JANUARY MEMBERS’ MEETING Photo Sharing Night! Wednesday, January 24, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) East Bay CNPS photo sharing nights are eye-popping, educa¬ tional, and fun. Everyone is invited to share photos or videos of flora, fauna, landscapes, gardens, hikes, trips and adven¬ tures, work parties, plant art, you name it! Come to share your images or just to enjoy those that others bring. Non-members are welcome to present and/ or enjoy, and both amateur and pro photographers are invited and appreciated. Conway Summit, Eastern Sierra, October 16, 2010, photo by Tucker Hammerstrom (CC BY-ND 2.0). Guidelines 1. IMPORTANT: Please contact Sue f pro- grams@ebcnps.org or 510-496-6016) by Janu¬ ary 17 if you want to show photos or videos. Each presenter will have time for up to 20 images or up to 7 minutes of video. Bring images you think will appeal to nature lovers. 2. Provide your images in advance so we can reduce set-up time at the meeting. 3. When you contact Sue (by January 17), youTl receive a link to an online Dropbox for this meeting, along with instructions on how to upload your photos or videos. If you haven't used Dropbox before, rest assured that it's easy to upload images (and less stressful than trying to do it via flash drive on the night of the meeting). Dropbox can accommodate large file sizes. Upload your PowerPoint, digital images, or videos to the Dropbox by January 22. Sue will be available to help if you have questions or problems with uploading. 4. Prints are also welcome; we'll have a table on which you can display them. 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 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. Next Month's Program February 28, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room Leslie Buck — Cutting Back: Garden Memoir Reading and Prun¬ ing Demonstration NATIVE HERE NURSERY GRASSLANDS DAY, 1/20/18 Native H ere Nursery Cio^hlamis Day Jan uary 20, 2018:10 am (o 2 pm in (.i*r Fud Li fM* KJ tim >On gnvtffe »»TT »^ifc -Tn - nni —r*~ »J muh [mivu! f ift in H fr «■ **0**!(l*ip !■ pillow m proral km It am Jim Fl.iiKim, I ArchUrct and Conservation Activist, 1*354 I'rL^tdra' at Cahtamia ^ali,M' Cfasslands Awk.mi.kti NATIVE HERE NURSERY As we start the new year, we continue to thank our loyal customers who have been so steadfast in purchasing plants through the years. Customers made Fall 2017 a great time for the nursery, coming to our monthly special sales events for manzanitas, ferns, riparian plants and trees. Many favor¬ able comments were received about our speaker series that introduced each of the special events. These special events will continue in 2018, with our Grasslands Day on January 20 and Trillium and Other Treasures on February 24. The speaker for Grasslands Day will be Jim Hanson, a Bay Area landscape architect, past president of the California Na¬ tive Grasslands Association, and chair of the Conservation Committee of the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. This promises to be an engaging day at the nursery. For details of this event and for others in the series, please see the nursery website at www.rmtiveherenur.sery. org. which also contains mid-month updates of our plant inventory. Volunteers are the key to the continued success of the nursery. We have an active team of experienced and permitted seed collectors who provide so much of the initial seed inventory, and, at the nursery, a dedicated core of volunteers who work one or more of our open days, Tuesdays, Fridays, and Satur¬ days to provide customer support, propagation, grooming, watering and nursery maintenance, as well as any of the many last minute needs it takes to keep things going. Our student volunteers generously represent far off lands and provide a special international flavor to the nursery. If working with plants intrigues you, and if you would like to be with other wonderful volunteers, please consider dropping by during our open hours on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and sign up to volunteer or contact our volunteer coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rap ear sQnsl(5>mac . CQ m. John Danielsen Native Here Nursery 2 THE BAY LEAF January 2018 RESTORATION PROJECTS On Wednesdays 2 pm to 5:30 pm and Sundays 9:30 am-1 pm. Skyline Gardens Project holds workday in the Berkeley/ Oakland hills on Skyline Trail and its environs. RSVP Sky- linegardens@ebcnps.org if interested. The Skyline Gardens Project is a combination botanical survey and restoration project in the Skyline Trail area of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills. The purpose is to document the native flora and to re¬ move invasive plants to restore the full native diversity of the area. The project is sponsored by the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) in collaboration with East Bay MUD. We hold workdays twice weekly, Wednesday late afternoons (after work), and Sunday mornings for three and a half hours. Saturday, January 6 and Saturday, January 20, Sat¬ urday, December 2, 9:30 am. Point Isabel restoration Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Saturday, January 6, 9 am to 1 pm, park restoration French broom removal. For event location and meeting place, lease contact park staff via phone: 510-544-3127, or email: red- wood@ebparks.org. No registration required. Rain cancels event. Sunday, January 7,10 am-1 pm, Eastshore State Park north shore basin/Schoolhouse Creek outlet John Kenny leads this monthly weeding and planting group, but you can show up without RSVP. Saturday, January 13, 9:30 am. Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve. Meet at the parking lot, where we look at weather and soil to decide the best worksite for the month. We had enough volunteers this month to split and work on two locations. With luck, there may be early flowers on the pallid manzanita. Heavy rain will cancel (soil erosion on slopes). Sunday, January 14, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, park restoration French broom removal. For event location and meeting place, please contact park staff via phone: 510-544-3127, or email: redwood@ebparks.org No registration required. Rain FIELD TRIPS Sunday, January 7, 2018, 2:00 pm, field trip to Huddart County Park to see fetid adder's tongue Location: Huddart County Park, 1100 Kings Mountain Road, Woodside (San Mateo County) California Meet in the parking lot just past the pay station. David Mar- golies (510-393-1858 cell, divaricatum@gmail.com J will lead a hike on the Crystal Springs Trail where fetid adder's tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii, Liliaceae) usually blooms in early January. (In most locations outside botanical gardens it blooms in late January or early February. We have seen it here almost every year except 2013 and 2016.) cancels event. Jeremy Saito | Recreation Supervisor | Interpretive and Rec¬ reation Services, East Bay Regional Park District jsaito@ebparks.org | www.ebparks.org Saturday, January 20,9:30 am-12:30 pm. Please join us for our first workshop in 2018, Garber Park. Workshop with Lech Naumovich: Fungi, Soil and the World Beneath Us: Resto¬ ration in Focus. Lech will be guiding us on a walk through the damp forests of Garber Park specifically with eyes on the world below. We will talk about basic fungal ID, timing, and reproduction as well as nutrient cycling and their use in restoration as amendments. We will dig into the soil and ID some anatomy of the fungus. FYI - January is typically a good month for seeing lots of fungi - especially if it's a warm, dry winter, which this one appears to be so far. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance to Garber, sign in, enjoy some coffee and snacks. Wear: long sleeves and pants and sturdy boots or shoes as the trails and slopes in Garber are rugged and steep. RSVP to Shelagh garberparkstewards@gmail.com as space is limited. Directions or more information can be found at garberparkstewards.org. Shelagh Brodersen Sunday, January 21, 9:00 am,Sibley Park Meet at the Old Tunnel Road staging area. If the Bay Ridge trail is muddy then we will start in from the paved road above the wall of broom. If you have questions e-mail janet- gawthrop47@gmail.com or sibley@ebparks.org. Saturday, January 27,9:30-11:30 am. Friends of Albany Hill for the last Saturday of the month weeding and planting work party. Email for location (address below). Gloves and tools provided but bring a favorite weeding tool if you like. Wear closed-toed shoes with good traction and clothes that can get dirty. Long pants and long sleeves recommended. For more info: friendsalbanyhill@gmail.com, friendsofalbanyhill. org. Margot Cunningham, www.friendsofalbanyhill.org This is a gentle trail, losing about 200 feet over about 1/2 mile to the creek. We will walk to the creek and then re¬ turn the same way. It is unlikely that there will be any other flowers out this early, but the fetid adder's tongue's presence tells us that the new flower season has started. Plants out of flower will also be identified. The area is second growth redwood and mixed evergreen forest. See www.meetup.com/ebcnps for more information. THE BAY LEAF January 2018 3 CONSERVATION ANALYST APPEAL DONATIONS Conservation Appeal for 2018 - We're getting close to our goal! Our generous members and friends continue to respond to our appeal, bringing us ever closer to our 2018 goal of $40,000 to sustain our Conservation Analyst and conserva¬ tion activities. Loyal members also continue to provide donations to support Chapter activities. Many thanks to all below for your dona¬ tions received this fiscal year: John Alcorn, Mary Alderson, George Ayala, Elly Bade, Ronald Barklow and Viola Saima-Barklow, Robert Berman, David Bigham and Howard Arendtson, Terry Blair, Susan Blanc, Peter Boffey, Barbara and Robert Brandriff, Zelda Bronstein, Margaret Brostrom, Robert Case, Carmen Castain, Sheila Castilla, Albert Chung, Jean Circiello, Patricia Coffey, Carol and Robert Coon, Margot Cunningham, Charli and John Danielsen, Jessica Davenport, Elizabeth Davidson, William Davis, Sally de Becker, Adrienne Debisschop, Mark Detter- man, Tri Do, Julie Dobson, John and Lisa Doyen, Sue Duck¬ ies, Chris Erickson, Barbara Ertter, Leesa Evans, Nada and Bruce Ferris, Mary Fisher, Gerald Ford and Holly Forbes, Judith Frank, Gordon and Jutta Frankie, Dorothy Frantz, Christine Gaber, Ellen Garber and Glenn Hunt, Linda Gav- enda, Clara Gerdes, David Gilpin, Sara Goolsby, Greenberg Family Trust, Sandy Pearson Greenwald, Ann Gurbaxani, Helen Hancock, Marguerite Harrell, Christie and John V. Hastings, Barry and Ellen Hecht, Claudia and Scott Hein, Hillside Gardeners of Montclair, Peter Hopkinson, Kristen Hopper, Bill and Lesley Hunt, Mike and Karen Ivankovich, Ashok Jethanandani and Arvind Kumar, Robert Jolda, Nicole Jurjavcic, Jane and Tom Kelly, John Kenny, Caroline Kim, Marian Kirch and Cindy Siegel, Gudrun Kleist, Marcia Kolb, Jill Korte, Eve Lednicky, Elizabeth Leite, Nancy Leite, Barbara and Philip Leitner, David and Evelyne Lennette, Ed Leong, Arthur Levy, Patricia Litton and Peter J. Ralston, David Loeb, Barbara Lyss, Matthew Madison, Ruth Malone, Tamia Marg, William McCormack, Jean McKenzie, Shirley McPheeters, Christina McWhorter, Jamie Menasco, Jon Merkle, Louise Miller, Brian Napolitan, Lech Naumovich, Linda Newton, Roberta O'Grady, Beatrice O'Keefe, Charles and Anne Olsen, Sharon Ordeman, Elizabeth O'Shea, Ellen Pearce and Linda Aurichio, John Roberts, Cecelia Ronis and Sandy Steinman, Rose Foundation, Krehe and Katherine Ritter, San Leandro Garden Club, Carol Schneider, Judy Schwartz, Pamela Seif¬ ert, Brenda Senturia, Greti and Carlo Sequin, Mardi Sicular- Mertens, Jake Sigg, Shir ley mae and Igor Skaredoff, Suzanne Skrivanich, Karen Smith, Elizabeth Sojourner, Lionel Soren¬ son, Robert Sorenson, Douglas Stinson and Joy Barnitz, Ruth and Donald Stiver, Aaron Sunshine, Mary Jo Sutton, Sylvia Sykora, Ted Tawshunsky, Delia and John Taylor, Steve Toby, Laurie Umeh, Liz Varnhagen, Linda Vida-Sunnen, Elizabeth and Craig Wahl, Jeanne Walpole, Stephen Walsh and Brenda Buxton, Karen Wetherell, Shirley White, Susan Wickham, Joe and Doris Willingham, Christina Wistrom, Jessica Woodard, Elaine Worthington-Jackson, E William and Mary Alice Yund, David Zippin, Roberta Zorzynski The December work crew, including the students from Japand attending the ESI school. Photo by Jane Kelly. 4 THE BAY LEAF January 2018 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION REPORT: DECEMBER 2017 December was a big month for hundreds of California native plants. On December 2 nd we welcomed a total of 21 volunteers to Point Isabel including a crew of eight Japanese students at¬ tending the English Studies Institute (ESI) chaperoned by their leader Brian. New volunteers Glen, Nathan, John (who arrived 4 weeks prior from Washington DC), and microbiolo¬ gist Claire joined Nina, Miriam, John Kenny, Gudrun, Mayu, Sue Schoening + Snowy, Rob and Janet Gawthrop. The volunteers planted 18 blue wild rye ( Elymus glaucus) and 20 red fescue ( Festuca rubra). We spoke about the value of these plants as perennial grasses with deep root systems sequestering CO, and with seeds that are irresistible for our local birds. With the assistance of Steward Sue and Core Volunteer Miriam, the crew also planted 4 young coffeeberry (Frangula califomica) shrubs donated to the project by Miriam. After getting the plants into the ground and irrigating them the volunteers cleared oat grass from around the newly planted California grasses and they cut down fennel across the Hoffman Channel. We also removed newly emerging oxalis. If anyone has discovered a fool-proof and environmentally safe method for eliminating oxalis we welcome your advice! "Our" Ridgway's Rail ( Rallus longirostris obsoletus) showed up again sheltering in the lizard tail ( Eriophyllum staechadifolium) as the tide rose in Hoffman Marsh. We spotted many snowy egrets and mallards in the marsh. On December 16 th , in a relentless wind storm, a determined and experienced volunteer crew succeeded in planting and irrigating all the remaining plants donated by the EBRPD. These included deerweed ( [Acmispon glabcr), California sage (Artemisia califomica), yarrow (Achillea millefolium) great salt bush (Atriplex lentiformis), California buckwheat ( Eriogonum fasciculatum), lizard tail ( Eriophyllum staechadifolium), lippia (Phyla nodiflora), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), California wild rose (Rosa califomica), black sage (Salvia mellifera), and bee plant (Scrophularia califomica). We will continue to irrigate these precious new plantings until we have significant rain. It's time to say thank you to all those who made this project expansion possible: Scott Possin, our EBRPD Supervisor, who enthusiastically supports this project and who advo¬ cated for the plant stipend; the Contra Costa County 2017 Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund whose grant allowed us to purchase soil, tools and gloves needed for all the work accomplished in summer and fall; the Watershed Nursery in Richmond for growing such healthy plants for us; our great EBRPD Ranger Bruce Adams; and all the amazing volunteers whose energy and support inspires us. All the previous plant¬ ings are starting to awaken so please stop by one day to see how amazing everything is starting to look! Jane and Tom Kelly Photos by Jane Kelly An ESI student at work (upper left), red fescue planted (lower left), and California sage brush planted (right). Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF January 2018 5 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President David Bigham david@hjuliendesigns.com Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Bryophytes John Game, Bryophyte Liaison 510-527-7855 johngame34@gmail.com Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Marilyn Catterton. Chair mtcatt@gmail.com Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Steve Toby stevetoby@comcast.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey dslakey@cnps.org Restoration Chair Vacant Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-691-1428 unusual-plants-admin@ ebcnps.org Vegetation Megan Keever, Co-Chair megan@stillwatersci.com Nicole Jurjavcic, Co-Chair nicole@stillwatersci.com EBCNPS spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastruture 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Strawberry Creek Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF January 2018 6 FEBRUARY MEMBERS’ MEETING Cutting Back: Garden Memoir Reading and Pruning Demonstration Speaker: Leslie Buck Wednesday, February 28, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Join us for a reading from Leslie Buck's new garden memoir. Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto, along with a pruning demonstration for all levels of experience. Leslie's adventures in the gardens of Kyoto, recounted in her New York Times- reviewed book. Cutting Back , took her into some of the most beautiful and natural looking (not sheared!) native plant gardens she'd ever seen. She has applied what she learned in Kyoto to her work with California native plants, with beautiful results. Leslie will share information about pruning in general and teach a few basic cuts for creating natural-looking native gardens. To round out the evening, she'll read excerpts from her delightful garden memoir. Copies of Leslie's book will be available for purchase at the meeting (cash or check). Leslie Buck pruning. Photo by Maya Blum. Leslie Buck has been a natural garden designer and aesthetic pruner in the San Francisco Bay Area for over two decades. During that time, she has lectured regularly and led many workshops. She holds a fine arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, attended the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux, France, and studied horticulture at Merritt Col¬ lege, where she met her mentor Dennis Makishima, a world- renowned pruning instructor and bonsai artist. Leslie has worked, taught, and volunteered in hundreds of private landscapes as well as dozens of public gardens. In 2000, Leslie studied in Kyoto with Uetoh Zoen, one of the old¬ est and most highly acclaimed landscape companies in Japan. 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: 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 sig¬ nal 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. VIA 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. NATIVE HERE NURSERY TRILLIUM TIME, 2/24/18 The series of special focus Saturdays at Native Here for the fall/ winter 2017-18 season will end with February 24 Tril¬ lium Time from 10 am to 2 pm.. Not only Trillium, which are part of the forest understory, but other hard to find plants from a different, open, rocky environment will be featured. John Danielsen, who coordinates seed and cutting collec¬ tion as well as propagating many of the special plants, will speak at 11 am about the challenges of growing and caring for them. There is also a wealth of annuals germinating each week into springtime. Buy them in 4" pots of seedlings, divide and plant. The supply of annuals changes too rapidly to appear on the nursery's inventory posted on the nursery website www.nativeherenursery.org . CEHI WINS LAWSUIT ON "The California Environmental Health Initiative (CEHI) is an organization whose goal (quoting from their website, cal-ehi. org) is "to bring citizen advocacy and scientific research to bear on policy decisions that impact the health of Californians. Our focus is expanding awareness that protecting human and environmental health must be the first priority in all food and agricultural decisions." CEHI and several other organizations sued the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDF A)o restrict pesticide spraying in California. The suit was decided in their favor, with the court halting "a state program allowing pesticide spraying at schools, organic farms and backyards across California because of inadequate public disclosure of the chemicals' harms." You can read CEHI's full press release on their website (cal- ehi.org). CNPS East Bay's own Tom and Jane Kelly, who run the Point Isabel restoration project, are board members of CEHI. CNPS Conservation Program Director Greg Suba wrote a letter to the CFDA in 2011 outlining CNPS's policy with re¬ gard to pesticide use. In it he states that "chemical sprays, like other vegetation treatments, have potential adverse effects. The decision of whether or not to use chemicals in a specific invasive species management project should be based on an evaluation of chemical and alternative treatments. The Notice of Preparation (NOP) states that the draft Pesticide Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) will address discretion¬ ary actions including, '(a) methodology for evaluation of en- Trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, bulbs - all are available. Some trees and riparian plants are offered at half the usual price. Check the inventory to see what they are. The nursery remains open for shopping year round on Tuesdays from noon to 3, Fridays from 9 to noon, and Saturdays from 10 to 2. Volunteers are always welcome to help water and care for plants, help with propagation and general tidying of the nursery. There are also some special projects for folks who cannot come to the nursery on a regular basis during open hours. Contact Ruth Ann Pearsons, our volunteer coordinator at rapearsonsl@mac. com for more information about volunteer opportunities. Charli Danielsen, propagation leader PESTICIDE USE BY CFDA vironmental impacts related to new pests, pest management tactics, and pest prevention and management programs. "Therefore the draft PEIR must clearly describe what meth¬ odology will provide for future input and modifications to current management tactics and programs assessed in the PEIR, whereby advances in effective pest management practices resulting from scientific research, which make them less dependent on potentially harmful chemicals and more sensitive to protecting human and environmental health, are incorporated into the Statewide Program... We urge the CDFA not to trade trust for expediency, and to consider these recommendations for a transparent, science-based approach to developing a Pest PEIR that incorporates a broad spectrum of stakeholder input. In this way, the CDFA can build public trust, avoid challenges to the PEIR, and implement an ef¬ fective, enforceable Statewide Program. We are concerned that the proposed Pest PEIR is overly broad, and will not be able to adequately address, or even identify, environmental concerns associated with current and future pest manage¬ ment programs. To address this concern, we strongly feel the organization of pest prevention and management information into pest groups, as described in the NOP, should include categories that divide agricultural pests from wildlands pests to further facilitate the use of the PEIR." See the CNPS website (cnps.org) for more information on CNPS policy on this issue. 2 THE BAY LEAF February 2018 RESTORATION PROJECTS Saturday, February 3,2018,9 am-noon Sabercat Creek Habi¬ tat Restoration, Site 4. From the trailhead at Quema Drive and Paseo Padre Pkwy, go down the slope to the main trail and turn left (head east). Go through the cattle gate, and you should immediately see a site to your right with cages, before the Paseo Padre Parkway underpass. We will be caring for native trees and shrubs, removing invasives, and sheet mulch¬ ing. Our work will help stabilize soils and creek banks, filter pollutants, increase native plant diversity, and improve food and shelter for wildlife. Registration is required. Please visit www.fremont. gov/Sa- bercatRestoration . Click on the "Eventbrite" hyperlink to find the pages for upcoming events. Heavy rain cancels the event. No experience is necessary. All ages are welcome, but chil¬ dren under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult. For more questions or comments, please contact Sabrina Siebert at ssiebert@f remont. gov or call 510-494-4589. Saturday, February 3, 9-1, broom pull in Redwood Park Meet at Pinehurst Gate. Sunday, February 4,10 am, Northbasin in Eastshore State Park. The North Basin restoration project meets the first Sun¬ day of each month at Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, on the bay shoreline south of Tom Bates soccer fields, to continue clearing radish and other invasives from around the native plants and prepare for next year's plantings. For more in¬ formation and directions, contact johnkenny54@yahoo.com . Saturday, February 3 and Saturday, February 17, Point Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Wednesdays, 2 pm-5:30 pm and Sundays, 9:30 am-1 pm. Skyline Gardens Project holds workday in the Berke¬ ley/Oakland hills on Skyline Trail and its environs. RSVP Skylinegardens@ebcnps.org if interested. The Skyline Gardens Project is a combination botanical survey and restora¬ tion project in the Skyline Trail area of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills. The purpose is to document the native flora and to re¬ move invasive plants to restore the full native diversity of the area. The project is sponsored by the East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) in collaboration with East Bay MUD. We hold workdays twice weekly, Wednesday late afternoons (after work), and Sunday mornings for three and a half hours. Saturday, February 10, join Janet Gawthrop and oth¬ er volunteers restoring Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve in the Oakland hills. See http: / / www.meetup.com/Calif ornia-Native-Plant-Society- East-Bav-Chapter / photos 710662812/226066492/ Please note that you may be exposed to poison oak during this event so if you are sensitive to it you may wish to consider another event. For more information: https:/ /www.meetup, com/ebcnps/ events/ dqwtthvxdbnb/ Sunday, February 11,9:30-1:30, broom pull in Redwood Re¬ gional Park. Meet at the fire station, next door to the Redwood Park entrance on Redwood Road. If you have questions about location call the ranger office at 510-544-3127. Saturday, February 17,10 am-noon, Garber Park. We will continue our invasive weed pull in our long-term effort to restore and maintain native plant communities in this beautiful woodland park at the base of Claremont Canyon. This month we will focus on the Harwood Creek Area (Bobs Place) where invasive weeds are threatening to take over. We will look for possible planting sites—and do some planting. Or if you have a favorite place to work, or wish to do some trail maintenance and clearing, we welcome your help. Wear long sleeves, long pants and shoes with good tread. We provide tools, snacks, and water. Please bring a water bottle for refills. