■;V The September 2008 Bay Leaf V- California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter • Alameda & Contra Costa Counties www.ebcnps.org CALENDAR OF EVENTS Board of Directors’ meeting, Wednesday, September 3, 7:30 pm, home of Joe Willingham, 2512 Etna St., Berkeley Native Here p. 3 Open for sales and volunteer help: Fridays, 9 am to 12 noon, Saturdays, 10 am to 1 pm Open for volunteers: Tuesdays, 1 pm to 4 pm Seed collection outings: Tuesdays, 9 am to 1 pm, meet at Native Here. Please refer to www.ebcnps.org/seedtrips.html for other seed collecting trips. Field trip p. 2 Sunday, September 7 at 10:00 am, driving tour of tarweeds in MEMBERSHIP MEETING WILL Notice is hereby given that the first item of business of the mem- bership meeting of the East Bay Chapter of CNPS to be held on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at 7:30 pm at the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library shall be the formal approval of the proposed bylaws that appear in July- August issue of the Bay Leaf and on the www.ebcnps.org website. MEMBERSHIP MEETING Fighting the Good Fight: Our East Bay Chapter’s Native Plant Conservation Program Speaker: Lech Naumovich Wednesday, September 24, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) At first glance, saving native plants and their habitat may appear to be a straightforward proposition. But after three years of service as CNPS’s East Bay conservation analyst, Lech Naumovich has found the work to be more like a game of high stakes poker played out with gambles, bluffs, and tough calls. We’ve won some, lost some, and learned, like the song says, “when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em.” Lech will talk about a few of the many East Bay CNPS conservation battles that have been anything but Lech Naumovtch Livermore. Chris Thayer will continue his tour of Livermore and nearby areas to see, smell and count tarweed (Madiinae subtribe of Sunflower family) species in bloom, beginning at the edge of the very dry Springtown wetlands in Livermore Restoration, p. 3 Sunday, September 14 at 9:30 am, restoration crew at Huckleberry Regional Preserve Membership meeting see below Wednesday, September 24, 7:30 pm Native Plant Fair pp. 2, 7 Saturday, October 18, 10 am - 3 pm, and Sunday October 19, 12 noon-3 pm VOTE ON NEW BYLAWS This is an historic event in the East Bay Chapter, and all members are entitled and encouraged to participate. Once ratified by the membership, the new bylaws will go into effect immediately. Carol Castro, Charli Danielsen, Sandy McCoy and David Margolies simple, and his stories will be accompanied by his photographs of some of the rarest and most beautiful places in the East Bay. Ante up with an hour of your time and learn how CNPS is fighting to save our area’s last remaining native plant habitat. Lech Naumovich has served as CNPS’s East Bay conservation ana- lyst since 2005. He is also the founding director of Golden Hour Restoration Institute, a service-based nonprofit that connects biology students with ongoing restoration projects throughout California. Previously, Lech was restoration coordinator at Fort Hunter Liggett. He holds a master’s degree in ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. 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 continued on page 2 MEMBERSHIP MEETING continued from page 1 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. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 24 Orinda Way: From the west, take Highway 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 sta- tion 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. Upcoming Programs Wednesday, October 22, 7:30 pm (in the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library): Stephen Ingram — Cacti, Agaves, and Yuccas of California and Nevada Wednesday, November 19, 7:30 pm (in the Garden Room of the Orinda Public Library): Bonnie Gisel and Stephen Joseph — Nature’s Beloved Son: Redis- covering John Muir’s Botanical Legacy PLANT FAIR SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 18 AND 19 The 2008 Native Plant Fair is next month, Saturday, October 18, 10 am to 3 pm, and Sunday, October 19 noon to 3 pm. We need volunteers to help with selling, cashiering, holding area, loading, membership, volunteer refreshments, setting up and cleaning up, especially the Monday following the Fair. We’ll have two 3-hour shifts on Saturday, one shift on Sunday, plus shifts on Sunday and Monday for