June 2004 •••• The v. yfc ' Bay Leaf California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter • Alameda & Contra Costa Counties CALENDAR OF EVENTS Plant Sale Activities p. 4 Tuesdays, June 1,8, 15, 22, 29, 9 am to 2 pm, Merritt College, Oakland Native Here Nursery p. 4 Tuesdays, June 1,8, 15, 22, 29, 9 am, seed forays leave from Native Here Nursery entrance Fridays, June 4, 11, 18, 25, 9 am-noon, nursery open for business (and volunteers) Saturdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26, 10 am -1 pm, nursery open Field Trips p. 3 Sunday, June 6, 8 am, Algae/sea plant field trip to Point Cavallo in Golden Gate National Recreation Area Thursday, June 10, 6-8 pm, at the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley Sunday June 20 2 pm, Summit of Mount Diablo Native Plant Restoration Team Saturday, July 3, Restoration Team meets at the Mitchell Canyon entrance to Mt. Diablo State Park, 10-1 for thistle bashing. CONTRA COSTA OPEN SPACE MEASURE Vote yes in June on an important mail ballot for open space! Watch for an open space mail ballot starting June 11 , 2004 This June, Contra Costa property owners will have an unprecedented opportunity to restore and maintain existing neighborhood and regional parks; protect lands around creeks, streams, lakes and the Bay to maintain our clean water sources; and protect and preserve our most important remaining open spaces, wildlife habitat, farmlands and shoreline. On June 10, 2004 a ballot will be mailed to Contra Costa County property owners regarding this impor- tant Open Space Measure. The East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society strongly endorses this measure and urges you to watch for your Open Space ballot in the mail and to return it with a Yes vote. To protect our most important remaining natural lands The Coalition for Open Space, a broad group of environ- mental, business, labor and local leaders, with input from a variety of organizations, has worked diligently for over 4 years towards creating a locally generated, comprehensive plan to protect and preserve our last remaining natural lands, waterways, shorelines, farm- land, and wildlife areas throughout the County. In fact, this is the first comprehensive countywide measure for open space protection since 1988. And the time for a renewed source of funding is now - a time when our last remaining wild lands are under intense develop- ment pressure, and when the County’s population has exceeded one million! For nature and critical environmental areas Among the twelve flagship projects slated for funding through the Open Space Measure are expansions on and around Mt. Diablo, including habitat for several special status species, and the preservation of lands in the Muir Heritage Corridor. Other projects that would receive funding at the Flag- ship level include the acquisition of waterfront lands as part of the North Contra Costa Wetlands Riverfront from Pinole to Oakley, and preservation of prominent hillsides and ridgelines throughout the County - from Tassajara Valley to the East County Foothills. Creeks and watersheds throughout the County would also receive funding at the flagship level. For our children and our children’s children The Coalition for Open Space has identified 16 projects for funding at the Regional level, which will require at least one dollar of matching funds for each dollar continued on page 2 CONTRA COSTA OPEN SPACE MEASURE of funds provided through the Measure. Among the projects eligible to receive funding at this level is the Lindsay Museum Offsite Rehabilitation Center, a facility for preparing wildlife for reintroduction into the wild. Funds through the Measure could also be used for the construction of the Delta Science Center, a major educational and scientific institution on the Delta Shoreline. Other areas to receive funding at this level include: - Burton Ridge Open Space Acquisition - El Sobrante Hills Open Space Acquisition - John Marsh Home Pioneer Park Acquisition and Development - San Francisco Bay Shoreline to Hills Urban Open Space and Creeks - Bishop Ranch/ Big Canyon Park Expansion Maintenance and renovation of existing park- lands Twenty-five percent of the funding raised through the Open Space Measure would support the maintenance and renovation of existing parks, shorelines and open space areas throughout the county, including Tilden, Briones and Black Diamond Mines, the Iron Horse and Lafayette-Moraga Regional Trails, Pt. Pinole, An- tioch, Oakley and Martinez Regional Shorelines, and many more park and recreational areas throughout the