February 2013 The Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter Alameda & Contra Costa Counties www.ebcnps.org www.groups.google.com/group/ebcnps MEMBERSHIP MEETING CNPS and plant conservation in California: Protecting California's native flora in the 21st Century Speaker: Greg Suba Wednesday, February 27, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Ji# • ■ . • 4 ‘ T - • f A kJi P "V The native flora of California is unlike any other in the world. From the richly colored expanse of spring wildflowers in the desert to groves of Monterey cypress on the coast, California's wild gardens are immensely diverse and awe inspiring in their beauty. They define the landscape and offer Californians a sense of place, pride, and stability. Since 1965, members of the California Native Plant Society have worked to protect California's native plant heritage and preserve it for future generations. Our work continues at a most critical time. Urban and agricultural growth, the spread of normative weeds, expanding knowledge regarding sustain- able timber and grazing practices, and frequently inadequate land use planning all elevate the essential need to prevent the decline in California's native plant diversity. To reverse this trend, the CNPS Conservation Program pro- motes sound plant science as the backbone of effective natu- ral areas protection. We work closely with decision-makers, scientists, and local planners to advocate for well-informed and environmentally friendly policies, regulations, and land management practices. Greg Suba, CNPS Conservation Program Director in Sac- ramento, will describe the work of the CNPS Conservation Program. His presentation will give special emphasis to the challenges associated with advocating effective plant conser- vation while addressing the planning and development of desert wind and solar projects, and ongoing work to develop ecological standards for California's forests. Greg Suba has been the CNPS Conservation Program Director since 2009. Prior to joining CNPS, Greg worked as a water- shed coordinator, science educator, and biological consultant in northern California, and spent several years monitoring streams and surveying forests throughout the state. He has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Marine Science, and began his professional career as a research scientist in marine botany. 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 Garden Room opens at 7 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Call 510-496-6016 or email rosacalifornica (at) earthlink.net if you have 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 Continued on page 2 Continued from page 1 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. REPORT FROM THE CONSERVATION CHAIR Once again we have some action and activities going on re- lated to our remnant coastal prairie places, along the North Richmond Shoreline and beyond. On Jan. 21st, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, our East Bay Chapter of CNPS had a successful weeding project out at Ft. Pinole Regional Park, collaborating with The Watershed Project and with the Park District. We piggybacked onto The Watershed Project's public vol- unteer event, which consisted of approximately 150 people from the community coming out for this Day of Service to pick up trash along the shoreline and remove ice plant. The Watershed Project folks diverted about a dozen people from their stream of incoming volunteers to help at a nearby site we had identified in the grassland at Pt. Pinole. At this site, in a swale, there is a nice stand of a small native Juncus that was being overrun by invasive velvet grass (Holcus lanatus) and sheep sorrel. Our intensive and focused weeding effort successfully removed the velvet grass (and much of the sorrel) where it had completely colonized some of the Juncus area, and where it was just starting to penetrate a thicker, healthy stand of this Juncus. We decided to mulch the adjacent weedy embankment with all the material we pulled out, rather than bagging up the weeds and removing them. The area that we weeded was about 125 feet long, bordered on one side by the road, and on the other side by a thick stand of native wild rye (or some sort of interesting hybrid of wild rye). The width of the area weeded was about 25 to 30 feet across. The volunteers from CNPS and from The Watershed Project worked steadily on hands and knees for the 21/2 hours of the event. We had breaks to stretch as well as a nice educational component in the middle, presented by Jim Hanson, regarding the value and richness and wonder of the coastal prairie and what our goals were specifically for this morning of weeding. Thanks to Jim and to David Amme for their contributions toward making this a successful event. We look forward to more collaboration with The Watershed Project. Also we are