FREMONTIA VOL. 44, NO. 1, JANUARY 2016 JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY $5.00 (Free to Members) VOL. 44, NO.1 • JANUARY 2016 FREMONTIA JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY CAN WE CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGE THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS: A LEGACY CONTINUED CAN WE CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGE THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS: A LEGACY CONTINUED
Transcript
F R E M O N T I AV O L . 4 4 , N O . 1 , J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6
JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
$5.00 (Free to Members)
VOL. 44, NO.1 • JANUARY 2016
FREMONTIAJOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
CAN WE CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGE
THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA
THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS:A LEGACY CONTINUED
CAN WE CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGE
THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA
THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS:A LEGACY CONTINUED
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CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
MEMBERSHIPMembership is open to all. Membership form is located on inside back cover;
dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the CNPS Bulletin
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CHAPTER COUNCIL—CHAPTERS &DELEGATES
Alta Peak: Joan StewartBaja: César García ValderramaBristlecone: Stephen IngramChannel Islands: David MagneyDorothy King Young: Nancy MorinEast Bay: Lesley HuntEl Dorado: Susan BrittingKern County: Dorie GiragosianLA/Santa Monica Mtns.: Betsey LandisMarin: David LongMilo Baker: Liz ParsonsMojave Desert: Timothy Thomas
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MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATIONCNPS members and others are welcome to contribute materials for publication inFremontia. See the inside back cover for submission instructions.
Disclaimer:The views expressed by authors pub-lished in this journal do not necessarilyreflect established policy or procedure ofCNPS.
Protecting California’s Native FloraSince 1965
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CONTENTS
THE COVER: Researchers from Humboldt State University camp out next to Little Duck Lake in the Russian Wilderness toresurvey vegetation plots first established by John Sawyer and Dale Thornburgh in 1969. The lake is located within the “MiracleMile” that contains the highest diversity of conifers recorded in the world (18 species). Photograph by James Adam Taylor,2014.
SAVE THE PLANTS, SAVE THE PLANET, SAVE OURSELVES: CAN WECREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? by Emily Brin Roberson ............................. 2
At the CNPS 2015 Conservation Conference, three keynote speakers explained thatconservation of plant diversity—and of the biosphere in general—cannot be achievedwithout also addressing social and economic inequality.
CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGE by Evan Meyer, Jorge Simancas,and Nick Jensen .......................................................................................................... 8
Northwest Baja California, Mexico, contains some of the most intact stands of coastalvegetation in the southern California Floristic Province but is facing serious threats toits wild landscapes.
A POWERFUL RESOURCE FOR PLANT CONSERVATION EFFORTS:THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA REACHES TWO MILLIONSPECIMENS by Staci Markos, Richard L. Moe, and David Baxter ....................... 16
The Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH) has helped bring herbaria into the 21stcentury and join the global effort to share data that was formerly stored only incollections. CNPS members play an important role in the CCH, and by doing socontribute to conservation and education efforts focused on the California flora.
REVISTING JOHN SAWYER AND DALE THORNBURGH’S 1969VEGETATION PLOTS IN THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS: A LEGACYCONTINUED by Melissa H. DeSiervo, Erik S. Jules, Michael E. Kauffmann, DrewS. Bost, and Ramona J. Butz ..................................................................................... 20
In 1969 Humboldt State University (HSU) professors John Sawyer and Dale Thornburghconducted over 200 vegetation surveys cataloging the plant diversity of the KlamathMountains in an area known as the “Miracle Mile.” Forty-five years later a group ofgraduate students and colleagues at HSU resampled the plots
to examine how this biodiversity hotspot may be changing due to a warming climateand fire suppression.
HONORABLE MENTIONS FROM THE BOTANICAL ART AND PHOTO-GRAPHY CONTESTS: CNPS 2015 CONSERVATION CONFERENCE ...... 26
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SAVE THE PLANTS, SAVE THE PLANET, SAVE OURSELVES:CAN WE CREATE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
by Emily Brin Roberson
t the 2015 CNPS Conserva-tion Conference in SanJose, three of the Progressand Promise presenta-
tions were notable for the unusualthemes they shared. Theycalled upon CNPS to ac-knowledge and act uponproblems that might
seem outside the scope of nativeplant supporters and researchers:1) the fact that human populationgrowth and overconsumption arerapidly destroying the environment,and 2) the need to fundamentallyrestructure our societies and econo-mies if we are to avoid adding our-selves to the list of species whoseimperilment or extinction we havecaused.
Acclaimed science fiction writerKim Stanley Robinson, distinguishedauthor and ecologist Paul Ehrlich,and celebrated botanist Peter Ravenall presented grim and soberinganalyses of the state of our species
and our planet. Runaway overcon-sumption, population growth, cli-mate change, toxification of air, soiland water, and loss of biological di-versity were all cited as leading to aseemingly inevitable demise of thehuman race and many other spe-cies. All three speakers asserted thatonly profound changes to oureconomy and society can avert thecoming disaster.
I interviewed these speakers toexplore their ideas and seek guid-ance about how native plant enthu-siasts can fight the trends that areendangering our planet, our flora,and ourselves.
Illustration from op-ed byDouglas Tallamy from theNew York Times, March 11,2015, symbolizing the centralrole of plants to the web of
life. Permission to reprint courtesy ofCourtney Wotherspoon, spoonstudio.com/index.html.
Water purification, Arcata Marsh. Arcata uses restored and constructed native wetland communities to help filter contaminants and treatthe city’s wastewater before discharge into Humboldt Bay. The marsh, which is on the Pacific Flyway, has hosted over 300 bird species.Photograph by Leslie Scopes-Anderson of the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary.
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OVERPOPULATION
All three speakers stressed thatthere are simply not enough re-sources to support continued popu-lation growth. Paul Ehrlich wrotethe landmark The Population Bombin 1968, calling attention to thepopulation explosion and its threatsto human survival. In 1968, accord-ing to the US Census, the globalpopulation was about 3.5 billion. Bythe year 2000 it had grown to about6 billion. Today the earth supports7 billion people, every one of whomuses space, water, food, fiber, andair, and produces waste.
Increasing greenhouse emissionsand climate change are among themany destructive consequences ofpopulation growth. Globally, 2014was the warmest year on record; 14of the last 15 years were the warm-est in history. Certainly no one liv-ing in California can fail to noticethe changes in our weather and con-sequent impacts to plants and wild-life. Raven noted that some predic-tions have the world warming to a“virtually uninhabitable” level by theend of this century.
LOSS OF BIOLOGICALDIVERSITY ANDECOSYSTEM SERVICES
Loss of biological diversity andecosystem services also follow over-population. As the number of hu-mans increases, we expand into moreland in search of resources and space.We displace other species, take overtheir habitats, and inexorably reducegenetic and species diversity. Thisweakens the ability of the biosphere,particularly native plants, to deliverthe ecosystem services humans re-quire for survival.
A March 11, 2015 New YorkTimes op-ed by ecologist DouglasTallamy described plants as follows:
Plants are as close to biologicalmiracles as a scientist could dareadmit. After all, they allow us
and nearly every other speciesto eat sunlight, by creating thenourishment that drives foodwebs on this planet. As if thatweren’t enough, plants also pro-duce oxygen, build topsoil andhold it in place, prevent floods,sequester carbon dioxide, bufferextreme weather, and clean ourwater (Tallamy 2015).
These are only some of the eco-system services that Ehrlich and oth-ers have called our “life support sys-tem.” Native plant communities alsobuffer our climate and sustain ourfood and water supplies throughpollination, pest control, water pu-rification, groundwater recharge,and nutrient cycling, among otherprocesses. According to Botanic Gar-dens Conservation International,worldwide over half a billion peoplewho live in poverty depend directlyon wild plant resources.
As we lose biological diversitywe destabilize these services and thecommunities that depend uponthem. Raven and Ehrlich both refer-enced the “Biodiversity-StabilityParadigm.” Studies at Stanford’s Jas-per Ridge, the University of Minne-sota, and elsewhere (e.g., Tilman andDowning 1994, Schulze and Mooney1994) demonstrate that diverse na-tive ecosystems are more resilientunder stress than homogeneousones. In diverse ecosystems, manyspecies are capable of performingsimilar functions. As the environ-ment fluctuates— during an historicdrought, to pick a random example—different locally adapted speciesare able to step in and maintain eco-system function. Healthy diversenative ecosystems are more likelythan damaged or fragmented onesto be climate-resilient, to reliablydeliver ecosystem services when en-vironmental conditions change. Aswe lose diversity, we not only losepart of our life support system, weweaken what remains, compromis-ing the stability of such necessitiesas food and water supplies.
CONSUMPTION, GROWTH,AND INEQUALITY
The speakers all stressed thatpopulation stabilization alone can-not stop the demise of the biosphere.The ways we use and distribute re-sources also must change. All spokevehemently about the necessity tocurb overconsumption and explod-ing economic inequality.
Our current economy dependson consumption, often of more thanwe need or of things we do not needat all. We celebrate wealth as a vir-tue. People proclaim their “success”through excess. The few who canwill buy the biggest cars, smallestcomputers, and newest gadgets,while their discards overflow thelandfills. This occurs with littlethought given to reasons or conse-quences. As Raven put it, many thinkthat if they buy the products adver-tised on Thursday night football, allis well in their lives.