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance to Garber Park, 0.4 miles up Claremont from the Tunnel Road/ Ashby Avenue intersection. Look for the Garber Park sign at the parking turn¬ out. Maps and directions also can be found at www.garber- parkstewards.org or contact Shelagh at garberparkstewards@ gmail.com . Sunday, February 18, 9 am, Sibley Park. For Oakland driv¬ ers, I recommend that you just get on Highway 24 and exit at Fish Ranch Road, right after the tunnel. We now meet at the Old Tunnel Road staging area, so a detour to reach Skyline is not helpful. We have loaner gloves and tools, and there will likely be both grey fuzzy buds and staminate flowers on the arroyo willows along the Sibley to Tilden trail. Saturday, February 24,9:30-11:30 am,join Friends of Albany Hill for the last Saturday of the month weeding and planting work party. Email for location (address below). Gloves and tools provided but bring a favorite weeding tool if you like. Wear closed-toed shoes with good traction and clothes that can get dirty. Long pants and long sleeves recommended. For more jnformation: friendsalbanyhill@gmail.com, friend- sofalbanyhill.org Margot Cunningham Friends of Albany Hill w w w. f riendsof albanv hill, or g THE BAY LEAF February 2018 3 rnffwm HHoBo by Janice few Native Here Nursery 101 Golf Course Drive, Tilden Park Trillium Time! February 24,2018: 10 am to 2 pm Milium arv wcwth waiting fcrl i hey twice sc-vi-ral yew* of gn)w(h, disappearing Entirely later in the spring and summer, reappearing Ln winter before Howtrin$. They area wonderful color r ‘Lfeat P in the mi nhJL.mil unditfSitory, often associated with rislMiXXl* limit 5 per cuxUicncr OH this day; Oi3xt "treasures* inrtude mfu»fttr r Setfeiw ypaftvhfalwm, and Boidirtft frrwwm- dcntoms of a very different plant community, candidates for rock gardens. February is a-iill a good, lime U> plan! uilter types m plants, and Native Hew Jut* quite a variety on offer. Check llse list of available plmts posted mid -month on our website Wivvv. nahvelie ntrrtu r sen'.tujj 11 am John Danielsen, propagator of special plants, will talk about challenges of growing and caring for them 4 THE BAY LEAF February 2018 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION REPORT: JANUARY 2018 Mushrooms are always a hopeful sign. When they start to appear in the mulch at Pt. Isabel we know that the days will be getting longer and the early flowering plants will soon be in bloom. When that happens we'll begin to see the native bees that roll and tumble in the poppy blooms. We see several species of mushrooms at Pt. Isabel, most of which emerge from the mulch. We don't know much about mycology, so we would appreciate the help of any who does who is willing to help us identify them. In the absence of significant rain, our crew spent the early part of January irrigating the new plantings. Once we were confident the plants were settling in we turned our attention to carefully removing oat grass shoots from among the carpet of California poppies ( Eschscholzia califomica) on Steward Nina's site, thereby allowing the little poppy seedlings to benefit from the awaited rains. Then we began our yearly winter task of removing oxalis along the entire stretch of the project and taking out the clumps of oat grass that are encroaching on the new plantings. These tasks were carried out by the Pt. Isabel volunteers, who have come to know the native plants and can easily distinguish between what is to be weeded and what is to be protected. We planted one more California buckeye ( Aesculus califomica) that we grew from seed collected from one of the buckeyes at the edge of the Hoffman Channel. Every buckeye sapling that we've planted is thriving and the first ones are already producing their own seeds. We also returned to the Ramblers Club at Miller Knox and found that the French broom we had worked so hard to remove from around the coast live oaks ( Quercus agrifolia ), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) , and coast redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens) had, not surprisingly, returned. We spent a good part of two days removing it from around the base of all the trees and the shrubs. There's still a bit more to work on so we'll get the rest of the broom before it begins to flower. Special thanks this month to volunteer Richard Seals who works happily and tirelessly weeding around the native plants, saving every tiny poppy seedling that he encounters. Working alongside Richard is a real pleasure. Thanks also to Core Volunteer Rob Kirby for his unswerving work removing all the trash along Rydin Road, the trail itself, and beyond. Our appreciation as always to our great EBRPD Ranger, Bruce Adams. Jane and Tom Kelly THE BAY LEAF February 2018 5 In the last week, we've been out dodging these welcome rains to weed and plant. We had a big group out on Sunday and we rolled back the scattergrass in two areas near the Bay Grove. Welcome to Valerie, Steve, Jazmine, Yoshiya, James, Brandon and Alex. Conditions look perfect for lots of planting on Sunday. We'll be planting on the Plateau and in the Bay Grove. We'll meet at Siesta Gate at 9:30 - please let me know if you can make it. In our restoration work on the high ridge meadow areas at Skyline, we've been observing the role of gophers in the local ecology. Our local species of gopher is Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae) and they are little miners. They excavate underground homes of tunnels and many chambers: places to sleep, places to store food, places for their waste, and now, even little rooms for Gopher Wi-fi. Each gopher occupies a defined territory; in good soil this can span about 1,000 square feet (or an area about 30 feet square). Gophers are vegetarians, and in the spots where they feed heavily, the surface is pock-marked with little holes and bumps. That's what their name comes from, for the word "gopher" comes from the French "gaufre" which means 'waffle;' they were named for the waffle-like pattern of their feeding holes. All this excavation brings a lot of soil to the surface, which we see as gopher mounds. One gopher can move up to several cubic yards of soil each year.Now the soil that gophers bring up to the surface comes from deep in the ground, and it is mineral soil, nearly completely free of any seeds. So a fresh gopher mound becomes the perfect seed bed for new plants. These mounds are crumbly, so nearby seeds fall right into the pits and cracks, and these mounds are the perfect places to sprout with no competition. I have noticed that these gopher mounds are often the best places for annual wildflowers, espe¬ cially in meadow areas heavily infected with greedy invasive grasses. These are places where our native wildflowers can grow and temporarily thrive with the competition pushed to the edges. The same dynamic is also true of areas where our native perennials grow very thick. Without gophers, the perennials will simply cover and lock down the whole area and choke out the annual wildflowers. I first saw this years ago when I was exploring a "sea-stack" just barely separated from the Mendocino Coast. While the mainland had a rich display of tidy tips, gold fields, owls clover and such, the sea-stack was completely thatched over with native perennials such as Phacelia, angelica, lizard tail, buckwheat, yarrow and such. I couldn't explain why there were no annual wildflowers on the sea-stack full of natives, until I saw that there were no gophers out there to open up seed beds with their mounds of earth. Sure enough, remove the gophers and you remove these wildflowers. We are finding these same patterns up at Skyline and here are some photos. Let's start with poppies; here's a shot of poppy seedlings on a fresh gopher mound: You can see that the poppy seedlings are surrounded by the bare, pebbled earth of a gopher mound. Here's a shot of popcorn flower seedlings: The large rosettes with the pointed leaves are popcorn flow¬ ers, two large ones and one small one. At the center right is a Phacelia seedling, with deeper vein lines on the leaves. The red stake is to flag these from over zealous vinegar sprayers or weeders. If these survive to make flowers and seeds, this spot will become a little reservoir of wildflower seeds for the next seasons. Here's a large area of gopher activity surrounded by a ring of fiddleneck seedlings: 6 THE BAY LEAF February 2018 SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: CONT. Here's a medley of native plants coming up in a mound: At the left is a miner's lettuce seedling. (The round leaves we associate with these will develop later around the flower stalk). In the middle is a buckwheat; a perennial who has survived the recent excavation. In the upper right are two seedlings of silver lupine, the shrubby lupine with the purple flowers. These have a long way to go to complete their life cycle. Next time you are out, take a moment to look around and see how our little miner friends promote diverse and beautiful meadowlands. The long spring that began with the first rains in October - over three months ago - is now beginning to blossom forth. The first wildflowers are starting to peek out at Skyline. Here's our lovely yellow ground-hugger, with the frilly leaves: This is Lomatium (probably L. caruifolium), sometimes called biscuit root or hog fennel. They are members of the parsley family. Each flower head is about the size of a silver dollar, FEBRUARY FIELD TRIPS Saturday, Febuary 17, 1:30 pm, field trip to Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve. If it's raining on February 17, but not on February 18, then this field trip will take place on Febuary 18 at 1:30 pm. We'll meet in the Huckleberry parking lot and go out to look at maritime chapparal that flowers in winter. Directors: Go from Highway 13 to Snake to Shepherd Canyon to its end at Skyline and turn left to follow Skyline to Huck¬ leberry Park. The road damage on Snake is still not fixed. The trip leader is Janet Gawthrop. The fiddlenecks are quite well developed, and right here I believe they are growing in last year's gopher mounds. The soil to the left is very fresh, within days because it hasn't yet been rained on, and will provide the seed bed for next year's fiddlenecks. and the color is a pure lemon yellow. They have a deep, un¬ derground tuber that sustains them in the dry season. By the way, these fine-cut clumps of leaves are devils to spot when we are out spraying vinegar. And, here is our first Indian paintbrush: We have lots of these at Skyline, and they just light up the land. It is wonderful, and deeply reassuring, to see them again. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider Sunday, February 25,2:00 pm, nature walk in Redwood Regional Park A fairly short walk along the East Ridge Trail starting at the Moon Gate entrance to Redwood Re¬ gional Park (on Skyline Drive). The trail has many western leatherwood shrubs, which should all be in bloom, along with other shrubs and flow¬ ers. We will walk to the Chabot Observatory, and then some ways into the redwoods groves downslope. Trip led by David Margolies. THE BAY LEAF February 2018 7 CONSERVATION REPORT Richmond Planning Commission looks at Point Molate planning meetings On January 18, 2018 the Richmond Planning Commission heard from members of the public about how the City should involve the community in determining land uses at Point Mo¬ late. Speaking on behalf of CNPS, I asked that Point Molate's rich botanical resources be represented as they are in the site overview that will be provided for these meetings. Fortunately maps already exist that show the vegetation communities and special-status species on this approximately 300 acre. City owned shoreline property. We requested that the City share this botanical information in a format would inform the general public of its diversity and beauty. It is important that Richmond residents be given the opportu¬ nity to learn about the unique richness of their city's natural heritage. Many Richmond residents have yet to experience the natural and scenic beauty of Point Molate. The native flora of Point Molate is described in our chapter's Botanical Priority Protection Area publication (Bartosh et Festuca rubra bunchgrasses on Point Molate hillside. Photo by Jim Hanson. al, 2012). Plant communities located there include coastal grasslands, coastal bluff scrub, salt marsh, wetlands, and eelgrass beds. Emerging with tall elegant stalks topped with white flowers, the rare Suisun marsh aster (Symphyotrichum lentum, CNPS Rare Plant Rank 1B.2) has been documented next to brackish marsh there. In 1996 a group of three esteemed botanists who are CNPS members, accompanied by Bruce Beyaert of Richmond (then representing the Point Molate Blue Ribbon Advi¬ sory Committee), ventured to visit a dozen spots on one spring day. Barbara Ertter, Chris Thayer, and our Rare and Unusual Plants Chair Dianne Lake compiled an im¬ pressive plant list from that one visit. They documented more than fifty rare, unusual, and significant plants, and submitted this list to the Richmond Planning Department. After hearing a presentation from staff, the Planning Com¬ missioners heard from several speakers in support of community-centered planning for Point Molate. In addition to CNPS, Citizens for East Shore State Parks and Richmond resident and Audubon member Tony Brake also commented on content they want included in planning meetings deciding Point Molate's destiny. For example, Mr. Brake has witnessed majestic ospreys returning to the peninsula in recent years. Citizen input into the actual design of the community meet¬ ings was approved in a Council-passed proposal by Council members Melvin Willis and Ben Choi in November of 2017. The Planning Commission will return to make a recommen¬ dation on this item to Council on Thursday, February 1,2018, about when and how to conduct the public meetings. The end goal of this planning process is to provide residents with the opportunity to comment on desirable land use designations, or zoning, on the Point Molate peninsula, including Point Molate's role in the big picture of Richmond's overall future. The first community planning meeting on Point Molate is set for late Spring of 2018. In addition to staying posted for further updates and attending these meetings there are many ways to become involved. Photographs of the natural flora at Point Molate would be a helpful addition to the community meetings. Plant lists from field trips, both professional and amateur, would also contribute further records on Point Molate's exceptional nature. We encourage our members to visit Point Molate Beach Park, and attend the future planning meetings. Bay Area wide conservation mapping being updated The Bay Area Open Space Council is renovating its database and mapping tool on land use and conservation values for the San Francisco Bay Area. Called the "Conservation Lands Network" (CLN), it is primarily a database and mapping tool known as the "CLN 2.0 Science Expansion". CNPS partici- 8 THE BAY LEAF February 2018 CONSERVATION REPORT CONT. Coastal scrub, native grassland, and bird habitat at Point Molate in Richmond. Photo by Jim Hanson. pated in the development of the original mapping tool and database in 2012.1 have been representing East Bay Chapter of CNPS on the project's Vegetation Focus Team since Octo¬ ber 2017. The vegetation team has been reviewing methods to represent general vegetation community types within a "coarse filter" by examining how to divide classes of vegeta¬ tion without losing important biodiversity data, both known and predicted. Additional teams will focus on finer vegetation and resource mapping approaches later this year. Karen Whitestone Edits and pictures by Jim Hanson THE BAY LEAF February 2018 9 JEAN ROBERTSON REMEMBERED Our beloved Conservation Committee Chair Jean Robertson was a fierce protector of native plants. Since she died last November, friends and admirers have stepped up and made generous gifts to the East Bay Chapter in her memory. Know¬ ing that Jean's heart was first and foremost in conservation, the chapter will use these donated funds for conservation action. As Jean's life partner Claire Wings puts it, "Conserva¬ tion and Action were two of Jean's defining priorities in life." Jean would be pleased to see her work continue. If you would like to make a donation in Jean's memory, please send your check to CNPS East Bay Chapter, P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station, Berkeley, CA 94705 and note in the memo line that it's in memory of Jean Robertson. Or go to http://ebcnps.org/about-us/donations . Choose either the Conservation Analyst fund (top "Donate" button) or the fund that supports East Bay CNPS activities in general (bottom "Donate" button). Make a donation and then send a note to corresponding-secretary@ebcnps.org letting us know your donation is in Jean's memory. It will be used well. Barbara Leitner 10 THE BAY LEAF Febru¬ ary 2018 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz david@hjuliendesigns.com Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey dslakey@cnps.org Restoration Chair Vacant Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-691-1428 unusual-plants-admin@ ebcnps.org Vegetation Megan Keever, Co-Chair megan@stillwatersci.com Nicole Jurjavcic, Co-Chair nicole@stillwatersci.com EBCNPS spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastruture 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF February 2018 11 MARCH MEMBERS* MEETING Wednesday, March 28, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Visit the Members' Meetings page on the East Bay CNPS website after March 5 for the announcement of this month's program: http://ebcnps.org/chapter-events-initiatives/ members-meetings / If you have questions, please contact programs@ebcnps.org . 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: 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 sig¬ nal 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. VIA 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. Next Month's Program April 25, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room Michele Hammond: The East Bay's Endangered Pallid Man- zanita Mount Diablo with snow, February 2018. Photo by Glen Schneider. A CALL FOR UNUSUAL PLANTS FIELDWORK Spring is approaching rapidly and it is once again time to get into the field and monitor our unusual (locally rare) native plant populations. I have been reviewing our East Bay CNPS Chapter database of Rare, Unusual, and Significant Plants of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties to prioritize field work for this spring. I have come to realize that there are many records from the 1990s that haven't been reported since that time, so those populations will be the focus for this spring. Since I'm not able to do much hiking at all anymore I am asking for everyone's help to monitor these populations and see how they are doing. Polemonium cameum : Palomares Rd: Stony Creek Canyon and Summit (probably on private land and might need research about ownership and access) Stachys bullata : 5 sites. ID questionable at all 5 sites. Can be hard to distinguish from Stachys rigida Places Browns Island: 25 species Coyote Hills Regional Park (near Newark): 10 species Del Valle Regional Park: Hills on East side of lake (this area is largely unexplored) Los Vaqueros: Several species need specific location descriptions or points San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge (near Newark): 9 species While I have already requested a number of people to look for and monitor certain plants and/ or various locations where multiple populations occur, there are still several plant species and locations to be surveyed, and volunteers are needed to visit and monitor those sites. The main data to be gathered on these surveys are plant name, date monitored, location description (and GPS coordinates if possible), number of plants (or size of area), habitat, condition of population, and any threats. Following is a list of some of the fieldwork that still needs to be done this spring. If you are familiar with any of these plants or locations, and would like to help, please contact me at diannelake@yahoo.com for more details. Plants Bidens laevis : 6 sites Gilia achilleifolia : 5 sites where the subspecies is unknown and needs to be determined Gilia capitata : 3 sites where the subspecies is unknown and needs to be determined Gilia tricolor : 8 sites where the subspecies is unknown and needs to be determined Juncus ensifolius : 3 sites Lupinus variicolor : 5 sites (this can be difficult to distinguish from a few other lupine species) Phacelia ciliata : 15 sites If none of these plants or locations are familiar to you or do not appeal to you, please look at the database and pick a plant species and/ or place that you would like to monitor. If you are not already signed up to use the database, please go to the EBCNPS website, click on plant science, and you will see the database on the menu. As you conduct your surveys please remember to record the plant name, date observed, location description (plus GPS coordinates if possible), number of plants (or size of area), habitat, condition of population, and any threats. As you complete your surveys, please enter your results into the database, using the "add observations" function. Note that these observations go into a queue for review, so I may contact you if I have any questions or need additional information. If you are not already signed up to add observations, let me know and I will have Gregg upgrade your account without your having to fill out the additional application form. Thank you ahead of time to all of you for your help. Happy Botanizing! Dianne Lake Unusual Plants Coordinator 10 YEARS OF THE EAST COUNTY HABITAT CONSERVANCY In 2007 the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy began operations after nearly a decade of planning and negotiation. The East Bay Chapter of CNPS was involved at an early stage and has always held a seat on the Public Advisory Committee. A habitat conservancy streamlines the permitting process for developers and pools the resulting money to buy land that has the environmental values set out in its authorizing documents. This results in larger blocks of land that are better for conserving viable habitat. Our conservancy also restores features such as wetlands that are in short supply in East County. Last September the Conservancy celebrated its tenth anniversary. It was amazing that all the primary players in forming the Conservancy were still around and attended the party. There were many speeches, people to recognize for their contributions, and much applause, but the only standing ovation was for John Kopchik, who conceived the idea and brought it to fruition, and Abby Fateman, who assisted him for years and succeeded him as Executive Director when John was promoted to Director of the County Planning Department. Lesley Hunt 2 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 BRINGING BACK THE NATIVES GARDEN TOUR: 5/6/18 The Garden Tour - Forty bird- and butterfly-friendly, pesticide- free, water conserving, low maintenance gardens that contain 60% or more native plants will be open on Sunday, May 6, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. More than forty garden talks will be offered throughout the weekend of the Tour. Art and Music in the Gardens - Join us for a day of art and music in the gardens on the day of the Tour! Whether you are interested in enjoying sculptures in situ, browsing art for sale, or sketching a garden yourself, this is the Tour for you! In addition, you are invited to settle down in one of a number of beautiful gardens to hear Bluegrass, Baroque, Jazz, or Renaissance music, as well as flutes, woodwinds, guitar, and even sitar. Join California's Native Plant Movement! - Special Offer for Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Registrants: Become a California Native Plant Society (CNPS) member for just $15 (normally $45) when you register for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. That's 66% off the regular membership price. Members receive the beautiful Flora magazine, filled with native gardening tips, inspiring interviews, and photo essays. You'll also be put in touch with your local chapter for field trip, volunteer, and other event information. Simply complete your online registration for the Tour, and in your registration confirmation email you'll find a discount code for a one year individual membership. Don't miss this rare discounted opportunity to join CNPS in its mission to restore nature one garden at a time and save California's native plants and places. Offer good through midnight. May 6 and does not apply to current CNPS members. Be sure to add Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting to your ad¬ dress book, so you receive the Tour registration confirmation e-mail, which contains the CNPS discount link, as well as other emails the Tour will be sending out this spring. Workshops - A series of workshops on native plant propa¬ gation and garden sustainable gardening will be offered this spring. (Think chickens, pond, rainwater harvesting, native plants, fruit trees, seed collection, and more!). These work¬ shops will fill; register early to avoid being disappointed. Garden Art and Native Plant Extravaganza at East Bay Wilds, Saturday, April 28 Shop for garden art and native plants at this special fundraiser for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. Browse through owner Pete Veilleux's extensive, eclectic collection of garden benches, tables, chairs, statues, planters, antiques, and tchotchkes for sale at great prices. Peruse the more than 800 species of native plants - many of them not available else¬ where - grown at this amazing nursery. East Bay Wilds is not normally open to the public, so don't miss this opportunity to bring home garden art and native plants that are just right for your garden! 15% of all purchases will go to support the Tour. Can you print and distribute T our fliers ? - Due to budgetary constraints, we are not distributing Tour fliers this year. If you are able to print and distribute the Tour flier (to your local library, nature center, coffee shop, co-workers or neigh¬ bors), we would be grateful. Volunteers - are needed on the day of the Tour (Sunday, May 6,2018), to spend a morning or afternoon greeting Tour participants or answering questions about natives. Complete the volunteer section of the registration form if you would like to help out this year. Benefits to volunteers include a free garden guide, invitations to Garden Soirees, in which Tour gardens are open to hosts and volunteers; a pre-Tour meeting with the owner and private Tour of the garden you will be staffing; a guaranteed Tour reservation for the half day you are free; a Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour t-shirt, and, perhaps best of all, heartfelt thanks for helping to educate the general public about the many pleasures and benefits of gardening with California native plants. Prior to signing up to volunteer, browse the gardens to choose the garden you would like to be assigned to. Click here for more information on volunteering. 2019 Tour - Applications for the 2019 Tour are now being accepted. You can download the application form from the Tour website. Garden visits will be made in May and June. (Please note that gardens must contain at least 60% or more native plants.) Donations and Garden Guide - A $15 per person donation is requested to help cover the cost of putting on the Tour. Please help ensure the Tour's continuation by donating generously; we are counting on your support. In addition to the requested $15 per person for Tour attendance, please consider making a donation above and beyond that amount to help ensure the Tour runs in the black, and can continue on into the future. If you are not attending the Tour, but would still like to support it, you can make a donation here . To cover the expense of creating, printing, and mailing the garden guide, a $10 fee will be charged for each guide. (One garden guide will serve up to four people.) Payment can be made with your credit card (via the PayPal site). Advertise with us at http: / /www.bringingbackthenatives. net/ads . A limited amount of ad space is still available in the printed garden guide. Please contact me asap if you are interested in ad space, as the guide is being laid out now. Facebook - Like us on Facebook! This spring the Garden Tour's Facebook page at https: / /tinyurl.com/va3vtx77 will run articles such as "What to do in your native plant garden each month" and "What's in bloom now?", describe the spring workshops, feature specific gardens, and show you before- and-after garden photos. Kathy Kramer Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator (510) 236-9558 kathy@kathykramerconsulting.net www.bringingbackthenatives.net Visit the Garden Tour on Facebook THE BAY LEAF March 2018 3 NATIVE HERE NURSERY Plants to consider Now that the fall/ winter series of focus days is over it is time to get ready for a new crop of seedlings. That means some of the older plants in larger containers need to move out of the nursery and into your gardens and projects. March is not too late to plant. We have some great trees in one gallon pots and five gallon pots. Some fine deciduous shrubs are available in large quantities. Ninebark ( Physocar- pus capitatus), although it loses its leaves in winter, grows new ones shortly after leaves fall. The rest of the year, it provides a leafy screen. Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata) is a loosely branched shrub with yellow flowers in rosy bracts that later cup the dark berries. It is an excellent plant in drainage areas. Found only in a few places in the Bay Area, burning bush (Euonymus occidentalis) grows in similar locations, with small, brightly colored fruit in late summer. Check the inventory online at www.nativeherenursery.org to see what is available and what is specially priced. There is also an assortment of plants on our "mark down rack" across the driveway from the office. Native Here Nursery is open Fridays 9-noon, Saturdays 10- 2, and Tuesdays noon-3. Volunteer training Since the weather is warming up and rain is not in the forecast, the nursery is in need of more volunteers to water the plants. The nursery is divided into sections that take from 45 minutes to a little over an hour to water. Watering in the morning is best, but not always possible. If you have an hour or two each week that you would like to spend nurturing plants in a peaceful setting, consider attending a training session on watering. Other volunteer tasks include sowing seeds, potting up plants, grooming and pruning. Training sessions for new volunteers will be held this month from 10:30 am to noon on Saturdays and Tuesdays: • Saturday, March 3: 10:30- noon Learn how to pot seedlings and saplings • Tuesday, March 6:10:30-noon Repeat of March 3 training • Saturday, March 10: 10:30-noon Learn watering philosophy and procedures • Tuesday, March 13:10:30-noon Repeat of March 10 training • Saturday, March 17:10:30-noon Learn seed sowing protocols at Native Here • Tuesday, March 20:10:30-noon Repeat of March 17 training • Saturday March 24:10:30-noon Learn how to groom and care for plants • Tuesday, March 27: 10:30-noon Repeat of March 24 training Charli Danielsen, Production leader twinberry (Lonicera involucrate ). Photo by Janice Bray, ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus). Photo by PNW Nursery. As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the ava¬ lanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can. John Muir 4 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 FIELD TRIPS Sunday, March 11,10:00 am. Field Trip led by Gregg Weber field trip to Kennedy Grove. Click on this link for more information: https://www.meetup.com/ebcnps/events/ qdcckpyxfbxb/ Saturday, March 24,10:00 am, Palos Colorados Trail along Palo Seco Creek. Spring is bringing new lush growth in the hills of Oakland. We will hike along Palos Colorados Trail, which is lined with coast live oak, California bay and red¬ wood trees. We will see at least five species of native fern, blooming milkmaids, California man-root, fairy bells, and many other natives. RESTORATION PROJECTS Sundays in March 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th at 9:30 am -- for 3 1/2 hours. Also, most Wednesday afternoons. Skyline Gardens Restoration. Bring: Water, snack, hat, gloves, boots, long pants and shirts Tools will be provided. A most welcome storm front has helped to ensure the longev¬ ity of the recently planted natives up on Skyline as well as en¬ courage more flowers to appear. Now is the time to see white popcorn flowers, pink California currant and blue dicks as well as our Golden State flower the glorious California poppy! So far 253 native species have been identified in the mile-and- a-half corridor. (List pdf available on request.) Because of the high density of native plants, it is a great place to botanize, learn, and observe - not only species, but how they behave and associate in plant communities. We will learn natives not only as flowers, but also as seedlings, plants, seed heads, and at rest. We will learn them in community - who they grow with, and how they disperse and interact. We will learn the botanical seasons in detail. This is a new project, so we will be co-creating this approach together. The project is open to anyone with a strong inter¬ est and commitment, regardless of background. Because of the nature of our permit from EBMUD, each outing will be limited to 15 persons, so RSVP is mandatory. Saturday, March 3 and Saturday, March 17, 9:30 am. Point Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Saturday, March 3, 9 am to 1 pm. Redwood Regional Park. Call 510-544-3127, starting from Pinehurst Gate. Saturday, March 3 and Saturday, March 10, Sabercat Creek restoration. Click on this link for details: https:/ / tinyurl. com/ yc7zmajv Meet at Palos Colorados Trailhead at the end of Joaquin Miller Court. Joaquin Miller Court is off Mountain Boulevard, which parallels Highway 13. The site is also accessible by AC Transit. The trip will cover about 1.5 miles. The trail follows a steep incline, is generally narrow, and at times traverses uneven and rocky terrain. Trip leader: Camille Nowell (camille_fawne@hotmail.com). For more information click on https://www.meetup.com/ ebcnps / events /248004195/ Sunday, March 4,10:00 am. North Basin Shoreline (mouth of Schoolhouse Creek) with John Kenny. The North Basin restoration project meets the first Sunday of each month at Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, on the bay shoreline south of Tom Bates soccer fields. For more information and direc¬ tions, contact johnkenny54@yahoo.com. Saturday, March 10,9:30 am. Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve. Join Janet Gawthrop and other volunteers restoring Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve in the Oakland hills. Please note that you may be exposed to poison oak during this event so if you are sensitive to it you may wish to consider another event. For more information: www.meetup.com/ ebcnps/ events/ dqwtthyxdbnb/ Sunday, March 11, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. Redwood Regional Park, Pinehurst Gate, French broom pull. Tools and snacks will be provided. Rain cancels. Saturday, March 17,10 am-noon, Garber Park Habitat Res¬ toration. Join us as we continue to attack the invasive spring weed growth. There are many activities to choose from light and level to the tough tasks in Horsetail Meadow where the poison hemlock and Cape Ivy need to be removed. We provide tools, gloves, drinks and snacks. Wear long sleeves and pants and shoes with good tread. