November 2009 The Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter Alameda & Contra Costa Counties V MEMBERSHIP MEETING J Native Eats Native: Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars that Feed on California Native Plants Speaker: Jerry Powell Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) There are about 8,000 named species of moths in western North America and hundreds of butterflies. Most go un- noticed by the public, but many attract attention when their larvae create economic damage: eating holes in woolens, infesting stored foods, boring into apples, damaging crops and garden plants, or defoliating forests. Many also have important relationships with California native plants. Dr. Jerry Powell, co-author of the comprehensive new book Moths of Western North America (UC Press, 2009), will share his knowledge and close-up photographs of our amazingly diverse native moth and butterfly larvae and the native plants they feed upon. Dr. Powell is Emeritus Professor of Entomology at UC Berke- ley as well as Entomologist at the UC Berkeley Agricultural Experiment Station and Director Emeritus of the Essig Mu- seum of Entomology. In addition to Moths of Western North America , he is also co-author of the ever-popular California Insects (UC Press, 1979). Dr. Powell received his BS and PhD degrees from UC Berkeley, where he has spent his long and illustrious career. In addition to his work at UC Berkeley, he has actively served the Lepidopterists' Society in many posi- tions and has also served on the boards of the Pacific Coast Entomological Society and the Xerces Society. Dr. Powell was named Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences in 1971 and has received many honors and awards for his work. East Bay CNPS membership meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month's meeting takes 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 Gar- den Room opens at 7:00 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Please contact Sue Rosenthal, 510-496-6016 or rosacalifornica@ earthlink.net, if you have any questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way From the west, take Hwy 24 to the Orinda/ Moraga 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 Hwy 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 two-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 second 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 December 2009: No meeting (happy holidays!) Wednesday, January 27, 2010: Jim Shevock— California Moss- es. Copies of his new book on the subject will be available. CHAPTER JOBS WISH LIST We are looking for people who would like to help the Chapter. Positions include: Poster sales. Book sales, at membership meetings and other events. Legislation liaison for the East Bay Chapter; our chapter needs a person who will bring our attention to issues that we need to act upon. Restoration Chair to keep the Bay Leaf up to date with restoration projects. Restoration Project Manager to organize volunteers for restoration projects. If you would like to help contact Delia Taylor, EBCNPS Chapter President. CONSERVATION ANALYST: APPEAL UPDATE First, thanks to the many members who have kicked off our fundraising campaign for the Conservation Analyst's posi- tion. As I write this article, I am warmed by a report that your donations total over $11,000! Tremendous! We have a long way to go, so please dig deep. I'd like to share some im- portant news that will give you some idea of how your past donations have paid off. This morning when I shook open the SF Chronicle, I read three separate articles that pertained to important conservation issues that Lech Naumovich, our Conservation Analyst, has covered for EBCNPS. The lead editorial addressed Governor Schwarzenegger's let- ter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs written two days ago oppos- ing the Point Molate casino. Over the past two years. Lech has commented on the casino plan and on the Richmond General Plan at every opportunity. He has met with Richmond City Council members, county officials, grass roots groups, and other environmental organizations to bring CNPS's message that Point Molate is a unique shoreline resource that should not be degraded by major development. Some believe that the casino is a done deal, but we think that if the Governor and both US Senators from California, the Mayor of Richmond, and many other folks are opposed, the tide is turning. There are multiple impacts posed by the casino including threats to native coastal prairie, coastal strand, and eelgrass beds. We have a very long fight ahead of us, but Lech will continue to push for protection of Point Molate. (Please see the notice for the field trip to Point Molate elsewhere in the Bay Leaf). Since 1992, residents of Pleasanton have opposed a hillside subdivision to be located on a portion of 562 acres that contain heritage oaks and the host plant