clean-up. To sign up email Elaine Jackson at elainejx@ att.net or Beth Keer at bkeer@sbcglobal.net. We will have a list on our web site of all the plants that we hope to have available at the plant fair. Bulbs will be for sale. The chapter will sell books and posters. Vendors will be selling other interesting FIELD TRIP Sunday, September 7 at 10:00 am, driving tour of tarweeds in Livermore. Chris Thayer will continue his tour of Livermore and nearby areas to see, smell and count tarweed (Madiinae subtribe of Sunflower family) species in bloom, beginning at the edge of the very dry Springtown wetlands in Livermore. The diversity and scent of tarweeds are the attraction, but conservation is also in the forefront of this tour as one of the species we will see is endemic to the Livermore Valley, several others are rare, and still others are locally unusual. While the focus will be on tarweeds, we will likely see many other interesting species in other families, some in bloom. This driving trip with several stops will likely include Livermore tarplant, Congdon’s tarplant, and big tarplant, and we will also be looking for other species of tarweeds in the same area. At the Springtown wetlands, we may also look for two species of Cordylanthus, and perhaps Atriplex species. Be prepared for punish- items, such as cards, bags, pottery, native plant seeds, and more! Janice Bray, our volunteer extraordinaire, will have CD’s for sale that she compiled, with the help of Gregg Weber, Charli Danielsen, Dave Caniglia, Bob Case and Beth Keer, showing beautiful photos and informative descriptions of the plants we grow or hope to grow at Native Here. Speakers will give half-hour talks both days on top- ics related to native plants and a couple of musicians will be playing at the fair as well. A silent auction will be held each day. Check the chapter web site for updates of speakers and vendors. Charli Danielsen ing heat with appropriate clothing and water: midday temperatures from 30-40 Celsius (86-104 F) are possible. Here is a link to What Grows Here on the Calflora.org web site for the starting location of the Livermore tarweed trip (Dalton and Broadmoor): http://tinyurl.com/6ga21f. See the Field Trips page of the East Bay Chapter web site for more Calflora links, www. ebcnps.org/fieldtrip.html Directions: From most points in the East Bay, go on 580 east to Livermore, and exit at Vasco Road north. Go north on Vasco Road about 1 mile and then turn left on Dalton and park in the area of Dalton and Broadmoor, in a residential area on the left about 1/2 mile west of Vasco Road. 2 THE BAY LEAF September 2008 NATIVE HERE Plant Fair preparations are ongoing at Native Here as well as normal year-round sales operations. Volunteers are always welcome on Friday mornings 9 am-noon, Saturdays 10 am-1 pm, and Tuesday afternoons 1 pm-4 pm to help with a variety of tasks. Saturdays in September one of the tasks will be to prepare bulbs for sale: sifting, packaging, marking and pricing. Regular Native Here sales continue at those times as well. Volume buyers please note that volume and other percentage discounts will not apply during the Fair, so come do your shopping this month to take advantage of good supplies of local natives and the usual professional, institutional and volume discounts (see the page on the Native Here section of the ebcnps.org web site for details). Seed collecting trips continue through this month. Regular Tues- day morning trips meet at 9 am at the bottom gate of the nursery and will end by 1 pm. Kids are welcome to come along on Tuesday mornings. Gregg is leading longer trips on various days. He lists the date, time and meeting place at www.ebcnps.org/seedtrips.html or you may call him at 510-223-3310 for more information. RESTORATION Sunday, September 14 at 9:30 am, restoration crew at Huckleberry Regional Preserve. Join the ongoing weed rip at Huckleberry Re- gional Preserve to stop and perhaps reverse the spread of forget- me-nots, Vinca, French broom and cape ivy. We meet in the park- ing lot, and you may choose to work nearby or with a group that works on the trails further into the preserve. Bring water, gloves, and your favorite clippers or ripping tool, although we will have several to lend. Directions: From either north or south of Oakland, take Highway 13 and exit at Moraga/Thornhill Avenue, Follow Moraga Avenue Volunteers are always welcome at the nursery to help with seed sowing, transplanting, weeding, watering, and