February updates for Time to Restore

Time to Restore

Greetings!

Here is your monthly update for those participating in the Time to Restore project in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. If you know others who may be interested in this newsletter, please send it their way! If you were forwarded this message, you can sign up to get on our list here.

Upcoming virtual trainings

Join us for a virtual training Wednesday, February 4 at 5:30pm MT / 6:30pm CT. This February call will provide a full 1.5 hour training on how to participate in the Time to Restore project.

This is also a great opportunity to meet other observers collecting data on the Time to Restore project!

We've added training dates through May. Our training call in April will provide another full 1.5 hour training on how to participate in the project. The March and May calls will be one hour and will include a brief overview on how to participate in Time to Restore, an update on the data collected so far, and tips on how to improve the quality of the data you collect as an observer.

Plant of the Month: Cardinalflower, Lobelia cardinalis

Photo: Julie Makin, via Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Each month, we feature one of the plants on the Time to Restore list. Cardinalflower, Lobelia cardinalis, is one of our regional priority species. This species grows anywhere from one to 6 feet high with showy red flower clusters about 8 inches high. These inflorescences are called racemes and have flowers are attached to the main stalk via a stem. Among the top pollinators of this species are hummingbirds (as pictured above).

You may want to observe this species as a patch of plants. You can do this on your Observation Deck on the Add or Edit Plant page. If you have more than one plant or patch, consider monitoring 2-3 individuals at the same site to capture the variation between plants.

For the plant pictured below, you would report:

Flowers or flower buds - yes

Open flowers - yes

Fruits - no

Ripe fruits - no

Photo above: Gina Lloyd

As for the optional intensity questions, you are answering the question "How many flowers or flower buds are present?" Remember that for this species, you should count the number of inflorescences on the plant, or patch of plants.

In the patch below there are 6 inflorescences (each circled in white). We would report 3-10 flowers or flower buds. Optionally, you could put the actual number of flowers you counted in the comments for your observation.

Photo: Stephanie Brundage via Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center

Questions? Reach out to Erin@usanpn.org.

Additional Resources

Below, we answer some frequently asked questions from Time to Restore observers:

When should I start my observations after winter dormancy?

It may be quite cold where you are at the moment, but soon enough your plants will start waking up from winter dormancy. If you have been taking a break from observing during the winter months, start checking on your plans approximately weekly as temperatures begin to warm.

What should I do if I don't want to track the same species this year?

If you are considering changing the species you are tracking, including reducing the number of plants you are observing or adding additional plants, now is a great time to make those changes! You can use the Add or Edit Plants link on your Observation Deck to remove or add species.

If you decide to stop observing a plant, simply pick "No longer observing" for the reason for deletion.

What should I do if my plant died?

If your plant died, you can also indicate that on the same Add or Edit Plants page.

If you are monitoring a plant as a patch, there is no need to mark plants as dead if they come back again in the same general area. Just continue to observe the new plants that emerge in your registered patch.

Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) flower buds start to expand in the late winter months

Nature's Notebook Nest

Stay connected with fellow observers and Local Phenology Leaders at the Nature's Notebook Nest! These standing monthly meetings on the first Monday of the month at 12pm PT / 3pm ET are a great chance to ask your questions and get advice from fellow observers. Mark your calendars, next Nest is February 2! If you sign up for reminders we'll send you an email a few days before and then the morning of the call.

Training options in your state

Participants in all states are invited to join us for monthly training series on the first Wednesday of the month. The next training will be Wednesday, February 4, 2026 @ 6:30 p.m. CT. Register here.

Louisiana

Interested in organizing a training for your group in Louisiana? Reach out to Gina Lloyd to schedule.

New Mexico

Interested in organizing a training for your group in New Mexico? Reach out to Kim Eichhorst to schedule.

Oklahoma

Interested in organizing a training for your group in Oklahoma? Reach out to Jane Breckinridge to schedule.

Texas

Interested in organizing a training for your group in Texas? While we have scaled back on trainings at this point in the project, we are still providing virtual trainings for larger groups of 40 of more. Reach out to David Gwin to schedule.

The table below shows the Texas counties that are represented by Master Naturalist and NPSOT chapters that have already approved the project. We are now up to 74 counties! Let us know if you are already planning on participating in the project but your county is not represented below!

North Texas Counties	Dallas, Denton, Collin, Cooke, Fannin, Hunt, Kaufman, Montague, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Parker, Wise
Central Texas Counties	Bell, Caldwell, Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Comanche, Erath, Hamilton, Hays, Lampasas, Llano, Milam, Palo Pinto, Travis
East Texas Counties	Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler
Southeast Texas Counties	Austin, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galveston, Grimes, Harris, Lee, Leon, Madison, Montgomery, Nueces, Robertson, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton
Southwest Texas Counties	Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Kinney, Medina, Uvalde
West Texas Counties	Bailey, Borden, Cochran, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Floyd, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Kent, King, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Stonewall, Terry, Yoakum