County. Community priority projects The Measure will also provide funds to restore and en- hance neighborhood parks, playgrounds, urban creeks contunued from page 1 and natural lands in urban areas -important resources that provide healthy alternatives to help keep our kids away from drugs and crime. Every city and community will receive equal funds on a per -capita basis. A small investment = important results The Measure will raise approximately $8 million an- nually. The proposed rate for virtually all single fam- ily homes is $25 a year - or about $2 a month — a very modest investment for ensuring that our most important remaining natural lands and clean water sources are preserved and protected - for today and our children tomorrow. Strong fiscal safeguards The Measure incorporates strong fiscal safeguards, in- cluding a citizens’ oversight committee, annual audits, and a requirement that only 3% of the funds raised can be used for administration. Ninety-seven percent of the funds will go to projects throughout the county. For more information For more information about this important Measure or for information on how you can help it to succeed, visit www.contracostaopenspace.org, or call the Coali- tion for Open Space at 925-381-4187. Please watch for your mail ballot on June 11th and remember to tell your friends and neighbors about the importance of voting Yes to save the last remaining wild lands in Contra Costa County. ELECTRONIC BAY LEAF The East Bay Chapter would like know if you would prefer to receive electronic notification of the posting of the Bay Leaf to the chapter web site instead of receiv- ing a paper copy through the mail. There are two advantages to receiving electronic notifi- cation: 1) you have access to the latest Bay Leaf more quickly and 2) the chapter saves money on printing and postage. The Bay Leaf is available on the chapter web site as a PDF (portable document format) document, which you can print in whole or in part if you wish. If you would like to receive electronic notification of the posting of each Bay Leaf, and not get the mailed paper Bay Leaf please send an e-mail message to Holly Forbes at hforbes@berkeley.edu with RECEIVE E-NOTIFICATION BAY LEAF in the subject line, and your name in the body of the e-mail message, so we can modify our data base accordingly. Holly Forbes MEDIA COORDINATOR If you have a few moments a month, a computer and e-mail, you can help the chapter publicize events. We already have a mailing list of local publications. All you’ll need to do is encapsulate the important detail and send it off to the media mailing list. If you can vol- unteer to do this, please contact Liz Bade at 925-944- 7109 or send e-mail to epb_gardens@hotmail.com. Liz Bade 2 THE BAY LEAF June 2004 FIELD TRIPS Sunday, June 6, 8 am, Algae/ sea plant field trip to Point Cavallo in Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Join Dick Moe on the morning of an extreme low tide in San Francisco Bay for a half-day introduction to seaweeds. Participants should reserve a place by e-mail to the field trip coordinator: Janetg24@excite.com, or call 510-654-3066. Directions will be provided when you make contact for reservations. When calling, be sure to say if more than one person is reserving. Be ready to get wet; old shoes, wetsuit bottoms, or hip waders will work. For reading, try Seashore Plants of California, by E. Yale Dawson and Michael S Foster in the University of California Press series of natural history guides Thursday, June 10, 6-8 pm, University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley Join California area horticulturist Nathan Smith for an evening tour through the garden’s extensive collec- tion of natives to enjoy late season blooming. See the many species of Clarkia (farewell-to-spring) in bloom and visit a multitude of other beautiful plants for their botanical interest and horticultural utility. Please note the university parking fees of $1.00 per hour and $3 admission ($2 for 65+) Directions: from 1-80 take the University Avenue exit toward the hills until it dead ends at Oxford Street. Turn left on Oxford and travel to the second light, which is at Hearst. Turn right on Hearst and go to the second traffic light, which is at Gayley. Turn right on Gayley and go to the first stop sign at Stadium Rim Way. Turn left onto Stadium Rim Way, go to the first stop sign and left on Centennial to the parking lot across Centennial from the garden, 3/4 of a mile from the stop sign. From 24 west, exit at Fish Ranch Road. Follow the signs on Fish Ranch to Tilden Park, continuing to the