Similarly, the success and stabil-ity of nations and industries is mea-sured by “growth,” each unit ofwhich, by definition, reflects in-creased consumption of resourcesand increased generation of waste.Each speaker reiterated that the cur-rent rate of consumption and wasteproduction already exceeds the car-rying capacity of this planet.
Ehrlich and Robinson bothreferenced the Global FootprintNetwork (GFN) (footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/), whichcompares available resources withhumans’ consumption of them.Raven pointed out that the GlobalFootprint Index calculates that weare currently 50% over-capacity, oras the GFN website explains, “It nowtakes the Earth one year and sixmonths to regenerate what we usein a year.”
This orgy of consumption is notproducing health or security formost people. Raven noted that atleast 100 million people are so mal-nourished as to be on the verge ofstarvation, while at least 800 mil-
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lion are suffering physically andmentally from lack of food. That isbecause our resource use is notmerely excessive, it is fundamen-tally unequal. Different nations,classes, races, and genders controland consume vastly differentamounts of resources and producewidely varying levels of waste.
The problem is that we do notshare resources—we compete forthem. Raven described human so-ciety as in “a hunter gatherer modewhere those who are stronger [sim-ply] get more, and that is not ques-tioned [by society or its leaders].”As a result, the richest one percentof the population today controlnearly half the world’s wealth.Meanwhile, as Raven noted, halfthe people in the world—three bil-
lion, mostly in Asia and Africa—live on less than $2 per day. Andinequality is accelerating. Accord-ing to Oxfam (oxfam.org)—a con-federation of 17 organizations work-ing around the world to find solu-tions to poverty and injustice—theshare owned by the wealthiest onepercent has increased by fully 10%since 2009.
THE WAY FORWARD:CONSERVING BIOLOGICALDIVERSITY
The speakers agreed that conser-vation of our remaining biologicaldiversity is necessary for a sustain-able future. We need to conserveand restore native ecosystems to sus-
tain the life-supporting services theysupply. They emphasized that con-servation of biodiversity is alsoneeded to allow us to repair the dam-age we have done to the biosphere.Our remaining biological diver-sity contains the tools to rebuild orrestore damaged ecosystems.
Native plant communities andecosystems are invaluable, irreplace-able reservoirs of ecosystem services,genetic diversity, and information.Native plants and animals haveevolved to exploit local soils, geol-ogy, and microclimates. Site-specificadaptations have allowed them towithstand fluctuating conditionsover many thousands of years. If weever achieve a society where resto-ration of ecosystems and their ser-vices becomes a priority, we must
Mature coast redwood forest, Humboldt County. Native plants are specifically adapted to local conditions such as fire regime, soils, andmicroclimate. They are more likely to survive stresses such as climate change and help ecosystems reliably deliver critical services suchas pest, flood and landslide control, carbon sequestration, and pollinator habitat. Photograph by Gordon Leppig.
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have sources of the locally adaptedspecies and ecotypes that are thebuilding blocks of those communi-ties. Robinson noted:
Imagine the world 1,000 yearsfrom now. Will humans begone?….What will they use todo landscape restoration andsteward a healthy biosphere?Many things, but those nativeplant communities that haven’tgone extinct will be a big part oftheir efforts.
Ehrlich cited conservation pio-neer Aldo Leopold, who famouslyadvised land and ecosystem manag-ers that “to save all the pieces” “isthe first precaution of intelligenttinkering.” Clearly, what has beenhappening on this planet is neitherintelligent nor mere tinkering, butthat only increases the importanceof saving as many “pieces” as pos-sible. For this reason, the speakerssaid that conservation of native spe-cies and communities at all scales isneeded, from the garden to the wa-tershed. All agreed that one sourceof hope is in the many efforts under-way around the world to conserveand restore native species and eco-systems, including, notably, thoseof CNPS.
EQUITY VS. COMPETITION:THE “POST-CAPITALIST”ECONOMY
However, the speakers also em-phasized that we will never effec-tively conserve or restore the bio-sphere without basic change in oursocieties and economies. Society’scentral organizing concept mustbe changed from competition, con-sumption, and economic growthto one of equity, stability, and sus-tainability.
Relentless competition for landand resources has produced wide-spread desperation along with in-equality. People who are starving do
not worry about which species theymay endanger by gathering wildfood, or about the environmentalimpacts of the mass-produced foodthat is all they can afford. Peoplefrightened about how to feed theirchildren naturally stockpile as manyresources as possible—land, fuel,water—to minimize risk and maxi-mize security. Survival today is moreimportant than sustainability for thefuture.
Conversely, as long as peopleperceive accumulation and con-sumption as indicators of achieve-ment and security, they will con-tinue to accumulate and consumeas much as possible whether it issustainable or not, and whether theyneed to or not.
Thus, under the current system,there are few incentives for eitherthe rich or poor to consider the im-pacts of their actions on the bio-sphere or the planet. In fact, studieshave shown that economic inequal-ity is correlated with imperilmentof biological diversity at global andregional scales (Mikkelson et al.2007) So the first step is to changethe system, to attack both despera-tion and excess. We need a societybased on security and sustainabilityrather than competition and fear.For this reason, all speakers statedforcefully that capitalism in its cur-rent form cannot be the economicsystem in a sustainable future. Weneed to develop what Robinsoncalled a “post-capitalist” economy.
GENDER EQUITY
All three speakers stressed thatprogress cannot be achieved with-out improvement—not only in eco-nomic equity—but in gender equityas well. Robinson noted:
What we have seen in the lasthalf-century is that in countrieswhere women have experienceda sudden success in increasingtheir legal rights and in accessto education, work, and prop-erty, the population growth …has dropped just as suddenly.The more a country has socialjustice and women’s rights, thelower the population growthrate is. In other words, our rela-tions with each other are a cru-cial component of our relation-ship to the biosphere.
Ehrlich and Raven deplored theloss of intellectual capital—the“sheer mass of lost ideas” that hasresulted from the exclusion ofwomen from political and economicpower. They suggested that we thinkof this as we do the loss of speciesdiversity. Few species persist for longon this planet without taking ad-vantage of a range of traits exhibitedby individual members in order tosurvive variable and challengingtimes. Similarly, our species cannotlong expect to survive our currentecological crisis if women, who makeup at least half of our population,are not fully part of the decision-making process.
EDUCATION ANDCOALITION BUILDING
All three speakers called on usto speak out to educate the publicand decision makers. They observea frightening and widespread lackof awareness of the degradation ofour environment and its implica-tions for our future. Ehrlich not sojokingly described his decades ofefforts to call attention to the dan-
Native plants provide essential habitat fornative pollinators. Native bees, birds, andother species pollinate billions of dollarsof food crops in the US each year. Photo-graph by Rich Hatfield, the Xerces Society.
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gers of overpopulation: “I think ofmyself as a total failure.” Ravensummed up perceptions of resourcesupply: “Ask [the] average personon the street, [and] they will saythere is plenty of everything...”
What can be done to creategreater awareness? Raven, a mem-ber of the Pontifical Academy of Sci-ences, which advises the Pope, con-tended that “What is needed is amoral revolution [to promote eco-nomic and social equity]. Religiousgroups could play a big role.” Sincehis historic and groundbreaking en-cyclical this past June, Pope Francishas called for precisely the kinds ofchanges in our relationships witheach other and the environment thatthe speakers described.
On the other hand, Ehrlich sug-gested that faith is often used to
avoid seeing and acting on the em-pirical evidence of things like cli-mate change and overpopulation. Heasserted that we need to agitate for“an evidence-based world.” He urgedus to write letters to politicians, pub-lications, and anyone who will lis-ten to take action, particularly onoverpopulation and the perils of un-controlled economic growth.
All three stressed that a broadand varied coalition will be neces-sary for change. In 2000 Ehrlichhelped found the Millennium Alli-ance for Humanity and the Bio-sphere (MAHB) (mahb.stanford.edu/welcome/). MAHB is multidisci-plinary and includes conservation,civil rights, and scholarly groups, aswell as businesses and individuals.It seeks to build a global communitythat draws on a wide variety of per-
spectives “to build a secure and sus-tainable world for all humanity.”MAHB focuses on battling the “hu-man behavior and collective actions[that are] leading to global collapse.”
Robinson also stressed the needfor broad coalitions and toleranceamong allies. He cautioned againstthe debilitating results of falling into[Sigmund Freud’s] “narcissism ofsmall differences,” in which you fightpeople on your own side who don’tquite see things as you do, ratherthan fighting the outright enemiesof your cause.
Raven said he finds hope in theideas and courage of individuals. Herecommends identifying successfuland charismatic individuals andprojects to copy or collaborate with.He also suggested working with re-ligious leaders and building inter-
GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR PLANT CONSERVATION
n 2002, the sixth meeting of the Conference of theParties of the Convention on Biological Diversity
at The Hague adopted a Global Strategy for PlantConservation (GSPC). CNPS representatives, includ-
ing Emily Roberson,participated in thedevelopment andadoption of theGSPC. The Strategyrecognizes that“without plants,there is no life.” Ittherefore seeks to“halt the continuingloss of global plantdiversity.”
