2026 Meetings
Posted Feb 26, 2026
Tuesday, March 17, 7:00 PM.
Julie Crawford: A Botanical Journey
Julie Crawford will discuss the career path that lead her to write and illustrate her recent book, Flagstaff Plants in Black and White: 160 of the Most Common Plants of Our Area. Copies of her book and greeting cards are available for purchase at The Arboretum at Flagstaff, Babbitt Outdoor Outfitters, Babies to Kids, Bookman’s, Brightside Bookshop, Lily of the Field Nursery, and Winter Sun Trading Company.
Julie Crawford is a plant ecologist with a broad range of botanical, conservation,
and outreach experience. Her professional career includes over 35 years in the fields of botany, plant ecology, horticulture, and conservation with federal, state, and non-profit organizations throughout the western United States. Much of her research over the years has been on direct and indirect impacts of human activity on plant species, communities, and ecosystems of the western United States, including post-fire recovery, exotic plant invasion, livestock grazing, urban development, recreational activity, and climate change. She holds three university degrees in this field.
Hybrid Meeting: In-person and via Zoom
Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 PM.
Claire Reynolds and Olivia Steinmetz: Pollination of Globemallow (Sphaeralcea), Thistle (Cirsium) and Pediocactus
NAU student Claire Reynolds and recent NAU graduate Olivia Steinmetz will each give a short presentation on plants and their pollinators. Steinmetz will discuss the pollination and reproductive biology of two endemic cacti of northern Arizona (Pediocactus peeblesianus var. fickeiseniae and Pediocactus paradinei) and Reynolds will discuss the pollination of Globemallow (Sphaeralcea) and
Thistle (Cirsium) and the changes due to climate change.
Hybrid meeting: In-person and via Zoom
Tuesday, May 19, 7:00 PM. Emily Palmquist and James Holderer: Let’s Talk About Phragmites australis: Changing Distributions of Native, Nonnative, and Gulf Coast Common Reed in Arizona
Emily Palmquist and James Holderer will each discuss their research into common reed (Phragmites australis) and whether the subspecies that are encroaching into the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon and the Verde River are the native, nonnative, or Gulf Coast subspecies. Dr. Emily Palmquist is a research ecologist for the USGS Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center. She studies the effects of river regulation on riparian vegetation communities, riparian plant population genetics in a restoration context, and physiological responses of riparian plants to flooding and climate.
James Holderer is a research affiliate at the Natural History Institute and a local field botanist. He focuses on special status plant and noxious weed surveys, botanical inventories, and riparian ecology monitoring projects throughout the southwest.
Hybrid meeting: In-person and via Zoom
Field Trips
Please watch for specific details. Carpooling is usually available.
Volunteer Opportunities
Peebles Navajo Cactus (Pediocactus peeblesianus subsp. peeblesianus) plot monitoring
Tentative Date: Saturday, April 25, and again in the beginning of May The Museum of Northern Arizona is looking for volunteers to help monitor three Peebles Navajo cactus plots. Contact Kirstin at flagstaffAZNPS@gmail.com if you are interested in joining.
Lake View Trail at Double Springs
Tentative Date: Saturday, May 9
This is an easy 2.5 mile hike near Mormon Lake. We’ll be looking for early spring bloomers like dwarf monkey fiddle (Hesperochiron pumilis), western springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata), short-sepal bitterroot (Lewisia brachycalyx), slender woodland star (Lithophragma tenellum), and Macdougal’s bluebells (Mertensia macdougalii).
Contact Kirstin at flagstaffAZNPS@gmail.com if you are interested in joining.
Photos: Hesperochiron pumilis and Mertensia macdougalii courtesy of Max Licher. Other photos by Kirstin Phillips
Invasive Plant Pulls
Please save these dates for Invasive Plant Pulls in Flagstaff. Watch for more details or contact
PlantRestorationProject@gmail.com
Saturday, April 18, 8:00 – 10:00 AM, in collaboration with the City’s Earth Day events
Saturday, May 2, 9:00 AM – noon
Saturday, May 30, 9:00 AM – noon