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance to Garber. Directions: From the intersection of Claremont and Ashby (also the AC Transit #79 stop) go 0.4 miles up Claremont Avenue (towards Grizzly Peak) to the Garber Park sign and parking turn-out. More information and maps can be found at garberparkstewards.org or contact Shelagh at garberparkstewards@gmail.com. Shelagh Brodersen Volunteer Coordinator, Garber Park Stewards garberparkstewards@gmail.com 510-517-1918Saturday, March 31, 9:30 am. Friends of Albany Parks. Join Friends of Albany Parks for the last Saturday of the month weed¬ ing and planting work party. Email for location (address below). Gloves and tools provided but bring a favorite THE BAY LEAF March 2018 5 Jen Mistrot, the camera maestro from KPIX, has just put a microphone on my lapel. Having run a wire under my vest, she is now fitting the battery pack to my backside belt. Thanks to Cynthia for this shot. We have found just a few flowering currants at Skyline, but a real honey grows right along the trail approaching Diablo Bend. Thanks to Laurie for this shot. The great British garden writer W. H. Bean considered Cali¬ fornia's flowering currants to be one of the ten best flowering shrubs in the whole world. These are great plants for gardens. In terms of local ecology, our local Coast Range Ribes species (currants and gooseberries) - because they flower with nectar very early in the New Year - enable Anna's hummingbirds to overwinter in coastal California. All other hummer species must go to Central America to winter. SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: FEBRUARY 2018 We'll be out regular days this week: Wednesday 2 pm to sun¬ set; Sunday 9:30 to 1. Please let me know if you can make it. On Sunday we were joined by the crew from KPIX TV (CBS Channel 5) to film the project as part of the Jefferson Public Service Award we received. They were there with the big camera and microphones for a couple of hours, and they put us through the paces. Welcome to Jen and Alan from KPIX. Here's me getting hooked up for a microphone: Last week, we worked on cleaning up the Diablo Bend area. On Wednesday, we spot sprayed vinegar on Italian thistles on the slope above the bench. On Sunday, the group hand weeded thistles on the steep slope below the bench. And for a breather we plucked invasive geraniums off the trail shoulder there. The first poppies and popcorn flowers came out to thank us for our efforts. They are planning a glorious show there this year. The TV segment is scheduled to run on Wednesday, March 7 on the Channel 5 evening news, and then again on Thursday and the weekend. KCBS Radio will also run a segment. I will send out details as we get closer to air time. Meanwhile, more wildflowers are coming out. Here is our lovely pink flowering currant (Ribes glutinosum): 6 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: CONT. Right on the heels of the currants come the big, gorgeous blue forget-me-nots that we call hound's tongue ( Cynoglos- sum grande). They are long-lived, deep rooted perennials that grow in the woods. On the previous page is a picture of one in glorious flower, in the woodland section of Skyline Gardens, near the Buckeye Grove. These belong on anybody's top ten list. Thanks again, Laurie, for this shot. Their name comes from the large, long and rough leaves that someone thought resembled the tongue of a large dog. Person¬ ally, I think they deserve a more poetic common name. Does anyone know what the local Indians called them? When these bloom in the East Bay, they are also sounding the bell for the early insects, who come to feed and pollinate. Often these are bumblebees, who because of their thick fur coats, are well dressed for cooler weather. I especially love to see the huge Yellow-faced Bumblebees ( Bombus vosnesenskii) cruising around at this time of year. I call them the "flying mice" because they are so large and furry. These are gravid (fertilized) queens who are just emerging from their long hibernation that began with last summer's dry season. Right on schedule, they emerge in February with warming days and the first wildflowers. For ID purposes, here's a picture of a yellow-faced worker bee on a soap root flower in June: This picture shows the typical yellow "forehead" and a tiny spot of yellow on the rump. The flying mice of February are about five times as large as the one in the picture. They are looking for a place to make their nest (hive), often in an abandoned gopher hole. The Queen's first job is to lay the first set of eggs and gather enough nectar and pollen to support them. At first, she has to do it all - gather food and tend the young. When the first workers mature, in about a month, they can take over the foraging and tending, while the queen stays home and lays more eggs to build the hive. In a few months' time a hive can grow from one gravid queen to a thousand bees. As wildflower season wanes, the hive produces males and new queens, who then mate. As the newly mated queens burrow down for the dry season, all the rest of the hive dies, and the cycle is complete. The other bumblebee that we often see on hound's tongue is the Black-tailed Bumblebee. Here is one of them, taking a rest: These have several bands of silver interlaced with black. Usu¬ ally they dart so quickly in and out of the flowers that they are impossible to photograph. Congratulations and thanks to Ken-ishi Ueda for getting such a clear picture. It's been quite a week. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider There are moments when all anxiety and stated toil are becalmed in the infinite leisure and repose of nature. How novel and original must be each new man's view of the universe - for though the world is so old - and so many books have been written - each object appears wholly undescribed to our experience - each field of thought wholly unexplored - The whole. Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf and take an insect view of its plain. Henry David Thoreau THE BAY LEAF March 2018 7 CONSERVATION REPORT Campaign to Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative. On Thursday, February 8, 2018 the "Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek," a coalition of Antioch residents and community groups, submitted the text of the "Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative" to the City of Antioch. The initiative is in response to threats of thousands of houses in the Sand Creek area at Antioch's southern border, the undeveloped area stretching from Deer Valley Road west to Black Diamond Mines Regional Park. The initiative would give Antioch vot¬ ers the right to vote on Sand Creek Area projects or changes to Antioch's Urban Limit Line. "Conservation of the Sand Creek Area has long been one of our goals. It contains several rare and unusual plants with the potential for more. It is also an important transitional zone between three major ecoregions. Preservation of this area will allow all species to adapt to changing conditions," said Lesley Hunt, Outreach Chair, California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter. The "Let Antioch Voters Decide: The Sand Creek Area Protec¬ tion Initiative" would: • Require a vote to allow any major development in the initiative area • Limit the extent and amount of development in a 3 square mile (1800-acre) area between Deer Valley Road and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve • Protect the existing Urban Limit Line; preserve nature, open spaces, and historic qualities • Maintain agriculture; protect the Sand Creek stream cor¬ ridor; limit traffic in Antioch; decrease impacts on schools, water, police, fire, and other services • Help focus city investments, revitalization and economic development on existing neighborhoods, downtown and along the waterfront. It would do so by designating the roughly 1800-acre area between Kaiser Hospital and Black Diamond Mines for rural residential, agricultural and open space uses • The Initiative Area is contained within our chapter's Four Valleys Botanical Priority Protection Area (BPPA). It encompasses swaths of Lone Tree Valley and Horse Valley. Currently, the majority of the area remains as undeveloped grasslands on private property historically used for ranching. Check out my previous reports from the Bay Leaf in April 2017 http://ebcnps.org/wp-content/ uploads/2017/04/April-2017-Bav-Leaf-urls-live2-corrected.pdf and December 2017 http: / /ebcnps.org/wp-content/up¬ loads/2018/03/ december-2017-bay-leaf-corrected.pdf In addition to resources previously reported, a quick search of the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) shows rare plant records in the Initiative Area for showy golden madia (Madia radiata, 1B.1) and Brewer's western flax (Hesperolinon breweri, IB.2). Some rare plant records are notable for a close proximity to the Initiative Area: large-flowered fiddleneck (Amsinckia grandiflora, 1B.1), Mt. Diablo buckwheat (Eriogonum truncation), 1.B1) brit- tlescale (A triplex depressa, 1B.2), big tarplant (Blepharizo- nia plumosa, 1B.1), and San Joaquin spearscale (Atriplex joaquinana, 1B.2). Rare wildlife species with records in the Initiative Area include California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), and vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), Alameda whipsnake (Masticophis lateralis euryxanthus), California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii), northern California legless lizard (Anniella pul- chra) and burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia). Clearly, this Initiative Area in southern Antioch is richly biodiverse and worth preserving from development. This Initiative contains many direct and in¬ direct benefits for native plant preservation, such as • Sand Creek buffer 200 feet of centerline preserved, development on wetlands not allowed, • continuous grassland corridor preserved, • more restrictive hillside ordinance enacted, special status species protected where found. You can get involved to help support this initiative! Please volunteer to collect signatures for the petition that will place the initiative on the ballot for November 2018. We need 7600 An¬ tioch voter signatures! Join and share our coalition's Facebook group for additional announcements, such as hikes: www. facebook.com/antiochsavesandcreekandstoptheranch/ Contact us for more information on how to get involved: Outreach Chair Lesley Hunt, at ldhunt@astound.net ; Conser¬ vation Analyst Karen Whitestone, at conservation@ebcnps.org Figure 1. How this area is currently zoned in the City of Antioch General Plan 2003 (Figure 4.8). 8 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 CONSERVATION REPORT CONT. Figure 3. The Sand Creek Initiative Area we are working to protect is outlined in black. (Initiative, Appendix 1, 2018). Click on this link to view clearer images of the above maps. http://ebcnps.org/resources/online-resource-list/. THE BAY LEAF March 2018 9 POINT ISABEL IN FEBRUARY, 2018 It has been warm and dry at Point Isabel. Too warm and too dry. After receiving almost five inches of rain in January, it has been bone dry in February. As a result, stewards and volunteers are spending much more time moving up and down the trail - filling watering cans from one of two fau¬ cets in the dog park - to the newly planted California native plants further down the Bay Trail. Fortunately for all the new plants, our volunteers have been making a real effort to keep them irrigated. The poppies ( Eschscholzia califomica) and tansy leafed phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) are starting to emerge and are patiently waiting for a little rain. It won't be long before the trail users start stopping to take pictures and asking if we planted the poppies! Stewards, Core Volunteers, and many new volunteers came to our monthly work parties to remove oat grass and oxalis, performing rescue operations around the newly planted bunchgrasses and shrubs. We hosted a large group of Circle K volunteers from UC Davis and UC Berkeley as well as a small but very effective group including returning volunteer Elaine and Steward Ivy, and new volunteers Ben, Anushka and Nathanael. Thanks to these efforts the newly planted blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus) and red fescue ( Festuca rubra) are thriving. We are excited to see their growth and we're looking forward to seeing them bloom and provide seeds for the many birds at Point Isabel. In addition to picking up trash along Rydin Road and Central Avenue, Core Volunteer Rob Kirby cut back invasive shrubs from the trail opening up the area for the EBRPD for keeping the grass mowed. Our thanks this month go to Shannon Elliot of the City of Richmond for removing discarded furniture and trash from along Rydin Road. We very much appreciate the continued support of the City of Richmond staff. The flock of turkeys has reappeared and we are monitoring their activities as best we can. While we have not been able to catch them in the act, we consider them "birds of interest" in the acts of biting off the fresh growth on our California buck¬ eye ( Aesculus califomica) seedlings and of munching down our young soap plant ( Chlorogalum pomeridianum). We see that bumblebees are beginning to emerge and are col¬ lecting pollen from plum tree flowers. Flocks of birds dash into the plum trees and appear to be eating the flowers. Hoffman Marsh has a constant stream of egret and mallard visitors, as well as the bird watchers who watch them. The weather is wrong but we are trying to focus on continuing to create and protect the habitat at Point Isabel. Many thanks to our supportive EBRPD Supervisor, Scott Possin, and to our fantastic Ranger, Bruce Adams. Jane and Tom Kelly The Circle K volunteers from UC Davis and UC Berkeley. Photo by Jane Kelly. 10 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 POINT ISABEL IN FEBRUARY, 2018 ccont.) Above: the February crew; below left: Ben, Nathanael, and Elaine; below right: Tom and Anushka. Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF March 2018 11 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz david@hjuliendesigns.com Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey dslakey@cnps.org Restoration Chair Vacant Unusual Plants Dianne Lake, Chair 510-691-1428 unusual-plants-admin@ ebcnps.org Vegetation Megan Keever, Co-Chair megan@stillwatersci.com Nicole Jurjavcic, Co-Chair nicole@stillwatersci.com EBCNPS spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 12 THE BAY LEAF March 2018 APRIL MEMBERS* MEETING Protecting Arctostaphylos pallida, the East Bay's Endan¬ gered Endemic Manzanita Speaker: Michele Hammond Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) The beautiful East Bay hills-endemic pallid manzanita (Arctostaphylos pallida) has been in decline for decades, but restoration is in its future. With narrow environmental toler¬ ances — it needs shallow, nutrient-poor soil; prolonged foggy periods; and regular occurrence of fire to regenerate — pallid manzanita is restricted to a small number of sites in the hills. Nearby development reduced its numbers in past decades, but its greatest current threats include infection by a soil-borne pathogen (Phytophthora cinnamomi), shading by surrounding shrubs and trees, and the effects of fire suppression on its ability to regenerate. Arctostaphylos pallida in bloom at Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve, photo by Pete Klosterman Many individuals and organizations are now working to protect the pallid manzanita and secure its future. Volun¬ teers from CNPS and Friends of Sausal Creek help restore habitat in some of the areas where pallid manzanita grows in the Oakland Hills. And the East Bay Regional Park District, whose lands support the two largest stands of the plant in Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve and Sobrante Ridge Regional Preserve, has developed a management plan to protect those populations. Our speaker. Park District botanist Michele Hammond, will share stories and information about the pallid manzanita and describe efforts to protect and ex¬ pand healthy stands of this iconic plant. Michele Hammond is the Botanist for the East Bay Regional Park District and currently assesses rare plant communities on park land in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. She also maps and manages rare plants as well as newly acquired park land within the East Contra Costa Habitat Conservation Plan. Michele earned a B.A. and M.S. in Environmental Science from U.C. Berkeley. 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: 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. VIA BART (4 blocks): Exit the Orinda station, turn right and cross a pedestrian bridge, then cross a second pe¬ destrian 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. Next Month's Program Michael Chasse— Restoring Habitat for San Francisco's Rare Endemic Manzanitas May 23, 7:30 pm. Garden Room, Orinda Public Library CONSERVATION ANALYST REPORT The East Bay Chapter supports better Congdon's tarplant protections for IKEA and Zeiss project proposals in the City of Dublin. The Chapter took action and submitted comments in response to two project proposals in the City of Dublin, the Zeiss In¬ novation Center, and IKEA Retail Center, with potentially significant impacts to Congdon's tarplant ( Centromadia parryi subsp. congdonii, synonym Hemizonia parryi subsp. congdonii, CNPS Rare Plant Rank 1B.1). This summer-flowering herb is found mostly in the Central Western California region and on terraces, swales, floodplains, grassland, and disturbed sites (Jepson eFlora, 2018). CNPS considers Congdon's tarplant to be severely threatened by development. Congden's tarplant Centromadia parryi ssp. congdonii©2011 Neal Kramer We made some key recommendations in our letters, among them to perform adequate biological surveys that are the foundation for analyzing impacts, to avoid rare native plants both during project design and later during construction, and to provide necessary compensatory mitigation where avoid¬ ance is not possible. Our analysis had revealed that proposals for the Zeiss Innovation Center and IKEA Retail Center did not adequately meet these basic standards for rare native plant protection. Both proposals consist of large commercial developments on private land that was heavily disturbed in the past. These sites together total fewer than 50 acres located just west of our chapter's East Dublin and Tassajara Botanical Priority Protection Area (Bartosh H., et at, 2010). Remarkably, in both cases surveys uncovered thousands of Congdon's tarplant individuals overlaying many acres at each of the sites, as well as several acres of seasonal wetlands. Refugia of rare plants can exist even in disturbed areas with altered topography and ruderal habitats. Both project proposals built upon the environmental analysis contained within the East Dublin Specific Plan EIR (1994) as well as guidance from the Eastern Alameda County Conser¬ vation Strategy (EACCS, 2012). Both documents are regional frameworks important to understanding how native plants can be conserved in Dublin. For example, the EACCS docu¬ ment recommends up to a 5:1 (mitigations: impacts) ratio for significant impacts to Congdon's tarplant because of its statewide and local rarity. East Bay CNPS requested that the projects adhere to this mitigation recommendation. The East Dublin & Tassajara BPPA further describes the biological value of this area that remains in need of protec¬ tion. Congdon's tarplant is undergoing initial evolutionary divergence in our area, a process from which we could learn much about the formation of species. The alkaline habitat that supports Congdon's tarplant is itself botanically rich and rare within the Bay Area. This area's landscape is dominated by one of the last remaining matrices of grasslands and vernal pools that once characterized the greater Livermore Valley. However, habitats such as these are typically considered wasteland due to lack of horticultural appeal. The eastward march of the City of Dublin continues to threaten these im¬ periled East Bay habitats. Conservation plans such as EACCS probably help bring attention from biologists and planners to the resources of this area, hopefully with an eye towards preservation. Even so, with continued urbanization there is a potential to lose diversity within these refugia prior to its discovery or full characterization. (Bartosh H., et al, 2010). Citation as noted: Bartosh H., Naumovich L., and Baker L. 2010. A Guidebook to Botanical Priority Protection Areas of the East Bay. East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Karen Whitestone CAL-IPC/EBRPD WORKSHOP ON INVASIVE PLANTS The California Invasive Plant Council and the East Bay plants, tools for invasive plant management, and a field trip Regional Park District are sponsoring a free workshop to a serpentine prairie. Working with Volunteers: Invasive Plant Management. The workshop takes place on Saturday, April 7, from 9 am Visit cal-ipc.org/ wvn to register or to get more information, to 3 pm. Topics include the biology and ecology of invasive 2 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 BRINGING BACK THE NATIVES GARDEN TOUR: 5/6/18 The Garden Tour - Forty bird- and butterfly-friendly, pesticide- free, water conserving, low maintenance gardens that contain 60% or more native plants will be open on Sunday, May 6, 2018, from 10 am to 5 pm at various locations throughout Alameda and Contra Costa counties. More than forty garden talks will be offered throughout the weekend of the Tour. Art and Music in the Gardens - Join us for a day of art and music in the gardens on the day of the Tour! Whether you are interested in enjoying sculptures in situ, browsing art for sale, or sketching a garden yourself, this is the Tour for you! In addition, you are invited to settle down in one of a number of beautiful gardens to hear Bluegrass, Baroque, Jazz, or Renaissance music, as well as flutes, woodwinds, guitar, and even sitar. Join California's Native Plant Movement! - Special Offer for Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Registrants: Become a California Native Plant Society (CNPS) member for just $15 (normally $45) when you register for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. That's 66% off the regular membership price. Members receive the beautiful Flora magazine, filled with native gardening tips, inspiring interviews, and photo essays. You'll also be put in touch with your local chapter for field trip, volunteer, and other event information. Simply complete your online registration for the Tour, and in your registration confirmation email you'll find a discount code for a one year individual membership. Don't miss this rare opportunity to join CNPS in its mission to save California's native plants and their habitats. Offer good through midnight. May 6 and does not apply to current CNPS members. Be sure to add Kathy@KathyKramerConsulting to your ad¬ dress book, so you receive the Tour registration confirmation e-mail, which contains the CNPS discount link, as well as other emails the Tour will be sending out this spring. Workshops - A series of workshops on native plant propa¬ gation and garden sustainable gardening will be offered this spring. (Think chickens, pond, rainwater harvesting, native plants, fruit trees, seed collection, and more!). These work¬ shops will fill; register early to avoid being disappointed. Garden Art and Native Plant Extravaganza at East Bay Wilds, Saturday, April 28 Shop for garden art and native plants at this special fundraiser for the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. Browse through owner Pete Veilleux's extensive, eclectic collection of garden benches, tables, chairs, statues, planters, antiques, and tchotchkes for sale at great prices. Peruse the more than 800 species of native plants - many of them not available else¬ where - grown at this amazing nursery. East Bay Wilds is not normally open to the public, so don't miss this opportunity to bring home garden art and native plants that are just right for your garden! 15% of all purchases will go to support the Tour. Can you print and distribute T our fliers ? - Due to budgetary constraints, we are not distributing Tour fliers this year. If you are able to print and distribute the Tour flier (to your local library, nature center, coffee shop, co-workers or neigh¬ bors), we would be grateful. Volunteers - are needed on the day of the Tour (Sunday, May 6,2018), to spend a morning or afternoon greeting Tour participants or answering questions about natives. Complete the volunteer section of the registration form if you would like to help out this year. Benefits to volunteers include a free garden guide, invitations to Garden Soirees, in which Tour gardens are open to hosts and volunteers; a pre-Tour meeting with the owner and private Tour of the garden you will be staffing; a guaranteed Tour reservation for the half day you are free; a Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour t-shirt, and, perhaps best of all, heartfelt thanks for helping to educate the general public about the many pleasures and benefits of gardening with California native plants. Prior to signing up to volunteer, browse the gardens to choose the garden you would like to be assigned to. Click here for more information on volunteering. 2019 Tour - Applications for the 2019 Tour are now being accepted. You can download the application form from the Tour website. Garden visits will be made in May and June. (Please note that gardens must contain at least 60% or more native plants.) Donations - A $15 per person donation is requested to help cover the cost of putting on the Tour. Please help ensure the Tour's continuation by donating generously; we are counting on your support. In addition to the requested $15 per person for Tour attendance, please consider making a donation above and beyond that amount to help ensure the Tour runs in the black, and can continue on into the future. If you are not at¬ tending the Tour, but would still like to support it, you can make a donation here . Garden Guides To cover the expense of creating, printing, and mailing the Tgarden guide, a $10 fee will be charged for each guide. (One garden guide will serve up to four people.) Payment can be made with your credit card (via the PayPal site). Advertise with us at http: / /www.bringingbackthenatives. net/ads . A limited amount of ad space is still available in the printed garden guide. Please contact me asap if you are interested in ad space, as the guide is being laid out now. Facebook - Like us on Facebook! This spring the Garden Tour's Facebook page at https: / /tinyurl.com/va3vtx77 will run articles such as "What to do in your native plant garden each month" and "What's in bloom now?", describe the spring workshops, feature specific gardens, and show you before- and-after garden photos. Kathy Kramer Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour Coordinator (510) 236-9558 kathy@kathykramerconsulting.net www.bringingbackthenatives.net Visit the Garden Tour on Facebook THE BAY LEAF April 2018 3 NATIVE HERE NURSERY Rain, rain, rain! The good news is that the March rains have stimulated lots of growth in new seedlings. The bad news is the hail and heavy rain were hard on some new plants. While we have not had to do a lot of watering, the time is coming when the plants will need regular weekly atten¬ tion. Volunteers are welcome any time the nursery is open, and —once trained in our procedures—may come in to water, pot up or weed at times convenient to the volunteer even when the nursery is not open. If interested contact Ruth Ann Pearsons, the nursery's volunteer coordinator at rapearsonsl@mac.com or come to the nursery during open hours. Training sessions in March went well when the weather cooperated. The watering training will be repeated on Tuesday, April 3 from 10:30 to noon, before the nursery opens. Training on seed sowing will be offered on Tuesday, April 17 from 10:30 to noon. Many pots of annuals from both the Diablo area and the Bay Hills are available. April is still a good time to divide these and put them in your garden. Clarkia purpurea from the Bay Hills and Papaver heterophyllum from Mt Diablo germinated well and are in good supply. Charli Danielsen MAJOR BEQUEST FROM JEAN ROBERTSON Our esteemed Jean Robertson, devoted to EBCNPS chapter conservation in life, has given us yet another generous gift. In her will, Jean specified a bequest to the chapter, and she expressed the wish that the funds be used for conservation. That is a promise we will be pleased to keep. One challenge in conservation is the need to continually react to resource threats; a proactive stance, while desirable, is not always an option. And sometimes it seems as though projects The late Jean Robertson with former chapter vice president needing attention come along just when we are stretched too thin. Having resources, including funds, allows us to react appropriately, with courage and mindfulness. Special thanks to Claire Wings, Jean's life partner, who worked hard to make Jean's gift a reality. Jean's many contributions to the chapter will long be remembered with gratitude. Barbara M. Leitner Hunt (left) and with current vice president Judy Schwartz. 