The GSPC includes five objectives covering plantscience, conservation, management, and education.It identifies 16 quantitative global targets to helpeach nation work towards those objectives. Targetsinclude an online flora, in situ conservation of mostthreatened plants, protection of important areas forplant diversity, conservation of wild-harvested spe-cies, and increased capacity for botanical training.
The United States is the only nation on the planetthat is not a Party to the Global Convention onBiological Diversity. Therefore, the US does not for-mally participate in the implementation of the GSPC.More information is available online at the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation website: cbd.int/gspc/default.shtml.
I
The late Wangari Maathai (above right), a Nobel Peace Prizewinner, founded Kenya’s Greenbelt Movement to plant nativetrees to empower women, control erosion, provide food andfuel, and mediate climate change. She said: “If you destroy theforest then the river will stop flowing, the rains will becomeirregular, the crops will fail, and you will die of hunger andstarvation.” Photographs courtesy of the Greenbelt Movement.
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national partnerships. For example,the United Nations declared 2015the “International Year of Soils”(fao.org/soils-2015/en/) andlaunched a public relations cam-paign to build awareness about soilsand ecosystem services. The GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation (seesidebar on page 6) created a frame-work within the Convention on Bio-logical Diversity for nations to con-serve botanical resources.
START TODAY
This planet is in crisis. The cli-mate is changing. We are losing spe-cies, ecosystems, and their servicesat an alarming rate. Plant scientistsand conservation advocates havecrucial roles to play in any solution.We have no future without aggres-sive conservation of biodiversity ingeneral, and plant diversity in par-ticular. We cannot hope for a stableor sustainable future unless we pro-tect and restore the biosphere andthe ecosystem services—the “lifesupport system”—it provides.Fremontia readers know this.
What has been less recognized
in conservation circles is what thesespeakers pointed out: we have littlechance to save our flora or our bio-sphere unless we create equitablesocieties and economies. Humanshave exploited each other even aswe exploit our environment. Wetreat each other with the samegreedy, entitled, thoughtless, anddestructive disregard as we treat therest of the biosphere, and with simi-lar destructive and perilous conse-quences.
As long as we are forced to com-pete with one another for resources,as long as millions are desperate, aslong as accumulation is equated withsecurity and success, we have nohope of slowing, let alone reversing,the ravages to plant communitiesand our planet.
These speakers tell us that wecannot successfully conserve plants,or the life support systems they an-chor, without creating societies andeconomies based on equity ratherthan competition, sustainabilityrather than exploitation. Native plantadvocates, and the broader conser-vation community, must recognizethat basic link and incorporate so-
cial and economic justice into ourgoals, partnerships, education, andpolitical action.
REFERENCES
Leopold, LP., ed. 1953. Round River:From the Journals of Aldo Leopold.Oxford University Press, New York.
Mikkelson, G.M., A. Gonzalez, andG.D. Peterson. 2007. Economic in-equality predicts biodiversity loss.PLoS ONE 2(5): e444.
Tallamy, D.W. 2105. The chickadee’sguide to gardening - in your garden,choose plants that help the environ-ment. New York Times op-ed. March11, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/opinion/in-your-garden-choose-plants- that-help- the-environment.html.
Tilman, D., and J.A. Downing. 1994.Biodiversity and stability in grass-lands. Nature V(367): 363.
Schulze, E-D, and H.A. Mooney, eds.1994. Biodiversity and EcosystemFunction. Springer-Verlag, Berlin,Germany.
Emily B. Roberson, Native Plant Conser-vation Campaign, PMB 151, 1459 18thStreet, San Francisco, CA 94107, [email protected]
Coal produces more greenhouse emissions than any other fuel. It is also a leading source of toxic water pollution. Nonetheless, globalcoal use increased more quickly than any other fossil fuel in 2013. Coal still makes up 39% of US electric generation. Shown here is coalbeing mined in South Africa. Photograph courtesy of the United Nations.
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CONSERVATION AT CALIFORNIA’S EDGEby Evan Meyer, Jorge Simancas, and Nick Jensen
orthwest Baja Californiais a land of contrasts. It’sa landscape of ocean anddesert, sky and scrub,
arroyo and ridge. In many ways itcontrasts with its northern neigh-bor, but it also shares a lot withCalifornia, USA, including theunique North American Mediterra-nean climate. Conservation goalsand challenges are shared by thetwo states as well. One of these isshared by much of the world: howto conserve biodiversity in the faceof increasing human populationgrowth, agricultural development,globalization, climate change, andthe demand for natural resources.
In northwest Baja California, this
conflict plays out every day. Legalprotection of parcels of pristine landand increasing local awareness ofthe region’s unique biodiversity con-trasts with large-scale habitat lossand degradation. In this article, wedescribe some of the threats to theregion’s irreplaceable biodiversity,highlighting land conservationefforts along the coastal regions ofnorthwest Baja California.
NORTHWEST BAJA:A BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT
Stretching for more than 1,200kilometers between the PacificOcean and the Gulf of California,the Baja California peninsula is one
of the longest in the world. Thenorthwestern portion of the penin-sula, from the US border to just northof the town of El Rosario is consid-ered to be part of the CaliforniaFloristic Province (CFP). The CFP,or the portion of California, south-ern Oregon, and northwest BajaCalifornia under the influence of aMediterranean Climate, has beenidentified as one of 35 worldwidebiodiversity hotspots (Myers et al.2000.) Like other biodiversity hot-spots, the CFP showcases a highlevel of endemism combined withimminent threats to biodiversity andis a globally recognized target areafor conservation.
A suite of widespread and domi-
Stunning coastal vistas and untouched wild landscapes can still be found in northwest Baja California. All photographs by Evan Meyerunless otherwise noted.
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nant Baja California species reachtheir northern limit at or near theborder, while many species morecharacteristic of southern Califor-nia reach their southern limit innorthern Baja. To the south, the endof the CFP and northern reaches ofthe great Vizcaino desert are demar-cated by the presence of the other-worldly boojum tree (Fouquieracolumnaris) and cardon (Pachycereuspringlei) forests.
A high diversity of habitat typesoccurs in the CFP portion of Baja.Perhaps the most common in thecoastal belt is Maritime SucculentScrub (MSS). Moving east, as eleva-
tion rises, MSS gives way to chapar-ral, then high-elevation conifer for-ests in the Sierra Juarez and SierraSan Pedro Martír. Vernal pools andother rare plant communities occurthroughout the region. These com-munities are typical of the southernCFP, but also contain many speciesunique to Baja. In many cases, theyhave been subject to less develop-ment pressure and disturbance thantheir US counterparts.
In the CFP as a whole, nearly61% of the more than 3,500 plantspecies are considered endemic—occurring nowhere else on Earth.In northern Baja, a unique combi-
nation of climate, soil, and histori-cal and current ecological interac-tions has led to the evolution ofnumerous globally rare species withlimited distributions. Plants suchas Wiggins’ evening primrose (Oeno-thera wigginsii), restricted to coastalsand dunes south of San Quintín,and Anthony’s liveforever (Dudleyaanthonyi), known from the volcaniccinder cones of San Quintín Bay, areexamples of plants whose narrowranges make them especially vul-nerable to extinction. The challengeof conserving rare plants in the faceof increasing threats from burgeon-ing human populations is a conflict
Reserva Valle Tranquilo occurs at the southern limit of the California Floristic Province. Its rocky ridges and sandy arroyos host adiverse flora.
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that is all too familiar to the readersof Fremontia.
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
An imminent and continuingthreat to the biodiversity in north-west Baja is loss of habitat. Close tothe border, accelerated loss of coastalhabitat can be attributed to the Bajareal estate boom of the early 2000s
where availability of cheap ocean-front property led to the construc-tion of many new vacation homes,condos, and hotels. During the eco-nomic downturn of the late 2000s,many of these projects were aban-doned. Today, the coast betweenTijuana and Ensenada is littered withhalf-finished buildings and disturbedcoastal habitat.
In addition to residential devel-
opment, the clearing of scrub foragriculture, grazing, or simply todenote land ownership, is an increas-ing problem in northwest Baja Cali-fornia. A prime example of this lossof habitat can be seen at the ColonetMesa, an area that has been recog-nized for its plant diversity (Harperet al. 2011). This threat has ledto the initiation of the “Piensalo 2Veces: La Importancia de No Des-montar” campaign (“Think twice,the importance of not clearing”) bythe newly-formed Baja CaliforniaCNPS Chapter. This campaign seeksto increase local awareness of thevalue of intact vegetation.
In the San Quintín area, the ma-jor loss of habitat can be attributedto large scale agriculture and poorlyplanned urbanization. Farming hasincreased dramatically in the last50 years, with tremendous impactnot only on the landscape, but alsoto water resources. Overexploitationvia surface water diversion andgroundwater pumping has causedthe intrusion of saltwater and pol-lution, leading to decreased waterquality. Saline intrusion has beenimplicated in a loss of plant speciesdiversity, especially in vernal pools(Vanderplank et al. 2013). The im-pact on the biota of surface waterdiverted from the Sierran foothillshas not been well studied. A com-mon sight throughout this area isworking farm land as well as fallowfields—the tell-tale sign of tempo-rary agricultural conversion forshort-term gain. Once plowed, di-verse native MSS does not recoverquickly. It is usually replaced by amonoculture of the invasive Africanice plant (Mesembryanthemum crys-tallinum).
