CALENDAR OF EVENTS Native Here p. 7 Fridays, March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Native Here Nursery open 9 am-noon Saturdays, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Native Here open 10 am-1 pm Field Trips p. 6 March 10, 2007, Mt Diablo Sunday, March 18, 2:00 pm. Bird Trail (Chabot Re- gional Park) Saturday, March 24, 2:00 pm, Tilden Regional Park Membership Meeting see below Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 7:30 pm MEMBERSHIP MEETING Highlights of San Francisco Bay Area Geology Speaker: Doris Sloan Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 7:30 pm Orinda Public Library Garden Room (directions be- low) Geology is important to botanists as one of the major influences on our native flora, but it is also fascinating in its own right. This month’s speaker, Doris Sloan, will present an overview of the Bay Area’s varied geo- logic mosaic and young landscape with slides from her recent book. Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region, published by UC Press as one of the Natural History Guides. The book, which is written for the general public, is illustrated by the flne photographs of geolo- gist John Karachewski. Doris and John explored all nine Bay Area counties, seeking locations that best illustrate the local geology and that are accessible to the general public, par- ticularly the many beautiful federal, state, and local parks. Doris will highlight some the most interesting geological features of the region and share her favorite geological discoveries. This is a talk for everyone: Doris translates her expertise through her enthusiasm and gifts as a storyteller to make difficult concepts under- standable for the layperson. Since this is a big topic, the presentation will start promptly at 7:30 pm and run an hour and a half long. Doris Sloan is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. She has a MS in geology and a PhD in paleontology, both from UC Berkeley. She has taught Environmental Sciences at UCB, classes on the geology of California and the Bay Area for UC Extension, and leads fleld seminars at Pt. Reyes, in the Sierra Nevada, and in the White Mountains. Her research has focused primarily on the sediments beneath San Francisco Bay and what they can tell us about the Bay’s geologic history. After retire- ment she indulged her love of travel as geologist and host with Cal Alumni Bear Treks and other programs, visiting many corners of the world. Doris is also a na- tive plant enthusiast and member of CNPS. We will have copies of Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region available for purchase after the presentation. East Bay CNPS membership meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month’s meeting will take place in the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village) . The Garden Room is on the second floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Garden Room will open at 7:00 pm. The meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served after the presentation. Please contact Sue Rosenthal, 510-496-6016 or rosacalifornica@ earthlink.net, if you have any questions. continued on page 2 continued from page 1 Directions to Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way: From the west, take Highway 24 to the Orinda/ M or aga exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn left on Camino Pablo (toward Orinda Village), right on Santa Maria Way (the signal after the BART station and freeway entrance) , and left on Orinda Way. From the east, take Highway 24 to the Orinda exit. Follow the ramp to Orinda Village. Turn right on Santa Maria Way (the first signal) and left on Orinda Way. Once on Orinda Way, go 1 short block to the parking lot on the southeast side of the new 2 -story building on your right. There is additional free parking beneath the building as well as on the street. From BART (4 blocks): Exit the Orinda station, turn right and cross a pedestrian bridge, then cross a sec- ond pedestrian bridge on the left. Go 1 short block on the sidewalk to the third pedestrian bridge. Go 2 blocks on Orinda Way to the Orinda Library. Upcoming Programs Wednesday, April 25, 2007, 7:30 pm (in the Orinda Community Center, next door to the Library) : Rosemary Foster, “Plant Communities of Point Lo- bos” Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 7:30 pm (in the Confer- ence Center of the UC Botanical Garden at Berke- ley): Lester B. Rowntree on Hardy Californians, the recently republished and expanded classic of California native plant literature by pioneering plantswoman Lester Rowntree (his grandmother) . PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE The East Bay Chapter of CNPS kicked off the year with a Board re- treat in January. Most of the program leaders attended and reported on plans for the year. We came away with a number of useful rec- ommendations about how to work with volun- teers, create a clearer public image, publicize our work, utilize and expand our resources, including: Outreach