for the Callippe Silverspot butterfly, a listed species. The Oak Grove development has been bitterly fought, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Pleasanton voters have just won the right to put a refer- FIELD TRIPS Field Trip to Point Molate, Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 am (rain date Nov. 20 at 10:00 am) Point Molate lies along the Potrero Hills peninsula (almost an island in the bay), just north of the San Rafael/ Richmond bridge. Join Dave Amme for a half-day visiting this unique coastal grassland, with stunning views of Mt. Tamalpais, San Francisco and San Pablo Bay. With luck, early rains will pro- vide some early greening of the native bentgrass meadow and Pt. Molate fescue. Bring your hand lens, water and questions about the flora. Heavy rain moves the date to November 20; drizzle will not change the date. Directions: From the East Bay, leave 580 to the right at the Western Drive/Point Molate exit, just before the bridge toll endum on the ballot that could block the development. The California Supreme Court decided to let the vote go forward. Lech's role has been to support the grassroots opposition by supplying extensive technical information in comments on the project's EIR. Today's Chronicle included an insert from the East Bay Re- gional Park District— their periodic Activity Guide. On the inside of the cover page was an article announcing the first Measure WW purchase. The City of Oakland and EBRPD partnered to buy the Chabot-Dunsmuir property — a 64- acre ridgeline parcel that includes oak woodlands and two significant tributaries of the San Leandro Creek— one of the few remaining above-ground urban creeks in the East Bay. Three years ago Lech was contacted by the local neighbors who were looking for support in their fight to protect the property from development. Lech carried the message to the EBRPD that the parcel should be included as a potential property for acquisition as part of the District's Master Plan and with potential funding by Measure WW. Again, sup- plying specific skills and expertise in support of grassroots efforts helped win the day. Together with the work of volunteers on the Conservation Committee, Lech has stretched our advocacy over two coun- ties and many many issues. Your continued support for our work is critical, and helping us keep our Conservation Ana- lyst is Job Number One. Please visit our conservation web page and blog for further information on the above issues and others important to our cause. And thank you again for your generosity. Laura Baker, Conservation Committee Chair plaza. Proceed straight at the first three-way fork, which gradually rises up a hill, curving more towards the north. As the road descends the hill, park at the parking lot right before the open gate marked "Point Molate Restricted Area". From Marin County, exit at Castro Street/ Richmond Parkway after crossing the bridge. Go straight through two lights on this road. After crossing under 580, take the 580 onramp to the right, back towards San Rafael. Exit at Western Drive/ Point Molate just before the toll plaza and proceed to the parking area. Janet Gawthrop 2 THE BAY LEAF November 2009 NATIVE HERE NURSERY What could be more perfect? No rain during the Plant Fair, followed by a storm to ready the ground for planting! The Native Plant Fair was fun for all. In fact, John, one of our volunteers, was stopped in the local market the next day and told "Native Here rocks. You provided great plants and great service." People came at a steady pace throughout both days to buy plants and arts and crafts and listen to speakers. Thanks to every one of the volunteers who made it possible. Having twenty-four San Lorenzo High School students help people move their plants from selection, through holding, tallying, loading and unloading was a wonderful plus on Saturday, and considerably lowered the average age of the volunteer pool. Now that things have quieted down we are preparing for winter. Heavy rain soaked the nursery two days after the fair. Then we had to move some plants to make room for tree cutting. Next time you come up you'll see more sunlight in the area near the parking lot. Now our understory of small coast live oaks, bays, and toy on can grow taller, but even more important, the risk of being hit by pine cones and dead pine branches will have greatly decreased. Even before the Plant Fair, supplies of some plants were de- pleted, but we still have a diverse selection of east bay natives POINT ISABEL WORK PARTY The Point Isabel work party meets on the first Saturday of the month. At the October 3 work party, a hardy few did some remarkable work in removing fennel and ice plant. We must move everything into a green waste dumpster next time (No- vember 7) so we hope you'll come out to both create some additional bio-mass and move everything off the site. If any of you would like to go out there on any other