4 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY SETTLEMENT The East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (EBCNPS) and the Mountain View Cemetery Association have reached a settlement regarding the chapter's appeal of the Mountain View Cemetery Expansion Project. The project was opposed by EBCNPS, who appealed the Oakland Plan¬ ning Commission's certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) in November 2017. The timely settlement allows the Cemetery to proceed with construction during the current year according to schedule, and provides significant additional protections for oaks on Cemetery land, both during and after construction. The agree¬ ment ensures protections for oaks near the limits of grad¬ ing; provides for an independent oversight arborist during earthmoving activity that could harm protected oaks; requires implementation of phytosanitary measures and arborist best practices during construction; calls for phytosanitary measures during purchase, installation and maintenance of replacement oaks; monitoring and replacement of planted oaks that die during the five-year performance period; and avoidance of summer watering once replacement oaks are established. In addition to these on site protections for oaks on Mountain View Cemetery lands, the settlement agreement includes establishing a fund for the protection, conservation, and/ or restoration of oak woodlands. EBCNPS will soon begin a process of identifying and prioritizing those projects most in line with the mission of CNPS and the intent of the settlement. The EBCNPS team believes this settlement provides an ex¬ ceptional opportunity to ensure a better future for Oakland's iconic tree species. As EBCNPS begins its new partnership with the Mountain View Cemetery, both parties have agreed to start with a clean slate, leaving behind past differences. The Chapter has also agreed to respect project limits by not opposing the project further, not trespassing in the construction area, and not intervening with personnel or equipment associated with construction operations. A special tip of the acorn cap to several people deeply involved in the success of this process: Martin Bern, the Munger, Tolies & Olson attorney who provided essential pro bono advice, leadership and guidance through the CEQA and settlement process; Judy Schwartz, who organized the local community, meticulously collected data, and analyzed documents; Karen Whitestone who helped mobilize our local membership and spoke at hearings; Jim Hanson, who shared his real world experience with contracts and construction; and Beth Wurzburg, who took time away from all her other CNPS responsibilities to oversee and manage negotiations. Behind all of this was Jean Robertson's memory, which we all aimed to honor by doing our best to protect the magnificent coast live oaks. Barbara M. Leitner Barbara Leitner took on Jean's role, was the point person with Martin, and was Judy's partner in the complaint process. She used her considerable organizational skills and tenacity to keep us on track. It was a great team effort. Please contact Judy Schwartz if you would like to help with live oak conservation and restoration as part of the Mountain View Cemetery settlement. Judy's email, vice-president© ebcnps.org or lupinel5@gmail.com . Beth Wurzburg , East Bay Chapter president An oak in Mountain View Cemetery THE BAY LEAF April 2018 5 SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: FEBRUARY 2018 Rain today (Sunday, March 21); in fact we've had nearly 31/2 inches at Skyline in the last 7 days, which brings us to about 25 inches for the season. Yearly normal is 33 inches, so we're getting back in the game with more on the way. Last week, we focused on hand weeding more thistles and six-weeks or rattail fescue (Festuca myoros). These are now flowering and they set seeds quickly. On Sunday I think we'll bring up the weedeater and give them a haircut. The overall goal this year is to prevent the invaders from set¬ ting seeds in our target areas. In the big picture, we're right on target for that. We're like a surfer who's caught the big wave and so far, so good. As long as we keep up the pace we'll be fine. New species - in the last two weeks, we've found two new native plant species. Both were found on the steep, southerly slope to the west of the big Bay Grove, looking down on the tunnel. We had not explored there previously. Both are very unusual for the area and both are basically southern Califor¬ nians who have been seen on Mt. Diablo but not in the High Ridge Volcanic area between Tilden and Sibley. Here is one, a little sun cup (Camisonia micrantha ): This one is just coming into flower. The leaf rosette is about four inches across, and the flower is about the size of the nail on your little finger. Sun cups are members of the evening primrose family, along with other greats such as Clarkia, California fuchsia, evening primrose, and fire weed. Some of the evening primroses are night bloomers, but sun cups bloom by day. We've found several hundred of these plants in the area; most grow on bare (rabbit and rodent browsed) soil under California sage ( Artemisia califomica) in the same area we find fairy mist ( Pterostegia ). We've also found them in the browse zone next to coyote bush. The other new one is a popcorn flower ( Cryptantha muricata - we think). This one is just starting to bloom, and this plant is now about ten inches tall. This is a new species for me, but my guess is that in time, this one will be two feet tall with scores of flowers. We found just one patch of about 20 plants on a very steep outcrop below the Bay Grove. Up till now, this species is known in the East Bay from several spots on Mt. Diablo, and in the Bay Hills at Miller Knox Park in Rich¬ mond and the Leona Heights area (south of Merritt College) in East Oakland. This is a really cool find and we hope there are more up there. Speaking of popcorn flower, the more common species is really blooming like crazy along Diablo Bend. Here's a close up of the flowers: Aren't these amazing flowers? This is Plagiobothrys nothojul- vus, how's that for a tongue twister? I like to think of them as white forget-me-nots. The early bloomers are now hitting their stride at Skyline. Here's one of my very favorites (shown on the next page), biscuit root (Lomatium utriculatum) which grows all along the spine of the Barberry crest. 6 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: CONT. The flowers are a clear, sulfur yellow and they just pop on a cloudy day. Each flower head has the trademark 'umbrella shape' that puts them in the parsley family. They have very finely dissected foliage. These will bloom by the hundreds along the rocky crest of Barberry Ridge, but nearly always on the east side. In the summer they die down to a biscuit-like tuber in the ground. Star lilies are now in full bloom. Here is a close up: This is yet another species of native bumblebee, different from the yellow-faced and black-tailed ones we have already seen. Big prize waiting for the proper ID on this one. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider These are reputed to be poisonous, but still lovely. A picture on the next column shows them en masse. This is along the upper terrace just before Skyline Peak. In many places, you will find these by the ones and twos, but at Skyline, they are out by the hundreds. In two weeks' time, many of these will already have faded and be over the hill. Now is the time to see them. Lastly, wooly mules ears are rolling out. On sunny south slopes a few have already dropped their petals and moved on to making seeds. But in other places, they are just bud¬ ding. These will be in bloom in various spots for the next few weeks. Here is a close up with a little visitor: THE BAY LEAF April 2018 7 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION This month was a test of volunteer dedication. And to no one's surprise, everyone passed with flying colors. Rain was in the forecast for our first work party on March 3 but a crew came out and worked between the showers removing oat grass and oxalis from around the California native shrubs and poppies. On March 10, with another rainy forecast, we held a special work party welcoming the newest group of amazing college student volunteers from Japan who are attending the Eng¬ lish Studies Institute (ESI). Ayumi, Manami, Rie, Ryosuke, Sachiko, Shuya, Tetsu and assistant John Alex were our special crew for the day. Along with the project introduc¬ tion and safety instructions, Tom gave the visitors a (clearly very successful!) class on how to eat bagels. We teamed up two students plus one of our stewards or core volunteers and they set to work amongst the California native plants and the weeds. The crew worked tirelessly through mid¬ afternoon rescuing countless stands of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) as well as red flowering currant {Kibes sanguineum), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), bee plant ( Scrophularia californica), toyon ( Heteromelcs arbutifoila) and more from the encroaching oat grass and oxalis. During the break the students told us what they were studying in Japan and answered our questions about the meanings of their names. To add to their English vocabulary and to their knowledge of restoration activities we gave them a copy of our Point Isabel FAQ along with an EBRPD bandana as a souvenir of their voluntourism. On March 17 (Erin Go Bragh!), another rainy day, we worked with Steward Nancy and Core Volunteers Karen and John removing carpets of oxalis and invasive grasses that were taking over the site across from the end of Rydin Road. We fled just as the rains started pouring down. Then the sun shone for two days and Tom and Jane spent the afternoons working under a dead Catalina ironwood (Lyonothamnusfloribundus) upon which we have grown western morning glory ( Calyste- gia occidentalis). We were watched throughout by an Anna's hummingbird who waited patiently for us to clear away the non-native grass from the Salvia spathacea (hummingbird sage) with blooms matching the bird's bright pink throat. Thanks go to all the EBRPD staff, who give us their enthusi¬ astic support for this project. Come and visit Point Isabel in April - it should be spectacular! Jane and Tom Kelly The rainy day March crew. Photo by Jane Kelly. 8 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 PT. ISABEL RESTORATION CONT. Above, Gudrun and Japanese students with bagels. Below left, Ayumi, Suya, and Gudrun. Below right, Sachiko, Tom, and John. Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF April 2018 9 RESTORATION IN APRIL Sundays, Skyline Gardens Restoration, April 1,14, 21, 28, for 311/2 hours. Also most Wednesday afternoons. Bring: Water, snack, hat, gloves, boots, long pants and shirts. Tools will be provided. A most welcome storm front has helped to ensure the longevity of the recently planted natives up on Skyline as well as encourage more flowers to appear. Now is the time to see white popcorn flowers, pink California currant and blue dicks as well as our Golden State flower, the glorious California poppy! So far 253 native species have been identified in the mile-and- a-half corridor. (List pdf available on request.) Because of the high density of native plants, it is a great place to botanize, learn, and observe - not only species, but how they behave and associate in plant communities. We will learn natives not only as flowers, but also as seedlings, plants, seed heads, and at rest. We will learn them in community - what species they grow with, and how they disperse and interact. We will learn the botanical seasons in detail. The project is open to anyone with a strong interest and com¬ mitment, regardless of background. Because of the nature of our permit from EBMUD, each outing will be limited to 15 persons, so RSVP is mandatory. Saturday, April 1,10 am, John Kenny's crew at Northshore Basin in Berkeley. Contact johnkenny54@yahoo.com. Saturday, April 7,2018,9 am-noon, Sabercat Creek Restora¬ tion, Becado Place. For details and registration, visit https:/ / tinyurl.com/yc7zmajv. If you have questions, please contact Sabrina Siebert at ssiebert@fremont.gov or call 510-494-4589. Sabrina Siebert City of Fremont Environmental Services Division Office phone #: 510-494-4589 Mobile phone #: 734-649-3795 www.f remont. gov / SabercatRestoration Saturday, April 7 and Saturday, April 21,9:30 am, Poand int Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Saturday, April 14,9:30 am. Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve, crew led by Janet Gawthrop. Click on this link for more information: https://www.meetup.com/ebcnps/ events/ dqwtthyxgbsb/. Celebrate Earth Week in Garber Park. This year we are celebrating Earth Day all week long with several Habitat Restoration Days the week before Earth Day. We want to make an assault on the invasive weeds and get a head start on making Garber as fire safe as possible. We have projects to suit all ability levels from easy weed removal on flat, easily accessible areas along the Loop Trail to the more heavy lifting activities of Algerian ivy removal on the steep hillsides along the Claremont Avenue Trail. The City of Oakland will place a green waste bin at the Claremont Avenue parking lot on Monday, April 16. Our goal is to to fill the bin by the follow¬ ing Monday when the bin will be hauled away. Please join us for one or more of these days. Garber Park Stewards, Earth Week Schedule of Restora¬ tion Events, Wednesday, April 18 and Thursday, April 19 from 3:00 pm-6:00 pm. Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 from 9:30 am -12:30 pm. Come early for drinks and snacks and to meet fellow participants or stay late and join Janet Gawthrop and/or Shelagh Brodersen on a guided walk through Garber. Us¬ ing our new self-guided trail map to learn about the history of Garber and its abundant native resources, and admire the work of fellow volunteers in this gem of a park at the base of Claremont Canyon. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance, 0.4 miles up Cla¬ remont Avenue (towards Grizzly Peak Boulevard) from the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Ashby. For more infor¬ mation, a map, and directions visit our website garberpark- stewards.org or contact Shelagh at garberparkstewards.org. Wear long sleeves, long pants and shoes or boots with good treads. We provide gloves, tools, snacks, and water. No experience necessary. Students looking for community service hours are welcome. Anyone under 16 must be ac¬ companied by an adult. For groups of 10 or more please contact Shelagh at garberparkstewards@gmail.com for final arrangements. Shelagh Brodersen Volunteer Coordinator, Garber Park Stewards garberparkstewards@gmail.com 510-540-1918 www.garberparkstewards.org Sunday, April 15,9 am and Sunday April, 22, 9 am, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Oakland Meet us at the Old Tunnel Road staging area on the 3d Sunday to take out your tax prep frustrations on the notorious wall of broom (Genista monspessulana, aka French broom, as opposed to Scotch broom or Spanish broom. Park staff provide tools, gloves and water, so it is best to RSVP (but not required) to either sibley@ ebparks.org or janetgawthrop47 @gmail.com. Steady rain will cancel because of clay soil on the slopes of this work area. April 28,9:30 am-ll:30 am, last Saturday of the month work party,TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill) Email for location-tashorehill@gmail.com. Gloves and tools provided. Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. For more info: www.tendancienthill.org. Margot Cunningham Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill www.tendancienthill.org 10 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 RESTORATION ccont.) Saturday, May 4,4 pm. Hillside Natural Area in El Cerrito, starting from Madera Elementary School on top of the ridge, crew led by Janet Gawthrop Meet again at the parking lot, and we'll figure out where soil conditions make it safest to work (safest for both local flora and us). See Meetup.com/ebcnps/ for details and to RSVP. FIELD TRIPS Sunday, April 8, 9:30 am. Fire recovery and succession at Sugarloaf State Park. Join Ann Howald and Milo Baker chapter on this trip to scope out fire followers in the burned areas of this local mountain outside of Santa Rosa. You'll need to bring your favorite plant key or befriend someone from Milo Baker chapter—because this area just burned, this trip will be to find plants rather than vibe them out from an established list. Bring lunch and water for this hike of about 5 hours. You can direct further questions to Betty Young at youngb0721@msn.com or call (707) 595-1463. Directions to Sugarloaf State Park Meetup points east and west are as follows: From Santa Rosa and points west: Meet Betty at the east end of the Park & Ride lot under Highway 12, across from the fairgrounds. From the East Bay, pick up 101 north from either 580 or 37, drive north through part of Santa Rosa until you reach the exit for Highway 12. From points east of Sugarloaf: Meet Ann at the Kenwood Deli, 8910 Sonoma Highway in Kenwood. If you take 80 and then 37 to Highway 121 to reach Sugarloaf Park, then Kenwood Deli will be closer. If you want to meet at the Sugarloaf park¬ ing lot, bring $8 or your state parks pass, and look for Milo Baker folks just beyond and to the left of the entry kiosk. Take 580 west to the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge. Next, take 101 northbound to Highway 12 in Santa Rosa, and then east to the turnoff for Sugarloaf State Park. Sunday, April 22,2 pm, David Margolies will lead a trip to Sunol Regional Park. The walk will take the Canyon View Trail to Little Yosemite and return along the fire road. Meet at the bridge near the visitor's center. The walk is about two miles long and will take about two hours, with several hun¬ dred feet up and down. We will see and identify wildflowers and trees. There should be many wildflowers, including two Calochortus, wind poppies, gilias, goldfields, and more. There is a parking fee. Saturday, May 5,4 pm, Janet Gawthrop will lead a beginner- oriented plant walk at Hillside Natural Area in El Cerrito. I will be looking for the Oakland star tulip population, but there are many other species of native plants here. We will start from the recently acquired open space next to Madera Elementary School. For the car-haters among us, you can get up the hill to Madera School by taking the AC Transit #7 bus from El Cerrito del Norte BART. THANKS TO CONSERVATION ANALYST DONORS Conservation Appeal for 2018 - Goal Achieved! The mo¬ mentum continued as we reach the end of our fiscal year. Loyal and generous members and supporters really stepped up, taking us over our 2018 goal of $40,000. In addition, we continue to receive donations to support chapter activities, such as our regular programs. Many thanks to the individuals and organizations who re¬ cently contributed: Mary Alderson, Maria Alioto, Elena Alioto, Laura Baker, Laura Beckett, Carol Bier, Shelagh Brodersen, Jean Circiello, Adrienne Debisschop, Sheila Dickie, Barbara Ertter, Ronald Felzer, Margaret Flaherty, Holly Forbes, Dorothy Frantz, Lisa Frost, Ellen Garber, Jaine Gilbert, Mary Ann Hannon, Jim Hanson, Peter Hopkinson, Kristen Hopper, Irrigation Equip¬ ment Co., Jerry Kent, Allison Kidder, Julie Kinder, Gudrun Kleist, Christopher Kroll, David Margolies, Scott McAfee, Lisa McCarty, Caroline Moyer, Beatrice O'Keefe, Carol Pachl, Sue Rosenthal, Marjorie Sauer, Richard Schneider, Catherine Smith, Edward Smyth, Susan Spiller Acquistapace, Nancy Thomas, Diana Wahl, and Joyce Walton. Miriam, Ryosuke, and Rie working at Point Isabel. Photo by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF April 2018 11 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 12 THE BAY LEAF April 2018 MAY MEMBERS* MEETING Restoring Habitat for San Francisco's Rare Endemic Manzanitas Speaker: Michael Chasse Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) San Francisco hosts two of the rarest manzanitas in the world: Raven's manzanita (Arctostaphylos montana ssp. ravenii) and Franciscan manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana). These en¬ dangered species grew together in a distinct maritime chap¬ arral habitat that once covered the serpentine hilltops of San Francisco. Their story is one of discovery, loss, salvage, and restoration, with a bit of serendipity sprinkled throughout. Michael Chasse will share the history and ecology of San Francisco's rare endemic manzanitas and how current efforts are returning these species to the San Francisco landscape. Michael Chasse is a biologist for the National Park Service at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, where he has coordinated natural areas stewardship and rare plant moni¬ toring for close to 20 years. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University's Department of Geography. His master's thesis focused on San Francisco's rare endemic manzanitas. Michael also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia in the early 1990s. 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: 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 sig¬ nal 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. VIA 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. Summer Vacation East Bay CNPS members' meetings will be on summer va¬ cation from June through August. Watch the Bay Leaf, the chapter website ( http://ebcnps.org ! and Meetup ( http: / / www.meetup.com/ebcnps l for announcements of the next meeting, which will take place on September 26. Michael Chasse with a Franciscan mazanita. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. CONSERVATION REPORT Just exactly how "east" IS the East Bay Chapter of CNPS? If we measure by native plant communities to be enjoyed and rare plants to be cherished, we are way way east: for example most of our Botanical Priority Protection Areas f http: / / ebcnps.org/publications/guidebook-to-botanical-priority- protection-areas / botanical-prioritv-interactive-map / 1 are in the eastern third of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties; dozens and dozens of rare plant occurrences show up all through the east, right up to the borders with San Joaquin County (see figure). But if we measure by membership, well, right now we are a western East Bay organization: Fewer than 15 percent of our members live inland, i.e., east of the Berkeley-Oakland-San Leandro Hills. We are working to increase our eastern membership roster because a chapter is stronger when its membership reflects its entire geographic range (and the additional members wouldn't hurt). Adding members in the east also will result in a closer balance between the currently small number of local east-counties conservationists and the currently giant number of local east-counties conservation issues (so so many). When we have more members in an area, we have more influence. Two initiatives this spring are facing us east: I. Promoting EB-CNPS membership at east- side gardens at the May 6 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour f https: / /www. bringingbackthenatives.net/ 1 . We will have membership tables at Gardens in half the east- counties cities where the self-guided tour touches down. The Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour has been an excellent source of brand- new members for our chapter so it is exciting to deploy this recruitment tool "facing east". II. Gathering signatures for the Antioch Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative . This initiative aims to preserve most of the Four Valleys Botanical Priority Protection Area. The California Native Plant Society East Bay actively supports the "Let Antioch Voters Decide: the Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative" (check out Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek! to preserve nature, open spaces, and historic qualities of the 1800-acre area. As a member of the Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek we are working with residents and other local conservation organizations to promote zoning that would help the City of Antioch prevent suburban sprawl that destroys native plant habitat forever. The immediate goal is to qualify the initiative for the ballot. In fact, if you are interested in joining a fast-moving and well-organized crew of community members who are volunteering in Antioch to collect the signatures needed to place the initiative onto Antioch's November ballot, while you strengthen your community and have fun, please sign up for as little as one two-hour slot between 10-6 any weekend through May 23 and you will receive training and excellent tips for a successful experience. Some weekday shifts may be available. We'll match you up with a partner, or you can bring your own. Contact Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net to volunteer. Sally de Becker Membership Chair Every weekend since the first of March, volunteers from CNPS and other members of the coalition to Save Sand Creek have been gathering signatures to qualify our initiative for the November ballot. We've been at shopping centers, community events and meetings, and everywhere else we can think of. People react well when they hear we are volunteers. At the same time as we are gathering signatures for our initiative, we are also reacting to a proposed development in the initiative area. Called The Ranch, it proposes more than 1000 houses with all the usual impacts on biological resources, traffic, public services, pollution, etc. Karen Whitestone, our Conservation Analyst, is writing formal comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report, focusing on the biological resources that are our area of expertise. She described what's at stake in the March Bay Leaf. Thanks to EBCNPS, the Alameda Creek Alliance recently endorsed our initiative. If you know of any other groups east of the hills that might be willing to do the same, please let me know at ldhunt@astound. net . Lesley Hunt Antioch campaign liaison Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf; and take an insect view of its plain. Henry David Thoreau You must live in the present , launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Henry David Thoreau Friends... they cherish one another's hopes. They are kind to one another's dreams. Henry David Thoreau 2 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 i # Figure 1 Rare plant occurrences in eastern Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, outlined in yellow. MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY UPDATE An article was published in the East Bay Times on April 18, 2018 about the Mountain View Cemetery settlement (https:/ / www.eastbayexpress.com/Oakland/ cemeterv-and-enviros- reach-deal-on-oaks / Content?oid=15223807 1 . The emphasis of the article by reporter, Darwin BondGraham, is how important coast live oak trees are for the environment. "It's hard to overstate how important Quercus agrifolia is to California's landscape and ecology. Commonly known as the coastal live oak, mature trees spread their limbs upward and out to create massive dome-like interiors shaded by boughs draped in evergreen, holly-shaped leaves. Live oaks thrive through coastal California's hot summers, wet winters, fog, and frequent fires, to which they're well-accustomed. In East Bay's flatlands and foothills, they provide shelter and food that virtually every species survives on." He quotes Cindy Margulis, the executive director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society, about the importance of oak trees not only for birds, but also for the visitors to the cem¬ etery, "If you think about the people buried there, and the people who come to visit their loved ones' graves, they need that place to be refuge, too." The East Bay CNPS Board has set up a committee to set pri¬ orities for the Oak Woodland Protection, Conservation and/ or Restoration Fund. We will let you know the goals of the fund in a future issue of the Bay Leaf. We want to remind you that as the Mountain View Cemetery Association (MVCA) begins their expansion project for the new development, CNPS has agreed not to oppose the project further and not to trespass in the construction zone. CNPS members cannot act on behalf of CNPS to communicate with MVCA or City of Oakland staff without first obtaining per¬ mission from the CNPS Board. Judy Schwartz A coast live oak at Mountain View Cemetery. THE BAY LEAF May 201 8 3 NATIVE HERE NURSERY IN MAY A visit to the nursery will delight your eyes with the blooms of star flowers (Lysimachia latifolia), stream violet ( Viola glabella) redwood violet ( Viola sempervirens), checker bloom ( Sidalcea malviflora), Douglas iris (Iris douglasiana), blue-eyed grass (Si- syrinchium helium ), California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica), woodland star ( Lithophragma heterophyllum), and annuals such as wind poppy (Papaver heterophyllum ), Chinese houses (Collinsia heterophylla), chick lupine ( Lupinus microcarpus), and some Clarkia species. Purchase them now and enjoy the blooms in the pots. Do not transplant the perennials until after flowering. The annuals will die after setting seeds, so can be enjoyed either in the ground or in pots. When you visit for any of our thrice weekly sales (Tuesdays noon-three, Fridays nine to noon, or Saturdays ten to two) look for price labels adorned with a paper clip. Those paper clips mean the plant is half of the usual price that colored label represents. We need to clear some of our older trees and shrubs to make room for the seedlings that are coming along. While there is always a display of half price materials across from the office, there are other half price " deals" hiding throughout the nursery. Volunteer opportunities If you'd like to spend a quiet forty-five minutes or an hour or two meditating with a hose in hand, the nursery requires watering from many volunteers through the warmer months. While there are opportunities to water during sales hours, it is also possible to commit to watering early on other morn¬ ings. A brief training session is required for "on your own" watering. Contact the volunteer coordinator, Ruth Pearsons at rapearsonsl@mac.com or talk to me at the nursery to set up a time for training and for watering. New volunteers are always welcome to join in a variety of tasks at Native Here. Charli Danielsen CNPS CELEBRATES JOHN MUIR’S BIRTHDAY The event featured a game, "Native or Not", and the prize Elaine, a former CNPS East Bay Chapter president, is active was the new beautifully done gardening brochure. The lady in maintaining the California native garden that surrounds with the hat is Shirleymae Skaredoff and the lady sitting is the visitors' center at the John Muir National Historic Site. Diane Viera. Elaine Jackson 4 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 FIELD TRIPS IN MAY Saturday, May 5,2018,4 pm to 6:30 pm, introductory plant walk at El Cerrito Hillside test, hosted by Janet Gawthrop Madera Open Space, northeast side of Hillside Natural Area, El Cerrito, 8500 Madera Drive adjacent to Madera Elementary School, El Cerrito. Meet by the public staircase downhill from Madera Elementary School. We're re-doing the beginner-level plant walk as a celebration of the recently acquired Madera Open Space, along with El Cerrito's Hillside Fest weekend. We'll be covering many of the same plants, but made easier by starting just below the ridgeline (along Arlington) next to Madera Elementary School. If you don't want to lug along a plant key, you can go back to my plant list from this chap¬ ter's listing on May 15, 2016. Yes, the list is still there, and you can find pictures of plants on the list by going to the alphabetical name indices at www.calflora.org . For more information click on this link: https://www.meetup.com/ ebcnp s/events/249242953/ Sunday, May 13,2018,7:00 am to Saturday, May 19,8:00 pm. Botany in Mojave National Preserve These walks are timed for spring perennials such as Penste- mon, and Calochortus at mid elevations in Mojave National Preserve. There is dispersed camping at numerous spots, and several group campsites in the Preserve. Make reservations now.Hosted by Gregg Weber Click on https: / / www.meetup.com/ebcnps/ events/248123891 / for details. Saturday, May 19,10 am, wildflowers and other plants on Albany Hill. Join Margot Cunningham on this 1.5-2 hour walk to learn about the great diversity of native plants grow¬ ing on this small urban open space. We'll start near the north side of the hill, cross Cerrito Creek, walk along the riparian/ oak woodland edge, head back through the lower meadows, then ascend through the oak woodland to the crest, about a 340-foot climb. We'll see more meadow and woodland plants on the crest and west side, then return to the start. See lists of plants, bryophytes, fungi and other organisms found on Albany Hill at www.tendancienthill.org . Meet at the south end of Santa Clara Avenue in El Cerrito, next to Cerrito Creek (3499 Santa Clara Avenue, El Cerrito in Google Maps). Public transit: 0.5 mile walk from EC Plaza BART, 0.2 mile walk from San Pablo Avenue/Carlson Boulevard stop on AC Transit 72 line. More info: tashorehill@gmail.com, 510-289-5346. Please note that Janet Gawthrop is hosting for Meetup pur¬ poses and will attend, but Margot Cunningham is the leader and is far more knowledgeable about Albany Hill. Sunday, May 20, Briones - Blue Oak and Spengler Trails Hosted by Gregg Weber Click on https: / /www.meetup.com/ebcnps/events/qk- scljvxhbbc/ for details. Saturday, May 26, Saturday, May 26, 2018, 9:45 am to 12:45 pm. Mount Diablo Falls Trail, Middle Trail Hosted by Gregg Weber Anybody who wants to carpool, meet at Orinda BART at 9:15. I will be there, maybe others too. Click on https: / / www.meetup.com/ebcnps/events/tdhvg- lvxhbjc/ for details. The wisdom of John Burroughs To me, nothing else about a tree is so remarkable as the extreme delicacy of the mechanism by which it grows and lives: the fine, hair-like rootlets at the bottom and the microscopical cells of the leaves at the top. Man takes root at his feet, and at best, he is no more than a potted plant in his house or carriage till he has established communication with the soil by the loving and magnetic touch of his soles to it. Most young people find botany a dull study. So it is, as taught from the text-books in the schools; but study it yourself in the fields and woods, and you will find it a source of perennial delight. Nearly every season, I make the acquaintance of one or more new flowers. It takes years to exhaust the botanical trea¬ sures of any one considerable neighborhood, unless one makes a dead set at it, like an herbalist. To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, to imagine your facts is another. John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 - March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist, nature essayist, and conservationist. THE BAY LEAF May 2018 5 SKYLINE RESTORATION REPORT: APRIL 2018 This last week it's been more hand weeding and a lot of mowing with the weedeater and hand sickles. We are still focused on Italian thistle and invasive grass seeds. If we cut these grass tops before their seeds ripen we will be saving ourselves a ton of work for next year. It's all hands on deck! We go out out Wednesdays at 3 pm, and will be out on Sun¬ days at 9:30 am. Please let me know if you can make it. Also, please note, we'll be skipping Sunday, May 6, on account of the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. Here is the link to the latest species list for Skyline Gardens. http: / / ebcnps.