and Public Education • Communicate a consistent core message about why native plants and communities are impor- tant; • Continue to engage volunteers in horticulture while a plant sale ground is being sought; • Concentrate on plants, but reach a wider audi- ence; • Provide more information about why certain areas are special, important, threatened, or interesting; • Promote native plants, not the California Native Plant Society; • Increase the types of publicity we use. Fundraising and Development • Recognize the distinct role of fundraising with respect to program goals of education, out- reach, conservation and horticulture; • Recognize that funds raised by the Plant Sale need to be replaced through other means, and that, should an appropriate site be found, funds will need to be raised to develop a Plant Sale growing and sales facility; • Develop a mechanism for forming partnerships with individuals or organizations to raise funds for specific projects or programs with which they wish to be involved; • Create a development committee to identify ma- jor donors, match needs with potential funding sources, and develop a strategy for funding the Chapter’s needs. Volunteerism • Develop and foster an attitude that we welcome people and want their assistance; • Follow up when someone offers to help; • Have specific jobs ready for volunteers with a range of skills and interests; • Publicize volunteer opportunities to the public and to the membership, scheduled at conve- nient times and places; • Develop a mentoring attitude for all the jobs we have; • Share success stories and communicate spe- cific needs committee chairs may have; • Training and coaching will help committee chairs to support their volunteers. Committee meetings in February and March will begin the process of defining the objectives and needs for the fiscal year April ’07-March ’08, the Funds Development Committee will begin its work, and the officers will be working on the budget. 2 THE BAY LEAF March 2007 During this year, we hope to reach out to you, our members, to ask for your help. We need skills as var- ied as • accounting • horticulture • writing • use of Excel • plant recognition • weeding • providing information about CNPS at events • providing refreshments at membership meet- ings • design or drawing • photography • cashiering • book sales • journalism • construction assistance • coordinating volunteers. Levels of involvement vary from one-time event help to leading publicity, book sales, planning events such as the chapter picnic, CNPS presence at garden shows and Earth Day activities. East Bay CNPS is an organization of interesting people committed to the preservation of California’s (and specifically the East Bay’s) native fiora and vegeta- tion. “The more the merrier” applies to working with the chapter. It really is fun to do work that helps our local plants! Charli Danielsen GRASSLANDS Value of Native Grasslands: What’s Your Opinion? The Conservation Committee of the East Bay Chapter of CNPS (EBCNPS) is concerned that the East Bay public grasslands have succumbed to almost total invasion of non-native weedy plant species. We have described in the January Bay Leaf, page 4, and in documents on the chapter website why we are con- cerned about this. Public agencies that own and manage these extensive East Bay grasslands recognize the value of having and preserving a native grasslands fiora. However, it is not clear that the agencies are dedicating the resources necessary to achieve the noble goal of improving the native qualities of our public grasslands fiora. What are some of the real obstacles for management to overcome?* Without a realistic appraisal of these, it is impossible to take the next step of deciding how best to arrive at solutions to these problems. First, the type and extent of native grasslands before European contact are a subject of scientific contro- versy. The East Bay Hills are a good example: was the dominant vegetation type a mosaic of grasslands? Baccharis-dominated coastal scrub? Or some other combination? Without better data, restoration is an elusive goal. Second, many environmental changes have taken place since the time that grasslands were purely native. These include alterations in soil structure and chemis- try, climate, fire regimes, native browsers and grazers, as well as the invasion of weeds and the diversion of groundwater. These complex factors suggest that we cannot re-set the clock to pre-European contact condi- tions. How do we create adaptive strategies keyed to our current environmental conditions? Third, we must consider the interaction between pri- vate land management practices such as grazing and the terms under which private ranch lands become public open space. Should lands that were formerly managed to optimize beef production continue to be managed in the same manner once they become parks? Will this result in increasing the native quality of the grasslands? Fourth, since we know that we cannot achieve 100% purely native grasslands, how do we