day and work on your own, please let me know and we'll set it up with the Park District. We have asked the District if they can provide native plants (they can!) and so we are now putting and room for those waiting to be potted up. We're updating our inventory, potting plants, sowing seeds and striking cut- tings to replenish our ever-changing year-round supply. Take advantage of the moist ground through the late fall and winter — shop often for the changing selection as plants break dormancy and new ones emerge. There is life after the Plant Fair! • Volunteers will be welcome to help us move plants after the fair before and after the tree work. • Plant sales continue whenever the nursery is open throughout the year: Tuesdays noon-3pm, Fridays 9-noon, and Saturdays 10-lpm, weather permitting. Check the plant list on the website for new offer- ings. • Formal weekly seed collecting trips ended in Octo- ber. Seed collecting trips will be irregular through November. E-mail nativehere@ebcnps.org in order to be put on the notice list for seed/ cutting walks. Charli Danielsen and Margot Cunningham together a plant list. We'll probably focus on putting out more of what's already there - artemisia, toy on, buckeye, buck- wheat, morning glory, coffee berry. If you've seen any others out there that might work, please let me know. Two volunteers, Calvin with some fennel and Mariam with a wheelbarrow of ice plant, are shown below in photos by Jane Kelly. Tom Kelly THE BAY LEAF November 2009 3 MEMBERSHIP NOTES Meet Carol Castro East Bay ChapterVice President and Co-Membership Chair, shown in the picture with her husband Pedro and daughter Sara (picture by Shawn Morales). Like many members of CNPS, I was raised in a family of outdoors people. Camping and hiking were our favorite va- cation activities, and day trips into the Black Hills of South Dakota were our frequent pastime. Although I was not very scientific about my interest in plants and natural science back then, the flowers of the region caught my attention and always delighted my soul. While attending South Dakota State University, botany was as far from my mind as what would later become my second country: Peru. While in my 20s, after graduating from Lone Mountain College in San Prancisco (now part of USE), I de- cided to travel to South America before "settling down" to a career and family. Little did I know then that I would spend close to fourteen years in South America, most of it in Cusco, Peru, married to my husband, Pedro, and caring for a couple of darling children of our own. We returned to live in the Bay Area and, wanting to become involved in a community activity, I stumbled upon CNPS when, about five or six years ago, in an attempt to conserve water in our yard, I attended a workshop in San Leandro focusing on drought tolerant landscaping. That workshop was quite influential on my life and allowed a deeper ap- preciation of the natural science side of Alameda and Contra Costa counties to develop. Within a short time Pedro and I began researching what was needed to remove the existing landscaping and begin cultivat- ing a drought tolerant yard. It took months of reading, meet- ing with landscapers, and discovering plants that fit into the scope of low water use and maintenance and our particular location before we were ready to begin. In that process, I was exposed to Native Here Nursery in Tilden Park and while volunteering with Charli, John, Margot and others working there, I began asking questions, listening to others discuss the plants, and trying to learn those fascinating, though tricky, Latin names of the Alameda County and Contra Costa County native plants at Native Here. Now, just a few short years later, our garden has beautiful flowering bushes, dainty low growing plants, larger sprawl- ing perennials, a few of the many native grasses, and green shady areas. It gives us a constant experiencee of being closer to the wild. To put it simply, once we took out the grass and in went the path and rocks, our yard acquired its own unique personality. As we developed our native plant culture here in our yard, I became more involved in CNPS. In finding a true connec- tion to the local land through these special plants, CNPS has provided a vast and rich opportunity to do even more for our local native plants. Now, most of my volunteer hours with CNPS involve administrative and clerical activities. I most enjoy the field trips and actual gardening but talking with people about native plants is very high on my list of fun things to do. Plant Fair 2009 This year's Plant Fair was a perfect opportunity to blend vol- unteerism, with socializing and learning about our counties' native flora. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings found the garden with a fog cover that never quite lifted completely. On both days the abundance of food and warm drink, provided by volunteers, kept all of us who worked the event in good spirits and full of energy. Each successive Plant Fair finds our chapter better organized to meet the needs of the shoppers. Informative talks, an in- formation booth dedicated to answering botanical questions or where a certain plant from a certain place can be found in the nursery, energetic helpers to carry plants, friendly traffic folks, plenty of check out tables, books, CNPS shirts and hats, and members who made themselves available in the nursery grounds to answer questions or find plants all contributed to a productive experience for those who came looking for their plants before the rains fell. To all who volunteered your valuable time and energy and to those who came to acquire native plants, a big thank you so much for helping make the 2009 Plant Fair a success! Carol Castro 4 THE BAY LEAF November 2009 A lot of people contributed to making our 2009 Fair a success; here are some of the names of those that were able to help during the Fair. Patrice Anderson, Laura Baker, Joe Baptist, & his crew, Delia Barnes-Taylor, Laura Beckett, David Bigharn, Martha Booz, Janice Bray, Dore Brown, Dave Caniglia, Carol Castro, Marilyn Catterton, Michal Commanday, Kathleen Cortland, Sandra Crinnion, Margot Cunningham, Frances Dahliquist, Charli Danielsen, John Danielsen, Sylvia Darr, Sally De Becker, Elisa De Becker, Oona Edelen, Sylvia Falcon, Allan Fishman and his 24 ecology students from San Lorenzo High School, Holly Forbes, Janet Gawthrop, Susan Greene, Mary Grim, Mary Ann Hannon, Marguerite Harrell, Kristen Hopper, Lesley Hunt, Elaine Jackson, Jane Kelly, Tom Kelly, Gudron Kleist, Frank Kluber, Marcia Kolb, Christopher Kroll, Dianne Lake, Carol Lampson, Judy Levine, Cinda MacKinnon, David Margo lies, Lee McCaffree, Dave McFarlane, Shirley McPheeters, Jane Moore, Ry Moore, Susan Miller, Jim Morel, Monika Olsen, Joanne Orengo, Carol Anne Pachl, Anita Person, Cyrle Perry, Heidi Perryman, Diana Pickworth, Heidi Rand, Cecilia Rid- dell, Rod Rodrigues, Sue Rosenthal, Rusty Saxton, Gail PLANT FAIR PHOTOS Schino, Bill Schramer, Lois Segal, Brenda Senturia, Jim Sharp, Elizabeth Shedd, Judith Sherwood, Susan Sherwood, Igor Skaredoff, Shirley Skaredoff, Judith Thomas, Carol Thornton, Britt Thorsnes, Steve Toby, Avril Tolley, Yulan Chan Tong, Shoshana Wechsler, Pete Veilleux, Phoebe Watts, Gregg Weber, Ben White, Kim White, Tina Wistrom Idell Weydemeyer, Greg Wolford, Joe Willingham, & Celia Zavatsky (I hope I didn't leave any one out. If I failed to list you, please let me know. We would love to feature you in the next Bay Leaf Member Article.) We also would like to thank all of our customers that pur- chased plants and all of those volunteers that helped before and after out Fair. Elaine Jackson New Members Please join us in welcoming those who joined in August and September: Janet Barton, Mark Clark, Linda Fealy, Norman LaForce, & Michael Scott. Photos by Joe Willingham THE BAY LEAF November 2009 5 THE WAYNE RODERICK LECTURES WINTER 2009 -2010 at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden Wildcat Canyon Road and South Park Drive (South Park Drive is closed November-March) in Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA (510) 544-3169 E-mail Address: bgarden@ebparks.org www.nativeplants.org Saturday mornings 10:30 Free The Wayne Roderick Lectures winter 2009-2010 are dedicated to the memory of Larry Abers. Notice: Seating is limited. To be sure of a seat, come early and save a chair. 2009 Nov. 7: The Regional Parks Botanic Garden as Inspiration— Steve Edwards Nov. 14: Wildflowers of the central Wasatch Mountains— Ted Kipping Nov. 21: To the Sweetwater Mountains of Mono County and beyond — Steve Edwards Dec. 5: From Lime Ridge to the Arroyo Bayo, in the footsteps of David Gowen— Steve Edwards Dec. 12: Flowery aftermath of the great Big Sur burn of 2008— Heath Bartosh Dec. 19: From Jewelflowers of California to the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico— Dick O'Donnell 2010 Jan. 2: Botanizing the east side of the Sierra and other irresistible places in California— Aaron Schusteff Jan. 9: Roundabout the Walker Ridge burn of 2008 and sites near Clear Lake in Lake County — Steve Edwards Jan. 16: Natural history of Hokkaido, Japan— Ron Felzer Jan. 23: Flora of the Carquinez Strait— Dean Kelch Jan. 30: Wild Lewisias of California and even wilder hybrids, in stereo. 3D glasses will be provided —Jack Muzatko Feb. 6: Plants of Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, and the Beartooth Plateau, Montana-Wyoming — Bob Case Feb. 13: Very close to home: wildflower hiking in Del Valle Regional Park, Sunol, and Ohlone Wilderness — Steve Edwards Feb. 20: Some botany and history in coastal Monterey — Steve Edwards Feb. 27: Shifting baselines in Bay Area oak woodlands and savannas: historical patterns and restoration potential— Alison Whipple Free tours of the Botanic Garden every Saturday at 2:00 pm and Sunday at 11:00 am & 2:00 pm (when it's not raining). No tours when we conduct our annual plant sale on the third Saturday in April; no tours when the garden is closed (Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year's Day). 