Natural Bridges to Host Interpretive Programs on Rare Plant

Date: June 16, 2008
Contact: Corky Hays, 435-692-1234, ext. 15

As part of its ongoing centennial celebration Natural Bridges National Monument is announcing the presentation of special guided walks and interpretive programs pertaining to a rare plant found almost exclusively in the monument. The plant, known as the Kachina Daisy (Erigeron kachinensis), is so named because one of the few locations in which it is known to exist is near the monument’s second largest bridge, Kachina Bridge.

The programs will be presented by Dr. Loreen Allphin Woolstenhulme an Associate Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University. Guided walks to the Kachina daisy site will be offered on Monday, June 16^th and Tuesday, June 17^th. at 10:00 A.M. The walks will begin at the Kachina Bridge Trailhead. Evening campfire programs will also be offered at the Natural Bridges campground amphitheater on June 16^th and 17^th at 8:45 P.M..

Dr Woolstenhulme’s study of the Kachina Daisy began over 15 years ago and she continues to monitor the health of several small populations of the plant. This small white daisy is known to occur primarily on Cedar Mesa in southeast Utah, usually in small alcoves containing seeps. The plants can often cluster around these seeps forming small hanging gardens. The Kachina Daisy was originally proposed for federal listing as an ‘endangered’ species in 1976. This proposal was later downgraded to ‘threatened’ but no official action was ever taken to complete the listing.