define the de- gree of nativeness of a contemporary grassland? Is it by percent cover, diversity of forbs, or some other measure? And, finally, assuming that the public embraces the goal of some degree of grassland restoration, what will be the ongoing economic costs, and how will public agencies fund this goal? * See a list of “obstacles” which are often raised in discussion about grasslands restoration at www.ebcnps.org/conservation/obstacles.pdf. The Conservation Committee presents these questions to you, the members of EBCNPS, to solicit your opin- ions and ideas about this challenging subject; you can contact us at grasslands@ebcnps.org. Peter Rauch and Laura Baker THE BAY LEAF March 2007 3 BLACK DIAMOND MINES For those of us who live in the western East Bay Area, namely Oakland and Berkeley, east Contra Costa County seems like a far away place. Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is a little known gem northeast of Mt Diablo and an excellent reason to venture east on Highway 4 through Antioch. Black Diamond Mines has an interesting history. From the 1860s through the turn of the century, five coal mining towns thrived in the Black Diamond area: Nor- tonville, Somersville, Stewartville, West Hartley, and Judsonville. As the location of California’s largest coal mining operation, nearly four million tons of coal, also known as “black diamonds” were mined from this area. In the 1920s underground mining for sand began near the deserted Nortonville and Somersville townsites. The sand was used in glass by the Hazel-Atlas Glass Com- pany in Oakland, and for foundry (casting) by Columbia Steel Works. Sand mining in the area ended by 1949. More than 1.8 million tons of sand had been mined. After the mines closed, some miners began ranching. Descendants of original mining families still graze cattle in the Preserve. manzanita [Arctostaphylos auriculata), CNPS List IB). Mt. Diablo manzanita is known only from Contra Costa County. One of my new favorite hikes is the Chap- arral Loop trail. This trail climbs through chaparral dominated by chamise {Adenos- tomafasciculatum), Mt. Diablo manzanita [Arctostaphylos auriculata) and common manzanita [Arctostaphylos manzanita ssp. manzanita). Smooth manzanita [Arc- tostaphylos manzanita ssp. laevigata) also grows in the park and is differenti- ated from common manzanita by fewer infiorescense branches, longer axes on the unopened fiower buds, and narrower leaves. Along the trail are prominent sandstone outcroppings with gorgeous streaks of color. The Chaparral Loop is also an excellent place to see foothill pine [Pinus sabiniana) and Coulter pine [Pinus coulteri) growing side by side. Foothill pine has gray-green needles that droop and the cone is brownish. Coulter pine has dark green needles that are straight (and denser than foothill pine) and a yellowish cone. Often foothill pines are multi-trunked while Coulter pines have a single trunk, but there are some young foothill pines along the loop that have a single trunk. Diablo helianthella can also be seen on this loop, look for it on a rocky outcropping on the western side of the loop. It is easily recognizable in fiower (March-June) by its large, yellow sunfiower heads, and its leaves that have three prominent veins. The Chaparral Loop is an excellent hike in the rain because the smooth, orange trunks of the manzanitas glisten and glow in a sea of evergreen leaves and the sandstone outcroppings show their colors. To reach Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, take Highway 4 to the Somersville exit in Antioch. Drive south for several miles on Somersville Road to the Pre- serve entrance. Erin McDermott Black Diamond Mines encompasses approximately One does not begin to make a garden until he wants a 5,700 acres. Several species that are restricted to the garden. To want a garden is to be interested in plants, in Mt. Diablo area occur here, including the Mt. Diablo the winds and rains, in birds and insects, in the warm- globe lily [Calochortus pulchellus), CNPS Inventory List smelling earth. IB (which signifies it is rare, threatened, or endangered in California and elsewhere), Mt. Diablo helianthella Liberty Hyde Bailey [Helianthella castanea), CNPS List IB, and Mt. Diablo 4 THE BAY LEAF March 2007 CONSERVATION 2006: A Year of Voice in Conservation To be perfectly honest, resource conservation isn’t ex- actly at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Bombshells frequent our newspaper print instead of Bombus, fire- weed doesn’t stand a chance against forest fires, and iPods are slightly better sellers than blue-eyed grass. Yet, even given the many constraints, the East Bay Chapter of CNPS (EBCNPS) has helped make headlines in a tumultuous, politically charged year. In fact, one of the most exciting landscape scale planning processes has been accepted by several governmental agencies, hopefully allowing Northern California’s first Habitat Conservation Plan/ Natural Communities Conservation Plan (HCP) to start protecting some of our most imper- iled