stop sign at the top. Turn right onto Grizzly Peak Bou- levard, and continue about two miles on Grizzly Peak to the stop sign at the intersection with Centennial. Turn left onto Centennial and go 3/4 mile down to the garden, past the Lawrence Hall of Science. Sunday June 20, 2 pm, Summit of Mount Diablo David Margolies will lead this trip to search out late season blooms such as hot rock penstemon, snap- dragon (not your midwestern garden snapdragon), and broomrape. This trip does not require a reservation, but the park charges a $4 parking fee even when the kiosk is closed. Dress for hot weather and bring some water. Directions: starting from west of the bay hills, take 24 east from 580, and follow it to the end at its junction with 680. Take 680 north, but stay to the far right be- cause you will take the first exit to Ygnacio Valley Road. Turn right (east) onto Ygnacio Valley Road and follow it to Walnut Avenue. Turn right on Walnut Avenue and follow it until it ends at Oakgrove. Go on Oakgrove, and then take a right and then an immediate left onto Northgate Road. Northgate Road continues into Mount Diablo State Park. Follow the signs to the large park- ing lot just below the summit. Park and meet for the trip in that lot. From points south, go on 680 to Danville, and take the Diablo Road exit. Go east on Diablo Road about three miles to the intersection with Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard. Turn onto Mount Diablo Scenic Boulevard and follow it past some private land into the park and up to the summit. If you have questions, contact David at 510-654-0283 or divaricatum@aol.com A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare. For the most part we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought; as if we could be satisfied with the dews of the morning or evening without their colors, or the heavens without their azure. For what are the classics but the noblest thoughts of man? They are the only oracles which are not decayed, and there are such answers to the most modern inquiry in them as Delphi and Dodona never gave. We might as well omit to study ature because she is old. All endeavor calls for the ability to tramp the last mile, shape the last plan, endure the last hours toil. The fight to the finish spirit is the one . . . characteristic we must posses if we are to face the future as finishers. Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new. An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day. Henry David Thoreau THE BAY LEAF June 2004 3 CONSERVATION COMMITTEE Open Space Funding East Bay CNPS joins the Coalition for Open Space in supporting an unusual funding mechanism for acquir- ing and caring for open space in Contra Costa County. The measure would raise $ 175 million over thirty years. Property owners in Contra Costa County can expect a mail-in ballot sometime in June. For information about the coalition and campaign, go to www.contrac ostaopenspace.org. For information about the funding mechanism and plans, www.cocoopenspace.org. The plan holds great promise for acquiring and protecting significant land in Contra Costa. Conservation Committee The committee met in late April to discuss projects currently being followed, then received notice of a development on land where a federal and state listed endangered plant was growing. What do members of this committee do? • Keep in contact with local groups interested in protecting open space • Attend meetings and hearings • Report signs of development in vicinities where rare plants occur • Read plans and reports • Check planning agendas on the web • Talk to agency staff • Communicate with one another by e-mail and phone • Keep in contact with chapter plant science volunteers. If you would like to help, contact Charli Danielsen, charlid@pacbell.net. Charli Danielsen PLANT SALE ACTIVITIES Propagating and Potting Sessions: Tuesdays June 1,8, 15, 22, 29 9 am to 2 pm Merritt College, Oakland Landscape Horticulture Parking fee: 50 cents The month of June gives us five Tuesdays and we wel- come this extra work day to keep up with our potting chores. (And all those other little jobs within a plant nursery.) Come up to the growing grounds and lend a hand, morning or afternoon. We break for lunch at noon, so bring a sandwich if you can stay. For more information: 925-376-4095. Shirley McPheeters NATIVE HERE Tuesdays, June 1,8, 15, 22, 29, seed forays leave from Native Here Nursery entrance, 9 am Fridays, June 4, 11, 18, 25, nursery open for business (and volunteers) 9-noon Saturdays, June 5, 12, 19, 26, nursery open 10-1 Saturday, July 