other tasks. Con- sider spending a couple of hours in the early morning, or after work in the evening, watering at Native Here, listening to the birds and enjoying the cooler parts of the day in the beautiful nursery setting. If interested, email us at nativehere@ebcnps.org or show up when the nursery is open. We accept used pots when the nursery is open Fridays and Satur- days and on our volunteer day every Tuesday. We reuse some of them and put the rest in the bin just outside the top gate. Anyone is welcome to take pots from this bin to use for their own plant- ing projects. We are located in Tilden Regional Park, across the street from the entrance to the Tilden Golf Course, 101 Golf Course Drive, Berkeley, CA 94708, 510-549-0211, nativehere@ebcnps.org, www. ebcnps.org. Margot Cunningham 8r Charli Danielsen straight from the traffic light at the exit ramp as it parallels 13 and changes its name to Mountain Boulevard. Turn left onto Snake at the traffic light for Snake/Mountain Boulevard. Go uphill on Snake, but be prepared to make a hard left turn to follow Snake several blocks uphill at its intersection with Shepherd Canyon. (If you see a soccer field on your right, then you missed the turn— go back.) Follow Snake through residential Montclair to the intersec- tion with Skyline Blvd. Turn left onto Skyline and follow it several blocks to the Huckleberry parking lot. From south of Oakland, exit 13 at Park, turn left on Mountain, right on Snake, and then same directions apply. Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul. 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. How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you. The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual. The power of imagination makes us infinite. There is that in the glance of a flower which may at times control the greatest of creation’s braggart lords. John Muir THE BAY LEAF September 2008 3 GETTING INVOLVED Volunteers needed for our Plant Fair Please contact Elaine Jackson elainejx@att.net or Beth Keer bkeer@ sbcglobal.net Would you like to be notified electronically about upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, etc.? Do we have your current email ad- dress? Please let me, Carol, or the State office know if your email has changed. I did some sorting through our membership list in anticipation of requesting volunteer help in the quickest, non-intrusive way, using email. After taking out the members that are already on our volunteer list for our Plant Fair, I found that over 500 email addresses are listed, I could only send to 99 at a time, and over 35 came back. It was a labor intensive project but I do have some good news, 6 members responded offering help at the Plant Fair on October 18th and 19th. Overall we are at about 1200 members with more than half having no email addresses given, and no, there are not enough volunteers to call over 500 people. There must be an easier way. Any sugges- tions? Have any questions about upcoming events? Interested in getting more involved? Please don’t hesitate to contact us. elainejx@att.net, 925-372-0687 or carollbcastro@hotmail.com, 510-352-2382. Getting More Involved and Having Lots of Fun Doing It Think Globally, Volunteer Locally Brentwood: The Friends of Marsh Creek will be planting a Califor- nia Native Demonstration Garden in Creekside Park. Contact Mary Grim 925-672-6522 x 113 or email mary.grim@ca.nacdnet.net. Clayton: Help needed at the Native Plant Garden at the Clayton Library. Contact Lisa Anich at 925-689-2642 or email admin@ diablocreek.info. Martinez: Help needed at the new Native Plant Garden at the John Muir Historical Site Visitors Center. Join us on most Monday NEW FIELD GUIDE TO SEDGE The Carex Working Group, an organization in Oregon, has an- nounced the publication of the Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pa- cific Northwest. The book is an illustrated guide to all 164 species, subspecies, and varieties of Carex that occur in Washington and Oregon. Botanists will find it useful throughout much of California particularly in northern California and in the mountains through- out the state. It contains identification keys, descriptions, color photographs, and distribution maps for each species, along with information about sedge ecology, habitat, and management. mornings for an hour or so of general clean up at our beautiful new garden or get your ticket for the Martinez Historical Society 2nd Annual Home