lands in Eastern Contra Costa County. Currently, the plan requires approval from a few more cities and agencies in order to become law. On the coattails of the important HCP project is a 10- county planning effort initiated by the Bay Area Open Space Council that hopes to help determine priorities for conserving the next one million acres in the Bay Area. EBCNPS is serving on the steering committee of the Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals project, as well as helping with vegetation data analysis. These two projects help provide some insight into one of our most important questions: what makes conservation efforts successful? These two projects epitomize what I believe are the single most important factors in a fruitful effort — col- laboration and cooperation. In both cases, there are unlikely faces at the table being listened to and un- derstood. Lawyers are sitting next to developers who are next to peach farmers who are next to grassroots advocates who are next to city planners. If everyone gets involved good decisions can be made. Yes, I think it’s that simple, when everyone is in the room and has an equally audible voice. A voice. That’s really what we all strive after in life. We want to be heard when it’s important, when we’re knowl- edgeable, when we’re concerned. We all have different ways in which we may use our voice, whether we talk, sing, draw, paint, dance, or simply laugh. What I have observed in the course of working on the two projects discussed above is that the various voices of the dis- parate groups are heard. We tend to start working on things that we feel we can make successful, where our voice is likely to be heard. Therefore, even in trying times, EBCNPS, an organiza- tion of committed volunteers, interested members, and a fiery board of directors, has the ability to continue to make conservation successes happen. It has been an honor to play a small role in these two regional projects and other local conservation efforts in Oakland, Liver- more, Concord, Pittsburg, Richmond, Albany, Fremont, Pleasanton, Moraga, San Leandro, and San Ramon. If you haven’t already, I hope that you will consider join- ing the effort in 2007. Lech Naumovich MEMBERSHIP DRIVE Membership Drive at the Garden Tour Prizes, Raffles and Fun Helpers Needed May 5 and 6 from 10 am to 5 pm We will be conducting a CNPS Membership Drive at the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour on May 6. Well have membership tables with information about CNPS and, for new and renewing members, prizes that will include a raffle for a free consultation with a landscaper (who knows about native plants, of course) . Native Here Nursery will be open to sell plants on May 5 and 6 and we’ll have a membership table there too. We will be in Contra Costa County at the Escobar Gar- den in Walnut Creek, the Hammond Garden in Martinez and the Alatorre garden in Richmond. The locations in Alameda County will be the Fleming garden in Berkeley, the Schino garden in San Leandro and our own Native Here Nursery in Tilden Park, Berkeley. Photos, plant lists and descriptions of all the gardens are on the tour website — www.bringingbackthenatives.net. Please contact: Delia Taylor to help out for a morning or an afternoon, 510-527-3912 deliatayloii@mac.com. If you have ideas for prizes please let me know. To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another. John Burroughs THE BAY LEAF December 2006 5 PLANT SALE ACTIVITIES Early this year, the City of Oakland undertook a more thorough assessment of the Grotto area at the Dunsmuir Estate (the area they had identified as a possible plant sale location for us) . Their assessment raised serious concerns about the safety of the foot and vehicle bridges to the area, which cross a creek, and because of those concerns, they determined that they could not lease the area to us. The City of Oakland representative and the new president of the Dunsmuir board were not able to find another suitable place at Dunsmuir for our plant sale. So we are once again looking for a location. We need approximately 5,000 square feet (deer -proof or easily deer-proofable) with access to power and water, where we can build a small greenhouse and related structures and host a popular event once a year. If you know of a potential site, please contact Roy West at 650-906- 1 100 or rwest@monocot.com. Disappointing as this news is, we’re taking it as an incentive to start a new program for people who like to propagate and/or garden with natives. If this inter- ests you, be sure to read the “New Activity for Native Gardeners” article in this issue. Sue Rosenthal FIELD TRIPS March 10, 2007. Meet at 9:30 am at the end of Rialto Drive in Clayton. Gregg Weber will lead. See some of the many midwinter fiowers on Mt Diablo. This year we will go about 3 weeks later than the same route last year, due to colder, drier weather. This is a strenu- ous walk to the peak of Mt Olympia, with 2300 feet elevation gain on the way out. It will be all downhill on the