If you know about or have read about the clay-loving wild buckwheat on our website, then you know it is one of the most endangered plant species in Colorado.  It grows only in the adobe hills between Delta and Montrose, and its habitat is quickly disappearing under suburban sprawl and dirt bike tires.  The largest population of the wild buckwheat is found mostly on a private ranch east of Montrose, and we have an opportunity to buy it and set it aside as a rare plant preserve.  This is likely the single most important thing we can do to save the clay-loving wild buckwheat from extinction.  Experts at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program have said, "[i]n order to protect the clay-loving wild buckwheat  we need to protect this stie as the cornerstone."  The team assembled to make this purchase is top notch:  us, the Colorado Natural Areas Program, The Nature Conservancy, and Friends of Colorado Natural Areas.  Together, we have created the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund to raise the money to buy the property and to endow its future management as a rare plant preserve.  Now, the Colorado Native Plant Society has joined the fray with a pledge to match contributions from their members 2 to 1, up to $5,000.  This is huge boost to our efforts and an excellent opportunity to make our goal of a protected buckwheat population and a valuable educational and biological diversity asset in the adobe hills a reality.  If you are a member of the Colorado Native Plant Society and haven't donated to the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund, please do so right away so we can take advantage of the CoNPS match and make your generosity go even farther.  If you are a Center for Native Ecosystems member and have not yet donated to the Wild Buckwheat Conservation Fund, we'd love for you to do so also.  After all, with so many powerful ally organizations participating in this collaborative effort, we'd be proud to show a lot of participation from our members as well.  And a big thank you to all of you who have already made a contribution.  You can truly participated in a ground-breaking effort-- certainly a first for CNE-- and one that will make a concrete, permanent difference for a highly endangered piece of our natural heritage.