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Skv line- Gardens-species-list-4 23 18.xlsx . We are now at 263 native species for our study area. This list is in the format of the East Bay Parks lists for each Regional Park - which means that it is divided into sections for ferns, grasses, herbaceous, and woody native plants. Each section is then alphabetic by botanical name. If you click to the column on the left of each entry, you will link to the Calflora page for that species. This will include color photos of the plant and a statewide map of California with a blue dot showing where each species has been recorded. This link is a great feature and big help in learning the plants. Also included on this Skyline list are major sections for ex¬ otic plants, lichens, birds, and much more. It was developed and kept up by Bob, who deserves an enormous cheer for his efforts. The Bay Glade has been one of the major areas of our work. When we started clearing veldt grass (Ehrharta erecta) there in August of 2016, it seemed like an impossible job. Veldt grass had completely taken over the understory of this quarter-acre wooded grove. But, we've gone and done it anyway. Along the way, have had some 16 workdays there, twice including groups of 20 UC Rotaract students, and also students from Irvington High in Fremont. Veldt grass takes two seasons to eradicate and so we are just now mopping up stragglers. Meanwhile, the natives we liberated there are now flourishing and other natives have begun to move back in, most notice¬ ably huge drifts of miner's lettuce. We've also replanted five species of woodland natives that we grew from Skyline area local seed or cuttings. This spring, it looks just grand. The cow parsnips (Heracleum maximum ) are now in full flower and we have restored and re¬ claimed our magical grove. Below is a picture from yesterday: My sister Betty calls places like this "Merlin Country". And word has it that the Hobbits have now returned. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider 6 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 RESTORATION PROJECTS Redwood Regional Park, 7867 Redwood Road, Oakland, Fench broom removal: on the first Saturday of each month from 9 am to 1 pm. For event locations, please contact park staff via phone: 510-544-3127 or email: redwood@ebparks.org No registration required. Rain cancels events. Saturday, May 5, Join the City of Fremont's Environmental Services for a day of habitat restoration work on Sabercat Creek the first Saturday of every month from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. We will be weeding, planting or maintaining native trees and shrubs, and sheet mulching to preserve soil moisture and decrease competition from aggressive exotic plants. Click on https: / / sites.google.com/site/ sabercatcreekrestoration/ for more information about how you can participate in this project. Sunday, May 6,10:00 am -1:00 pm, the monthly North Basin restoration meets at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, on the bay shoreline south of Tom Bates soccer fields. A map of the area can be found at https://goo.gl/ rqdZQW. For directions to the work site or more informa¬ tion about this project, contact John Kenny ( j ohnkennv54@ yahoo.com l. Sundays, Skyline Gardens Restoration, May 6, May 13. May 20, and May 26 for 31/2 horns. Also most Wednesday afternoons. Bring: water, snack, hat, gloves, boots, long pants and shirts. Tools will be provided. A most welcome storm front has helped to ensure the longevity of the recently planted natives up on Skyline as well as encourage more flowers to appear. Now is the time to see white popcorn flowers, pink California currant and blue dicks as well as our Golden State flower, the glorious California poppy! So far 253 native species have been identified in the mile-and- a-half corridor. (List pdf available on request.) Because of the high density of native plants, it is a great place to botanize, learn, and observe - not only species, but how they behave and associate in plant communities. We will learn natives not only as flowers, but also as seedlings, plants, seed heads, and at rest. We will learn them in community - what species they grow with, and how they disperse and interact. We will learn the botanical seasons in detail. The project is open to anyone with a strong interest and com¬ mitment, regardless of background. Because of the nature of our permit from EBMUD, each outing will be limited to 15 persons, so RSVP is mandatory. Saturday, May 12„ 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Huckleberry Re¬ gional Botanic Preserve Join Janet Gawthrop and other volunteers restoring Huck¬ leberry Regional Botanic Preserve in the Oakland hills. Please note that you may be exposed to poison oak during this event so if you are sensitive to it you may wish to consider another event. Click on https:/ /www.meetup.com/ebcnps/events/dqwt- thvxhbqb/ Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, second Saturday of every month. Looking for 30 volunteers. Registration is required at MLK Jr. For more information and to register call (510) 544-2515. Saturday, May 19,10:00 am to 12:00 pm, Garber Park, 7397 Claremont Avenue, Berkeley. Meet at the Evergreen Lane entrance to Garber Park. We meet on the third Saturday of every month, from 10 am until noon, to work on removing invasive plants from Garber Park, and sometimes to plant natives and maintain the trails. Saturday, May 19, Jane and I are taking a few days off, so our only official May work party at Pt. Isabel will be on May 19,9:30 am to 2 pm. May we suggest that you take some time to visit the Bay Trail during early May to see how all your ef¬ forts are paying off. It is really quite beautiful out there now. We often see people stopping to take pictures of the plants and just the other day, a young man set up an easel at one end of the Trail and began painting the poppies and phacelia. We just hope he had enough paint to get it all down on his canvas! Where: Pt. Isabel, on the Bay Trail, halfway between the dog park and Central Avenue. Just off 1-580 (take Central to the bottom of the 1-580 overpass). At the stop sign (Rydin Road) turn right and park along Rydin Road. (If you pass Costco on your right, you've gone too far!) We set up about half way between the Bay Trail entrance and the dog park. Contact: Tom Kelly (510) 704-8628 (work), (510) 684-6484 (cell) or tkelly@kyotousa.org RSVP - it will help us coordinate tools with the East Bay Re¬ gional Park District. And remember to bring good energy, hats, sun screen, water, and family and friends. We'll supply refreshments. Sunday, May 20, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve at the Bay Area Ridge Trail gate near the Old Tunnel Road stag¬ ing area. Invasive plant removal and grassland restoration work on the third Sunday of each month, from 9 am to 1 pm. Call (510) 544-3112 or email Sibley@ebparks.org for more information and to register. Saturday, May 26, Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Rich¬ mond, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm, fourth Saturday of each month. Looking for 20 volunteers. Registration is required at Point Pi¬ nole. For more information and to register call (510) 544-3063. TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill) Last Saturday of the month work party. May 26,9:30 am-ll:30 am. Email for location-tashorehill@gmail.com. Gloves and tools provided. Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. For more information: www.tendancienthill.org Margot Cunningham THE BAY LEAF May 201 8 7 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION Wouldn't it be grand if every day were Earth Day? We never stop marveling at nature and the awe we experience when we think of how this planet has all the ingredients to sustain life. Knowing that there are somewhere between 100 billion and 200 billion galaxies in the universe, we're feeling pretty confident that life exists elsewhere but knowing this doesn't diminish the deep respect we have for the way nature has created the conditions for life to exist here. That's a big part of what motivates us to work on the little part of this miracle at Pt. Isabel and try to do what we can to improve the health of the soil, air, and water that gives everything life. Our work parties in April have been small, but the output of the volunteers has been extraordinary. The Bay Trail at Pt. Isabel has never looked better and we invite you to come out and walk the trail and see for yourselves. We have been pulling out oat grass and ripgut brome and all the California native plants are thriving and hosting many pollinators. If you stand quietly for just a moment and look at the stretches of blooming California poppies ( Eschscholzia califomica), tansy leafed phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), bee plant ( Scrophularia califomica), sticky monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus), Doug¬ las iris (Iris douglasiana) and one-leaf onion (Allium unifolium), your eyes will see a flurry of different bees and other insects moving from one plant to the next. We did a presentation this month to the Contra Costa County Fish and Wildlife Committee (FWC). FWC provided us with a grant for plants and equipment, the second grant we received in the past several years. They mentioned that they hadn't received many applications from West County this funding cycle and hoped they would receive more in the next round (August/September). See this link for more information: http: / / www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/4317/Fish-Wildlife- Committee-FWC Special thanks this month to Pt. Isabel Stewards Nancy and Fuciano for their unceasing work in removing oat grass from among the salt grass (Distichlis spicata) that is thriving at marsh edge and for controlling the pepper weed at that section of the project. Many thanks also to our EBRPD Supervisor, Scott Possin, for spending 5 1/2 hours with us (and Pt. Isabel Steward Fewis) removing an entire large area of French broom at the Ramblers' Clubhouse at Miller Knox Regional Shoreline. Once it was gone we admired the sizable patch of soap plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) that had been hidden beneath it. Happy Earth Day(s), Everyone! Jane and Tom Kelly Left, a bumblebee on Phacelia tanacetifolia ; right, a Douglas iris planted by Steward Nana. Photos by Jane Kelly. 8 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 PT. ISABEL RESTORATION CONTINUED Above, the April crew; below left, California poppy; below right, Allium unifolium. Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF May 201 8 9 UNUSUAL PLANT REPORT I am happy to report that we have lots of boots on the ground looking for unusual plants this spring, thanks to the many who responded last month to both my Bay Leaf article and to several personal requests I made. If you recall, one of the goals for this spring is to update as many as possible of the older records from the 1990's, a time when our Chapter did year round weekly surveys and developed a great deal of data and knowledge about our East Bay native flora. So far, at least 36 populations have been updated, many of them from the 1990's and earlier, with one not having been reported since 1949 (Phacelia ciliata in Byron). In addition, a new population of Amsinckia lycopsoides was discovered in Oakley, and a new population of Camissoniopsis micrantha was found last month at Skyline Gardens in upper Siesta Valley (south of Tilden and east of Grizzly Peak Boulevard). This latter species had not been reported in that area since 1956, when it was vouchered from Strawberry Canyon. My favorite personal find has been the return of Triphysaria versicolor subsp. faucibarbata to Franklin Canyon Road near Martinez. This is a route I drive often and I used to enjoy the Triphysaria every spring. But it disappeared many years ago (last reported in 2000). Over the years I have looked for it every spring and asked many people if they've seen it lately, and the answer was always "not for a long time". I had just about given up on it when on April 11 of this year I was driving along Franklin Canyon Road admiring the buttercups and I suddenly noticed a squat yellow flower that was definitely not a buttercup! I did a quick U-turn, jumped out of my car, and found myself looking at about 15 Triphysaria plants! I couldn't believe it! They looked as happy and nonchalant as if they'd never been gone. I don't know if it was the dry winter and spring rains that brought them back or what, but I am delighted. On April 18 the population was up to 58 plants, and I hope it continues to increase and comes back every year. I hope everyone else is out enjoying our wildflower season, and finding a lot of plants, unusual, rare, and just plain pretty. If you are interested in looking for and helping to monitor our unusual plants, please go to the Chapter website (ebcnps. org) and click on the plant science tab to sign up for access to the unusual plants database, if you haven't already done so. The database has a documentation tab with information about the database, what it is, and how to use it. You can search for species or observation records, using many different parameters including rank, habitat, locations, dates observed, etc., and choose a plant(s) or area(s) to monitor. You can also sign up to add your own observations to the database, providing plant name, location, date observed, number of plants, condition of plants and site, etc. The more boots we have on the ground and eyes looking at the plants, the better we can keep track of the status and health of our local flora. Finally I would like to make a request for any observations of Muilla maritima or Blennosperma nanum var. nanum in our two counties this spring or in recent years. You can either add your observations to the database or contact me directly fdiannelake@yahoo.comT I have a sense that both of these species are declining, even though Blennosperma used to be quite common, but I need field evidence and I would also welcome comments about your experience with these two species in recent years in the East Bay. Do you agree that they are declining, or do you think they are doing okay? Happy Botanizing everyone! Dianne Lake , Unusual Plants Co-ordinator 10 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF May 2018 11 MEMBERS’ MEETING ON BREAK UNTIL SEPTEMBER East Bay CNPS members' meetings will take a summer break ebcnps.org/chapter-events-initiatives/members-meetings/J , during the months of June, July, and August. Watch for an- and on our East Bay CNPS Meetup page ( https: / / www. nouncements of our next meeting, which will take place on meetup.com/ebcnps/ 1. Please share your ideas for program September 26, in the Bay Leaf, on the chapter website ( http:/ / topics or speakers; they are always welcome. NATURE ‘N ART RETREAT: JULY 15 AND LATER Join Leslie Buck (she recently taught natural pruning for Future Nature 'n Art Meetups: Just four more meetings this EBCNPS) in this new activity for native plant lovers: creating year: July 15th, September 16th, November 18th and then a art together. Nature 'n Art is a bimonthly native plant art year end gathering on January 20th. retreat for sketchers, photographers, poets, and more. The group will meet in different nature spots where everyone Leslie is a life-long sketcher who dabbles in photography can wander, sketch, take photos and/or write poetry (any and plays with poetry and loves nature (see her Facebook sort of art you prefer!), then meet and have snacks and show and Instagram). She is the author of a garden memoir called and inspire. Find Nature 'n Art on Meetup: https://www. Cutting Back about native garden design in Kyoto, and has a meetup.com/NATURE-N-ART/ . fine arts degree from UC Berkeley and School of Fine Arts at Bordeaux. Leslie loves to do small sketches, which she often gives to people depicted within her sketches. SKYLINE GARDENS IN MAY Here are a couple of photos that show the heart of what we accomplished in the week before May 15. The first is from the west face of the terraces approaching Barberry Peak: Last year, this pocket was a snarl of Italian thistle, star thistle, wild oats, and more. We planted nothing here, just removed the invasives. Now poppies, rocks, melic, and phacelia can "mingle, merge, and marry" - unvexed and free. And this from the cap of the Peak: We cleared this area one year ago. June grass, center, is waving her fuzzy candle flames in afternoon sunlight. And all around, soap root plants are waving their spikes. They are just going crazy this year. The first flower bloomed on May 14. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider (Photos by Cynthia.) NATIVE HERE NURSERY Spring has been a busy time at the nursery. We invite you to come and enjoy the beautiful annual wildflowers and other gifts of nature for your garden. Our wildflowers come from every corner of the East Bay right now, so come now to add color to your garden, as some of the annuals bloom in sum¬ mer. Volunteering activities in April set a record, in large part due to the wonderful activities of Annie's Organics (mac and cheese and many other organic products) and Da Vita Kidney Care. On Friday, April 20, nearly twenty volunteers from Da Vita cleared brush, washed nursery supplies, and dismantled and recycled old infrastructure. Annie's Organics provided teams on April 18, 24, and 27 ranging from fifteen to twenty volunteers on each day to help us unpack, cover, and stack thousands of nursery pots, clean pots to be sterilized, weed, tend to our outdoor education center, spread mulch, and dismantle and recycle unneeded structures. These events could not have been so successful without the help of our regular volunteers including David Epstein, Beth Wurzburg, Charli Danielsen, Penny Spear, Jenn Roe, Connie Chiba, Sara Goolsby, Lesley Hunt, Sue Duckies and more. The photographs illustrate the broad range of activities these teams performed and the transformation they made to the nursery. We thank each and all for their spirit of service. Volunteering activities remain a vital part of the nursery: How can you help? Get to know other native plant lovers when folks work together sowing seed or potting up seedlings. Commune with native plants from a particular area as you offer them moisture from a hose, either on days when the nursery is open and busy with people or at other times when it is quieter. Talk to a coyote while cleaning up the nursery. Listen to birdsong while watering or weeding. Help build up platforms for storing and displaying plants. Learn how to write up sales, answer phone questions and greet visitors to the nursery. Help nursery customers find the plants that best fit their gardens or projects. Track the pattern of bloom and fruiting within the nursery. If the activities described above sound like something you'd like to do, there are opportunities at Native Here Nursery. Volunteers are welcome to come in to learn more and decide what fits their interests and schedules. Once "on board", volunteers participate in an online sign-up in order to keep track of what is already assigned and what is open for another volunteer to take on. Open hours are Tues¬ days from noon to three, Fridays from 9 to noon, and Satur¬ days from 10 to 2. The nursery is at 101 Golf Course Drive in Tilden Park, on the Berkeley side, across from the Golf Course. Commitment can be as little as an hour a week to three to four hours one day a week, or two to three hours twice a week. A volunteer can decide to concentrate on one aspect of the nursery or be involved in multiple tasks. During summer the plants need tender loving care — water and weeding, although for some, care involves sheltering from water and sun for the summer. It is a particularly busy time, but many of the year-round volunteers take vacations, so there is always something needing attention. Charli and John Danielsen 2 THE BAY LEAF June 2018 VOLUNTEERS AT NATIVE HERE NURSERY FIELD TRIPS IN JUNE Annie's Organics volunteer crew (top). Removing old infra¬ structure (left). Unpacking new pots (right). Cleaning pots (previous page). Saturday, June 9, 2018, 9:45 am to 2:15 pm. Redwood Trail, Tres Sendas Trail, and Stream Trail. Plenty of redwood Regional Park, sedges, ferns, manzanitas, violets violets, stream violets, both are yellow. Hosted by Gregg We will see about five species of sedge and learn some basics Weber, of sedge ID. The Field Guide to Intermountain Sedges and the key from the 2012 Jepson Manual will be available for reference. For more information visit https:// www.meetup.com/ebc- We will take Redwood Peak Trail, French Trail, Starflower nps/ events/ wdhvglyxjbmb. THE BAY LEAF June 2018 3 VOLUNTEERS AT SAN NICOLAS (CHANNEL) ISLAND From April 12 to 16 nine Bay Area volunteers spent an un¬ forgettable five days on San Nicolas Island (SNI), one of the eight Channel Islands. SNI has limited access because it is a Navy facility. This island was the home of the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island", the Native American woman who inspired the book Island of the Blue Dolphins. The trip was coordinated by Jane Kelly and Channel Islands Restoration (CIR) based in Santa Barbara. CIR is a non-profit that works to restore habitat on the California Channel Islands and Central Coast for the benefit of rare and endangered native species. CIR's Executive Director Ken Owen made this trip possible, and we were lucky to have the assistance of CIR's Volunteer Coordinator Nancy Diaz, who helped us with every detail of the trip including the U.S. Navy vetting process. Unfortunately, because of several date changes, Jane and her husband Tom were unable to join us. At Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station we were greeted by CIR's Project Manager Kevin Thompson and Nursery Manager Kelle Green. We were joined by long time CIR volunteer Robin Birney. Robin had been to the island on many occasions and was very helpful in getting us situated. After a short flight we arrived on SNI, checked into our comfortable rooms at the hotel in "Nicktown", and were ready to go to work by 10 am. Our objective was to plant many of the 13,000 plants grown specifically to revegetate a three mile stretch along a road that had been severely impacted by a pipeline project as well as by overgrazing. All the plants had been grown in the nursery from seeds and cuttings collected exclusively from the island by CIR's Nursery Manager Kelle Green and her crew. Cuttings were collected from as many different populations as possible and interplanted to ensure biodiversity among their offspring. The nursery itself was impressive: long benches covered with many different types of plants from grasses to cactus, an automated watering system, and ant moats on all legs to prevent introduced pests like Argentine ants from infesting the pots and being spread beyond Nicktown. Adjacent to the nursery is a garden where Kelle is growing many plants to be used for future propagation. She is especially proud of her healthy little forest of Lycium previpes (desert boxthorn). In the fall of 2015 cuttings were collected from 10 plants and propagated. They thrived, and from these plants 400 more were grown to be planted for this project. On our arrival we were greeted by gale force winds of 40 miles per hour with gusts up to 50 miles per hour, which made the job on our first day difficult. We were issued goggles to keep the sand out of our eyes and we wore most of our clothing layers. Holes needed to be dug (chiseled) deep enough for the top of the root ball to be at least 1.0"- 1.5" below grade (deeper is better said Kevin). This helps 4 THE BAY LEAF June 2018 to prevent the incessant winds from blowing away the soil and exposing the roots and creates a nice bowl to contain the irrigation water. We saw our first Island Fox at the Club that evening. The Island Fox ( Urocyon littoralis) is endemic to all but the two smallest Channel Islands, Anacapa and Santa Barbara. With its expressive face, long bushy tail and weighing only 5 lbs it is incredibly cute. During our stay we saw several more of these little foxes in their natural environment. By the next morning the wind had died down to a comfortable breeze, a meadowlark was providing background music with his sweet song and Kevin was using an auger to help dig the holes. We greatly benefitted from Kevin and Kelle's extensive knowledge and organizational skills. We learned to use a simple but effective jig to mark the placement of the planting holes with the first row set back from the road about 8-10 feet. The plants were placed into their appropriate spots with Kelle calling out the 'code' names for each plant: e.g. brevi = Lycium brevipes (desert boxthorn); opuchen = Opuntia spp. (prickly pear) + Chenopodium califomicum (California goosefoot), both planted in the same hole. The first couple of rows were short plants like grasses and Achillea millefolium that can tolerate the occasional tire or being mowed. This will also allow for better visibility of the foxes, their greatest threat on the island is being hit by a vehicle. Thorny plants like cactus and boxthorn were planted in the back rows. These are the preferred habitat of the Island Night Lizard ( Xantusia riversiana), another cute island native. This species is endemic to only three islands (SNI, San Clemente and Santa Barbara) and was recently delisted. We were able to see one up close when SNI's Natural Resources Manager William Hoyer showed us one he was preparing to relocate from Nicktown to a more natural environment. We also learned the reason for the BBQ tongs in the tool box - they make planting a cactus a cinch. In 41 / 2 days, and together with CIR's Kevin, Kelle and Robin, we managed to plant almost 1,700 plants including: Achillea millefolium (yarrow), Artemisia nesiotica (Island sagebrush), Chenopodium califomicum (California goosefoot), Distichlis spicata (saltgrass), Eriogonum grande var. timomm (San Nicolas Island buckwheat), Frankenia salina (alkali seaheath), Lotus argophyllus var. argenteus (Southern Island silver lotus), Lupinus albifrons (silver lupine), Hordeum brachyanthemm ssp. califomicum (California meadow barley), Lycium brevipes (desert boxthorn), Lycium califomicum (California boxthorn), Opuntia spp. (coastal prickly pear), Stipa cemua (nodding needlegrass), Stipa pulchra (purple needlegrass). As a desert island SNI gets an average of only 7" of rain a year; these plants would not survive without additional water. Thankfully, there are fire hydrants at regular intervals along the roads. Our last job was installing a drip system, one dripper for each planting hole. The drip system SAN NICOLAS ISLAND REPORT CONT. is hooked up manually to a fire hydrant and runs for 45 minutes to an hour, first every two weeks and then at longer and longer intervals until the rains (hopefully) start. All the fresh water to the island is supplied by a surprisingly small reverse osmosis desalination plant. One plant that recovered remarkably well from decades of uncontrolled sheep grazing is Leptosyne gigantea (giant coreopsis). Many areas of the island are covered in a miniature forest of these "Dr. Seuss" plants. Robin told us that flying in after a wet winter the whole island appeared yellow. Their main bloom season is February, but there was one late bloomer right by the road looking like a big cheery sunflower bouquet. It made us smile every time we drove by. Our time on SNI was not only work. We were given tours every late afternoon to see different parts of the island. SNI has one of the largest breeding colonies of northern elephant seals in California with 20,000 animals crowding the beaches in winter. Kevin told us that during the height of the breeding season there is not a spot of sand visible. The bulls and the newly pregnant females had already left for their northern feeding grounds, but there were still plenty of younger seals on several beaches, including the aptly named Bachelor Beach. A few sea lions mingled with the elephant seals. We saw several examples of CIR restoration projects, including an impressive dune planting. A gully at the edge of Nicktown had been planted a year ago with plants similar to those we were planting. It was amazing to see how much these plants had grown in just one year. We hope ours will look as happy in another year. What a contrast to the landscape at the south side of the island: a badland with deep gullies severely eroded from decades of overgrazing. On our last day we had the opportunity to spend time at Rock Crusher at the West end of SNI. Here the crashing waves had eroded away the softer rocks leaving columns of dark rocks, creating an almost alien landscape. We left on the afternoon plane just as the wind was picking up again. We were tired and sore, but also thankful for the opportunity to enjoy an enlightening experience. We learned so much from Kevin and Kelle about the flora and fauna of the island and about restoring a badly damaged desert island. It was a privilege to work alongside such dedicated people as Kevin, Kelle, and Robin. Most important, we had a small part in helping create habitat for those cute island critters. Gudrun Kleist for the SNI Planting Crew (Kristen Hopper, Lisa Lackey, Ingrid Madsen, Kimberly Moses, Margaret Norman, Joel Peter, Christopher Richard, Penny Spear) Note: Volunteer contractors are no longer allowed to take pictures on SNI. With the exception of the coreopsis photo taken at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden all photos are courtesy of CIR's Navy approved archives. THE BAY LEAF June 2018 5 DUDLEYA FARINOSA REPLANTING We traveled to Fort Bragg recently, where we spent a fair amount of time removing invasive plants along the coast and volunteering at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens (MCBG). No sooner had we arrived at the end of April than we started hearing details about the disheartening story of succulent plant poaching (Dudleya farinosa) along the northern coast of California by a group of men who were sending the succulents to markets in Asia where the plants reportedly bring $40-$50 apiece. In March, three men were apprehended by California Depart¬ ment of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for poaching and 2,300 Dudley a farinosa were recovered. While the perpetrators have been charged with felonies, it remains to be seen how they will be punished. The good news is that CNPS chapters in the county have been asked to return the plants to the coastal bluffs. We had the good fortune to hear about that effort from CNPS Dorothy King Young (DKY) Chapter Education Chair Mario Abreu, a friend and recently retired plant collections curator and naturalist from MCBG. He invited us to join volunteers on May 1 at the Botanical Gardens and to replant about 180 of the Dudleya on the Gardens' coastal bluffs. The Dudleya farinosa used for the MCBG project were recovered from an additional March CDFW "bust" along the Mendocino Coast near Anchor Bay which were obtained by DKY members Kathleen and Lloyd Chasey. Working with Mario, Jenny Lang (a fantastic MCBG gardener who is taking on Mario's former position), and a great group of local volunteers, we planted the 180 Dudley a farinosa on the beautiful bluffs. On May 7 Tom and I returned to the Gar¬ dens and irrigated the succulents while also removing South African small leaf trailing ice plant (Lampranthus spectabilis) from the bluffs. Sophia Pisciotta, Nursery Manager of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, tended the Gardens' allocation of stolen Dudleya farinosa back to health and ensured healthy roots on the plants chosen for replanting on May 1. Sophia is caring for the 100 remaining succulents in the nursery to be planted along the ocean side of the MCBG coastal bluff Mt. Promontory site in fall 2018. We are fortunate to have skilled and thoughtful crew members at MCBG in Fort Bragg who will safeguard these precious plants. For more on the Dudleya farinosa story, see https://www. mercurynews.com/2018/ 04/ 20/busting-plant-smugglers- along-calif ornias-coast / LATE BREAKING NEWS - apparently the CDFW have made another bust - this time near Big Sur. Mario Abreu tells us that on Sunday May 5 a concerned citizen in Big Sur contacted CDFW. She had observed two poachers along the road near Garrapata in Big Sur. She confronted the duo, saw that they had D. farinosa plants, and admonished them that it was illegal to take them. She took photos of the poachers and the license plates of their vehicles and even got a picture of the plants in a bag. This tip mobilized wardens from Northern, Central and Southern districts and Special Teams. A search warrant was served in Palmdale, where the suspects were found in possession of 600 plants with 1,872 rosettes. Jane and Tom Kelly 6 THE BAY LEAF June 2018 MENDOCINO DUDLEYA RESTORATION PICTURES Pictures below from San Nicolas Island, giant coreopsis in the Santa Barbera Botanic Garden. Photo by volun¬ teer Ingrid Madsen Right: Lupine on the island. Photos by CIR. Previous page: the Mendocino crew., photo by JoAnne Abreu. Top: recovered Dudleyas ready to plant. Photo by JoAnne Abreu. Above left: a Dudleya replanted. Above right: Tom Kelly irrigating. Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF June 2018 7 RESTORATION PROJECTS IN JUNE Sundays, Skyline Gardens Restoration, June 3, June 10, June 17, and June 24. Also most Wednesday afternoons. Bring: water, snack, hat, gloves, boots, long pants and shirts. Tools will be provided. So far 253 native species have been identified in the mile-and- a-half corridor. (List pdf available on request.) Because of the high density of native plants, it is a great place to botanize, learn, and observe - not only species, but how they behave and associate in plant communities. We will learn natives not only as flowers, but also as seedlings, plants, seed heads, and at rest. We will learn them in community - what species they grow with, and how they disperse and interact. We will learn the botanical seasons in detail. The project is open to anyone with a strong interest and com¬ mitment, regardless of background. Because of the nature of our permit from EBMUD, each outing will be limited to 15 persons, so RSVP to glennyfrank@gmail.com is mandatory. Saturday, June 2, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, June 9, 10 am to 2 pm. Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Richmond. Point Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the park¬ ing lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Saturday, June 2,9 am to 1 pm. Redwood Regional Park, 7867 Redwood Road, Oakland 94619, French broom removal. For event locations contact park staff via phone at 510-544-3127, or email: redwood@ebparks.org . No registration is equired. Rain cancels. Sunday, June 3, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, the monthly North Basin restoration meets at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, on the Bay shoreline south of Tom Bates soccer fields. A map of the area can be found at https:/ / goo. gl/ rqdZQW. For directions to the work site or more informa¬ tion about this project contact John Kenny ( johnkennv54@ yahoo.com l. Saturday, June 9, 2018, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Huckleberry Parking Lot, 6934 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, meet at main Huckleberry parking lot. Click on this link for more information: https://www.meetup.com/ebcnps/events/ dqwtthy xjbmb / Sunday, June 10, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. Redwood Re¬ gional Park, 7867 Redwood Road, Oakland 94619. For event location, please contact Park staff via phone: 510-544-3127, or email: redwood@ebparks.org . Project: French broom removal. No registration required. Rain cancels. Saturday, June 16, 10 am-noon, Garber Park volunteer workday. We will continue clearing the invasives on the Evergreen Lane Hillside, where we now have several ac¬ cess points on the steep slope. For those who prefer flat there's work along the trails or in lovely Fern Glade. We provide water, snacks, gloves, and tools. Children are wel¬ come if accompanied by an adult. Wear long sleeves and pants and boots with good tread. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance, 0.4 miles up Claremont Avenue (towards Grizzly Peak Boulevard) from the intersection of Claremont at Ashby. For more information, a map, and directions visit our website garberparkstewards.org or contact Shelagh@ garberparkstewards.org. Sunday, June 17, 9 am to 1 pm, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve at the staging area at 6800 Skyline Boulevard, Oak¬ land (just east of Skyline's intersection with Grizzly Peak Boulevard), monthly invasive plant removal and grassland restoration. Call (510) 544-3112 or email Sibley@ebparks.org for more information and to register. Saturday, June 23, Point Pinole Regional Shoreline, Rich¬ mond, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm. Join Point Pinole Regional Shoreline park staff to help restore native grasslands and marsh areas. Volunteers are needed to help remove invasive plants, weeds and shoreline debris. Registration is required. Call (510) 544-3063 for more information. Saturday June 30, 9:30 am -11:30 am, TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill) work party. Help remove invasive plants on Albany Hill. Gloves and tools provided. Wear long sleeves and pants and sturdy shoes. Email tashorehill@gmail. com for location. Margot Cunningham 8 THE BAY LEAF June 2018 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, produc¬ tion manager charlid@pacbell.net Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection dnlsen@pacbell.net 510-549-0211 Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF June 2018 9 MEMBERS’ MEETING SEPTEMBER PREVIEW Members' meetings are on summer recess during July and August, but mark your calendar for a great program when we resume in September. Wednesday, September 26, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room Speaker: Pete Veilleux, East Bay Wilds Topic: Buckwheats for Your Garden Buckwheats at East Bay Wilds Nursery. Photo by Pete Veilleux. NATIVE HERE NURSERY REPORT Charli Danielsen, the founder of our nursery, suffered a stroke in late May while she and John were visiting their daughter in Tacoma. Fortunately they realized what was happening and got treatment right away, but her right side was paralyzed and her speech was affected. The first weeks after a stroke are the most important period for recovering lost functions. They will stay in Tacoma through that phase, then return to the Bay Area around the end of July. Anyone wishing to send Charli a card or other good wishes can write to her in care of East Bay Chapter California Native Plant Society PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 We always knew that Charli and John did a tremendous amount of work at the nursery, in addition to having by far the most knowledge of how to grow the plants, when to do what, and all the details like ordering supplies and seeing that there were clean rags. Now that we must run the nursery without them for a while, we are learning both how much we don't know and how much we do. The volunteers have been wonderful, stepping up to do what's necessary to keep things going and sharing their knowledge and experience. The Nursery Committee is deeply grateful. Neither John nor Charli will be at Native Here for some months, so the Nursery Committee has decided to approach the situation in two phases. First we need to be sure that we can understand the daily operations - opening, closing, watering, potting. We're pretty close to doing that. Next we have to figure out how much of the seed collecting needs to be covered, because John did a lot of it. Finally we will have to plan the propagation season, create the special feature days to draw in customers during fall and winter, and deal with the changes that occur in any business over time. Ways you can help: (1) Sign up to water, at least during the summer when it's a major activity. We can pair you up with an experienced waterer to learn the ropes Write to Ruth Ann Pearsons at rapearsonsl@mac.com to sign up. Even one shift helps. (2) We are looking for someone with experience in seed collecting to cover any gaps we may have. Write to me at ldhunt@astound.net if you can help with that. Lesley Hunt Nursery Committee Chair CONSERVATION ANALYST REPORT Antioch Sand Creek initiative gets over 5,000 signatures The alliance of organizations that have been working to put the "Let Antioch Voters Decide: Sand Creek Area Protection Initiative" on the Antioch ballot turned in over 5,000 signa¬ tures to place the initiative on the November ballot. Lesley Hunt is the Chapter's Antioch Campaign Liaison (she also serves as Native Here Nursery Liaison and Out¬ reach Chair). Lesley inspired our members to volunteer in the weekend signature gathering over several months, and Membership Chair Sally de Becker has been expanding our chapter membership efforts in Contra Costa County. Thank you to volunteers from our chapter who stood in front of area supermarkets to educate people about the issue and to ask them to put the initiative on the ballot. In addition to Lesley and Sally, Conservation Chair Jim Hanson, President Beth Wurzburg, and Field Trips Chair Janet Gawthrop, Con¬ servation Analyst Karen Whitestone, Delia and John Taylor, Field Trips Chair Janet Gawthrop, and Dick Schneider of the Sierra Club gathered signatures in front of the Wal-Mart on Lone Tree Way on Sunday, April 29 (photo credit, Sally de Becker). Unfortunately, a competing ballot initiative was announced at the end of April. Supporters of this other initiative include Richland Communities, the development company propos¬ ing The Ranch project. Our initiative is titled, "Let Antioch Voters Decide." It seems a lot more people are aware of the Sand Creek area and development projects in Antioch now. A bill was introduced to the California Senate in February to preserve Tesla. It is called Senate Bill 1316 - Off-highway vehicular recreation: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area: Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area. SB 1316 states that the Department would be allowed to sell the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area for conservation pur¬ poses, and money from the sale would be returned to the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Division. This would allow the OHMVR Division to pursue property more suitable for Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs). SB 1316 would provide a clear mechanism as an option to resolve the longstanding local controversy over Tesla. Senator Steve Glazer introduced the bill with principal co-author Assembly Member Catharine Baker. CNPS supports SB 1316 with encouragement from our East Bay Chapter. A total of 25 organizations and 6 public agencies also have written letters of support. SB 1316 successfully passed in both the Senate Governmental Organization Committee and Senate Natural Resources & Water Committee in late April, and the California Senate in late May. The first two Assembly hearings are Tuesday, June 26, and Wednesday, June 27. Thank you for helping to Save Tesla Park! Keep an eye out for action alerts to contact your local Legislators. Senate Bill 1316 to preserve Livermore's Tesla passes two Karen Whitestone California Senate committees Below: Volunteers collecting signatures for the Antioch initiative. 2 THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION People go to amazing lengths to participate in our Pt. Isabel work parties. Some volunteers bike in from great distances, others come by BART and walk the length of Central Avenue, but few can beat the commitment and dedication shown by Steve Young who comes in several times a year from Kokomo, Indiana! On June 16 Steve drove his son's Jag from Kokomo to Salt Lake City before hopping on a plane to get to San Francisco in time for the work party. It's that wonderful time of the year when scores of native bees, honey bees, butterflies, and birds are dining on the profusion of blooms and seeds at the site. All the work done by our amazing stewards and volunteers, and by Mother Nature herself, comes to a head. Point Isabel is blooming with California poppies (Eschscholzia californica )), several species of Clarkia, black sage ( Salvia mellifera), lizard tail (Eriophyl- lum staechadifolium), deerweed ( [Acmispon glaber), bee plant (Scrophularia californica) and California rose ( Rosa californica). This year Mother Nature has provided us with a beautiful specimen of evening primrose ( Oenothera data ssp. hookeri) that is now in full bloom. The blue wildrye (Elymus glaucus) and red fescue (Festuca rubra) are heavy with seed and the birds are already partaking of the purple needlegrass ( Stipa pulchra) seed they find on the ground. We have also planted a fair amount of frogfruit, also known as turkey tangle (Phyla nodiflora ), which attracts the tiniest of pollinators, including the exquisite emerald green sweat bees. Special thanks this month to Shannon, Greg, and Hugo from the City of Richmond and to our steward Rob Kirby for hauling away trash that was dumped along Rydin Road. As always, our thanks go to our EBRPD Ranger Bruce, whose assistance and enthusiasm is key to the success of our project. Jane and Tom Kelly Above, Steward Nina weeds her site. Below Mother Nature's gift and the Pt. Isabel crew (with Hooker's evening primrose in the back). Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 3 MORE POINT ISABEL PICTURES The Adopt-a-spot crew (above) and workers in the poppies. Photos by Jane Kelly. 4 THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 RESTORATION PROJECTS Sunday, July 1 and August 5, 10:00 am, Northshore Ba¬ sin, mouth of Schoolhouse Creek. Led by John Kenny. This group involves both weeding and planting, but dry weather will likely put the focus on weeding. The worksite is to the left as you travel the Bay Trail in Eastshore State Park. If you pass the sports fields going north, turn around and come back closer to the shoreline. E-mail Johnkenny54@ yahoo.com for more information. Saturday, July 7 and August 4, 9:30 am, Pt. Isabel at Eastshore State Park. Led by Greens at Work. Summer watering will be in full swing, but weeding will continue. There will be additional work dates for at least supplemental watering of newly planted areas. E-mail Kyotousa@sbcglobal.net for more information. FIELD TRIPS Lesley Buck will lead her Art in Nature trip to Muir Beach on July 15 at 1 pm. See meetup.com/ebcnps Saturday, July 14 and August 11 at 9:30 am. Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Weeding will continue over the summer, with a focus on Vinca and cape ivy in more shaded locations. For more information email janetgawthrop47@gmail.com Saturday, July 14 and August 18, 10 am, Garber Park Join Garber Park Stewards in this remnant natural area just above the Claremont Hotel. Focus will be on weeding. For more information see the Meetup page for Garber Park Stew¬ ards or e-mail garberparkstewards@gmail.com. Sunday, July 15 and August 19 at 9 am, Sibley Park Please note the 9 am start time. We will continue to meet at Old Tunnel Road staging area on the Orinda side of the park. If you are coming from Skyline Gate (Oakland-side) or need further information e-mail janetgawthrop47@gmail.com. Gregg Weber will lead a field trip to Briones Regional Park on Sunday, September 2. See meetup.com/ ebcnps The respectable folks, - Where dwell they? They whisper in the oaks, And they sigh in the hay; Summer and winter, night and day, Out on the meadow, there dwell they. They never die, Nor snivel nor cry, Nor ask our pity With a wet eye. A sound estate they ever mend, To every asker readily lend; To the ocean wealth, To the meadow health, To Time his length, To the rocks strength, To the stars light, To the weary night, To the busy day, To the idle play; And so their good cheer never ends, For all are their debtors and all their friends. from A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Henry David Thoreau THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 5 Now we get to the showy ones - here's a slope just covered with sticky monkey flower (Mimulus aurantiacus). While much 6 THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 SKYLINE GARDENS REPORT June 22, 2018 We had good workdays last week. We continued to follow up on scattergrass over in Bay Grove land and then we did a complete sweep for burr chervil (aka sock destroyer or velcro plant) in the Yampah Bowl area. Welcome to Marilyn, Lynn, Jennifer, Margot, and Libby. of the East Bay now looks like a crisp, brown cracker, up at Skyline the party is on. Look at this: Can you believe it? Four years ago this slope was dominated by Eucalyptus trees. Thanks to their removal, we can witness the return of the natives in full swing; and not only the plants, but also hummingbirds, bumblebees, and a host of other pollinators are all here for the flowers. In the background. As to flowers, the volume of bloom at Skyline is the greatest of the year. Mostly, that's the slopes of sticky monkey flower, but let's start with some of the smaller ones. Coyote mint (Monardella villosa) is now blooming on the sunny rocky slopes. From a distance, they might look like a clump of ground hugging thistles, but up close they are lovely; and the leaves are very fragrant. Here's two in bloom (thanks to Francesca for this photo): Pink and orange, what a color combination; bold and brassy - now this is California! These plants grow in clumps and spread by underground run¬ ners. They are very uncommon in our area but grow trailside in the Buckeye Grove area south of the Steam Trains, and here and there along the north crest of the ridges. (Thanks to Jessica for this shot.) Happy Trails, Glen Schneider Next we have California skullcap ( Scutellaria califomica). These are small white snapdragon-like flowers blooming on stems a foot or less in height. Here's a shot of some: the live oaks are starting to fill out, now that they have more light. This is all really inspiring. (Photo thanks to Margaret) In pockets along the trail, farewell-to-spring (Clarkia rubi- cunda) is having a great year, too. Here's a swath of them: DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, production manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection nativehere@ebcnps.org Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF July-August 2018 7 The Bay Leaf September 2018 California Native Plant Society • East Bay Chapter Alameda & Contra Costa Counties www.ebcnps.org www.nativeherenurserv.ora MEMBERS’ MEETING SEPTEMBER PREVIEW Native Buckwheats for Your Garden Speaker: Pete Veilleux Wednesday, September 26, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (directions below) Buckwheats, in the genus Eriogonum, comprise a beautiful group of California native all-star plants. They are both nectar and host plants for butterflies and moths, and they provide a bonanza for bees and other pollinators looking for summer food. An additional benefit is their versatility and ornamental value. Pete Veilleux's presentation will focus on buckwheats for their beauty as well as their habitat and horticultural im¬ portance, and he will have plants available for purchase after the presentation (cash or check only). Pete Veilleux is a master designer, nurseryman, and pho¬ tographer. He owns East Bay Wilds (eastbaywilds.com), a nursery and design/build company based in Oakland that grows many East Bay natives as well as rare and unusual plants from all over the state of California. Through East Bay Wilds, Pete builds gardens using native plants for self- sustaining landscapes. He is a tireless advocate for native plant gardening and a reservoir of information on how to succeed with natives. East Bay CNPS members' 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 26 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. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Next Month's Program October 24, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room, Ted Kipping "Tree Ecology: The Rhizosphere —Tree Anatomy Below Ground". Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: 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 sig¬ nal 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. VIA 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. Left: Buckwheats in the garden and in the wild Collage by Pete Veilleux, East Bay Wilds. CONSERVATION REPORT Pt. Molate faces critical council decision By the time you read these three "visions" for repurposing Pt. Molate will be before Richmond residents. City council members will be selecting one of those in October. This summer three community planning workshops were held to recommend a plan for Pt. Molate to elected officials. The workshops came after Council members, in a split vote, approved a closed session settlement with Jim Levine/Up- stream and a Ukiah tribe, former sponsors of a huge casino development at Pt. Molate. A Council negotiating committee led by Mayor Butt agreed to sell prime shoreline property at Pt. Molate with half the revenue going to Upstream. In addition a minimum of 670 housing units would have to be built at Pt. Molate (even though vehicle access is limited to one road in and out, there is no functioning infrastructure, and no land use zoning has been officially adopted). Under this "favorable" agreement, residents have to pick up build¬ ing entitlement costs, related legal fees, CEQA costs, and site security and maintenance costs. No money was dedicated to fund care of, or access to, the remaining "open space." (Note: the East Bay Regional Parks District has set aside some fund¬ ing for development of a regional park at Pt. Molate, but is taking the lead from the City and the public). Since Pt. Molate never went through a formal public zoning process, the City Council also approved a series of community meetings in November, 2017 to hear what residents wanted to see there. This spring City planning staff returned with a hasty schedule of community planning meetings combined with a selection process for a developer and development project. Adopted on a 4-3 Council vote, a developer selection process began before the public finished commenting on their land use "vision" for Pt. Molate (note: until challenged by residents, the City's invitation to developers also mentioned building a five lane shoreline highway at Pt. Molate. Currently, it is only two lanes). On August 27 - after three site tours, a youth event at Pt. Molate, and two workshops - the city's planning consultants unveiled three alternative plans for Pt. Molate. The plans are to be derived from the public input during the community workshops and from comments submitted during tours and online. A supermajority of the groups reporting back during a prior "input" workshop advocated keeping the south valley at Pt. Molate as a public recreational, cultural, and historical site. The Pt. Molate Alliance, formed over the last year by resi¬ dents and organizations, also calls for saving Pt. Molate for all. The alliance proposes a balanced repurposing of this unique shoreline property. The group supports commercial and hospitality development in the north valley - site of the historic Winehaven village area - and keeping the south valley as a community outdoor park for recreational sports, biking, walking, family gatherings, children's science education, and to recognize of the Richmond's diverse history, including the Ohlone, the Chinese fishing camp, and workers during WWII. The group believes that housing should be moved to the downtown. Housing is needed in Richmond, but where and for whom? Shoreline condominiums at Pt. Molate would mostly benefit an exclusive few. Instead, retaining the south valley at Pt. Molate for community recreation and outdoor activities would help attract mixed income housing develop¬ ment in the downtown, where it is needed. The south valley at Pt. Molate is a still intact Bay hills bio¬ diversity hot spot that connects the ridge top, seasonal wa¬ terways and meadows, and the Bay. Original native coastal bunchgrass prairie and coastal scrub dot the hillside. The native shrub community serves as a resting stop for migrat¬ ing song birds and hosts toyons (Heteromeles arbutifolia) the size of medium live oak trees. Hiding among the willows in the seasonal waterways are Dutchman's pipe (Aristolochia califomica) feeding caterpillars that alight as black swallow¬ tail butterflies in the spring and summer. The rare eel grass beds in the Bay shallows offer foraging and shelter for young fish and spawning habitat for sardines. The San Franciso State University Romberg Marine Center uses the Pt. Molate shoreline shallows as an eel grass reference site for restoring other shoreline sites in San Francisco Bay. Eel grass depends on light reaching the leaves; turbidity from construction ac¬ tivity and nutrients from new developments degrades them. The south valley at Pt. Molate has been a refuge since WWII. It hosts a rich assemblage of native coastal prairie and shrubs, willow waterways, a coastal strand beach, and rare eel grass beds in the bay shallows. The critical choice on a "vision" for Pt. Molate is scheduled to come before the Planning Commission in September and the City Council in October. In other conservation news: The Antioch City Council will have considered (on Tuesday, 8/28) whether the Chapter-supported Save Sand Creek ini¬ tiative goes on the November ballot along with a developer's initiative for the Sand Creek area, (lead: Lesley Hunt) The Oakland Vegetation Management plan is being assembled by consultants. Horizon Vegetation Management. They are calling volunteer land management groups for short discussions, but so far there have been no reports of walkthroughs of fuel management areas with stewards, no site-specific plans, and no recognition of maritime chaparral (lead: Beth Wurzburg). Comments were prepared and submitted on the Sibley Volcanic Regional Park Land Use Plan Amendment/ DEIR for adequate plant surveys in areas of proposed new construction, along with questions about the proposed expansion of biking onto narrow trails, (lead: Jim Hanson) Mountain View Cemetery (MVC) - The Cemetery hired one of the two independent oversight arborists recommended by the MVC subcommittee of the Conservation Committee. The independent arborist will review construction activity for compliance with oak 2 THE BAY LEAF September 2018 CONSERVATION REPORT CONTINUED protection measures of the CNPS-Cemetery settlement agreement and Oakland's Tree Removal Permit as soon as these documents are provided (lead: Judy Schwartz). The Conservation Analyst job description is being reviewed for updates and approval by the Board in the second half of September (lead: Jim Hanson). Jim Hanson Jim Hanson chairs the Conservation Committee. He is a landscape architect and lives in Richmond. Right: Festuca rubra at Pt. Molate. Photo by David Amme. See photo on page 8. NATIVE HERE NURSERY Calling Groomers and Potters! Nursery volunteers have been working hard in the Danielsens' absence. Many of them have put in extra hours and taken on new tasks, and we appreciate this very much. We have trained more people to do the common nursery tasks and there is multiple backup for most things. We believe we're to the point where we can execute the basics pretty well. Our two inventory assistants have also been invaluable, but unfortunately they both moved on to better things this week (college and NASA internship). We wish them well and will be hiring new ones as soon as possible. We accepted an offer from NORS-DUC in Marin County to have a demonstration of their electric steam pasteurizer to clean both soil and pots. Barbara Leitner made all the arrangements for them to come to Native Here and a number of volunteers helped get the job done. This was a very successful day, greatly reducing our backlog of dirty pots and giving us at least a month's worth of recycled soil. (We can no longer just reuse it because of phytophthora protocols.) A welcome fringe benefit was that we cleaned out a lot of the plant benches and now we have more room for current inventory. Part of the pots and soil we arranged in the parking lot for steaming. We put the soil in 5 gallon pots. The whole 20x25 ft layout was covered with a tarp, wired for temperature monitoring, and heated with steam. Afterwards we had to bag all the pots and loosely cover the soil to keep them clean. We have continued to work on getting the nursery spruced up for our growing season special events and just so it looks better when customers come. We've cleaned up failed pots from the propagation area and rearranged the others more efficiently. We need groomers and potters. As we move into fall potting and propagating becomes a bigger part of our activity. We need a couple more potters than we have.. Helping things grow is pleasant work and inexperience is no barrier - we will train you how to do it. We also need to prepare for the fall and winter selling season. The nursery needs to look its best when customers come. Oak leaves and some weeds have accumulated in our pots over the summer and we need help to clean them up. This does not require plant knowledge. Oak leaves are readily recognizable, and the good plant is in the center of the pot. There are people around to ask if you're not sure. And the rewards are immediate. In the next 3-4 weeks we could also use help with watering until we can hire new inventory assistants. To volunteer for any of these things, write to Ruth Ann Pearsons at rapearsonsl@mac.com . Update on Charli and John: They got home in mid August and are happy to be here. After a week or two of making arrangements for Charli's daytime care and continuing therapy John is starting to come to the nursery and go seed collecting. Charli would like to hear from everybody; please write to her if you have a moment. Cards are better than email at this point. We are all very glad to have them back. Lesley Hunt , NHN Committee Chair THE BAY LEAF September 2018 3 POINT ISABEL AND MILLER-KNOX RESTORATION On July 4 th Greens at Work took a fun and super-energetic crew to Miller Knox Park (Richmond) and worked on two separate sites - weed-wrenching out masses of French broom and removing exotic sweet peas that were crowding out coast live oaks ( Quercus agrifolia), toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), and sagebrush (Artemisia califomica). We returned with another enthusiastic crew on July 15 and continued weed-wrenching the remaining large stand of French broom. Steward Lewis rescued a beautiful young Quercus agrifolia that was hidden by the broom but is now happily out in the sunshine. In the busy month of July we held our two regular work par¬ ties at Point Isabel, ensuring that last winter's plantings were surviving and irrigating those that were thirsty. Stewards and volunteers removed bindweed that was sneaking up on the California native plants. Bees were relishing the flowers on the deerweed ( Acmispon glaber). During our second work party we (and the insects) visited the beautiful blooming sticky monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), California rose ( Rosa California), and California buckwheat (Eriogonumfasciculatum) at various points along the trail. Steward Nancy met us one July day at Hoffman Marsh at the 5 pm low tide to remove small infestations of Algerian laven¬ der. This is a yearly effort, but we can see how successful the work has been by the severely reduced patches of Algerian lavender and the huge increase in California sea lavender (Limonium californicum) throughout the marsh. In August we began work to connect the end of Tom's site to the beginning of Steward Lewis' site in preparation for plant¬ ing this winter. Once this area is connected the entire reveg¬ etated stretch will run for 1/3 mile. We also held a "family" work party in August with Tom and his youngest brother, Jim, digging out all the naked ladies ( Amaryllis belladonna). Special thanks to Core Volunteer Rob Kirby for his unceas¬ ing work picking up all the trash and protecting the health of the marsh. And our sincere thanks to EBRPD Supervisor Scott Possin for his unswerving support for the work of all the Point Isabel and Miller Knox volunteers. We count ourselves lucky to work with such a great EBRPD crew. Jane and Tom Kelly The July 7 crew. Photo by Jane Kelly. 