aiming to put together another weeding party, this time for an area of rich coastal prairie out at Pt. Mo- late. We hope to put this on in a month or two (depending on whether we get more good rains and all permissions necessary to work out there). The views are absolutely spectacular at Pt. Molate, looking out upon the upper portion of San Francisco Bay and directly across the water is Mt. Tamalpais. Please call me if you are interested in participating in this upcoming weeding party or e-mail. Jean Robertson Conservation Chair East Bay Chapter, CNPS 510-655-1653 gaiajean@yahoo.com FUNDRAISING FOR THE CNPS CONSERVATION PROGRAM The CNPS Conservation Campaign is a year-long effort to raise money to sustain the statewide CNPS Conservation Program. The East Bay Chapter asks its members to support this campaign. The Chapter believes that local conservation and statewide conservation work hand-in-hand. "State" CNPS is well aware that the East Bay Chapter is working to fund the Chapter's own Conservation Analyst position and is actively supporting the Chapter's fundraising. For those who want to know more, CNPS's Conservation Director, Greg Suba, will speak on February 27 at 7:30 pm at the Orinda Library on "Protecting California's Native Flora in the 21st Century." CNPS advocates for the protection of native plants across California. The Conservation Program is concerned with statewide and regional issues such as desert and forest pro- tection and also supports chapters on many significant local projects. The Program provides science-based information to federal, state, and local agencies to help them form sound policies for the protection of native plants and their habitat throughout California. Why CNPS Needs Your Help The budget for the CNPS Conservation Program is roughly $120,000 per year. These costs are partially met from founda- tion grants and from the program's endowment, but most of the funding comes from donations made by members. The goal of the Conservation Campaign is to raise $100,000 for the Conservation Program this year. CNPS is working diligently to take advantage of all funding opportunities, but the simple truth is that the Conservation Program needs your gift to reach its goal. 2 THE BAY LEAF February 2013 REPORT FROM THE CONSERVATION ANALYST Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Campus at Richmond Field Station On February 4th, the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (EBCNPS) submitted comments on the Notice of Preparation for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's "Richmond Bay Campus 2013 Long Range Development Plan and Phase 1 Development Environmental Impact Report." As I reported in my 2012 review article, I have been working with representatives from Lawrence Berkeley Labs and UC Berkeley to provide input regarding a new Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory at the UC Richmond Field Station, which makes up part of our Richmond Shoreline BPPA. We are hopeful that the forthcoming EIR includes complete avoidance and protection measures for the remnant native coastal prairie grassland at the site. You can view our comment letter on the conservation webpage: http://tinyurLcom/autq89b Tesla Park I am continuing to work with our "Friends of Tesla Park" coalition partners to ensure that the State Parks Depart- ment properly consider the botanical value of its 3,400 acre "Alameda-Tesla" parcel in its forthcoming General Plan Update for Carnegie State Vehicle Recreation Area in Eastern Alameda County. The Alameda-Tesla parcel, which is often referred to as "Tesla Park", makes up a large section of our "Corral Hollow" Botanical Priority Protection Area and is a critical migratory corridor for plants and wildlife. Unfortu- nately this special area is currently being considered for off road vehicle access as part of the new Carnegie State Vehicle Recreation Area General Plan. In the past month, I have met with representatives for State Parks in Sacramento to discuss the botanical value of this parcel and the need for the General Plan to consider alternatives to expanding off road vehicle access into Tesla from the already environmentally degraded Carnegie SVRA. In the coming months I will continue these meetings in preparation for the forthcoming EIR on which EBCNPS will be submitting detailed comments. EBCNPS has commented on the NOP for this project: http://tinyurL coin/by2xkoy To learn more about these and other projects, and to read EBCNPS's comment letters, please visit: http:/ / ebcnps.wordpress.com/ . Mack Casterman Mitchell Ravine, Tesla Park. Photo by Mack Casterman THE BAY LEAF February 2013 3 FIELD TRIPS Saturday, Feb 23, 9:30 am. Mount Diablo State Park, Knob- cone Point Road. We will go through woodland, grasslands, chaparral areas, with Pickeringia, Salvia, Arctostaphylos, Garry a. We should see Arctostaphylos auriculata