STATE OF LANDPROTECTION
San Quintín Bay is the southern-most large bay in the CFP, and un-like the other large bays to its north(Ensenada, San Diego, Long Beach,Ventura, etc.) has seen relatively
Baja California is a biodiversity hotspot. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Shaw’s agave (Agave shawiissp. goldmaniana), Eriodictyon sessilifolium, Hazardia berberidis, totem pole cactus(Lophocereus schottii). Certain species do not have English common names. Agave andHazardia photographs by James Riley; other photographs by Evan Meyer.
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WHAT IS MARITIME SUCCULENT SCRUB?
aritime Succulent Scrub (MSS) is a unique habitat typethat is only found in the lowest portion of the California
Floristic Province. Beginning in isolated patches just north ofthe US-Mexican border, MSS is the dominant plant commu-nity on the west coast of Baja California between Ensenada andEl Rosario. This community is a hotspot for endemism anddiversity. In addition to the many endemic species, plants fromthe adjacent Sonoran Desert and Coastal Sage Scrub communi-ties converge here, forming a unique assemblage.
MSS gets its name from the many succulent species thatgrow within it. Some iconic species include Shaw’s agave(Agave shawii), golden cereus (Bergerocactus emoryi), livefor-evers (Dudleya spp.), and cliff spurge (Euphorbia misera).
For more information on the plant diversity of MSS seeRiley et al. 2015. Con-servation and manage-ment of this habitat isincredibly important tosustain the complexweb of biodiversity thatis unique to MSS. Weurge Fremontia readersto join ongoing effortsto conserve this amaz-ing region.
M
The succulent plants that give Maritime Succulent Scrub its name include(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) liveforevers (Dudleya spp.), golden cereus (Bergero-cactus emoryi), dagger cactus (Stenocereus gumosus), and fishhook cactus(Mamillaria dioca).
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limited development. The bay is anincredibly important ecological areafor the entire Pacific Coast, support-ing large stands of eelgrass that pro-vide habitat for a diverse array ofvertebrate and invertebrate species.The bay supports up to 55% of thePacific flyway population of blackbrant (Branta bernicla nigricans) dur-ing the nonbreeding season (Mallek2010) and is an important site forthousands of shorebirds and othermigratory and resident birds.
One of the great conservationsuccess stories in northwest BajaCalifornia was the acquisition andprotection of a portion of the tidalestuary and sand dunes at SanQuintín Bay. Punta Mazo, a largeand pristine dune system that formsthe western edge of the bay was atone time eyed by developers as primereal estate for a large hotel and rec-reation complex. In 2012, throughthe hard work of American andMexican nongovernmental organi-
zations (NGOs), Punta Mazo waspurchased and made into a naturereserve. This healthy, intact dunesystem is a refuge for rare coastalplants that once occurred moreabundantly in California such asbeach spectacle pod (Dithyrea mar-itima) and coast wooly heads (Nema-caulis denudata var. denudata).
To see these plants thriving intheir native habitat is truly remark-able, but it is also a reminder of thewidespread loss of this uniquecoastal habitat that has occurrednorth of the border. Terra Peninsu-lar, a binational NGO focused onland conservation in northwest BajaCalifornia, was instrumental in theacquisition of Punta Mazo and isnow in negotiations to secure adja-cent parcels to preserve more of thisirreplaceable coastal habitat.
To the south of San Quintín liesanother nature reserve known asReserva Natural Valle Tranquilo.Managed by Terra Peninsular, it is
The clearing of land for agriculture is a major threat to Baja’s coastal dunes. In many areas the land is left fallow and soon becomes amonoculture of the highly invasive, non-native African iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum).
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comprised of nearly 16,000 hect-ares. The reserve contains ridgescovered in thick MSS, rocky arroyoswith a more desert-like appearanceand shaded canyons filled with dis-junct populations of mission man-zanita (Xylococcus bicolor) at thesouthern limit of its distribution.
Robust, healthy populations ofnorthwest Baja California endemicssuch as Hazardia rosarica, Amsinckiainepta, Mammillaria brandegeei, andEriogonum fastigiatum (none have
English common names) are foundthroughout the area. The reserveoccurs at the very southern edge ofthe CFP, and is the transition be-tween the succulent scrub and thedesert. Amidst the Californian veg-etation one sometimes finds plantoutliers from the adjacent Vizcainodesert, such as the boojum andcardon.
Aside from these two privatelymanaged reserves, the only otherlarge protected areas in northwest
Baja occur in the high mountains.Two federal parks—the Sierra SanPedro Martír National Park and thesmaller Constitution 1857 NationalPark—preserve important mountain-ous habitat but do not offer any pro-tection to coastal landscapes. Withsuch natural diversity and endemismcontrasted by the region’s increasingdevelopment, urbanization, and ag-riculture, there is a critical need tocreate additional nature reserves incoastal northwest Baja.
The sand dunes at Punta Mazo (TOP) support a healthy dune flora, which includes robust populations of several species which are rarenorth of the border such as Beach spectacle pod (Dithyrea maritima) (LEFT) and coastal wooly heads (Nemacaulis denudata) (RIGHT).
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ABOVE: Acmispon distichus is a showymound-forming species endemic to sandycoastal areas in western Baja California. •LEFT: Munz’s sage (Salvia munzii) growsthroughout the coastal region of northwestBaja. In the US it is limited to a fewpopulations in San Diego County. • RIGHT:The rare Tecate cypress (Hesperocyparisforbesii, CRPR 1B.1) is endemic to thePeninsular Ranges of Southern Californiaand northwestern Baja California. Thisphoto comes from a large stand near thetown of San Vicente.
POSITIVE DIRECTIONS
The momentum to conserve theunique CFP habitats of Baja is strongand growing. The incorporation ofthe Baja California CNPS Chapter inMay of 2013 and the forthcomingopening of the first botanical gardenof the San Quintín Valley in 2016provide evidence of the local inter-est in habitat conservation and thedesire for binational partnerships.Conservationists from both sides ofthe border realize that there is stilltime to protect habitat in coastal CFPBaja, but it must happen soon. Witha growing human presence on thelandscape, acquisition of key habi-tat, wildlife corridors, and diverseareas is essential to prevent a majorloss of biodiversity. This effort needsthe support of all. We urge Fremontiareaders to support land conserva-tion efforts in the area, to get in-volved with the CNPS Baja Chapterand with the Jardín Botanico SanQuintín, and to conduct biodiversityresearch in northwest Baja. Those
BELOW: The cinder cones of San QuintínBay are home to Anthony’s liveforever(Dudleya anthonyi) (inset), a narrowlyendemic species of northwestern Baja.Photograph by James Riley.
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These natural areas are at a cross-roads. While significant habitat hasalready been lost, there are still realopportunities to preserve untouchedland. On a recent trip down the Bajacoast south of Ensenada we foundmany beautiful, intact stands of MSScovering marine terraces high abovethe azure waters of the Pacific. Butincreasing residential and agriculturaldevelopment is making these pris-tine habitats smaller and much morefragmented. The loss of habitat thathas occurred north of the border inthe coastal region is extensive. Innorthwest Baja, the opportunity for amore sustainable development exists,where cities and agriculture are bal-anced with intact, diverse habitat.We can all help make this a reality.
REFERENCESHarper, A.B., et al. 2011. Plants of the
Colonet Region, Baja California,Mexico, and a vegetation map ofColonet Mesa. Aliso: A Journal ofSystematic and Evolutionary Botany29:1.
Mallek, E., J. Wotham, and B. Eldridge.2010. Winter waterfowl survey:Mexico West Coast and Baja Califor-nia. US Fish and Wildlife Service.Available from: http://alaska.fws.gov/mbsp/mbm/waterfowl/surveys/pdf/mexico_brant.pdf.
Myers, N., et al. 2000. Biodiversityhotspots for conservation priorities.Nature 403: 853–858.
Riley, J. 2015. Plant Guide: MaritimeSucculent Scrub Region, NorthwestBaja California, Mexico, ed. J.Rebman and S. Vanderplank. Botani-cal Research Institute of Texas. FortWorth, TX.
Vanderplank, S., et al. 2014. Conser-vation challenges in a threatenedhotspot: agriculture and plant bio-diversity losses in Baja California,Mexico. Biodiversity and Conserva-tion 23: 2173–2182.
Looking south at Punta Mazo, a sand spit which forms the western edge of the San Quintín Bay. In 2012 Punta Mazo was made into aprotected natural reserve.
The next generation learns about propa-gation of Baja California native plants at aranch in the Guadalupe Valley. This event,organized by the Mexican federal agencyConafor, promoted knowledge of nativeplant production for restoration of dis-turbed landscapes.
Evan P. Meyer, 1500 N. College Avenue,Claremont, CA 91711, [email protected]; Jorge Eduardo Simancas Ortiz,Tamaulipas No. 373. Depto 1. 22890 PlayaHermosa, Ensenada, Baja California,Mexico; Nick Jensen, 1500 N. CollegeAvenue, Claremont, CA 91711
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A POWERFUL RESOURCE FOR PLANT CONSERVATIONEFFORTS: THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA
REACHES TWO MILLION SPECIMENSby Staci Markos, Richard L. Moe, and David Baxter
lants are all around us. Theyprovide food, medicine, shel-ter, beauty, and ecosystemfunctions. There are approxi-
mately 350,000 plant species world-wide and 50,000 to 75,000 remainto be described (P. Raven, pers.comm. 2014). In the face of unprec-
edented rates of climate change, animportant component of conserv-ing biodiversity is the protection ofwildlands. These areas will serve asP
Gaps in our floristic knowledge: The Cima Cinder Cones of eastern San Bernardino County is a vast region that has only recently receivedattention from botanists. There are many similarly unexplored regions in California where data gaps exist, especially in the deserts.Photograph by Jim André.
