About the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society
The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society had a beginning in 1979, when, through initiatives of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and the Pennsylvania Legislature, a movement was begun to recognize the rare and endangered plants of Pennsylvania and to set up organized efforts to produce a list of such plants and implement legislation for their study and protection. Through the efforts of Paul Weigman, Edgar T. Wherry and Carl Keener such a list was prepared in 1979 and updated frequently in subsequent years.

To facilitate continuous management of data on the Pennsylvania flora and its rare, threatened and endangered components, the Rare Plant Committee was formed of any botanists with special interest in the flora of Pennsylvania who cared to join, and, from its inception, the Rare Plant Committee was designated a committee of the "Pennsylvania Native Plant Society." Membership of the Committee and the Society were the same, and it consisted of volunteers who joined because they had botanical contributions to make or desired to be on a "Pennsylvania botanical information network."

The only meetings were the annual meetings of the Rare Plant Committee, and 8 issues of a newsletter, The Truffula Seed, appeared between 1981 and 1986. General membership in the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society was not solicited until 1993, when a small group of botanically-dedicated Pennsylvanians, recognizing, among other things, the historical importance of Pennsylvania botany, joined together to transform the Society into a general-membership native plant organization which is now a Pennsylvania Non-Profit Corporation with headquarters in State College, Pennsylvania.

The Society sponsors numerous field trips and projects throughout the state and publishes a quarterly newsletter, PNPS Notes, for members.

Membership Info
We cordially invite anyone interested in native plants to join our organization. We offer the following types of memberships:

Individual: $15/year
Family: $20/year

Organization: $25/year
Life: $200

Please send your name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, type of membership, and check for the appropriate amount to:

PNPS
PO Box 807
Boalsburg, PA 16827

For additional information, send e-mail to the membership chairperson, Falene Hamilton, or contact one of the directors listed below.

2007 Directors
President: Maggie Harlan
Vice-President: Robert Gruver
Recording Secretary: Eric Burkhart
Corresponding Secretary: Martha Gallagher
Treasurer: Steve Fast
Director-at-Large: Falene Hamilton

Appointed Positions
Membership Committee Chairperson: Falene Hamilton
Webmaster: Steve Fast

Society Bylaws
To download a printable copy of the current PNPS bylaws, click here (PDF, 318KB)