2015 US-Russia Expedition to Colorado: McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area

On Wednesday, we made the long drive from Moab to Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado. We made several stops along the way to break up the trip. The first stop was a nice overlook of the Colorado River, where we saw Oenothera caespitosa, Mirabilis linearis and a possible Gaillardia hybrid between G. pinnatifida and G. aristata. Next we stopped at Cisco, a ghost town just off of I-70.

At McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, we visited several interesting sites. The first was another Colorado River overlook where Echinocereus triglochidiatus grew in large mounds, sometimes sheltered under large Ephedra viridis. Denver Botanic Garden also has a site where they monitor about 50 plants of Sclerocactus parviflorus. These plants were moved from about 50 miles south to observe the effects of transplanting this cactus. With oil and gas development, it may be necessary to transplant plants from the affected area in order to salvage the population. The cactus at this site were caged in order to distinguish them from the native cactus and to protect against herbivory.

As we left McInnis, we found a population of the rare Amsonia jonesii, which was growing along the washes on either side of a rock face. We also saw a Mahonia fremontii covered with berries!