Volunteer group urges Carbondale to adopt native, water-wise plant list as new state bill looms

Sue Gray, a representative of Bee Friendly Carbondale, told the Carbondale Tree Board that many species on the pool landscaping list are not appropriate for the town’s hardiness zone and urged the town to adopt a plant list for developers and public plantings.

The presentation, which included materials the group left with board members, said several species on the pool landscape plan are rated for zones 8–10 and “will not survive the winter here,” and recommended using native or regionally adaptive plants that are drought resistant and better suited to the local climate.

Bee Friendly Carbondale described itself as a volunteer group that promotes biodiversity, drought resilience and native plantings in Carbondale. The group said it already helps maintain a pollinator garden at Thompson House Museum History Park and supports a residential turf-replacement program launched last year.

“Sustainable, native planting fills in on its own, is good with low water, and is climate adaptive to here,” Gray said. She also said the group wants to help the town develop an official plant list developers can use so public landscaping is water-wise and appropriate for the local zone.

The group pointed to Glenwood Springs’ 2022 xeric species list as an example and said a similar resource for Carbondale would give contractors and developers choices that avoid costly replanting. Bee Friendly Carbondale also said there is grant funding available to develop such a list but that the town previously said it lacked staff capacity to lead the work.

During questions, board members discussed local hardiness zones (speakers referenced zone 5 and subzones 5a/5b) and whether the Glenwood Springs list would be fully transferable to Carbondale. Board members agreed that some plants from Glenwood’s list would work but that Carbondale needs its own list tailored to zone 5.

The group also alerted the board to a bill they identified as “SB 2045,” which they said would require municipalities beginning Jan. 1, 2026, to limit turf and invasive species in public plantings; Bee Friendly Carbondale recommended the town plan for compliance and offered to assist in drafting a plant list.

Board members welcomed the presentation and suggested coordinating the group’s plant-list work with the Tree Board’s tree recommendations so that shrubs and trees on town projects are planned together. Several board members said they would pass Bee Friendly Carbondale’s contact information on to staff and consider the group a resource for residents planning landscaping changes.

Bee Friendly Carbondale left printed materials with contact information and asked the Tree Board to keep the group in mind for outreach and for help drafting municipal guidance on plant selection.