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refugia for species (and their genes),and it is from these areas that spe-cies will migrate and adapt to newenvironments. To understand whatareas need the most protection inCalifornia, we need to understandwhat species occur in the state, howthose species are related to eachother, and how they are distributedacross the landscape.
Describing and cataloging plantdiversity is a daunting task, but bota-nists have been formally doing thiswork since the mid 18th century. Itcontinues today with initiatives likethe Jepson eFlora that contains taxo-nomic treatments and identificationkeys for over 8,000 native and natu-ralized plant taxa occurring in wild-lands or otherwise outside of culti-vation in California (ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html). This work relies onbotanical collections stored in her-baria. It is here that the foundationsof our understanding reside. Fromthese collections, we have a windowinto our past and can understandmore deeply the present. And withDNA sequencing, improved phylo-genetic techniques, digitization ofherbarium collections, and power-ful new modeling techniques, scien-tists have been able to depict futurescenarios related to biodiversity andhow it might be distributed acrossthe globe.
WHAT IS A HERBARIUM?
Herbaria are collections of spec-imens from all plant groups–angiosperms, gymnosperms, ferns,bryophytes, and algae. Fungi andlichens are also included. Typically,the process of making a plant speci-men begins in the field by taking aplant (or part of a plant) and press-ing it between two sheets of paper.Field notes accompany each collec-tion and detail the location and otherimportant site features. Once in theplant press, specimens are dried,mounted on acid-free paper, andaccessioned into the collection. Bo-tanical specimens are an irreplace-
able, tangible record of biodiversityat a particular time and place.
WHY HERBARIA AREIMPORTANT
In California, herbaria maintainplant collections dating from themid-1800s to the present. Tradi-tionally, herbaria were used as aresource for identifying plants, es-tablishing their geographic range,and describing new species. Speci-mens and their associated data arealso powerful tools for researchersseeking to answer a wide array ofquestions ranging from evolutionand local patterns of diversity toglobal climate change. Specimendata have also been used to addressquestions related to invasive spe-cies, conservation, and natural re-source management.
WHAT IS THE CONSOR-TIUM OF CALIFORNIAHERBARIA (CCH)?
The Consortium of CaliforniaHerbaria is a gateway to informa-
tion from California vascular plantspecimens that are housed in 35participating herbaria (Figure 1;ucjeps.berkeley.edu/consortium/).Through a single interface, theCCH serves over 2 million speci-men records, over 71% of whichare georeferenced (i.e., include lati-tude and longitude; Figure 2). Withsupport from the California DigitalLibrary, the CCH began in 2003with botanical collections from theUniversity and Jepson Herbaria andit quickly expanded into what theCCH is today, a truly collaborativenetwork of herbaria from through-out the state and beyond.
WHY THE CCH ISIMPORTANT
Before the CCH existed, the onlyway for researchers to access plantspecimens and their data was to per-sonally visit a herbarium and go into“the stacks,” where the pressedspecimens are stored in herbariumcabinets. A few herbaria had onlinedatabases but comparative researchentailed accessing data in differentformats that could not be readily
MAKING A HERBARIUM SPECIMEN
he process of making a herbarium specimen begins in the fieldwhere the collector records details including date, location, habi-
tat, features of the plant, and associated species. A documentationfield book is often used (pictured is the Plant Collecting and Documen-tation Field Notebook, 3rd Edition, by Michael G. Simpson). Once theplant is collected, it is put in a plantpress and dried. The identity of aplant can be determined in the fieldor laboratory/office using a resourcelike the second edition of The JepsonManual (pictured) and, if necessary,careful examination with a dissect-ing microscope. Once dried, the plantand label are mounted on acid-freepaper. Each herbarium loads datafrom labels into a database that isthen shared with the Consortium ofCalifornia Herbaria. Photograph byStaci Markos.
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combined. The CCH has revolu-tionized the way these data can beaccessed by collating a tremendousamount of information containedon specimen labels from large andsmall herbaria and placing these
records online in a way that permitsa variety of comparisons.
There are several advantages tohaving a statewide representation ofherbaria participating in the CCH.First, since some herbaria have a
TABLE 1. A FULL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONSORTIUM OF CALIFORNIA HERBARIA.
ACRONYM COLLECTION FULL NAME
BLMAR Bureau of Land Management Arcata Field Office HerbariumCATA Catalina Island Conservancy HerbariumCAS/DS California Academy of Sciences (incl. Dudley Herbarium)CDA California Department of Food and Agriculture HerbariumCHSC Chico State Herbarium, CSU ChicoCLARK Riverside Metropolitan Museum HerbariumCSUSB CSU San Bernardino HerbariumDAV/AHUC UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity HerbariumGMDRC Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research CenterHSC Vascular Plant Herbarium, Humboldt State UniversityIRVC UC Irvine HerbariumJOTR Joshua Tree National Park HerbariumJROH Oakmead Herbarium, Jasper Ridge Biological PreserveLA UC Los Angeles HerbariumMACF Fay A. MacFadden Herbarium, CSU FullertonOBI California Polytechnic State University HerbariumPASA Pasadena City College Herbarium (in Huntington Botanic Garden)PGM Pacific Grove Museum of Natural HistoryRSA/POM Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Herbarium (incl. Pomona College Herbarium)SACT CSU Sacramento HerbariumSBBG Santa Barbara Botanic Garden HerbariumSCFS Sagehen Creek Field Station HerbariumSD San Diego Natural History Museum HerbariumSDSU San Diego State University HerbariumSFV CSU Northridge HerbariumSJSU Carl W. Sharsmith Herbarium, San Jose State UniversityUC/JEPS University and Jepson Herbaria, UC BerkeleyUCR UC Riverside HerbariumUCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) Herbarium,
UC Santa BarbaraUCSC UC Santa Cruz HerbariumVVC A. Louise Baartz Memorial Herbarium, Victor Valley CollegeYM Yosemite National Park Herbarium
EXTRA-CALIFORNIA PARTICIPANTS
HUH Harvard University HerbariaNY Steere Herbarium, New York Botanic GardenSEINET Southwest Environmental Information Network
regional emphasis, a broad geo-graphic representation of herbariasignificantly strengthens the CCH’spower to display a taxon’s geo-graphic range (via georeferenced lo-calities). A good example is Salix
Source: David Baxter, University and Jepson Herbaria, 2015.
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laevigata (Figure 3). The CCH helpsput the puzzle pieces together bydisplaying a more complete repre-sentation of the taxon’s geographicrange than is represented by anysingle collection. Second, someareas in California remain under-represented by collections and flo-ristic exploration is still needed.Researchers working at remoteherbaria can help fill gaps in ourfloristic knowledge by adding to thecollections and fleshing out patternsof biodiversity in the state. Third,herbaria provide undergraduate stu-dents from all over California withtraining opportunities and exposureto natural history collections, hope-fully leading them to a life-longappreciation of nature and interestin protecting native plants.
USES OF DATA FROMTHE CCH
The CCH has been cited in over100 publications including floristicstudies, phylogenetic investigations,and studies of invasive species.
Additional research has used datafrom the CCH to address questionsrelated to climate change, adapta-tion, and evolution (Google Scholarpage, ucjeps.berkeley.edu/consor-tium/citations/). Importantly, theCCH provides a reliable source ofinformation on the distribution ofrare plants and these data help sup-port conservation efforts through-out the state. The California NaturalDiversity Database uses the CCH toupdate occurrence information. TheRare Plant Program of CNPS usesdata from the CCH to help deter-mine California Rare Plant Ranksand to prioritize taxa and locationsfor Rare Plant Treasure Hunts. Inaddition to aiding with conserva-tion status reviews, information fromthe CCH such as elevation ranges,blooming periods, species associates,habitat, and edaphic substrates isutilized in the CNPS Rare Plant In-ventory, by consulting biologists,and by individual botanists gather-
ing information about rare andcommon taxa. The CCH is also thelargest contributor to the CalfloraObservation Database.
Due to the efforts of many indi-viduals and institutions, includingadministration and software devel-opment by the University and JepsonHerbaria (UC Berkeley), the CCHhas helped bring herbaria into the21st century and join the globaleffort to share data that was for-merly stored only in collections.Members of the California NativePlant Society have an important rolein the CCH. By supporting herbaria,volunteering in the collections, add-ing new specimens, and comment-ing on records in the CCH interface,everyone can contribute to ourshared goals of understanding andconserving the California flora.
A wide range of herbaria participate in theCCH. They include collections at collegesand universities, government agencies,private institutions, botanic gardens, andnatural reserves and field stations.
Source: David Baxter, University andJepson Herbaria, 2015.
FIGURE 1. LOCATIONS OFCALIFORNIA HERBARIAPARTICIPATING IN THE CCH.
FIGURE 2. DENSITY MAP OFGEOREFERENCED SPECIMENSSERVED BY THE CCH.