4 THE BAY LEAF September 2018 PICTURES FROM PT. ISABEL AND MILLER-KNOX Above: late blooming lizard tail and us. Below left: steward Nancy removes Algerian lavender. Below right: Tom and Jim remove Amaryllis belladonna. Photos by Jane Kelly. THE BAY LEAF September 2018 5 SKYLINE GARDENS REPORT August 22, 2018 We've been hitting the scattergrass diligently, and mopping up its last pockets. One more day should do it. We are now back to our regular schedule this week: Thursday at 4 pm, Sunday at 9:30 am. On Thursday, we may do some seed cleaning. I wanted to highlight several of those heroic wildflowers which bloom and shine now, in the heat and the dry. And since a number of us have been studying the plant families. I'll also highlight these. The first one is commonly known as wire lettuce or wreath plant (Stephanomeria virgata ssp. pleurocarpa). These grow and are now flowering on the sunny, rocky slopes above Grizzly Peak Boulevard, about a tenth of a mile south of Siesta Gate. They grow in the same scree-like conditions as does chia. Here's a side view through a grove of them: These are the tall, wiry plants with the small pink flowers. The tallest plants here are nearly five feet tall. They are annuals and they have been growing steadily ever since they sprouted with last October's rains. Their leaves have now completely withered and the plants are basically just green stems with buds, flowers, and swelling seeds. For comparison, here is the very same clump of plants in early May: This was quite a different season - chia blooming and tarweed still in bud. Two wire lettuce plants are near the chia on the right, with strap-like grey foliage. In this photo, they look to be about a foot tall. Here is a close up of one flower: The flowers are about the size of a dime. They are in the aster family (Asteraceae), in the chicory tribe. Each 'petal' represents one flower, so this is really a flower head with six flowers. This species is often beloved by botanists: they are uncommon, tough, and yet hauntingly beautiful. And who knows how long each blossom lasts, whether they close up at night, and how long the seeds take to ripen? As you might expect, these are essentially Southern Califor¬ nians who find a home up north on our hot and dry slopes. They are more often found in our area on Mount Diablo, but there are several populations along Grizzly Peak Boulevard. This grouping is just across the road and 100 yards south of UC signpost number 21. While we are dwelling on the lovelies of Grizzly Peak, here's a shot of California fuchsia near Centennial Drive. This form has tall stems and large, showy flowers. Take a look: Aren't they grand? California fuchsia (Epilobium canum) is a member of the eve¬ ning primrose family, the Onagraceae. They grow all over the state in sunny, rocky areas - and come in mnay forms. Some 6 THE BAY LEAF September 2018 SKYLINE GARDENS REPORT CONTINUED are nearly prostrate, some are tall with silvery foliage. Many forms are in the nursery trade and these are great plants for the native and dry garden, bringing color and hummingbirds in August and September. In the wild they survive on very poor mineral soils. In the garden, with richer soils, they can form large colonies. Lastly the goldenrod (Solidago californica) have been really great this year. There's a close up to the right. Goldenrods are another plant of the aster family (Asteraceae). The ray flowers are much reduced, but they are still there. This clump is blooming right now on the far side of the Bay Grove. Thanks to Karen for the photo. I so deeply admire these late bloomers, which step forth and shine in the midst of the heat and the dry. That takes RESTORATION PROJECTS Saturday, September 1, 9:30 am. Point Isabel planting and restoration until roughly 1:30 pm. Please contact Tom Kelly at kyotousa@sbcglobal.net. Sunday, September 2, 10 am Northshore Basin/mouth of Schoolhouse Creek. John Kenny leads this group in weeding, planting and spot watering. It is OK to just show up if you do not have time to RSVP. The worksite is just west of the frontage road, beyond the gravel turnout some meters south of the Bates sportsfields. Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 9, pulling French broom in Redwood Regional Park. Contact red- wood@ebparks.org for times and locations. Saturday, September 8,9:30 am. Huckleberry Regional Bo¬ tanic Preserve. Next month we will swap work dates with Sibley Park, so mark your calendar for October 21 at 9:30 am. FIELD TRIPS Sunday, September 2, September plants in Briones Re¬ gional Park Meet Gregg Weber at the trailhead at the top of Briones Road. RSVP, trip description and map are available at www.meetup.com/ ebcnps/ Saturday, September 15,9:30 am. Point Isabel planting and restoration until roughly 1:30 pm. Please contact Tom Kelly at kyotousa@sbcglobal.net. Saturday, September 15,10 am, Garber Park Stewards meet on Claremont Avenue uphill from the Claremont Hotel. Sunday September 16,9 am, Sibley Park. Meet at Old Tunnel Road staging area on the Orinda side of the park, where we will continue the attack on French broom. There are also a couple of new stinkwort populations (Dit- trichia graveolens) that need eradication, and they can be cut down. E-mail janetgawthrop47@gmail.com or sibley@ ebparks.org, or just show up. Loaner gloves, tools and water available. Saturday, September 29,9:30-11:30, Albany Hill, restoration with Tending Ancient Shoreline. strategy? Glen Schneider rat's their water NATURE AND ART WORKSHOP Saturday, September 1,11 am-3 pm. Sketching/photogra- #67 bus near downtown Berkeley BART; the last stop on phy/ poetry with Leslie Buck at Tilden Regional Park Botanic weekend runs is at the Brazilian Building, just uphill from the Garden. garden. RSVP to https:/ / www.meetup.com/ Artandnature/ events/253565171/ Bring food for potluck lunch, and any sketching or photog¬ raphy gear that you want. Carhaters can catch AC Transit THE BAY LEAF September 2018 7 2019 MYRTLE WOLF GRANTS (APPLY BY 10/19/18) The mission of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is to conserve California native plants and their natural habitats; and increase understanding, appreciation, and horticultural use of native plants. The East Bay Chapter, which serves Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, offers the Myrtle Wolf Student Research Grant in honor of Myrtle Wolf (1913-2012), a longtime Oakland teacher who on retirement devoted herself to California's native flora. As a member of CNPS for over 30 years, she worked on annual plant sales and promoting the use of native plants for landscaping and was made a CNPS Fellow in 1987. Myrtle Wolf also supported the UC Botanical Garden, which named its library in her honor in 2000. The Myrtle Wolf Student Research Grant supports research on all aspects of the plant science of California native plants such as horticulture, taxonomy, biochemical processes, diseases, and interactions with the environment. Applicants must be registered students, undergraduate or graduate, at an accredited institution of higher learning lo¬ cated in Alameda or Contra Costa County. In 2019, $3000 will be awarded. The maximum grant size will be $1000. We anticipate awarding two $1000 grants and two or more grants of smaller amounts; actual amounts are at the discretion of EBCNPS. Awarded grant money is to be spent on research expenses including project travel within California ($0,545 per mile), excluding travel for conferences or communication; equip¬ ment (under $500); software; supplies such as laboratory or field materials; and space fees (e.g., greenhouse fees). Grant money is not to be used for indirect cost, stipends, or salaries. The application shall include: A) project objective, rationale, and methods, B) budget and budget justification, C) resume or CV, D) letter of approval from a faculty sponsor, and E) statement of permit(s) needed, if any, to conduct the project. Excluding items C, D, and E, applications must not exceed two pages. Applications must be emailed or postmarked by Friday Oc¬ tober 19, 2018. EBCNPS proposal evaluation criteria are: the project's poten¬ tial to advance the current state of knowledge, suitability of the methodology, suitability of the researcher for the project, and degree to which the project supports the CNPS mission stated above, especially for taxa native to Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. EBCNPS encourages non-traditional appli¬ cants, notwithstanding the eligibility requirements. Recipients must obtain required permits before a grant is awarded. Acknowledge the Myrtle Wolf Student Research Grant in communications that result from grant support, and provide a report on results to the Chapter in the form of a two-paragraph summary for publication in the Bay Leaf (chapter newsletter). Contact information: mail or email applications and direct questions to: Myrtle Wolf Student Research Grant California Native Plant Society, East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 wolf-grant@ebcnps.org T-i View of Point Molate at East Bay Headlands. Photo by Jim Hanson. 8 THE BAY LEAF September 2018 Learn how to identify the species of manzanitas native to California and Western North America The focus of the workshop is to leam how to accurately identify manzanitas. The course will he informative for hoth naturalists and botanists alike- Other topics will include the diversify, evolution, and ecology of manzanilas in California's chaparral ecosystem. Who should attend? People interested in learning about manzanitas! - Tfw-vjfHT^-chofj will hfl CGH-irtHM^nl y s - -ima* P.vtor H i IJ im Mimaei V.n«ny. Ph !> from San Francisco Si*ie Unlvmrty. IV Psfhor nnn (V Vasey Mur* th? l-ast year* studyino rlw- tmononiy. ecology, and flvpPittion of manzaiutas With iMr colleague Joo Kw4ey. lh*y pmv*dad the Itorlsflc Irealmunts for manKanHas In-The Fflofa ol North America and the 2nd edition of thu Japeon Manual - On Saturday. October 2Qth. tbe wortstiojj win be condoled .fm me Citaadle Center with lectureB on manzanita ecology and flvoPLrtion We will then sharpen our *dentilicaUen shiMs us log, rreshly collected manzanitgs rapre&enUno nearly an known species. On Sunday. October 21 s(. we wio carpoci to locations In Santa Barbara County if BA) to oaamwuimanrandas in the Held. - You're encouraged 1o bnnn your own samples of unknown manianlleB to identify include an miaorescence and/or iruit. information abool its location, nolo whether Uie stem a& B-moclb or wdh shreddy barK. and whether or nol Here 1 tta plant Has a basal hurl - The tee is S1ZS. and includes commoclal breahlast and lunch, and a signed copy of the booh, rteitf fiords to MenzanrTes. by Kauflmann. Farkoc Vasoy A Bisbee, which we will use twin days To register,, visit https ://cKten£io-n.u£sb,cdu/ and search "XLRW B14.CCBEET in the courses tab; contact Greg wahlmt with questions; wahlert^ccber.uesb-ebu /. .*aa^afeMiiaaat j CIMR (4* S.w Eranct^/o * - ’ /. V Mill 1. MYJ HMn UC SflKTA BAR8ASA EXTENSION THE BAY LEAF September 2018 9 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone 510-734-0335 conservation@ebcnps.org Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, production manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection nativehere@ebcnps.org Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 10 THE BAY LEAF September 2018 MEMBERS’ MEETING Tree Ecology: The Rhizosphere—Tree Anatomy Below Ground Speaker: Ted Kipping Wednesday, October 24, 7:30 pm Location: Garden Room, Orinda Public Library (direc¬ tions below) Ted Kipping will share the amazing insights and lab work of the late Dr. Alex Shigo, a giant in tree research, and some of his colleagues worldwide. Shigo-devotee Kipping will be "channeling" Dr. Shigo's discoveries with images that will blow your mind and improve your understanding and success with trees. Ted Kipping grew up roaming the wild places in San Fran¬ cisco and San Mateo counties, and he studied natural his¬ tory at Columbia University. He was privileged to work at San Francisco Botanical Garden/Strybing Arboretum car¬ ing for California native plants before starting his own tree shaping company in the Bay Area four decades ago. Ted has consulted for seven botanic gardens and lectured at thirteen, and he has presented many times to enthusiastic East Bay CNPS audiences. He has been published widely. Images from the rhizosphere collage by Ted Kipping. has led over one hundred field trips, and is a life member of many organizations, including CNPS. East Bay CNPS members' 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 26 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village). The Garden Room is on the sec¬ ond floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Garden Room opens at 7 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Next Month's Program November 28, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Speaker: Saxon Holt, award winning garden photographer Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way DRIVING: From the west, take Hwy 24 to the Orinda/Mor- aga exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn left on Camino Pablo (toward Orinda Village), right on Santa Maria Way (the signal after the BART station and freeway entrance), and left on Orinda Way. From the east, take 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. VIA BART (4 blocks): Exit the Orinda station, turn right and cross a pedestrian bridge, then cross a second pedes¬ trian 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. CONSERVATION FUND APPEAL Our Chapter's Conservation program inspires the admiration of all the other 34 CNPS chapters. This is because our chapter members and friends have supported a professional half-time Conservation Analyst since 2004 to assist our all-volunteer Conservation Committee. This is the main reason we need to raise about $40,000 this year. Conservation Analyst is a technical position which combines ecology, advocacy and exposition. With the Analyst's help, our ability to confront threats to our most valuable native plant habitat has become increasingly effective over the years. Another reason we are effective is that our plant scientists identified the fifteen most valuable remaining unprotected native plant habitats in our two counties in 2006. You can see these places on the chapter's website, under Publications. It's called the Guidebook to the Botanical Priority Protection Areas. They used the data collected over decades by plant scientists in our chapter to demand protection of these areas. Needless to say, new threats are constantly coming up. With the invaluable help of the Conservation Analyst the East Bay Chapter has maintained a consistent, well-informed presence in matters that concern the native plants in our two counties. The work entails the review of environmental im¬ pact reports, letters to and appearances before city councils, the regional parks boards, state agencies, and Sacramento. We help with petition drives, organize field trips, and help local citizens with science-based information. We have forged OCTOBER FIELD TRIP Sunday, October 21, 2018, 9:45 am. Mount Diablo, Back Canyon, Meridian Point, hosted by Gregg Weber Let's carpool from Orinda BART. Leave Orinda BART at 9:20. This is a moderate round trip of 5 miles, with a 1200 feet eleva¬ tion gain on the way out. It will be mostly downhill on the return trip. Trip will take 5-6 hours. Bring lunch and at least 1 L. water. We will take Back Canyon Trail, Meridian Point Trail, Meridian Ridge Road, Donner Canyon Road. strong ties with local agencies and other conservation groups. And we have had many significant victories. Your contribution to the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Lund goes solely to support the Conservation Analyst and other necessary expenses of the conservation Committee. The annual dues and donations to the state office in Sacra¬ mento are not directed to the Chapters. They support the state organization as a whole and its many projects. The chapters must raise their own funds. If you choose to contribute to the East Bay Chapter Conser¬ vation Fund through the State office in Sacramento, be sure to identify your donation for use by our Chapter. The State office will get it to us. Donate at our website, https: / /ebcnps.org/about-us/do¬ nations/ or mail a check made out to CNPS to: California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597 Berkeley, CA 94705 If you donate by check please note that your donation is for the Conservation Analyst Fund. Thank you in advance for your generous contributions to the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Fund. Delia Taylor, Funds Development Chair We will see some late flowering species and lots of plants fruit¬ ing. We should arrive back at the parking lot around 4 pm. Directions:Take 24 or 680 to Ygnacio Valley Road. Continue on Ygnacio Valley Road into City of Clayton, turn right on Clayton Road. Take Clayton Road past the first intersection with Marsh Creek Road. In about a mile, it becomes Marsh Creek Road. Continue straight on Marsh Creek Road. Turn right on Re¬ gency Drive. Go to the end of Regency. Do not turn onto Rialto Drive, that is for a different trail. CNPS ED DAN GLUESENKAMP TO SPEAK AT 5 CREEKS Tuesday, October 9, free Bay Currents talk by CNPS Execu¬ tive Director Dan Gluesenkamp on "Mathematics, Magic, and Meaning -- Saving California's Native Plants, Healing our Community" What does it mean to live in one of earth's biodiversity "hot spots"? In this beautifully illustrated talk Dan Gluesenkamp, executive director of the California Native Plant Society, pres¬ ents an inspiring talk on how local nature can help us - and how we can help maintain its variety and vitality in the Bay Area and statewide. Bay Currents talks, sponsored by Friends of Five Creeks, are on the second Tuesday of the month at St. Alban's Parish Hall, 1501 Washington (at Curtis) in Albany. Refreshments 7 pm, talks 7:30 pm. Talks are free but seating is limited. Friends of Five Creeks, Judy Schwartz, President 510 848 9358 f5creeks@gmail.com www.fivecreeks.org Full fall schedule at http: / / www.fivecreeks.org/baycur¬ rents / BayCurrentsFall2018.pdf 2 THE BAY LEAF October 2018 Third Annual Manzanita Day at Native Here Saturday, October 20, 2018 10 am - 2 pm Our new crop of manzanitas will be available! Five local species will be offered Talk at 11:00 am - John Danielsen "How to Take Care of Manzanitas in Your Garden" Native Here Nursery 101 Golf Course Drive, Tilden Park Berkeley, CA Many other species also available as we move into the winter planting season. Check our online inventory at http://nativeherenursery.org/ Some plants are half price, as noted. THE BAY LEAF October 2018 3 CONSERVATION REPORT CNPS Chapter Board supports Yes on FF Regional Parks Measure Measure FF on the November 6 ballot asks voters in Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, Alameda, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Albany, Emeryville, and Piedmont to fund improvements in the East Bay Regional Parks over the next twenty years. Measure FF would continue a $12 dollar annual parcel tax, replacing Measure CC, which is due to expire. This amounts to $3.3 million annually to help fund wildfire protection, public access, trails, visitor use facilities, and natural resources stewardship in nineteen heavily used regional parks from Oakland to San Pablo. The measure requires a 2/3 vote to pass, so every vote counts. Under this measure trail repairs would be completed in hillside parks, creek banks would be stabilized to improve water quality, and natural systems in shoreline parks would be reconstructed or enhanced to adapt to sea level rise. In¬ terpretive centers and visitor facilities would be improved at several parks. Reducing fire hazards and managing sustain¬ able vegetation under the approved Wildfire Hazard Reduc¬ tion and Resource Management Plan would be a top priority. Consistent with the District's wildfire plan, $1.4 million is included for management of natural vegetation to improve forest health. Measure FF would also help fund removal of French broom and other invasive plants at Richmond's Miller/Knox Park, enhancement of native grassland prairie at Pt. Pinole, and management of threatened pallid manzanita populations at Huckleberry and Sobrante Ridge Preserves. (For a list of projects by park or city, search online under "EBRPD Measure FF.") Native plant diversity is central to the natural beauty that draws thousands of people every week to the regional parks. Stewardship of the Park District's rich native plant diversity has been and will remain a major priority of East Bay CNPS. The East Bay Chapter Board urges a "yes" vote for Measure FF. Consider putting up a yard sign or volunteering for a few hours to help pass this measure. Contact Jim Hanson soon at conservation@ebcnps.org. Other Conservation News: Save Sand Creek Initiative Adopted by Antioch City Council On August 28 th , a voter initiative to save Sand Creek, "Let Antioch Voters Decide", was adopted by the Antioch City Council on a 3-1 vote. The month before, the Council also adopted a competing, but similar, measure by the Richland Communities, a Newport Beach-based real estate investment company. Several square miles of gently rolling hills bisected by ephemeral Sand Creek make up the portion of the City's "Sand Creek Focus Area" west of Deer Creek Road. The "Let Antioch Voters Decide" initiative dedicates 1,850 acres west of Deer Valley Road for rural residential, agricultural and open space. The Richland initiative also allows a large portion west of Deer Valley Road to be zoned for rural resi¬ dential, agricultural and open space (1,244 acres), but also sets aside approximately 608 acres in the western section of the Sand Creek Focus Area for "The Ranch," a development of 1,177 homes. Prior to passage of the initiatives, the Antioch General Plan would have allowed up to 4,000 homes to be built in the area. ("Antioch: Dueling Open Space Initiatives Go Before Council/'Easf Bay Times, Judith Prieve, 7-11-18). Similarities and differences between the two competing initiatives will now be worked out by the two parties. Antioch residents working with Save Mount Diablo, the Si¬ erra Club, Greenbelt Alliance, and CNPS received signatures for "Let Antioch Voters Decide" from over 5,000 residents at shopping centers, events, and door-to- door in neighbor¬ hoods. EBCNPS Conservation Analyst Karen Whitestone described the area's native plants at resident forums and City meetings earlier in the year, and Chapter members answered the call from Lesley Hunt to volunteer for signature gathering over the spring and early summer. Legislation to preserve Livermore's TESLA progresses, but stopped in key Assembly committee Thank you to the many Chapter members who wrote to key State Assembly and Senate committee members to ask that they advance Senate Bill 1316 this year. State CNPS supported the bill and Chapter President Beth Wurzburg attended Sac¬ ramento committee meetings. The report below of the year's legislative progress and ongoing work comes from Friends of TESLA Park. "SB 1316 (Glazer) - Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area passed the Senate and made it through two Assembly Committees, but was not released from "suspense" by the final commit¬ tee, the Assembly Appropriations Committee, in late August. Therefore, SB 1316 is considered dead for this session. In the final stages California State Parks OHMVR Division communicated their opposition to the bill. We do not yet know exactly what happened in the internal workings of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, but it appears the op¬ position by State Parks and presumably the Administration stalled the bill and prevented it from being released to be voted on by the full Assembly. "Although SB 1316 did not make it through the Legislature this session, we remain committed to permanently protecting Tesla. We will continue to advocate for a change in state policy and work to open new opportunities in the new year. Hope¬ fully, the election will bring a new administration that is more supportive of preservation of rare and irreplaceable natural and cultural resources, particularly when specifically identi¬ fied by local agencies. We will need your help to try again. "In the meantime, the litigation challenging the OHMVR plan to expand Carnegie SVRA and open Tesla to damaging OHV recreation continues, so we move forward on all fronts." 