in flower and three oth- er manzanita species, and knobcone pines. We should arrive back at the parking lot at 1pm. The trip leader is Gregg Weber, and you can call him at 510-223-3310 with questions. Directions: Take 680 to the Diablo Road exit, and go east on Diablo Road. At Green Valley Road, only one lane goes straight ahead. After Green Valley Road, go past and do not turn at the Diablo Country Club sign. In about a mile, turn left at the Mt. Diablo State Park sign. Continue to the end of Mt. Diablo Scenic Boulevard, which becomes South Gate Road as it enters the park. Be prepared to pay the fee (now $10?) at the main entrance station, or have your state parks pass ready. Continue for about a mile, and park at the large parking area at Curry Point, where we will meet. Sunday, February 24, 2:00 pm. Redwood Regional Park, Oakland. David Margolies will lead a walk along the stream and on the slopes above Redwood Creek in this large East Bay redwood forest, looking at early flowering plants and the trees and shrubs of the redwood forest. We will also look for newts and rainbow trout in Redwood Creek. The whole walk is about 2.5 miles with steep uphill and steep downhill portions. Walkers who want to avoid the steep trails can return along the stream trail about halfway through the walk. Meet at the Redwood Gate parking area at 2:00 pm. Directions: To get there from the northern East Bay, get on 13 South (go east on Ashby Avenue in Berkeley, for example) and take the Redwood Road exit. From Oakland, go east on 35th Avenue (which turns into Redwood Road). From the south- ern East Bay, take 580 West to 13 North and exit at Redwood Road (immediately after the junction). From San Francisco, take the Bay Bridge, staying to the right (but do not go to San Jose). Take 580 East, and then 24 East (towards Walnut Creek). Take the 13 South exit from 24 and then the Redwood Road exit. Once 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 left into Redwood Regional Park, following the entrance road to the end to the parking lot. Walk takes place rain or shine. Sunday, March 17, 9:30 am, Seafoam Loop and Black Oak Loop at Kennedy Grove, El Sobrante. Gregg Weber will be leading this trip to a botanically rich area in El Sobrante. In the shady areas under bay trees, there is more plant diversity than you would expect, with many common natives, and some unusual ones. This is a short 2.5 mile walk, with only a 400 feet elevation gain up to the ridge, and 150 feet elevation gain on Black Oak Loop. Directions: From 1-80, exit at San Pablo Dam Road and turn left onto Castro Ranch Road in El Sobrante. From Orinda, follow San Pablo Dam Road to El Sobrante. Turn right onto Castro Ranch Road. Go two blocks on Castro Ranch Road, and then turn right onto Hillside Drive. Go about Vi mile to the end of Hillside Drive, and then turn left on Patra Drive and park near the trailhead. No entrance fees. Do not turn into the Kennedy Grove park entrance on San Pablo Dam Road. John Taylor surrounded by puffballs in Knowland Park. Photo by Delia Taylor. THE BAY LEAF February 2013 4 NATIVE HERE NURSERY, PLANT FAIR PREPARATION Winter is a strange time at the nursery. Some plants succumb to frost; others not only survive it but seem to be stimulated to emerge from dormancy I always have an argument with myself about whether to prune back the marsh plants. The big sedges and rushes have drooping tan leaves and stalks which are not considered attractive by most people for gardens, yet those tangled masses of fiber are exactly what many birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians and even small mammals find valuable for cover. Seeds of annuals and perennials are coming up, promising some nice color for later in the spring and summer. John has had wonderful success growing huckleberry plants from cut- tings and is experimenting successfully with a host of other shrubs. The inventory or plant list posted on the web site does not have container sizes, as the plants will most likely go through transplanting before June so that they will better withstand warmer, drier conditions. Native Here continues to be open three times each week, weather permitting: Tuesday afternoons from noon to 3 pm, Friday mornings 9 am to noon, and Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. Come shop for the kinds of plants that you would see on field trips throughout the bay area. Volunteers are always welcome to perform a variety of tasks. The plants will need watering twice a week (on average) through the spring, sum- mer and fall. Watering sections take about one hour each time to water, so if you have an hour each week you can regularly come up to water, please let us know, nativehere@ ebcnps.org . Potting up plants; weeding, moving plants from potting benches to protected areas and from protected areas to the "sales floor", weeding the