return trip. Round trip is about 8 miles. Trip will take 4-6 hours. Bring lunch and water, and be prepared for a wide range of temperature, depending on the weather. We will take Cla 3 don Oaks Trail, Bruce Lee Spring Trail, lower Donner Trail, Wasserman Trail, Olympia Trail, Zippe Trail. We go through many different plant com- munities as we change elevation. We will see quite a few winter blooming plants on this trip. There is a nice view from the peak. We will not be deterred by rain, and will proceed regardless of weather. Directions: Take 24 or 680 to Ignacio Valley Road. Continue on Ignacio Valley Road into City of Clayton, turn right on Clayton Road. Take Clayton Road past first intersection with Marsh Creek Road in about a mile, it becomes Marsh Creek Road. Continue straight on Marsh Creek Road. Turn right on Regency Drive. Go 3 blocks, turn left on Rialto Drive. Go to end of Rialto Drive and park. Sunday, March 18, 2:00 pm. Bird Trail (Chabot Re- gional Park) This short (about 1/2 mile, with insig- nificant elevation gain) trail is a botanically interesting transition zone between redwood forest and mixed ev- ergreen (mostly oak/bay) forest. At this relatively early in the season date, there will be osoberry, fiowering currant, gooseberries, and lots of western leatherwood in bloom, along with early wildfiowers such as Tril- lium chloropetalum. The trail may be muddy. The trail starts close to the MacDonald Staging Area in Chabot Regional Park off Redwood Road in Oakland. Directions: in the East Bay, from the north, take 24 to 13 south. From the south, take 580 north to 13. From San Francisco, take the Bay Bridge, staying to the right (but do not go to San Jose), and take 580 East, and then 24 East (towards Walnut Creek) and then 13 South. Once on 13, take the Redwood Road exit. On Redwood Road, go east (uphill). At the top of the hill you will cross Skyline Boulevard and then pass various equestrian facilities. Go down into the valley. About two miles from Skyline Boulevard, turn right into the MacDonald Staging Area parking lot. (It is a large lot and you cross a bridge over a creek; there is a small lot about 1/4 mile to the north which is not the correct place; if coming from the north you reach the entrance to Redwood Regional Park on the left, you have gone about 1/4 mile too far.) Please contact David Margolies (510-654-0283 or 510-393-1858 (cell), divaricatum@ comcast.net) if you need further information. Saturday March 24, 2:00 pm, Tilden Regional Park Join Margit Roos-Collins and East Bay Regional Park naturalist Linda Yemoto in a leisurely survey of edible plants near the Gillespie Group Camp area. Margit is author of The Flavors of Home: A Guide to Edible Wild Plants in the San Francisco Bay Area. We will meet at the intersection of South Park Drive and Grizzly Peak and walk together down South Park to the access road for Gillespie. Margit will discuss how to forage in a safe, environmentally sensitive way, and share information on the harvest season, habitats. 6 THE BAY LEAF March 2007 preparations and uses of both indigenous and exotic edible plants growing along the way. This hike is being offered with the cooperation of park district, which has generously provided the assistance of Linda Yemoto, who will contribute her own knowledge of local edible plants. Edible plant tasting is encouraged, but not mass collection of plants for later consumption. Directions: Meet Margit and Linda at the intersection of Grizzly Peak and South Park Drive. South Park Drive will be closed for newt migrations, but parking is allowed on the side of Grizzly Peak. From Oakland and points south, go on 24 east and take the Telegraph /Claremont exit. Turn left at the traffic light at the end of the ramp. and follow Claremont several miles northeast. Continue uphill on Claremont past Ashby all the way to Skyline/ Grizzly Peak. Turn left at the 4 -way stop and follow Grizzly Peak to the intersection with South Park Drive. From Orinda and points east, go west on 24 and exit at Fish Ranch Road. Follow Fish Ranch all the way uphill to its intersection with Skyline/ Grizzly Peak. Turn right at the stop sign on the ridge and follow Grizzly Peak north to the intersection with South Park Drive. Janet Gawthrop NATIVE HERE NURSERY Now that the rains have begun again, our gardens are rejoicing. We want to begin thinking about planting something for spring! We want to smell the damp soil on our hands as we begin weeding and digging and dis- covering what surprises we have in store for the coming year. Come up and visit us at Native Here and we can help you find just the right plants for your garden. We have many natives like Ribes sanguineum, buttercups [Ranunculus califomicus) and Douglas iris [Iris dougla- siana) ready to plant in your garden. March will be the last month well have iris available for planting. We have lots of annuals coming along as well. On March 17 UC Berkeley students from the Berkeley Project will be helping us at the nursery. If you’d like to join us in a fun