Adventures for Wilderness – Wainwright Dunes
June 30, 2025
- •
- •
- •
June 29, 2025
Our yearly adventure to the sand dunes near Wainwright explored a different location this year. The Ribstone Creek Heritage Rangeland protects land along Ribstone Creek, including aspen forest, active dunes and wetlands. The weather started off cool and cloudy, but by mid-morning the clouds broke and we had a spectacular day out.
We had a group keen to stop and explore the diverse flora of the area. Biologists Cliff Wallis and Cleve Wershler joined the group to help identify the birds we heard and share their knowledge of the area and its biodiversity. There were many plants in bloom, including a rare species of milkweed. There were also rare plants growing in the sand dunes, including a flatsedge and annual skeletonweed.
Unfortunately the dunes also showed signs of abuse by joyriding ATVs, where they ride high up on the dunes, eroding them. We didn’t witness any ATVs on our adventure, despite it being a weekend.
Wood lily
Dwarf thistle
oval leaved milkweed
exploring the active dunes
Fragile prickly pear
A beautiful lunch spot
Cliff Wallis looking over the wetland
Scweinitz’s flatsedge
Avid photographers of rare plants
ATV tracks
Annual skeleton-weed
Fragile prickly pear