3, Restoration Team meets at Mitchell Canyon entrance, Mount Diablo State Park, 10-1 for thistle bashing. Dormant, dormant, dormant: so many of our local native plants need to rest in the summertime. Most bulb forming plants have been put away in our bulb storage shed and won’t receive water until October. As Ranunculus, Delphinium, and Wyethia start to wilt, it is time for them to have dry rest, too. Summer is a great time to volunteer at the nursery. Those plants that stay green in the summer need extra care such as watering and shading. As the light pat- terns change in the nursery, plants need to be moved around. Seedlings are growing and need to go into larger pots to be ready for sale in the fall. We continue to offer shrubs, trees and perennials for sale, but recommend holding them until fall rains can be relied upon. In pots, the plants can be moved to a shadier spot so they don’t have to be subjected to so much water while hot. Once they are in the ground, it is harder to make adjustments. Most of you will have pruned and mowed by now, but may still want to pick up a copy of Vegetation Manage- ment Almanac for the East Bay Hills, offered for $25 at the nursery. It has guidelines for making management decisions, tips for when and how to cut to encourage continued use by wildlife, etc. June is still a great time to get orders in for plants you’d like us to grow for next year. . . that is plants that will be ready for fall of 2005! Yes, native plants require 4 THE BAY LEAF June 2004 advance planning. For woodland species, three years isn’t unheard of. While it is fun to go all over the two counties collecting seed and growing it just because we want to, we can also customize our collecting sites and target species if you let us know what you want. Join the seed collection team by arriving at the nursery entrance (parking at the end of the golf course parking lot) at 9 am Tuesdays. To put in plant or location requests, you can leave a message for Margot or Charli at 510-549-0211, e-mail Charli charlid@pacbell.net or drop by when the nursery is open Friday or Saturday mornings, 101 Golf Course Drive, Tilden Park. Charli Danielsen ACTIVITIES OF OTHERS Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, discover new rare plant populations, enjoy the wildflower season in one of California's botanical showcases. Join a group of fellow rare plant lovers for our sixth Rare Plant-A-Thon at Point Reyes National Seashore. For those of you who have never attended this event, the Rare-Plant- A-Thon is an effort to inventory unrecorded rare plant populations throughout the Seashore. With almost 50 threatened or endangered plant species, this can be quite a daunting task. We welcome all levels of bo- tanical experience. Join us for one or both days. Free overnight accommodations are available at the Point Reyes Historic Lifesaving Station at Chimney Rock so RSVP to reserve a space. For more information please call Michelle Coppoletta or John O’Brien at 415-464- 5195. New Wetland Restoration Project in Richmond needs volunteers. Join an exciting project to restore a tidal marsh and improve nearby wildlife habitat, on the south Richmond shoreline, next to the Bay Trail. We are recruiting volunteers to help grow native plants in our new nursery, and control invasive weeds on the edges of the marsh. No special skills or experience required, only a willingness to work with plants, soil, pull weeds, and an interest in bay wildlife and plants. Tools, gloves, and snacks provided. Please pre-register so we can send directions to the meeting place. Volunteers are welcome every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon, and on the third Saturday of ev- ery month, 9:00 am - noon. The next dates are June 19 and July 17. Sponsored by the Watershed Project (formerly Aquatic Outreach Institute). For more information, contact Martha Berthelsen, 510-231-5783 or email martha@thewatershedproject.org. A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. President Franklin Roosevelt God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches and a thousand tempests and floods. But He cannot save them from fools. John Muir Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. Frank Lloyd Wright In wilderness I sense the miracle of life. Charles A. Lindbergh One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. William Shakespeare THE BAY LEAF June 2004 5 Barbara Ertter (author of Annotated Checklist of the East Bay Flora and former president of our chapter), is seated, talking to a visitor to her garden during the Bay Friendly Garden tour