June 2023

Our June Plant of the Month is the official grass of Colorado. Grasses are a type of plant that has long, narrow leaves. Their stems might be hollow, and they have a lot of roots. Some grasses (like the Kentucky bluegrass that many people think of when they hear the word "grass" or "lawn") are short. Other grasses grow tall, like bamboo, which can be as tall as 100 feet!

Blue Grama is a native "warm grass" which rests from about October through April, greening in summer. The plant grows up to 18 inches tall. Its leaves are usually 6-12 inches long and curl, with a longer stem that rises up. As you can see in the picture above, the stems hold a crescent moon shaped head, a "comb" of "spikelet" seeds. indigenous people used the number of seed spikes to help predict the severity of winter--if the Blue Grama had many seed spikes on a stem, winter would be harsher than if the stems had one seed spike.

Blue Grama has been a part of the prairie in Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, for a very long time. This grassland evolved 20 million years ago. Today, scientists estimate Blue Grama makes up 75-80% of the grasses in the prairie. Blue Grama is an important plant in drier areas, where its short, dense root system helps keep soil from blowing away. Grazing animals, including the June Animal of the Month, enjoy Blue Grama, as do smaller animals like the prairie dog and jackrabbit. Blue Grama is also an important plant for insects, including moths and butterflies. 

Blue Grama needs only 7 inches of water per year to grow well. Because it is so drought tolerant, many suggest Blue Grama as a great replacement for Kentucky Bluegrass and other turfs that need 24-26 inches of water in the growing season alone.  The EPA estimates that US households use 9 billion gallons per day on irrigation. Irrigating landscaping makes up 1/3 of household water use. That's a lot of water to keep alive grasses that aren't really made to thrive in a place like Colorado. 

Maybe this summer you can join neighbors who are swapping out their "old school" lawns for Blue Grama and other native plants! Just imagine avoiding all that water use, and not having to mow, too. Blue Grama can look great with only 2-3 clippings per summer.  Want to learn more about xeriscaping? Check out Denver Water's tips on setting up your yard with little to no water needed.

Photo by Shawn McCoshom, iNaturalist

Weighing in at 125-300 pounds, standing about 3-4 feet tall at the shoulders, our June Animal of the Month is known as an icon of the West. With its large ears that resemble those of a donkey, it's the mule deer! 

Mule deer are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. Mule deer are also ruminants, a type of animal that includes elk, cows, and sheep. Ruminants walk on hooves (which is the tippy toe bone covered in a tough keratin shell) and have multiple chambered stomachs. Mule deer have 4 chambers in their stomachs, which allow them to eat plants like the Blue Grama (our June Plant of the Month). But because their stomachs are smaller than other ruminants, mule deer are more choosy about what they eat, seeking more nutritious food (again like the Blue Grama grass, or even flowers, berries, and fruits). 

Tribal nations like the Southern Ute, who have relied on mule deer for food and clothing, but also a connection to the land. People of many cultures and races hunt mule deer today. Because mule deer are so important, conservation groups have begun to support mule deer populations. To "conserve" means to protect and keep healthy an animal or plant species, so that it can live now and in the future. 

Like chickadees (January 2023) and tiger salamanders (April 2023) mule deer are an indicator species--they tell us how healthy or unhealthy an ecosystem is. Colorado Parks and Wildlife explains that the number of mule deer is changing as a result of changes in land use and climate. As people turn more land into places for people to live or do business, they take habitat that animals like the mule deer rely on. Mule deer conservation has included issuing fewer permits for people to hunt, and protecting land for mule deer.

Mule deer conservation isn't just for big areas like a national or state park, though! Maintaining green space inside a city can help. Scientists have shown that setting aside "highway" or a corridor of parks and refuges from one side of a city to another, gives wildlife a chance to cross through a city, or even live inside a city. That's why places like the Sandcreek Regional Greenway (a 13 mile corridor that stretches from Aurora to the Platte River in northeast Denver, and includes Bluff Lake Nature Center and Greenway Park in our neighborhood). Pollinator highways--like the area surrounding I-76 in Colorado--are also creative ways that people build habitat that supports wildlife. This summer, visit part of the Sand Creek Regional Greenway to see if you can spot a mule deer. 

Photo by Ben Carlson, iNaturalist; Sand Creek Regional Greenway map