6 THE BAY LEAF November 2009 Chapter Directory Officers President and Chapter Council Delegate Delia Barnes Taylor 510-527-3912 deliataylor@mac.com Vice President Carol Castro 510-352-2382 ca ro 1 1 bcastro@ h otm a i I . com Recording Secretary Barbara Leitner 925-253-8300 bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding Secre- tary Janet Gawthrop janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Treasurer Holly Forbes hforbes@berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 Assistant Treasurer (not an officer) David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Committees Bayleaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web- master Joe Willingham, Chair 510-841-4681 pepel 066@comcast.net Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Mailing Holly Forbes Conservation Laura Baker, Chair 510-849-1409 Lbake66@aol.com Conservation analyst Lech Naumovich conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair Funds Development Carol Castro, Chair Grant Management Sally de Becker 510-841-6613 sallydebecker@comcast. net Horticulture Planning Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Information Infrastruc- ture Peter Rauch, Chair peterar@berkeley.edu Membership Elaine Jackson, Carol Castro Co-Chairs Volunteer coordinator Delia Taylor volunteer@ebcnps.org Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair Publicity Dinah Russell, Chair 510-528-0547 maphappy@sonic.net Rare Plants Heath Bartosh, Chair 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-741-8066 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Erin McDermott, Chair erinmcd2004@yahoo.com EBCNPS Sponsored Activities Book & Poster Sales Joanne Orengo greentheglobe@juno.com Grant Awards Sandy McCoy sandymccoy@mindspring. com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 Manager — Charli Dan- ielsen nativehere@ebcnps.org Sales — Margot Cunning- ham bunchgrassmarg@gmail. com Seed Collection — Gregg Weber 510-223-3310 Plant Fair Gudrun Kleist 510-222-2320 gkleist@sbcglobal.net and Charli Danielsen Coordinators Restoration Projects Leaders: Huckleberry — Janet Gawthrop Point Isabel — Tom and Jane Kelly 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Strawberry Creek — Tom and Jane Kelly Officers and Committee Chairs serve on the Board. Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of volunteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by tlie Board. noto by Gregg Weber. For more pictures of the Plant Fair visit www.ebcnps.org THE BAY LEAF November 2009 7 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 November 2009 issue CALENDAR OF EVENTS Membership Meeting: Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 pm. Garden Room, Orinda Public Library; Jerry Powell speaks on "Native Eats Native: Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars that Feed on California Native Plants". See page 1. No December meeting. January meeting: Wednesday, January 27, 2010: Jim Shevock speaks on California Mosses, location to be announced. Native Here open for business and volunteer help: Fridays 9 am - 12 pm, Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm, and Tuesdays 12 pm - 3pm. See page 3. Board of Directors' meeting, Wednesday, November 11, 6:30 pm, home of Barbara Feitner. 2 Parkway Court, Orinda. Take main Orinda exit, go right at signal, Camino Pablo turns into Moraga Way, after 1.75 miles, turn F at signal, Glorietta Blvd (sign for Casa Vieja is to right). At 0.7 miles, turn R on Parkway Court, just before second stop sign. House is first one facing Parkway Court on R side, lots of natives in yard. Field trip: Point Molate, Saturday, November 7 at 10:00 am (rain date Nov. 20 at 10:00 am). See page 2. CNPS ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR BILISOLY FUNDS June Bilisoly's $150,000 bequest will be awarded for projects that will benefit CNPS. Any member, staff member or chapter of CNPS can submit a proposal, which should benefit the entire society and must fit into current program structure. Priority will go to projects which promote membership growth. Initial proposal should be no more than two pages. including relevant information (Chapter name, proposer's name, associated State CNPS program, etc.). Inquiries can be submitted to cnps-bilisoly-committee@goog- legroups.com. Deadline is 12/15/09. Contact Delia Taylor, EBCNPS President for further information. Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Individual, $45 Family, Library, Group or International, $75 Plant Lover, $100.00 Plant lover, $100 Patron, $300 Benefactor, $600 E-mail Mariposa Lily, $1500 Limited Income or student, $25.00 Other Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1 , Sacramento CA 95816