pots and grounds, groom- ing plants, repairing tools, structures, helping customers find plants and writing up sales are examples of the tasks volunteers help with. It is not too early to get involved in preparing for the October Plant Fair. E-mail the nursery about how you would like to participate. Native Here will also participate in Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Nursery Extravaganza by extending hours until 5 pm on Saturday, May 4. Many gardens will be open for touring on May 5. For more information and to register for the tour, go to www.bringingbackthenatives.net. Charli Danielsen Anemopsis calif ornica, commonly called "yerba mansa" is a local member of the lizard's tail family (Saururaceae). It is found growing in wetlands and streams, and is just coming up at Native Here. Photo by Gregg Weber. REGISTER FOR BRINGING BACK THE NATIVES TOUR Registration for the Ninth Annual Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour, which will take place on Sunday, May 5, 2013 from 10:00 to 5:00, is now open. This free, award-winning tour features forty Alameda and Contra Costa county gardens that are pesticide-free, conserve water, provide habitat for wildlife, and contain 60% or more native plants. This self-drive tour showcases a variety of gardens, from large parcels in the hills to small lots in the flats. Native plant sales and talks are offered at select gardens. Space is limited and registration is required. This tour will fill; register early to ensure a place. Volunteers are needed. Please register or volunteer at www. bringingbackthenatives .net / A companion event, the Native Plant Sale Extravaganza will take place throughout the weekend of May 4 and May 5 at many local native plant nurseries including Native Here. At Native Here on May 4, the first day of the Extravaganza, John Danielsen will give a talk at 11:00 am on Selecting Local Natives for Your Garden. Immediately following John's talk there will be a treasure hunt, with prizes for finding special plants on display. THE BAY LEAF February 2013 5 CONSERVATION ANALYST FUND REPORT $27,992 raised towards goal of $40,000 Help keep Mack Casterman on our team! This is the eighth year that the East Bay Chapter's Conserva- tion Committee has greatly benefited from a part-time Conser- vation Analyst. During these years our Conservation Analyst enabled us to advocate for greater protection of the Serpentine Prairie, to block a casino that would have destroyed the coastal prairie at Point Molate, to continue the fight to protect native bunchgrass prairie and rare maritime chaparral at Knowland Park, and much more. The position is funded by contributions from Chapter members. We urge you to give generously so that we can meet our goal of $40,000. Contributions may be sent to California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter, PO Box 5597, Elmwod Station, Berkeley CA 94705. Checks should be made to "CNPS", with a memo that the check is for the Conservation Analyst Fund. You may con- tribute via PayPal on the Chapter's website at ebcnps.org. We are very grateful to the following donors who have con- tributed to the Chapter and the 2013 Conservation Analyst Fund: John Alcorn, Mary Alderson, Eleanor Bade, Laura Baker and Lewis Lubin, Heath Bartosh, Bob Battagin, Laura Beckett, Linda and Richard Beidelman, Robert and Evelyn Berman, Martha Berthelsen, Bruce Beyaert, David Bigham and Howard Arendtson, Aria Bonnett, Martha Breed, Shelagh Brodersen, Zelda Bronstein, Margaret Brostrom, Roy Buck, Amida Cary, Bob Case, Carmen Castain, Carol and John Casterman, Carol and Pedro Castro, Dan Cheatham, Albert Chung, Patricia Coffey, Robert and Carol Coon, Beverly Cover, Mary Frances Dahlquist, Charli and John Danielsen, Elizabeth Davidson, Adrienne Debisschop, William Dejager, Mark Detterman, John and Lisa Doyen, Sue Duckies, Christopher Erickson, Barbara Ertter, James and Betsy Flack, Holly Forbes and Gerald Ford, Norman Frank, Gordon Frankie, Dorothy Frantz, Lisa Frost, Clara Gerdes, Kathleen Gilcrest, Dan Gluesenkamp, Marilyn and Amos Goldhaber, Michael Graf, Judith Ann Gurbaxani, Joan Hamilton, Mary Ann Hannon, Miao He, Claudia and Scott Hein, Daniel Hill, Justine Hume, Lesley and Bill Hunt, Dwight Johnson, Philip Johnson, Robert Jolda, Larry Jones, Nicole Jurjavcic, Timothy Kask, Elizabeth Katz, Megan Keever, John Kenny, Caroline Kim, Marian Kirch and Cynthia Siegel, Gudrun Kleist, Marcia Kolb, Jill Korte, Kathy Kramer, Christopher Kroll, Arvind Kumar and Ashok Jethanandani, Watson Laetsch, Eve Lednicky, Barbara and Philip Leitner, David and Evelyne Lennette, Ed Leong, Vera Lis, David Loeb, Lois and Harry Lutz, Mike Lynes, Matt Madison, Ruth Malone and Terry Sayre, Tamia Marg, David Margolies, Sandy McCoy and Natasha Beery, Shirley McPheeters, Jon Merkle, Louise Miller, Gregory Moore, Caroline Moyer, Brian Napolitan, Lech