This map shows the varying collectiondensity in California. Darker shades oforange indicate a higher number ofspecimens collected from a grid cell. Notethat only specimens with known latitudeand longitude data (71% of records) aremapped. Some parts of the state remain tobe documented.
Source: Global Biodiversity InformationFacility,www.gbif.org, 2015.
FIGURE 3. GEOREFERENCEDRECORDS OF SALIXLAEVIGATA SPECIMENSSERVED THROUGH CCH.
Points are categorized into five groupsaccording to the latitude of the institu-tion holding the specimen, in order todemonstrate regional emphasis.
Source: David Baxter, University andJepson Herbaria, 2015.
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REVISTING JOHN SAWYER AND DALE THORNBURGH’S1969 VEGETATION PLOTS IN THE RUSSIAN WILDERNESS:
A LEGACY CONTINUEDby Melissa H. DeSiervo, Erik S. Jules, Michael E. Kauffmann,
Drew S. Bost, and Ramona J. Butz
hortly after joining the fac-ulty of Humboldt State Uni-versity (HSU) in 1966, JohnSawyer received a letter from
one of America’s leading evolution-ary biologists and California floris-tic experts, G. Ledyard Stebbins.Stebbins suggested that John visit aremote place in the Klamath Moun-tains known as Blake’s Fork to verifya report of one of California’s rarestconifers—Engelmann spruce (Piceaengelmannii). He encouraged Johnto record his findings in a new data-base called the Inventory of Rare andEndangered Vascular Plants of Cali-fornia organized by the CaliforniaNative Plant Society. With coniferscalling, John and his friend, fellow
HSU professor Dale Thornburgh,began a journey that would changeour understanding of conifer dis-tributions, plant associations, andwilderness in California.
After a successful trip to Blake’sFork and the surrounding SalmonMountains, John and Dale becameenchanted with the region. Theyplanned their next trip with hopesof finding more Engelmann sprucealong Sugar Creek, just over theSalmon Crest from Blake’s Fork. Inthe summer of 1968 they walked upSugar Creek, documenting and col-lecting plants along the way. Wan-derlust found them climbing thesouth-facing ridge above Sugar Lake,where they found foxtail pines (Pinus
balfouriana), and into the Little DuckLake Basin. At the southern end ofthe lake, Dale identified the first sub-alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) in Cali-fornia, although it took him half-an-hour to convince John! Around thecampfire, maps came out and spe-cies lists were made. They deter-mined that in a roughly drawnsquare mile—encompassing theridges and valleys around Little DuckLake—17 species of conifers couldbe found. The “Miracle Mile” wasborn (Kauffmann 2012).
PRESERVING A BOTANICALLEGACY
In the summer of 1969, JohnSawyer and Dale Thornburgh beganformal research in the “Miracle Mile”and the surrounding area. With thehelp of two undergraduate field as-sistants, Steve Selva and Dan Franck,they conducted over 200 vegetationsurveys in the drainages surround-ing Russian Peak and used that datato describe 15 California plant asso-ciations (Sawyer 2006, Sawyer2007). These explorations led to aunique understanding of these for-ests and the revelation that preser-vation outside National Forest landwas essential. Sawyer and Thorn-burgh’s research was the basis forthe preservation of the 12,000-acreRussian Wilderness in 1984. Thatarea contains both the Duck LakeBotanical Area and the Sugar CreekResearch Natural Area (RNA), whichmeet at the “Miracle Mile.”
While Sawyer and Thornburghrecorded 17 conifer species in 1969,the 18th went unnoticed for 40 moreyears. In 2012 Richard Moore, a resi-
John Sawyer (back) and Dale Thornburgh (front) climbing through chaparral near SouthSugar Lake in the Russian Wilderness in summer 1969. Photograph by Steve Selva.
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dent of the town of Callahan just atthe edge of the Russian Wildernessand lifelong explorer of the Salmon-Trinity Mountains, documentedwestern juniper (Juniperus occiden-talis) on a steep and scarcely trav-eled hillside near Sugar Lake.
In addition to the area beingconsidered one of the richest assem-blages of conifers in the temperateworld, the “Miracle Mile” is alsohome to over 400 understory plants.This diversity exists because theSalmon Crest is the divide betweenthe arid east side (which soon givesway to the Cascades and GreatBasin) and the moister west sidewith a coastal maritime influence.The region is a crossroads whereGreat Basin species like westernjuniper mix with species that prefera more temperate climate, such asOettinger’s trillium (Trillium ovatumsubsp. oettingeri), California RarePlant Rank 4.2.3.
RESURVEYING THESAWYER-THORNBURGHPLOTS
In the spring of 2014 the JulesLaboratory at HSU received theunique opportunity to continue re-search in Sugar Creek, and continuethe botanical legacy initiated by Saw-yer and Thornburgh 45 years be-fore. (Sawyer had died in 2012, andThornburgh in 2013.) The projectstarted as a partnership between HSUand the US Forest Service, with thegoal of assessing ecological changein the Russian Wilderness, in par-ticular the impacts of fire suppres-sion and climate change on forestcomposition and structure.
Our team began by contactingJohn’s wife, Jane Cole, and his bestfriend and fellow botanist, J.P. Smith,to help us track down the originalSawyer-Thornburgh datasheets andmaps from 1969. With a little dig-
Richard Moore, a resident of Callahan, California and longtime explorer of the Klamath Mountains, discovered the elusive 18th coniferspecies—western juniper (Juniperus occidentale)—in the “Miracle Mile” 40 years after Sawyer and Thornburgh’s expeditions. Mt. Shastacan be seen in the background. Photograph by Michael Kauffman.
John Sawyer (left), Dan Franck, under-graduate field assistant (middle), and DaleThornburgh (right) setting up camp inEtna, California, a town near the “MiracleMile” in the Russian Wilderness, 1969.Photograph by Steve Selva.
ging, they were able to uncover spe-cies lists and binders of original plotdata along with our golden ticket: ahand-drawn map of plot locations.This data had to be digitized, so we
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the course of two summers to relo-cate and resample the Sawyer-Thornburgh plots. With practice wefine-tuned our strategy for plot relo-cation by navigating to areas thatmatched the slope, aspect, and to-pographic position of the originalplot descriptions. Then we searchedfor smaller-scale areas containing theconifer and understory plant spe-cies listed on the datasheet.
We were unable to verify exactplot locations because there wereno field markers left from 1969.However, we limited our search win-dow to 200 meters (or about 218yards) from the hand-drawn mappoints, and only resurveyed plotsthat matched John and Dale’s de-tailed descriptions. To collect datacomparable to 1969, we mimickedthe relevé plot protocol described inSawyer and Thornburgh’s report,which included percent cover of alltrees in three size classes (overstory,saplings, and seedlings) as well asshrubs and herbaceous plants (Saw-yer and Thornburgh 1977). Wesupplemented our historical datacomparison with an extensive sur-vey of individual trees, includingdetailed data on forest pathogens—something that was not done inthe 1969 survey. In summer 2015we began an additional project mea-suring the build-up of fuel loadsaround “legacy pines” (the largersugar pines, Pinus lambertiana) tocalculate litter and duff accumula-tion in lower elevation mixed coni-fer forests.
CHANGES IN FORESTCOMPOSITION ANDSTRUCTURE
After two summers of datacollection, we had successfullyresampled 155 of the Sawyer-Thornburgh plots, measuring over3,300 trees and recording hundredsof understory plant species. Our dataanalysis thus far shows a few im-portant changes in forest composi-
tion and structure over the last 45years. For example, we found sig-nificant increases in coverage ofwhite fir (Abies concolor) through-out our study area, which is consis-tent with other historical resurveyprojects in the Pacific Northwest(Dolanc 2012). Furthermore, ourdata shows that white fir (consid-ered a fire intolerant species) is ap-pearing at higher elevations than itwas 45 years ago.
Aside from the few acres thatburned in the 2014 Whites Fire, themajority of the Russian Wildernesshas not experienced a large-scalewildfire in over 100 years. Histori-cally, the Klamath Region is describedas having had a mixed-severity fireregime, with a fire return interval ofabout 15 years in lower elevationmixed conifer forests (Taylor andSkinner 1998, 2003). Based on theseestimates, lower elevation forests inthe Sugar Creek basin have missedanywhere between three and sixfire cycles, which has led to a denseovercrowding of fire-intolerant taxasuch as white fir, and to a lesserextent in this region, Douglas-fir.Other tell-tale signs of fire suppres-sion in this region include heavyaccumulations of litter and duffaround large pines, and coniferencroachment into upper montaneand subalpine meadows.
Common understory plants growing ina seep near Little Duck Lake. TOP: Whitemarsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala) andmountain laurel (Kalmia polifolia). BOTTOM:Sierra laurel (Leucothoe davisiae), a com-mon understory shzrub in moist red firforests and seeps in the Klamath Moun-tains. Photographs by Melissa DeSiervo.
Original plot datasheet from 1969 researchexpedition to the “Miracle Mile.” Photo-graph by James Adam Taylor.
began by scanning original maps,uploading them to ArcMap, and us-ing computer software to alignprominent features such as topo-graphic lines and lakes with aerialimagery. We also found over 1,200HSU Herbarium specimens collectedby Sawyer and Thornburgh in 1969that could assist us as a referencespecies list for the area.
