vegetables and many other crops. In recent years, bees and other pollinators have been in decline. A presidential task force in May recommended steps to curb the plight of honey bees and monarch butterflies, including “restoring 7 million acres of land for pollinators over the next 5 years.” In August, the BLM issued a national strategy for native seed rehabilitation and restoration. “It means native plants have become a higher priority,” Gisler said. Gisler said compared to other states, New Mexico has a good degree of plant biodiversity. But “we don’t currently have a lot of native seeds available for large scale restoration projects,” she said. There’s an urgent need for native seeds in the state, as thousands of acres are burned by wildfire or drenched and eroded by floods each year. Improving native ecosystems and bolstering genetic diversity of native plants gives them a better chance of surviving all environmental challenges, including global warming, Gisler said. New Mexico has only one native grass seed grower, located in Clovis. She said the program will work with federal agencies to identify which grasses and forbs are needed. Then they’ll look for local farmers interested in growing the plants for seed. Forbs — broad-leafed flowering plants such as milkweed — are the plants that grow between grasses and often have nectar that pollinators need to survive, she said. Milkweed, for example, is the larval host plant for the monarch butterfly. “It has to have milkweed or the monarch won’t survive,” Gisler said. “That’s one of the reasons the monarch butterfly is declining and has been recommended for federal endangered species listing.” New Mexico has about 30 species of milkweed. While the most common one can make livestock sick, Gisler said there are less toxic varieties, which can be planted in places where cattle don’t graze. Gisler said the Southwest Program is also working with the BLM and the New Mexico State Forestry Division on a program to identify rare native plants and restore habitat. Some plants exist in limited areas. The Holy Ghost ipomopsis flower, for example, survives near the Pecos Canyon. And the group is working on a native plant curriculum for high school students. “New Mexico has a really passionate conservation community,” Gisler said. “We want to build on the work done by others.” Contact Staci Matlock at 505-986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com. Follow her on Twitter @StaciMatlock.