Naumovich, Linda Newton, Dan Norris, Bill Nownes, Richard O'Donnell, Anne and Charles Olsen, Carol Pachl, Lisa and Andy Paterson, Anita Pearson, Deborah Peterson, Tom Reid, John Roberts, Jean Robertson/ Earthly Delights, Richard and Doris Ryon, Philip and Shirley Schild, William Schramer, Dick Schneider, Brenda Senturia, Robert and Martha Sikora, Suzanne Skrivanich, David Smith, Elizabeth Sojourner, Robert Sorenson, Nicki Spillane, Malcolm Sproul, Jacqueline Steiner, Stout Foundation, Emile Strauss Ann Sullivan, Aaron Sunshine, Ted Tawshunsky, Delia and John Taylor, Chris Thayer, Liz Varnhagen, Charles Verrill, Jeanne Walpole, Stephen Walsh and Brenda Buxton, Joyce Walton, Phoebe Watts, Catherine Whiteside, Kitty Whiteside, Susan Wickham, Doris and Joe Willingham, Christina Wistrom, Elaine Worthington-Jackson, Roberta Zorzyski. Delia Taylor Dusk at Knowland Park. Note the giant fairy ring in the grassland on the first knoll (a strip of dark green with white puffballs dotting it). Photo by Jason Webster. 6 THE BAY LEAF February 2013 WAYNE RODERICK LECTURES WINTER 2012-2013 at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden (near Brazil Building) Wildcat Canyon Road and South Park Drive (south Park Drive is dosed NovemberthroughMarch in Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA (510) 544-3169 then press "0" E-mail Address: bgarden@ebparks.org http://www.ebparks.ora/parks/vc/botanic garden www.nativeplants.ora Saturday Mornings 10:30 Free Notice: Seating is limited. To be sure of a seat, come very early — garden opens at 8:30am — and save a chair. 2M3 Feb. 2 Hiking with a chemist - admiring plants through a chemist's eyes-Greti Sequin Feb. 9 A visit to the Mono Recesses and a satisfying walk over the Mono Divide- Michael Uhler Feb. 16 California geology from the ground up, part one: from the delta south-Steve Edwards Feb. 23 California geology from the ground up, part two: north of the Bay, including the Sierra- Steve Edwards Free tours of the Botanic Garden every Saturday at 2:00 pm; Sunday at 1 1 :00 am & 2:00 pm (when it's not rain- ing). No tours when we conduct our annual plant sale on the third Saturday in April; no tours when the garden is closed (New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day). California pipevine or California Dutchman's pipe {Aristolochia californica). Photo by Janice Bray, from the CD East Bay Native Plants 2012-2013. Both the plant and the CD are available at Native Here Nursery . THE BAY LEAF February 201 3 7 DIRECTORY Officers President Lesley Hunt lldhunt@astound.net Vice President and Chapter Council Delegate Bill Hunt wjhunt@astound.net Recording Secretary Tina Wistrom cmwistrom@yahoo.com 510- 207-0370 Corresponding Secretary Robert Sorenson rls@sorensonvision.com Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Committees Bayleaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Webmaster, Chair Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 pepel 066@comcast.net Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes hforbes@berkeley.edu h 510-234-2913 w 510-643-8040 Conservation Jean Robertson, Chair gaiajean@yahoo.com Conservation Analyst Mack Casterman conservation@ebcnps.org 510-734-0335 Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair deliataylor@mac.com Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail.com Hospitality vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair peterar@berkeley.edu Membership vacant Volunteer coordinator Delia Taylor volunteer@ebcnps.org Programs Sue Rosenthal rosacalifornica2@earthlink.net 510-496-6016 Publicity vacant Rare Plants Heath Bartosh, Chair 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology.com Bryophytes John Game, Chair 510-527-7855 jcgame@stanford.edu Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-691-1428 diannelake@yahoo.com Vegetation Megan Keever, Co-Chair megan@stillwatersci.com Nicole Jurjavcic, Co-Chair nicole@stillwatersci.com EBCNPS Sponsored Activi- ties Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 Manager — Charli Danielsen nativehere@ebcnps.org Sales — Margot Cunningham bunchgrassmarg@gmail.com Restoration Huckleberry Regional Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail.com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, leaders 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology.com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Plant Fair Charli Danielsen, Chair nativehere@ebcnps.org MEMBERSHIP East Bay CNPS is loolcing for a Membersfiip Qiair. Please contact Tim Kask at tlmothykask@gmail.com or 510-552-6168 for details about how to participate in promoting the Chapter. Membership Application and Renewal Form Name Address Zip Telephone Email 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 Patron, $300 Benefactor, $600 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 '8 THE BAY LEAF February