NWF is working to ensure that natural waterflows are restored and critical habitat is protected for endangered species along the Platte. The states of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming are currently developing the Platte River Cooperative Agreement, a document which will regulate water uses along the Platte. NWF is working to educate people about this process and to get the parties who use the river to manage it sustainably so there will be enough water for users and for the many species that depend on it. It sounds like there is plenty of work to be done to help grasslands and the western prairie fringed orchid. Funny you should ask, because we can't give you a definitive answer.
Most scientists think western prairie fringed orchid seeds are wind borne.
But others think the orchids populate new areas as water transports the seeds through the soil. So it's a mystery. All rights reserved.