Alpine Gardens help reintroduce rare plant in Rifle

By Edward Stoner

VAIL — Betty Ford Alpine Gardens has partnered with Bureau of Land Management to grow and reintroduce one of the rarest plants in North America — the Penstemon debilis — onto the Roan Plateau near Rifle. This unique species of penstemon, also known as Parachute penstemon, is endemic to the Central Rocky Mountain region where it grows above the Colorado River on loose shale cliffs. CONSERVATION EFFORTS “The Gardens is the only nonprofit in the valley whose scientific research impacts strategies for plant conservation,” said Nicola Ripley, director of the Alpine Gardens. In 2004, the gardens became actively involved with …

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