last May. Barbara’s garden is a botanical classroom of 500 plus species, complete with vouchered specimens and photos of each one. The tour was sponsored by the Alameda County Waste Management Board and others to promote “Bay Friendly Gardening”. In general, this means simpli- fying garden care, reducing and reusing plant waste to build healthy soils and us- ing as few resources— from water to fertilizer— as pos- sible. Gardeners protect the bay by using the least toxic methods for pest con- trol, tolerating some pest damage, providing wildlife habitat and featuring na- tive and other Mediter- ranean climate adapted plants. Also special to Barbara’s garden is a former ivy bank on Blackberry Creek that has been converted to locally appropriate native plants. Delia Taylor (chapter membership chair) talking "worms" with a volunteer at the Bay Friendly Garden tour. More than 330 people visited Barbara and Delia's side-by-side gardens. The attraction in Delia's yard, besides the native plants, was a beehive that has laid claim to a bay tree, and a large worm box for composting kitchen waste, including pizza boxes, egg cartons and newspaper. There were 30 gardens on the free tour, all featuring various aspects of Bay Friendly Gardening. 6 THE BAY LEAF June 2004 Board of Directors Elected Officers ■ Committee Coordinators President: Joe Willingham, 2512 Etna St., Berkeley 94704, 841-4681, pepel 066@comcast.net Vice President, Administration: Laura Baker, 79 Roble Road, Berkeley, 94705, 849-1409, Lbake66@aol.com Treasurer: Holly Forbes, 7128 Blake St., El Cerrito 94530, 234-2913, w/643-8040 Secretaries: Recording: Barbara Malloch Leitner, 2 Parkway Ct., Orinda 94563, 925-253-8300, bleitner@pacbell.net Corresponding: Nathan Smith, 545 Everett St., El Cerrito, 94530, 559-8286, ncsmith@berkeley.edu Past President Tony Morosco, berkbotanist@onebox.com Bay Leaf Editor Joe Willingham, 2512 Etna St., Berkeley 94704, 841-4681, pepel 066@comcast.net Committee Coordinators Bay Leaf Mailing: Holly Forbes, 7128 Blake St., El Cerrito 94530, 234-2913, w/643-8040, hforbes@uclink4.berkeley.edu Book and Poster Sales: Vacant Bryophytes: Dan Norris, 802 Lexington Ave., El Cerrito 94530, 435-2004, dhnorris@uclink.berkeley.edu Conservation: Charli Danielsen, 101 Golf Course Dr., Berkeley 94708, 549-0211, charlid@pacbell.net East Bay Public Lands: Peter Rauch, 526-8155, peterr@socrates.berkeley.edu Education: Vacant Field Trips: Janet Gawthrop, 360 Monte Vista Ave. #214, Oakland 94611 , 654-3066, Janetg24@excite.com Grants: Sandy McCoy, 1311 Bay View Place, Berkeley 94708, wbmccoy@earthlink.net Hospitality: Irene Wilkinson, 440 Camino Sobrante, Orinda 94563, 925-254-3675 Media: Vacant Membership: Delia Taylor, 1851 Catalina Ave., Berkeley 94707, 527-3912, deliataylor@mac.com Native Here Nursery: Charli Danielsen, 101 Golf Course Dr., Berkeley 94708, 549-0211, charlid@pacbell.net Native Plant Restoration Team: Sarah Ginskey, 1096 Miller Avenue, Berkeley 94708, 558-8139 Plant Communities: Susan Bainbridge, 2408 Parker St., Berkeley 94704, 548-2918, suebain@SSCL.Berkeley.EDU Plant Sale: Shirley McPheeters, 104 Ivy Dr., Orinda 94563, 925-376-4095 Phoebe Watts, 1419 Grant St., Berkeley 94703, 525-6614, phwatts@cs.com Plant Sale Publicity: Elaine Jackson, 3311 Estudillo St., Martinez 94553, 925-372-0687, elainejx@mindspring.com Posters: Vacant Programs: Sue Rosenthal, P.O. Box 20489, Oakland 94620, 496-6016, rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Rare Plants: John Game, 1155 Spruce St., Berkeley 94707, 527-7855, jcgame@lbl.gov Regional Parks Botanic Garden Liaison: Sue Rosenthal, P.O. Box 20489, Oakland 94620, 496-6016, rosacalifornica@earthlink.net Unusual Plants: Dianne Lake, 1050 Bayview Farm Rd. #121, Pinole 94564, 741-8066, diannelake@yahoo.com Recorded Chapter Information: 464-4977 CNPS Home Page: www.cnps.org East Bay Chapter CNPS Home Page: www.ebcnps.org Bay Leaf & Board meeting minutes online Membership Application Name Address Zip Telephone I wish to affiliate with: East Bay Chapter (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) Other Membership category: Student, Retired, Limited income, $20 Individual, Library, $35 Household, Family, or Group, $45 Supporting, $75 Plant lover, $100 E-mail Benefactor, $500 (optional) Life, $1 000 Mail application and check to: California Native Plant Society, 2707 K Street, Suite 1 , Sacramento CA 95816 THE BAY LEAF June 2004 7 Hybrid between Calochortus pulchellus and C. umbellatus, Mount Diablo State Park. Photo by Barbara Etter 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 June 2004 issue