Tour and visit the garden while enjoying free entry to the home http://www.martinezhometour.com/ Contact Elaine Jackson at 925-372-0687 or email elainejx@att.net. Martinez: There is a planning process for Strentzel Meadow for a native butterfly garden and possible seeding of additional native grasses. On a date in August or September Alyson Aquino, District Conservationist with the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, will give a talk on seed- ing of native grasses. Contact Elaine Jackson at 925-372-0687 or email elainejx@att.net. Mt Diablo State Park: Looking for some skilled volunteer help in designing the Mitchell Canyon Interpretive Garden with plants from the Mitchell Canyon watershed. Contact Dave Caniglia at cani@mindspring.com or 925-287-9733. Pleasant Hill: Volunteers are always welcome at the Pleasant Hill Adult Education Center Garden. Contact Monika Olsen at 925- 937-1530 or email phecgarden@prodigy.net. Walnut Creek: Native demonstration garden on The Iron Horse Trail in Walnut Creek near the Walnut Creek Intermediate. Contact Judy Adler at jadlermtnmama@sbcglobal.net. Do you have or know of a local event coming up in your neighbor- hood that would be a good location for CNPS to have a display table? You can host it. Come on up to our Native Here Nursery (during business hours) and pick up supplies to pass out. Call us with any questions. New Members Please join us in welcoming those who joined in May & June: Marc Johnson, Chris Budzianowski, Rochelle Fortier, Rebecca Miller, Elisabeth Pierson, Heidi Plumb, Meg Verge, Billie Warden, Peter Wolfe. Cheryl Chi, Kristi Joe, Linda Mackey, Allen Rusk, Judith Sherwood, Ronald Zama, and Shane Adler. The field guide is available by calling 1-800-426-3797 or it can be ordered by going to http://oregonstate.edu/dept/press/e-f/FieldGuideSedges.html and then clicking on Secure online ordering form. Nick Otting Carex Working Group 4 THE BAY LEAF September 2008 MAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN There were six of us on this overnight trip in July led by Gregg Weber. It was hot and the trail was steep. The Ohlone Wilderness trail is mostly a jeep trail for ranchers and firemen; it was not graded for mere hikers. Beginning at Del Valle Regional Park, it climbs from 700 ft to over 3400 ft over 10 miles with ups and downs. For plant lovers, it was more than worth the effort. There was a lovely suite of native trees and plants on the steep hillsides, protected from cattle. Old solid blue oaks, valley and black oaks, canyon live oaks, grey pine and bays provided blessed shade. We were pleased to find a lovely red flowered Mimulus cardinalis surrounded by a convention of hundreds of lady bugs. Out of reach of grazers was a handsome population of Keckiella corymhosa growing on mossy rocky outcrops. A patch of low growing verbena was blooming. Thousands of tarweeds ( Holocarpha virgata ) were coming into bloom. The milkweed ( Asclepias fascicularis ) growing in the creek beds was abundant and in full bloom. On the trail we found blue flowered vinegar weed ( Trichostema lanceolatum ) right on the trail. Red and orange color this time of year is provided by the poison oak and coffee berries, but the golden dry emnants of what must have been a great spring wildflower display were very evident. All agreed that we must return in April to see the lupines and Chinese houses, the Mur- rieta Falls slick with rainwater, and a crystal clear view from the Bay to Kieckella corymbosa Photo by John Taylor the Sierra from Rose Peak> Delia Taylor The intrepid hikers: Gregg Weber, David McFarlane, Joanne Orengo, Delia Taylor, John Taylor, Dinah Russell Photo by John Taylor THE BAY LEAF September 2008 5 Ohlone Wilderness trekkers Photo by John Taylor Holocarpha virgata Photo by John Taylor CANDIDATES SOUGHT FOR CNPS LEADERSHIP CNPS encourages everyone who wishes to make a contribution to CNPS to consider service on the CNPS State Board or Chapter Council. This summer, the Leadership Development Committee is recruiting candidates for the State Board and for officers of the Chapter Council for terms starting in January 2009. Service on the CNPS State Board or the Chapter Council is an opportunity to put your skills to work in favor of conservation of California’s natural environment. The work of these positions is essential to the success of CNPS’s programs - conservation, hor- ticulture, plant science - and to the work of the CNPS chapters. Serving a