workday, come on up. Hopefully it won’t rain on us. Well need volunteers for the Native Plant Sale Extrava- ganza on the Bringing Back the Natives Tour on May 5th and 6th, 2007. You can get more information and register to volunteer at www.BringingBackTheNatives. net. Native Here Nursery is located in Tilden Park at 101 Golf Course Drive, across the street from the entrance to the Tilden Golf Course, 510-549-0211. Janice Bray & Margot Cunningham, Native Here Nurs- ery Ranunculus califomicus (California butter- Iris douglasiana (Douglas Iris) cup) Artwork by Janice Bray Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum (pink- flowering currant) THE BAY LEAF March 2007 7 NEW ACTIVITY FOR NATIVE GARDENERS Our plant sale and Native Here Nursery have tradition- ally been the focus of our chapter’s propagation and gardening activities, augmented for a few years by a native plant growers’ discussion group. However, since we don’t yet know when well have our plant sale up and running again, and since there’s more to native plant gardening than just propagation, we thought it would be fun to invite native plant lovers who like to get their hands dirty to join a new group. Well focus the group in whatever way the participants decide would best suit their needs. This could include propagation work at Native Here Nursery or elsewhere, gardening at each other’s houses or elsewhere, discussing propagation and gardening, taking field trips to native gardens, and anything else the group would like. Well decide every- thing together — focus and direction, meeting place and time, even the group’s name. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Sue Rosenthal at nativeplantgrowers@ebcnps.org or 510- 496-6016. Sue Rosenthal JEPSON HERBARIUM The Friends of the Jepson Herbarium are pleased to present a broad range of topics this season. Unless oth- erwise specified, workshops are held at UC Berkeley. Below are the workshops in March and April. There will be more May-November. March 1-4: Bryoinventory at Angelo Coast Range Re- serve (Jim Shevock) March 10: TOL - The Vertebrate Branch of the Tree of Life (M. Brandley) March 17-18: Introduction to Morphology and Identifica- tion of Flowering Plants (Linda Ann Vorobik) March 24-25: Basics of Botanical Illustration (Linda Ann Vorobik) March 24-25 and March 31 -April 1 (2 consecutive weekends): Fifty Plant Families in the Field (Linda and Richard Beidleman) . Full, waitlist only. April 5-8: Eastern San Diego and Imperial County (Jon Rebman) April 12-15: Lichens of the Mojave National Preserve (Larry St. Clair) April 14-5: Introduction to Field Collecting Techniques (Abby Moore Ss Mike Park) April 20-22: Chorizanthe at Sedgewick Reserve (Jim Reveal) April 28: Using Electronic Keys for Botanical Identifica- tion. 8am-12pm. (Tom Rosatti and Chris Meacham) BRINGING BACK THE NATIVES GARDEN TOUR Registration is now open for the free Bringing Back the Na- tives Garden Tour, which will take place on Sunday, May 6, 2007, from 10 am to 5 pm at various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Register for passes and a printed guide to 60 bird- and butterfly-friendly, pesticide-free, water -conserving, low-maintenance gardens that contain 30% or more native plants. More than 60 free talks will be offered throughout the day. The Carpools and Gardeners Match sec- tion of the website will help registrants And neighbors to share gardening skills, native plants or tools, plan work parties, or arrange carpools. Two new features will be offered for the first time at this year’s Tour. The first, a series of Select Tours — intimate, guided tours of inspirational native plant gardens — will take place on consecutive Saturdays, April 28 and May 5. Gardening experts will lead small groups to select native plant gardens for an in-depth look at native plantings in a variety of settings. The fee for these tours is $30 per person with a limit of 30 participants per group. The second new Tour feature is the Native Plant Sale Ex- travaganza, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 5 and 6. This exclusive sale features native plant nurs- eries — many not normally open to the general public — which carry large quantities of hard-to-flnd California natives. This two-day shopping opportunity will offer native plant fans a good selection of native plants and provide a relaxed shopping experience. Knowledgeable staff will be on hand to help shop- pers select the right plants for their gardens, and Saturday shoppers will have time to visit more showcase native plant gardens on Sunday, May 6, during the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. The registration deadline for both the Bringing Back the Na- tives Garden Tour and the Select Tours is April 25 You can register online at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net. Both Tours are expected to All quickly. Early registration is sug- gested to ensure a place. Volunteers are needed and will be rewarded with free, private tours of beautiful native gardens. For more information