In summer 2014 we set off onthe first of approximately 25 tripsto the Russian Wilderness over
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MORTALITY OF SHASTA RED FIR
hasta red fir (Abies magnifica var.shastensis) inhabits the upper montane
and subalpine zones of southwesternOregon and northwestern California(Shasta, Siskiyou, and Trinitiy Counties)and is considered a hybrid between Cali-fornia red fir (Abies magnifica var. mag-nifica) and the more northern species,noble fir (Abies procera) (Mathiasen andDaughherty 2008).
Several recent studies in the PacificNorthwest have shown declines in Cali-fornia red fir (Bulaon and Mackenzie 2007,Mortenson 2011). In addition, annual aerialdetection surveys that the USDA has con-ducted from 2009 to the present in North-ern California have revealed significantmortality in both Shasta and California redfir (Heath et al. 2009, 2013).
Red fir decline is generally attributedto a complex array of climatic factors suchas decreased snowpack and warmer tem-peratures that trigger increases in nativepathogens. These include dwarf mistletoe(Arceuthobium spp.), canker-forming fungi(Cytospora spp.), root diseases (Hetero-basidion annosum, Armillaria ostoyae), andfir engraver beetle (Scolytus ventralis). Dwarf mistle-toe and Cytospora infection frequently occur in com-
bination, with signs and symptoms ofunhealthy trees including tumefactions(swelling of branches) and brooming(dense aggregations of abnormalbranch and twig growth), and flagging(dead branches). In highly affectedstands, there is often significant canopydieback and many trees with dyingand/or dead tops.
Trees that are drought stressed and/
Many Shasta red fir stands in the Russian Wilderness show signs of truefir dwarf mistletoe (Arcethobium abietinum) infestation and cytospora(fungal) cankers causing crown dieback. Within a few years most of thetrees in these highly affected stands will die. • INSET: True fir dwarf mistletoeis a native parasitic plant that extracts water and nutrients from its hostand can cause considerable stress on the tree. Approximately one-fifth ofthe live Shasta red firs sampled in 2014 and 2015 contained mistletoeinfestation. Photographs by Melissa DeSiervo.
ABOVE: Fir engraver beetle (Scolytus ventralis) infestation is largelyresponsible for the ongoing mortality event of Shasta red fir inthe Russian Wilderness, and the beetle’s gallery patterns can beseen on many standing dead trees and fallen logs. The adultfemale beetle bores a thick, horizontal gallery and lays her eggsin the perpendicular side galleries, creating a distinctive patternthat is distinguishable from other bark beetle species. • RIGHT:Another indication of bark beetle induced mortality is the whiteround fruiting bodies of the fungi Cryptoporus volvatus onstanding dead trees and logs. The fungus spores are carried intothe tree by bark beetles and woodborers and help to decay thesapwood of the tree that has been killed by bark beetles.
or contain other pathogens are often attacked andkilled by fir engraver beetle. Signs of fir engraverattack include “buckshot” holes in the bark (exitholes of adult beetles) and substantial pitching onthe bole (main stem) of the tree. In stands withsignificant mortality, many downed logs andbranches will contain the distinctive fir engraverbeetle galleries, and many dead trees will sproutfruiting bodies of the fungi Cryptoporus volvatus.
S
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Another pivotal finding of ourresearch thus far is a current, large-scale mortality event for Shasta redfir (Abies magnifica var. shastensis).Over the course of two years, wesampled over 700 Shasta red fir treesacross the Russian Wilderness ofwhich approximately one-quarter
were dead, and one-thirdwere categorized as “un-healthy” or “sick” basedon signs and symptomsof forest pathogens suchas dwarf mistletoe, fir en-graver beetle, and prob-able Cytospora (fungal)infection (see sidebar).We believe that these na-tive pathogen outbreaksare strongly tied to theincreasingly warmer anddrier climate, which ismaking trees more waterstressed and thus less re-sistant to pathogens. Wehypothesize that Shastared fir is a particularlyvulnerable species be-cause it inhabits the “up-per montane zone” and isheavily reliant on snow-
pack, which has decreased dramati-cally over the past 15 years. Again,the lack of fire leading to dense over-crowding throughout this regionmay be another reason why usuallyinnocuous pathogens are now hav-ing a deleterious effect on foreststands.
FUTURE WORK
The Russian Wilderness is sub-ject to the complex threats of globalclimate change, and our researchaims to describe how the ecology ofthis biodiversity hotspot is shifting.Using the Sawyer-Thornburgh his-torical dataset, we have been able todetect some important changes inforest composition and structure inthis diverse area over the past 45years, including an increase in a fire-intolerant species, white fir, and anextensive mortality event for adrought sensitive, higher elevationspecies, Shasta red fir. In addition todigging deeper into our tree dataset,we are currently in the process ofanalyzing the historical and presentunderstory plant data and expect topublish our findings soon. We hopethat this work will advance a bo-tanical legacy and establish a pre-eminent understanding of one of themost species-rich temperate conif-erous forests on Earth.
REFERENCESBulaon, B.M., and M. MacKenzie. 2007.
Red fir decline and mortality on theStanislaus National Forest. FHP Re-port No. SS07-01. USDA Forest Ser-vice, Sonora, CA.
Dolanc, C.R., J.H. Thorn, and H.D.Safford. 2013. Widespread shifts inthe demographic structure of subal-pine forests in the Sierra Nevada,California 1934 to 2007. Global Ecol-ogy and Biogeography 22: 264–276.
Heath, Z., et al. 2009. 2009 Aerial Sur-vey Results: USDA Forest ServicePacific Southwest Region ForestHealth Protection. McClellan, CA.
Heath, Z., J. Moore, and M. Woods.2013. 2013 Aerial Survey Results:California. R5-PR-034. USDA ForestService Pacific Southwest Region For-est Health Protection. McClellan, CA.
Kauffmann, M.E. 2012. Conifer Coun-try. Backcountry Press, Kneeland, CA.
Mathiasen, R.L., and C.M. Daugherty.2008. Distribution of red fir andnoble fir in Oregon based on dwarfmistletoe host specificity. NorthwestScience 82: 108–119.
Humboldt State University graduate Melissa DeSiervo, and canine assistant Tundra,collecting data in a subalpine fir stand in 2014. Photograph by Drew Bost.
Humboldt State University researchers Drew Bost, StefaniBrandt, Emily DeStigter, and Melissa DeSiervo nearBingham Lake in 2014. They were part of the team thatresurveyed vegetation work done 45 years earlier by JohnSawyer and Dale Thornburgh. Photograph by a friendly,but nameless, hiker.
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Mortenson, L.A. 2011. Spatial and eco-logical analysis of red fir decline inCalifornia using FIA data. Master’sthesis. Oregon State University,Corvallis, OR.
Sawyer, J.O. 2006. Northwest Califor-nia. University of California Press,
FIGURE 1: THE “MIRACLE MILE”
The “Miracle Mile,” a square mile area located in the Russian Wilderness in the Klamath Mountains contains 18 species of conifers, thehighest diversity of conifers on record anywhere in the world.
SOURCE: Michael Kauffmann, 2015.
Location of the “Miracle Mile” within the Russian Wilderness, a biodiversity hotspot firstdiscovered by Humboldt State University professors John Sawyer and Dale Thornburghin 1969.
Source: Michael Kauffmann, 2015.
FIGURE 2: CONIFERS OF THE “MIRACLE MILE”
Berkeley, CA.Sawyer, J.O. 2007. Forests of north-
western California. In TerrestrialVegetation of California, ed. M.G.Barbour, T. Keeler-Wolf, and AA.Schoenherr. 3rd ed. University ofCalifornia Press, Berkeley, CA.
Sawyer, J.O., and D.A. Thornburgh.1977. Montane and subalpine veg-etation of the Klamath Mountains.In Terrestrial Vegetation of California,ed. M. Barbour and J. Major. JohnWiley & Sons, New York, NY.
Taylor, A.H., and C.N. Skinner. 1998.Fire history and landscape dynam-ics in a late-successional reserve,Klamath Mountains, California,USA. Forest Ecology and Management111: 285–301.
Taylor, A. H., and C.N. Skinner. 2003.Spatial patterns and controls on his-torical fire regimes and forest struc-ture in the Klamath Mountains. Eco-logical Applications 13: 704–719.
Melissa H. DeSiervo, Department of Ecol-ogy and Evolutionary Biology, DartmouthCollege, Life Sciences Center, 78 CollegeStreet, Hanover, NH, 07355, [email protected]; Erik S. Julesand Drew S. Bost, Department of Bio-logical Sciences, Humboldt State Univer-sity, 1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA, 95521,[email protected], [email protected]; Ramona J. Butz, US ForestService, 1330 Bayshore Way, Eureka,CA, 95501, [email protected]; MichaelKauffmann, 2110 Greenwood HeightsDrive, Kneeland, CA, 95549, [email protected]
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HONORABLE MENTIONS FROM THEBOTANICAL ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY CONTESTS:
CNPS 2015 CONSERVATION CONFERENCE
Terry SmithSisyrinchium bellum, blue-eyed grass
Eliza JewettQuercus agrifolia,coast live oakMaria Cecilia Freeman
Notholithocarpus densiflorus, tanoak
Margo BorsSymphyotrichum chilense,Pacific or California aster
Julie HimesPiperia transversa,royal rein orchid
[Editor’s Note: Images of the First, Second, Third Place, and Conference Choice winners for both contests appearedin the September 2015 issue of Fremontia.]
