Last week several Great Ecology staff members attended the 2017 High Altitude Revegetation Workshop & Central Rockies Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (HAR-CeRSER) Conference in Fort Collins, CO.

Great Ecology’s Vice President of Technical Services, Randy Mandel, provided two presentations: (1) an oral presentation on “The Use of Ecotypic Plant Collections for Restoration Design to Benefit Pollinator Habitat”, and (2) a poster presentation on the Colorado Water Conservation Board Restoration Plant Matrix the was compiled in response to Colorado’s 2013 Front Range Floods, as well as the closing remarks at the conference.. Other presentations included:

• Keynote: “Can We Manage for Resilience? Making Decisions about Where and How to Restore in a Changing World” (Katharine Suding, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO)
• Keynote: “New Natures and Mountain Landscapes” (Eric Higgs, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia)
• Keynote: “Weed-Suppressive Bacteria: A New Tool for Restoration” (Ann Kennedy, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Pullman, WA)
• “A Seedling-Based Approach to Aspen Restoration” (Alexander Howe, Utah State University, Logan, UT)
• “High Elevation Mine Lands Reclamation Using Biochar” (Christopher D. Peltz, Research Services, Silverton, CO)
• “Manipulating Cheatgrass Seed Dispersal to Benefit Restoration” (Danielle B. Johnson, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Grand Junction, CO)
• “Rehabilitating Aquatic Habitat in Urban Systems” (Ashley Ficke, GEI Consultants, Fort Collins, CO)
• “The Urban Prairies Project: Pollinator Habitat Restoration and Community Engagement” (Amy C. Yarger, Butterfly Pavilion, Westminster, CO)
• “The Southwest Seed Partnership & the Ethos of Seed Conservation” (Ella M. Samuel, Chicago Botanic Garden, Bureau of Land Management, Santa Fe, NM)

There were many additional engaging and important talks, and dozens of posters, all of which helped convey important trends, new research, and strategies for restoration success.

Great Ecology was proud to be a sponsor for this event. Great Ecology was especially proud of the students who presented their research. Congratulations to the winners of the student poster and presentation awards!