Heidi Newsome, supervisory wildlife biologist with US Fish and Wildlife Service, will tell us about the “Propagation and Establishment of White Bluffs Bladder Pod”, a threatened plant unique to the Hanford Reach. The only known population of White Bluffs bladder pod, (Physaria douglasii ssp. tuplashensis), inhabits a narrow 17-km long band in dry, steep exposures on the White Bluffs in the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. The species was discovered in 1995 and listed as threatened in 1999 by the State of Washington and as federally threatened in 2013. Populations of this plant fluctuate annually likely due to climatic factors, but the population declined to historic lows during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Join us to hear how Refuge biologists develop management and conservation actions to protect this rare plant from decline. There will be one or two microscopes available in our meeting room. Come early to look at any plants you’re curious about.