BOTANICAL ART CONTEST WINNERS
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PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST WINNERS
Dylan NeubauerCalochortus albus, white fairylantern/white globe lily
Judy KramerLadybug on Tidytip(Layia fremontii)
Jeb BjerkeLilium kelleyanum, Kelley’s lily
Keir MorseBouteloua gracilis,blue grama
Melissa MooneyEnceliopsis Sky
Paul G. JohnsonA Swertia by Any OtherName Would Taste as Sweet
Amanda VasquezNative Youth Gathering Manzanita
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Paul G. JohnsonMono Pass
CORRECTIONS
n Hazel Gordon’s article fromthe last issue, the names of
three past CNPS presidents—Jonathan Libby, Lori Hubbart,and Jake Sigg—were mis-spelled on page 10. The WillisJepson Chapter was inadvert-ently omitted from the chap-ter list on page 11. Sincereapologies to the chapter. InRandall Morgan’s bio on page43, the correct spelling is theZayante Sandhills, and in theDanielsens’ bio on page 44, thename of the East Bay Chapternursery should have been Na-tive Here Nursery.
And from R. MitchellBeauchamp: “The Fremontia43(3):38 article indicated thatthe journal’s name was pro-posed by Robert Ornduff. Ac-tually there was a contest toname it and several entrantshad chosen Fremontia; how-ever, my entry was the first toarrive. At the time I was agraduate student at the CityUniversity of New York andNew York Botanical Garden.Dr. Ornduff sent me a copy ofhis popular UC publication onCalifornia vegetation as theprize. I think I still have thelittle book, and the card noti-fying me as the contest win-ner. The name of the journal,however, did not sit well withG. Ledyard Stebbins, Jr. Hewas very vocal in pointing outthe savage proclivity of Gen-eral Frémont with the nativeAmericans, not to mention thatthe plant depicted as the mag-azine’s logo was actually inthe genus Fremontodendronwhile Fremontia was a syn-onym of some homely cheno-pod!”
I
Natalie RossingtonLayia jonesii, Jones tidytips,in San Luis Obispo
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❏ Enclosed is a check made payable to CNPS Membership gift:
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Please make your check payable to “CNPS” and send to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacra-mento, CA 95816-5130. Phone: (916) 447-2677; Fax: (916) 447-2727; Web site: www.cnps.org.; Email: [email protected]
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CNPS member gifts allow us to promote and protect California’s native plants and their habitats. Giftsare tax-deductible minus the $12 of the total gift which goes toward publication of Fremontia.
CNPS members and others areinvited to submit articles for pub-lication in Fremontia. If inter-ested, please first send a shortsummary or outline of whatyou’d like to cover in your ar-ticle to the Fremontia editor [email protected]. Instruc-tions for contributors can befound on the CNPS website,www.cnps.org, under Publica-tions/Fremontia.
Fremontia Editorial AdvisoryBoardJim Andre, Phyllis M. Faber,Holly Forbes, Naomi Fraga, DanGluesenkamp, Brett Hall, DavidKeil, Patrick McIntyre, Kara Moore,Pam Muick, Bart O’Brien, RogerRaiche, Teresa Sholars, DickTurner, Mike Vasey
CONTRIBUTORS (continued from back cover)
Telos Rare BulbsP.O. Box 1067, Ferndale, CA 95536
www.telosrarebulbs.com
TELOSRAREBULBS
Evan Meyer is the seed conservation program manager at Rancho Santa Ana BotanicGarden and is a research associate at Terra Peninsular.
Richard L. Moe worked for 25 years as a phycologist and programmer at theUniversity and Jepson Herbaria, UC Berkeley, and is now retired.
Emily B. Roberson is the former senior policy analyst for CNPS. She is the direc-tor of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign, a national network of native plantsocieties (plantsocieties.cnps.org).
Jorge Simancas is a biologist and conservationist who has done extensive fieldwork in the San Quintín region of Baja California.
The most complete offering
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CONTRIBUTORS
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(continued on inside back cover)
David Baxter is biodiversity informatics manager for theUniversity and Jepson Herbaria, UC Berkeley, and technicaleditor of the Jepson Flora Project and the Consortium ofCalifornia Herbaria.
Drew S. Bost is a master’s student at Humboldt State Uni-versity, and is studying red fir mortality throughout NorthernCalifornia.
Ramona J. Butz is the northern province ecologist for theKlamath, Shasta-Trinity, and Six Rivers National Forests, andan adjunct faculty member at Humboldt State University.
Melissa H. DeSiervo is a doctoral student at DartmouthCollege, and is studying arctic plant ecology. She completedher master’s degree at Humboldt State University in 2014.
Nick Jensen is a PhD student at Rancho Santa Ana BotanicGarden, and the former rare plant botanist at CNPS.
Erik S. Jules is a professor of biological sciences at HumboldtState University with over 20 years of experience in forestecology, habitat fragmentation, forest pathology, and envi-ronmental history.
Michael E. Kauffmann is an avid naturalist, environmentaleducator, ecologist, and author. He has written several booksincluding Conifer Country and Conifers of the Pacific Slope.
Staci Markos is assistant director for development and out-reach at the University and Jepson Herbaria, UC Berkeley,an editor of the Jepson Flora Project, and administrative co-chair of the Consortium of California Herbaria.
Printed on sustainably harvested paper containing 50% recycled and10% post-consumer content, processed chlorine-free.
(continued on inside back cover)
FROM THE EDITOR
his will be my last issue as editor of Fremontia. Myinvolvement with CNPS’s botanical journal began some15 years ago in 2001 when then editor Linda Vorobik
asked me to serve as her copy editor. She was an excellentperson from whom to learn the inner workings of a journal,as she set a high standard. Later, in 2009, following BartO’Brien’s editorship, I was invited to take over the helm ofFremontia, while remaining editor of CNPS’s quarterly news-letter, the CNPS Bulletin. Managing both publications waschallenging in terms of the work load and meeting dead-lines, but it also provided special opportunities to coordi-nate content.
Fremontia is a journal that looks somewhat like a maga-zine, but without all the ads. Like other journals, it containsarticles of a serious, scholarly nature and is peer-reviewed.Unlike most journals, however, which cater to a narrowreadership and tend to be written in a dry, highly technicalmanner, Fremontia is what I’ve come to regard as a “hybrid”journal. Its readership is quite diverse and includes scien-tists, agency staff, consultants, policymakers, conservation-ists, home gardeners, business people, students, educators,and others.
The challenge in producing such a journal is in how itsarticles are written. They must be understood by those withlimited scientific background, yet be scientifically robust.Most important, they must be written in an engaging man-ner. This is why I’ve always asked authors to think in termsof telling a story about science, rather than merely present-ing facts and findings. When that happens, people want toread what’s there.
Thanks one more time to all who have contributed toFremontia’s enduring success: our proofreaders, editorialboard members, CNPS staff, and the authors.
—Bob Hass
T
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Anza-Borrego. Photo: Dan Gluesenkamp
The rare Calochortus plummerae, Plummer’s Mariposa Lily, Photo: Amber Swanson
Cephalanthus occidentalis, Buttonwillow and skipper. Photo: Paul G. Johnson
Carrizo Plain National Monument. Photo: Julie Evens
CNPS members on field trip at Yolo Bypass. Photo: Gary Hundt
Dear Friend, We hope you enjoy this publication. It is full of great articles and beautiful photos, all contributed by dedicated volunteers, and is just one of countless benefits offered by the California Native Plant Society. CNPS is dedicated to understanding, saving, and celebrating California’s wild plants and places. You likely already know and appreciate CNPS. You love our beautiful flowers, and probably glad CNPS is saving them. You may make a field trip once in a while to reconnect with a favorite landscape that replenishes your sense of wonder, and you are happy we have laws to protect these special places. You love seeing native plant gardens springing up in front of homes and businesses, and you point out the butterflies and hummingbirds to friends. You get it; you understand: you are a CNPS-er. With your help, we can do much more. Will you please join us? Here are some of the reasons you should use the enclosed remittance form to join CNPS.
35 chapters across California and in Baja offer hikes, public programs, plant sales, restoration events, garden tours, workshops, and camaraderie. The Conservation Program continues to fight for California’s places. CNPS has been the voice for plant conservation during development of a 30 year plan that will cover 23 million acres of desert. We successfully pushed to map vegetation on 5.5 million acres, and are using these data identify areas that should be avoided by industrial scale energy projects in the region.
The Rare Plant Treasure Hunt (RPTH) teams volunteer Citizen Scientists with trained botanists to discover and map rare plants. RPTH volunteers have mapped more than 2,500 rare plant populations –1/3 of them new discoveries!
Once you join, you will receive a CNPS membership card that entitles you to discounts at dozens of nurseries, stores, and businesses. We’ll also send you the latest flower-filled issues of Fremontia and the CNPS Bulletin. You’ll learn about talks and hikes in your local chapter. Most of all you will help to save rare plants and places, train young scientists, and replace thirsty lawns with wildlife-friendly native plant gardens. Please join CNPS and help us make a real and lasting difference! Thank you for your help, Dan Gluesenkamp