leadership role is an intensely satisfying experience and a source of pride for those who have participated. The CNPS State Board and Chapter Council leadership positions are open to any member of CNPS. The following positions are open beginning January, 2009: Board President Board Vice President Board Treasurer Five Directors One Chapter Council Representative on the Board Chapter Council Chair Chapter Council Vice Chair Chapter Council Secretary Self-nomination petitions for these positions are due October 1, 2008. The self nomination petition is posted on the CNPS website (http://www.cnps.org/cnps/events/pdf/2008_election_memo. pdf). Elections will be held in October, 2008. Please contact members of the Leadership Development Commit- tee if you have additional questions. Sue Britting, 530-295-8210, britting@earthlink.net Brian LeNeve, 831-624-8497, leneve@redshift.com Carol Witham, 916-452-5440, cwitham@ncal.net ACTIVITIES OF OTHERS Wednesdays in September and (possibly) Wednesday October 1, Lange’s metalmark butterfly surveys at Antioch Dunes. It is time once again for the Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly counts at Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. We will be counting butterflies one day/week for several weeks in August, September, and possibly into the first week of October. The dates that we will be conducting butterfly counts will all be on Wednesdays: September 3, 10, 17, 24, and possibly Oct. 1. Antioch in summer has very warm to hot weather, and the ter- rain can be uneven and sometimes steep. There are many plants to step over, under and around, as well as plant parts that want to go home with you. However, Lange’s metalmark butterflies are found nowhere else in the world, except at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Don’t miss this opportunity to see this endangered species. Volunteers will need to wear sturdy shoes/boots, long pants, and bring sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, lunch and lots of water. If you are interested in volunteering for the Aug-Sept. butterfly counts, please give me a call at 510-521-9624. If you leave a mes- sage, please include your name and phone number. If you prefer, you can reply by e-mail too. Susan Euing, US Fish and Wildlife Service sus an_euing@yahoo . com 6 THE BAY LEAF September 2008 California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter NATIVE PLANT FAM Saturday, October 18, 2008, 10 am-3 pm Sunday, October 19, 2008, noon-3 pm Native Here Nursery 101 Golf Course Drive, Til deo P^rle. B^rlwley (Across tlie street from theTHder Golf Course entrance] THE BAY LEAF September 2008 7 Board of Directors Elected Officers President Charli Danielsen 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org 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@att.net Education/Outreach Hospitality Bay Leaf Editor and Web- open master Membership Joe Willingham Elaine P. Jackson 510-841-4681 925-372-0687 pepel 066@comcast.net Elainejx@mindspring.com Bay Leaf Assistant Editor Carol Castro David Margolies 510-352-2382 510-654-0283 carollbcastro@hotmail. dm@franz.com com Bay Leaf Mailing Plant Sale Holly Forbes Interim Chair 510-234-2913 Sue Rosenthal hforbes@berkeley.edu 510-496-6016 rosacalifornica@earthlink. Education net open Book Sales Field Trips Elly Bade Janet Gawthrop Janetg24@excite.com bebade@sbcglobal.net Programs Regional Parks Botanic Sue Rosenthal Garden Liaison 510-496-6016 Sue Rosenthal rosacalifornica@earthlink. 510-496-6016 net rosacalifornica@earthlink. net Publicity/Media open Grants Sandy McCoy sandymccoy@mindspring. com Conservation 925-957-0069 Conservation Committee hbartosh@nomadecology. Chair com Laura Baker 510-849-1409 Unusual Plants Lbake66@aol.com Dianne Lake 510-741-8066 Conservation Analyst diannelake@yahoo.com (Staff) Lech Naumovich Vegetation 510 734-0335 Erin McDermott conservation@ebcnps.org erinmcd2004@yahoo.com Stewardship Members at Large Native Plant Restoration Gregg Weber Team 510-223-3310 open Roy West Native Here Nursery rwest@monocot.com Charli Danielsen Project 650-906-1100 Manager Margot Cunningham Sales Peter Rauch Manager peterar@berkeley.edu Janice Bray Liaison to Board 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Plant Science Bryophytes John Game51 0-527-7855 jcgame@standford.edu Rare Plants Heath Bartosh 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 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 September 2008 issue