visit the website at www.BringingBackThe- Natives.net, email Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting.net or call (510) 236-9558 between 9 am and 9 pm. 8 THE BAY LEAF March 2007 Identifying and Appreciating THE Native and Naturalized Grasses OF California Presented by The California Native Grassland Association (CNGA) and the East Bay Regional Park District Grass Identification Workshop: A two day class and field course for the beginner S.F. Bay Area Workshop Friday and Saturday April 20-21, 2007 East Bay Regional Park District’s Trudeau Center, Oakland , CA 8:30 am to 4:00 pm $ 220/members; $ 260 nonmembers The theme of this workshop is “Grasses are fun and easy to identity”. Our goal is to learn the basie skills of identifying grasses. On the first day, we will learn about California’s grassland eeology, the qualities of speeifie native grasses for restoration, and beeome skilled at reeognizing the basie groups and eommon speeies through our work with plant samples in the elassroom setting. We will review both the old Tribe method of identifying grasses as well as the artilieial key methodology foeusing on the important distinguishing traits. A valuable elass syllabus binder and a basie key will be provided. The next day, we will explore loeal East Bay grasslands, rieh with a diverse assemblage of both native and naturalized grasses, and make use of our new understanding and skills. Bring a lOX hand lens, notebook, seoteh tape and any field guides to grasses you may have. Reeommended texts are the Jepson Manual, the Hiteheoek Manual, and Beeeher Crampton’s Grasses in California (U.C. Press). Information and direetions will be sent with paid registration. Sign up early, the workshop is limited to 35 people. Deadline: April 15, 2007 Instruetor: David Amme, Wildland Vegetation Program Manager, EBRPD Registration Form Complete and return as soon as possible. * Mail to: CNGA, P.O. Box 72405, Davis California 95617 | Fax to: (530) 753-1553 ■ Participant’s name (type or print please) i Mailing address: Street ■ City State Zipeode . How shall CNGA contact you to confirm your registration? ■ [ ] fax to [ ] mail to above mailing address ■ [ ] e-mail to . Registration fee: $ 220/members; $ 260 nonmembers ■ [ ] Payment by check, payable to California Native Grass Association . [ ] Payment by credit card (please check type) [ ] Visa [ ] MasterCard [ ] American Express . Card Number Expiration date / Authorized signature . If you have questions concerning registration, please contact Jan Bridges, Administrative Director, CNGA ■ by phone: (530) 759-8458; fax: (530) 753-1553; or e-mail: ■ J THE BAY LEAF March 2007 9 Board of Directors President Charli Danielsen 510-549-0211 charli@pacbell.net Vice President Delia Taylor 510-527-3912 deliataylor@mac.com Treasurer Holly Forbes hforbes@berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 FAX 510-642-5045 Recording Secretary Barbara Malloch Leitner 925-253-8300 bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding Secretary Laura Baker 510-849-1409 Lbake66@aol.com Past President Elaine Jackson 925-372-0687 Elainejx@mindspring.com Education/Outreach Bay Leaf Editor and Webmaster Joe Willingham 510-841-4681 pepel 066@comcast.net Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 hforbes@berkeley.edu Education Linda Hill 510-849-1624 Lhilllink@aol.com Field Trips Janet Gawthrop Janetg24@excite.com Regional Parks Botanic Garden Liaison Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Grants Sandy McCoy sandymccoy@mindspring .com Hospitality open Membership open Plant Sale Interim Chair Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Programs Sue Rosenthal 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Publicity/Media open Conservation Conservation Committee Chair Laura Baker 510-849-1409 Lbake66@aol.com Conservation Analyst (Staff) Lech Naumovich 510 734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Stewardship Native Plant Restoration Team Greg Wolford 510-848-6489 californica@mac.com Native Here Nursery Charli Danielsen Project Manager Margot Cunningham Sales Man- ager Janice Bray, Liason to Board 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Plant Science Bryophytes John Game 510-527-7855 jcgame@lbl.gov Rare Plants Heath Bartosh 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology.com Unusual Plants Dianne Lake 510-741-8066 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Erin McDermott erinmcd2004@yahoo.com (c) 510-701-2890 Members at Large Carol Castro 510-352-2382 carollbcastro@hotmail.com Gregg Weber 510-223-3310 Roy West rwest@monocot.com 650-906-1100 Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Student, Limited income, $25 Individual, Library, $45 Household, Family, or Group, $75 Supporting, $75 Plant lover, $100 Patron, $300 E-mail Benefactor, $600 Mariposa Lily, $1500 Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1, Sacramento CA 95816 California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Oakland, CA Permit No. 2018 Time Value March 2007 issue