4 THE BAY LEAF October 2018 CONSERVATION REPORT CONTINUED To keep posted, see http: / / www.teslapark.org/ majority's recommendations to the Planning Commission and City Council since, as relayed by one City staff member, the public's preferences don't adequately line up with the EBCNPS Board supports Point Molate Alliance settlement agreement requirement to fit in a minimum of 670 goals; City advised to follow open government or more housm g umts at Pt. Molate). laws Chapter board members have voted to support the key goals of the Pt. Molate Alliance. The Alliance is made up of organizations and Richmond residents working to make environmental, economic, and equity gains central to the vi¬ sion and zoning for Point Molate. A 270 acre former WWII navy fuel depot on the Richmond shoreline, this city-owned land is now being considered for housing development fol¬ lowing a closed door settlement agreement between the City Council and Upstream development's Jim Levine and the Ukiah Guideville tribe. The goals of the Point Molate Alliance are as follows: • Stop the secret deals. Conduct a truly meaningful, open public planning process with broad and sig¬ nificant community input. • Restore Winehaven Village as a vibrant commercial, educational, and historic destination that can provide jobs for Richmond residents. • Respect the environment and preserve the shoreline and our public lands in the South Valley and Bluffs as a magnificent, accessible public park that includes many recreational opportunities. • Move housing Downtown where it is needed and where essential public transportation and infrastruc¬ ture already exists. The Alliance goals were published to coincide with three City-sponsored "visioning" workshops over the summer to guide land use zoning of Pt. Molate. The community planning process was recommended to the Council by Councilmembers Melvin Willis and Ben Choi. At the second City-sponsored community planning workshop in July most participants reported back that Winehaven should be primarily repur¬ posed for various commercial and educational uses, and some housing in Winehaven's north valley was suggested by a few. What stood out is that seven of the ten assembled groups of participants wanted the remarkable natural beauty of the south valley and the bluffs held for outdoor recreational and cultural activities for all. (At this time it is not clear if the City's consultant and Planning staff will be taking the workshop Although not officially recorded in public session, it's under¬ stood that Mayor Butt and Councilmembers Myrick, Recinos, and Choi voted for the settlement agreement. Since then, and setting aside numerous comments that putting housing next to the nearby Chevron Refinery is unwise, consultants hired by the City report that building intensive shoreline housing at Point Molate would require $100-130 million just to install basic infrastructure. These reports raise further concerns that the City's current agreement with Upstream would support high-end shoreline development for a wealthy few. It is unknown what effect this new information will have on this Council or on candidates vying for council and mayor seats. As with most Bay Area cities, there is insufficient housing for both moderate and limited income families. Point Molate is part of the East Bay CNPS Chapter's Rich¬ mond shoreline "Botanical Priority Protection Area" where, especially in the south valley section, ridge top native coastal prairie and coastal scrub connects to riparian willows that filter the winter storms flowing to the rare and sensitive eel grass beds in the Bay shallows. This summer's community planning workshops brought young and adult residents to Pt. Molate, many for the first time. The beauty of Pt. Molate's south valley and bluffs continues to inspire residents and visitors to say that special places, especially publicly owned ones, deserve to be enjoyed by all. Side note: Although Richmond Mayor Tom Butt had called a suit over City violations of open government laws "nonsense" ("Battle over fate of Pt. Molate Continues," Richmond Confi¬ dential, 9-11-18), the City failed in its attempt to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court. The Brown Act lawsuit was brought by SPRAWLDEF, Citizen's for East Shore State Parks, and joined by four Richmond residents (including the present writer), saying a vote on any settlement had to be conducted in the open with public input, and that selection of Pt. Molate land uses had to follow the public process for planning and zoning decisions under State law. A big note of thanks for each of you who have responded, and who are planning to respond, to the annual Conservation appeal. There's lots for us to do! Jim Hanson , Conservation Committee Chair THE BAY LEAF October 201 8 5 POINT ISABEL IN SEPTEMBER California mugwort, or dream plant, or Douglas sagewort (Artemisia douglasiana) was named for the Scottish botanist David Douglas. It is said to have a wide range of medicinal properties although we understand that the plant should be used as a medicine only under supervision of an experi¬ enced herbalist. Mugwort is said to lessen the inflammation of poison oak. We know firsthand how magical it can be in eliminating the pain of stinging nettle. One of us fell into a patch of stinging nettle earlier this year and the sting came right through several layers of clothing. Charli Danielsen from our Native Here Nursery in Tilden gave us some mugwort and as soon as we rubbed the leaves on our stinging skin the pain disappeared! We have used it since upon inadvertently touching a stinging nettle that had grown alongside a potted Ribes sanguineum in a nursery. The sting was intense but the mugwort cure was instantaneous. In September we planted out nineteen donated California mugwort plants at Point Isabel and on the Adopt-a-Spot at Central Avenue/Rydin Road. So if you're looking to relieve a stinging nettle tingle, feel free to take one leaf from our mugwort. The donated mugwort came from The Watershed Nursery (TWN) on Canal Street in Richmond. If you are part of a school or non-profit group and you need plants, TWN always has a bunch of overstock that they give away to local community groups and others. Check them out. TWN has lots of Cali¬ fornia natives (that's all they sell) and have a well informed and friendly staff And while we're on the subject of native plant nurseries. We have been volunteering at Native Here Nursery (NHN1 up in Tilden Park. Native Here provides native plants from Contra Costa and Alameda Counties only. It's run by the East Bay Chapter of CNPS. It's a great place to volunteer and to learn about native plants. Let us or NHN know if you're interested in learning more. Finally, hats off to Ghilotti Brothers, Inc., the firm that has been installing the new traffic lights on Central Avenue and that used a portion of the Adopt-a-Spot to store and stage their equipment. Our contact there, Brandon Bell, worked with us from the beginning to make sure that their work did not interfere with or impede our efforts to clear and revegetate the Adopt-a-Spot. Brandon was always responsive and creative. It turned out to be a great short term partnership! Jane and Tom Kelly 6 THE BAY LEAF October 2018 MORE POINT ISABEL PICTURES Previous page: Sue, Tom, and Snowy plant mug- wort. Left: California fuchsia (Epilobium canum). Right: John removes pepperweed (Lepidium lati- folium). Photos by Jane Kelly. RESTORATION IN OCTOBER Sunday, October 7,10:00 am - 1:00 pm, the monthly North Basin restoration meets at McLaughlin Eastshore State Park in Berkeley, on the bay shoreline south of Tom Bates soccer fields. A map of the area can be found at https://goo. gl/ rqdZQW. For directions to the work site or more informa¬ tion about this project, contact John Kenny (johnkenny54@ yahoo.com). Saturday, October 13, 2018, 9:30 am Help Restore Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve — Oakland Hills Hosted by Janet Gawthrop Meet at Huckleberry Parking lot 6934 Skyline Boulevard ■ Oakland http: / / www.meetup.com/California-Native-Plant-Society- East-Bav-Chapter/ photos/10662812/226066492/ Saturday October 20 Garber Park Stewards Workday Join us in Garber Park as we continue our fall clean-up. Meet at the Claremont Avenue entrance at 10 am. We will work till noon. You can start attacking the Algerian ivy just above the Claremont Avenue entrance, or walk a short distance to beautiful Fern Glade, where we have ongoing work removing the ivy to give the ferns a chance to grow once the rains come. Or join us at the Evergreen Lane Entrance where we will be cutting and pulling the invasive weeds from the hillside above Fire Place Plaza. The trail crew will be clearing the trail and making improvements and needs your help. We provide tools, gloves, water, and snacks. Dress in layers for the changing weather and wear boots with good tread. Directions: At the intersection of Ashby Avenue and Clare¬ mont Avenue go 0.4 miles up Claremont Avenue towards Grizzly Peak to the Claremont Avenue entrance. A map and directions can be found at our website, garberparkstewards. org. For more information contact Shelagh at garberpark- stewards@gmail.com. October 27, 9:30 am-ll:30 am TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill), last Saturday of the month work party. Email for location-tashorehill@gmail.com. Gloves and tools provided. Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty. For more information visit www.tendancienthill.org. Margot Cunningham Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill w w w. tendancienthill. org THE BAY LEAF October 2018 7 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Vacant Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, production manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection nativehere@ebcnps.org Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 8 THE BAY LEAF October 2018 MEMBERS’ MEETING NOVEMBER Nature's Gardens: The 2017 Desert Superbloom Speaker: Saxon Holt Wednesday, November 28, 7:30 pm Location: Auditorium, Orinda Public Library (directions below) After five years of exceptional drought and heat in California deserts, an uncharacteristically rainy fall and winter season created a superbloom of desert wildflowers in the spring of 2017. Saxon Holt was there to record its beauty and learn how nature creates gardens. Starting in Anza Borrego State Park in the early spring, he photographed vast fields of annual wildflowers on the valley floor as well as the mix of perenni¬ als, shrubs, and cacti that were also having a superbloom. A few weeks later he photographed the spectacular bloom at the Carrizo Plain National Monument in southern San Luis Obispo County, again learning how nature combines plants to create natural gardens. If you weren't able to see the su¬ perbloom, or even if you were, come enjoy it through Saxon's stunning photographs and learn more about gardening from nature's own gardens. Saxon Holt is an award-winning garden photographer of more than 20 books, is on the Board of Pacific Horticulture Society, and is a Fellow of the Garden Writers Association. He owns PhotoBotanic, a resource for photos, prints, photog¬ raphy workshops, and a series of e-books. His work as a pho¬ tojournalist increasingly focuses on the relationship between gardens and the land, seeking a sustainable aesthetic that can enhance both gardener and the earth. He is currently working on a new book. The Summer-Dry Garden, to be published by Timber Press in 2019. East Bay CNPS members' meetings are free of charge and open to everyone. This month's meeting takes place in the Auditorium of the Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way (in Orinda Village). The Auditorium is on the second floor of the building, accessible by stairs or an elevator. The Au¬ ditorium Room opens at 7 pm; the meeting begins at 7:30 pm. Email programs@ebcnps.org or call 510-496-6016 if you have questions. Upcoming Programs December 2018: No meeting—happy holidays! January 23, 2019: Cynthia Powell—New Calflora Tools for CNPS Users Directions to Orinda Public Library at 26 Orinda Way, Orinda 94563 DRIVING: From the west, take Hwy 24 to the Orinda/Moraga exit. At the end of the off ramp, turn left on Carnino Pablo (toward Orinda Village), right on Santa Maria Way (the sig¬ nal 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. VIA 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. Blooming shrubs at Anza Borrego State Park, spring 2017. Copyright © Saxon Holt/PhotoBotanic NATIVE HERE NURSERY A season of many projects About a year ago state CNPS announced it had money for grants to help chapter nurseries pay for anti-phytophthora (Sudden Oak Death) measures. After a great deal of work on our part - primarily Barbara Leitner and Charli, with help from Beth and me - we sent in our grant application on September 21. We asked for the full $5000 each chapter was allowed to help pay for a soil sterilizer and metal table tops to make our plant storage and display tables safer. We’ve been tracking sources of metal table tops for nearly a year. Charli ordered some which work well, but they don’t come in the size we need most of, and we couldn’t afford to buy all new anyway. Barbara has prowled Urban Ore and finally found a source of used metal pallet racks in Hayward which are just right. We had them delivered early last month and about seven people (including Dan Gluesenkamp, who visited that morning) unloaded them from the delivery truck into the parking lot. On September 13 a group of Chevron volunteers brought about twenty of our plant benches up to the new standard, raising them at least a foot off the ground and installing new metal pallet racks for the plants to rest on. Then they replaced the plant cages we’ve always used to protect our plants from the local wildlife and put the plants back in. One of the Chevron teams rebuilt a row of benches in one of the hoop houses from the ground up; Steve Toby led that effort. It gives us three additional benches of badly needed space for new plants coming along. On October 6, a troop of Boy Scouts did twenty more. Placing the new metal rack on the raised plant bench. And speaking of new plants, John is back at the nursery regularly and is leading the effort to catch up on sowing seed for the year to come. One week his team did 124 pots! We are now where we need to be. Our fourth project this fall is tree work - the nursery was getting a bit too shady in spots for the plants to grow well. Penny has that work underway with assistance from Tom Arrington, our usual arborist. We’ve had a long standing problem with some pine trees in the back of the nursery; EBRPD will remove those next month, but we have to clean out all our accumulated junk before they come. And finally, after two months, we have received permission from state CNPS to hire a new nursery assistant. This will do a lot to ease the burden on our volunteers, including nursery committee members. Upcoming Events at NHN We held our first winter special event on October 20 - our third annual Manzanita Day. Attendance was very good for John’s talk, which focused on how to take care of manzanitas in your garden. We have planned three more events: • November 17 - Focus on Ferns • January - subject TBD • February/March - Flowering Annuals Lesley Hunt Nursery Committee Chair 2 THE BAY LEAF November 2018 NATIVE HERE NURSERY EVENT Focus on Ferns Saturday, Nov. 17 10 am - 2 pm 11:00am -Talk by John Danielsen Ferns in Your Garden Native Here Nursery Upcoming Events 101 Golf Course Drive January - subject TBD Tilden Park Berkeley, CA 94708 Feb/March - Flowering Annuals CONSERVATION FUND PROGRESS Thanks to the following generous donors, the 2019 fund has grown to $18,193 as of October 22,2018! We are almost half¬ way to our goal of $40,000. We truly appreciate your support! Donations to the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Program are tax deductible and are used to support a half-time Con¬ servation Analyst position as well as the work of the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Committee. Donations may be made via PayPal at the Chapter's website, www.ebcnps.org, or by check to "CNPS", with "Conservation Fund" as the memo, sent to the Chapter's address: PO Box 5597, Elmwood Station, Berkeley CA 94705. Ann Adams, John Alcorn, Carl Anderson*, Carol Baumann, Luann Beadle, Carol Bieri, David Bigham and Howard Arendtson, Liz Bittner, Terry Blair, Peter Boffey, Richard Bogaert, Barbara and Robert Brandriff, Margaret Brostrom, Robert Case, Albert Chung, Patricia Coffey, Robert and Carol Coon, Elizabeth Crews, Colette Cussary, Mary Frances Dahlquist, Charli and John Danielsen, William Davis, Mary and Jay Davis, Sally de Becker, Isabelle de Geofroy, Adrienne Debisschop, Gene DeMar, Mark Detterman, John and Lisa Doyen, Sue Duckies, David Edelson and Karen Garrison, Chris Erickson, Marsha Feinland, Andrew Fitanides, Gordon and Jutta Frankie, Clara Gerdes, Krista Glickman, Greenberg Family Trust, Ann Gurbaxani, Miao He, Claudia and Scott Hein, Peter Hopkinson and Wendy Woolpert, Russell Hud¬ dleston, Robin Hunter, Toris Jaeger, Ashok Jethanandani and Arvind Kumar, Nicole Jurjavcic, Jane and Tom Kelly, John Kenny, Caroline Kim, Julie Kinder, Arti Kirch and Cindy Siegel, Gudrun Kleist, Marcia Kolb, Kathy Kramer, Eve Lednicky, Barbara and Phil Leitner, David and Evelyne Len- nette, Ed Leong, Vera Lis, Patricia Litton and Peter J. Ralston, David Loeb, Ronald Lutsko, Jr., Joel Lym, Matthew Madison, Thomas McCall, Lisa McCarty, Shirley McPheeters, Christina McWhorter, Jon Merkle, Louise Miller, Caroline Moyer, Steve Mullin, Sheldon Nelson, Linda Newton, Meredith Nielsen, Jana Olson, Sharon and Erik Ordeman, Christine O'Rourke Gaber, Elizabeth O'Shea, Anita Pearson, Stefanie Pruegel, Linda Ramus, Kira Reoutt, Krehe and Katherine Ritter, San Leandro Garden Club, Carol Schneider, Judy Schwartz, Shir- leymae and Igor Skaredoff, Doris Sloan, Karen Smith, Dr. and Mrs. Lionel Sorenson, Robert Sorenson, Douglas Stinson and Joy Barnitz, Ruth and Donald Stiver, Emilie Strauss, Aaron Sunshine, Mary Jo Sutton, Chris Tarp, Delia and John Taylor, Iris Tommelein and Jim Lovekin, Laurie Umeh, Michael Van- deman, Jeanne Walpole, Stephen Walsh and Brenda Buxton, Wendy Weikel, Berthold and Risa Weis, Karen Wetherell, Shirley White, Susan Wickham, Steve Wiley, Joe and Doris Willingham, Kelly Woodard, Elaine Worthington-Jackson. *In loving memory of Margo Hart Anderson THE BAY LEAF November 2018 3 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION IN OCTOBER Hoffman Marsh is divided in two by a large earth covered pipe that runs from the Bay Trail out into the Marsh almost to 1-580. The pipe apparently belongs to Stege Sanitary District. The pipe is supposed to deal with rare "overflow" situations, but we have been out on what we call "the spit" when waste- water had been pumped into the Marsh on clear sunny days. That is a story for another day. What we wanted to report on is our long term efforts along the spit to remove trash (mostly tennis balls from the dog park) and invasive weeds (mostly Russian thistle and Algerian lavender). On October 1st, we removed two large plastic bags (each 3/4 full) of fresh green Russian thistle aka opposite-leaved saltwort ( Salsola soda), an annual shrub that is said to be native to the Mediterranean Basin. We understand that the ashes of the burnt plant can be refined to create soda ash that is used for making products including glass and soap. It was surprising to find such an invasion of this exotic as Steward Nancy had only recently scoured the entire area and removed what we thought was every last vestige of this plant. We're left somewhat in admira¬ tion regarding the speed at which the plant grows. 11 volunteers came to the October 6 work party where we continued preparing the ground between Lewis' and Tom's sites that we will plant this coming winter. We removed weeds and weed piles, and we also spread mulch. Steward Sue Schoening was moving weed piles in the area when she came across a beautiful small Pacific gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer catenifer) that she gently covered back up. We know gopher snakes are at Point Isabel, but it has been a while since we've had the privilege of encountering one. Once this site is planted, the project will be connected for a length of 1/3 mile from the intersection of Rydin Road and Central Avenue to just beyond the Hoffman Channel. We were pleased to welcome Vincent Washington, an engag¬ ing new volunteer who is taking environmental classes at CCSF and volunteered with us for his class requirement of 24 hours of restoration type work. Vincent was making notes about our California native bunch grasses and other native plants as we worked along the trail. We held a special work party on October 13 and planted in a sunny/shady spot 9 of 19 Melica imperfecta (small flowered melica) bunch grasses donated to the project by Native Here Nursery. On Sunday, October 14 we went for a brief walk at Point Isabel, but alas our walk was cut short when we spotted masses of Russian thistle growing along the marsh beyond the Hoffman Channel. Even though it was unplanned, it was fun pulling it out before it went to seed. An enthusiastic crew showed up for the October 20 work party and we removed large patches of invasive mallow as well as stands of fennel. We are gradually replacing the fennel with yampah (Perideridia kelloggii) to ensure sufficient habitat for the Anise Swallowtail butterflies. As always our thanks to all the dedicated volunteers and to the EBRPD for its consistent support. Jane and Tom Kelly 4 THE BAY LEAF November 2018 MORE PICTURES FROM PT. ISABEL THE BAY LEAF November 201 8 5 SKYLINE GARDENS REPORT (OCTOBER 23,2018) Lots happening in the last two weeks: we installed the new trail sign at Siesta Gate; we've mowed several expansion areas for the coming year; and, we discovered a new plant for our list: jim brush (Ceanothus oliganthus sorideatus) which brings us to 277 native species at Skyline Gardens. Last Saturday, we installed the new trail sign at the Siesta Gate hiking entrance. Here it is: This completes the work we started at Siesta Gate last year with the new fencing, trail entry and the bench. We were able to re-use the posts from the old sign, and even the bolts. Special thanks to Mark at EBMUD for providing the sign, and to Jim of Take to the Hills for all his help with everything. We're making big plans to expand in the coming year. The first step in claiming new ground is to mow down the invasive thistles and hemlock, so we can get in with the vinegar, once the rains come, and zap the seedlings. Over in the Saddle (on the way to Barberry), we're testing out some new mowing techniques to see if we can simplify the process. Here is the Saddle before (above) and after (below): The grey-brown patch in the center of the left was a no-man's- land of dead thistle. An hour later, on the right, they're all gone. The good news is that the thistles in that patch were so thick that once they're sprayed, there won't be any weeds underneath, so the natives can move right in. Over by the Water Tank, we decided to take on the whole swale area below all the way to the armored crossing in the trail. This has been a really nasty spot with hemlock, teasel, milk thistle, spurge, and Italian thistle. Here's a picture after hand cutting the larger stalks and then mowing: This area will be a challenge because of the mix of invasives, some of which are perennial. And then, there are surprises. While out hand mowing, we found and liberated the best stand of yampah, about thirty plants, in all of Skyline Gardens. The butterflies will love us for that. On the new plant front, I just found a patch of jim Brush (Ceanothus oliganthus sorideatus) in the woods down behind the picnic table. Here's a shot of a small branch: Shrubs can be ten to fifteen feet tall, with a willowy habit. The leaves are bright green and shiny on top. The stems are reddish in color. The flowers are light blue. Jim brush is found in coastal mountains up and down the state. In our area, they are uncommon, but they grow here and there in woodland 6 THE BAY LEAF November 2018 SKYLINE GARDENS REPORT CONTINUED glades, often on north slopes. There's a number of them down in Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve, and also in the Mitchell Canyon area of Mount Diablo. We've been expecting to find this one sooner or later, and now we have. Here's a 20X close up of a seed cluster: We'll be planting these seeds right away and hopefully have some plants in the spring to tuck in here and there. Ceanothus are larval food plants for the Pale Swallowtail butterflies. I think a grove of these would would be really handsome in the swale by Siesta Gate . This is the 277th native plant species we've found at Skyline Gardens. The rangers at EBMUD think we'll eventually hit 300 species and I think that's realistic. I can think of a number a likely suspects that we should eventually find, not to men¬ tion the surprises. FIELD TRIPS Friday, November 23,2:00 pm, BuyNothing Day hike at Kennedy Grove (El Sobrante) Janet Gawthrop will lead this beginner level field trip through the Sea Foam and Black Oak loop trails, for about 21/2 miles. There is a stream running through this regional park, so we can practice ID of deciduous plants without leaves along the water. We'll also look for plants in seed, and just maybe some very late autumn flowers. Rain date for this hike is Saturday, November 24, also at 2:00 pm. Be sure to go to the trailhead at the end of Patra Drive, which you reach by turning left on Hillside. Do not go to the EBMUD entrance. Bring water and snacks if you want to come early and picnic. For a far more thorough plant list than any I could prepare go to www. meetup.com/ebcnps/ and find Gregg Weber's list for his Asters are still blooming by the picnic table; here's a cluster: Evenings have become really special. We are blessed by the serenade of the crickets, three species of them, everywhere. And right now there are four planets in the sky: Venus, Ju¬ piter, Saturn and Mars. Here's a shot of the holy mountain in alpenglow: As far as I can tell, it's all perfect. Now, we just need rain. Happy Trails, Glen Schneider past meetup on March 11. Any other questions, e-mail to janetgawthrop47@gmail.com. Directions: From 1-80, exit at San Pablo Dam Road and head east for several miles (beyond Clark Avenue and the turnoff for Wildcat Park) and turn left at Castro Ranch Road. Go more or less uphill several blocks on Castro Ranch and then turn right onto Hillside. Follow Hillside east until you reach Patra Drive. Turn left and look for street parking, which is free and relatively abundant. Car haters with bicycles can take AC Transit #74 from Richmond BART at about 12:30 and get ff at the very last stop at Castro Ranch and Sherwood Forest Road. It is a slow bus ride, but a relatively easy bicycle ride on Hillside and you can lock your bike to the fence by the entry. THE BAY LEAF November 2018 7 RESTORATION PROJECTS Saturday, November 3, 9:30 am. Greens at Work at Pt. Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Sunday, November 4,10 am, John Kenny's crew at North- shore Basin at the mouth of Schoolhouse Creek in north Berkeley. Contact johnkenny54@yahoo.com. Saturday, November 10, 9 am, Sibley Park, starting from Old Tunnel Road staging area Sunday, November 11, 9 am. Redwood Park, broom bash starting from Canyon Meadows Saturday, November 17, 9:30 am. Greens at Work at Pt. Isabel restoration. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. This crew now carries into the afternoon, with a break at noon if you need to leave for Saturday errands. Saturday, November 17, 2018, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, help restore Garber Park, 7397 Claremont Avenue, Berkeley, meet at the Claremont Avene entrance to Garber Park Rebuilding the hoop house benches. The team is leveling the bench supports, which have to be just far enough from truly level for the water to drain out of the channels in the racks. 8 THE BAY LEAF November 2018 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Vacant Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, production manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection nativehere@ebcnps.org Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF November 2018 9 BALLOT INSERT IN THIS PRINTED EDITION This edition of the December 2018 Bay Leaf contains an insert with a ballot for election of Chapter officers. Please mark and mail in your ballot. MEMBERS’ MEETINGS IN 2019 East Bay CNPS Members' Meetings are great for: • Learning about native plants (and wildlife) and their habitats • Virtually visiting beautiful and interesting places • Being inspired by conservation challenges and suc¬ cess stories • Meeting people who share your interests Our meetings are always free and open to everyone, mem¬ bers and nonmembers alike. We meet at 7:30 pm on the fourth Wednesday evening of the month in January-May and September-November, with a slight adjustment in the schedule to avoid Thanksgiving week. Most of our meetings take place at the Orinda Library, which is centrally located in our big, two-county chapter area. 2018 MEMBERSHIP REPORT The numbers: • 228 new members joined our chapter from January through October 2018 • Almost half of these new members are from east of the Berkeley/ Oakland Hills • Our net gain was about 155 members The analysis: Back in April of this year a Bay Leaf article discussed looking to eastern Alameda and Contra Costa counties, both to focus on conservation issues and to promote CNPS at Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour ( https: / /www.bringingbackthe- natives.net/ T A number of engaging volunteers worked at membership tables of east-side gardens at the BBTNT event We welcome your ideas for topics or speakers (some of our best programs have come from members' suggestions), so please feel free to contact programs@ebcnps.org with your ideas. Here's what's coming up in the next few months: December: No meeting (happy holidays!) January 24, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room: Cynthia Powell: New Calflora Tools for CNPS Users Pebruary 27, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room: TBA March 27, 7:30 pm, Orinda Library Garden Room: Ann Riley: Restoring Unlikely Urban Environments and coincidentally we gained 102 members in these areas. Cause and effect? I think so! And why was the net gain not 228 members? Because alas even EBCNPS members are human and despite best inten¬ tions, many forget to renew. Starting last year, we have been sending reminder emails to those with recently-lapsed memberships, and though the reminders have been effective, sometimes the Membership Committee lapses also and the reminders are not as timely as they could be. Sally de Becker Membership Committee Chair ebcnps-membership@ebcnps.org NATIVE HERE NURSERY YEAR END REPORT Our year got off to a good start with a couple of successful special events and, at the end of the fiscal year in March, our first profit in several years. Then in May things took a turn for the worse when Charli Danielsen, our founder and propaga¬ tion manager, had a serious stroke. We had a difficult summer without her and her husband John, but our many volunteers made extra efforts. We did cross training for several tasks to make people more self-sufficient, and we got through it. John returned to the nursery in August, supervised the propagation effort, and was available to answer questions. Both our inventory assistants resigned in August. After a two-month delay, we received permission from the state CNPS office to hire new ones. We'll start interviewing the week after Thanksgiving. We submitted our final application for a state CNPS phy- tophthora grant and received word that we had been recom¬ mended for funding; we must supply a 50% match. We have some last items to clear up and then we'll sign a contract with the CNPS state office. Meanwhile, we continue to work on our infrastructure projects. The tree work is complete. We've started cleaning out 20 years of junk behind the back fence in preparation for EBRPD removing some pine trees. The grant-related work of raising our plant benches continues; we're nearly a third done. Our last maintenance project for the year is to buy and spread some more chips. All these projects plus the grant matching funds will use up most of last year's profit, but the nursery will be in a position to move forward. Next year we'll focus on doing exactly that - streamlining some of our procedures, looking at ways to gather better data, doing more marketing and publicity, and training more volunteers. Sales have been good and attendance at our special events has been gratifying. We have two more events planned - one in January, and another in early March featuring flowering annuals. Lesley Hunt NATIVE HERE NURSERY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Running a nursery as large as Native Here —the largest CNPS chapter-run nursery in the state —is a multi-faceted enterprise requiring all kinds of skills. If you would like to get to know native plants better—and work with a team of friendly, dedicated, knowledgeable people —there is a place for you at Native Here! We love dependable volunteers with a regular time slot for many tasks, but we also have lots of one-time, on-call, or flex¬ ible jobs. Most jobs are at the Nursery during our open hours, some can be done when the Nursery is closed, and others can be done at home. Here are some examples: • Propagation: most potting is done on Tuesday after¬ noons, Friday mornings, and Saturdays when the nursery is open. You can learn a lot about native plants alongside this highly experienced team. Drop-ins are welcome. • Watering: this essential need is greatest in the dry season, best for someone who can commit to a fairly regular schedule. Watering is a lovely, meditative task, and can be done when the Nursery is closed and you share the space with the wildlife. • Grooming: who doesn't benefit from a little grooming to look one's best? The same is true for plants. Less demand¬ ing than the preceding, very flexible timing. • Infrastructure: we have ongoing maintenance, such as bench improvements, and one-time projects of many kinds. Electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and general skills are welcome. We have jobs for group service days. • Customer support: become a docent! See accompany¬ ing article. • Administrative support: we can always use more help with all kinds of office functions, recordkeeping, running errands, and generally keeping things humming. • Outreach: love native plants and want to share with the world? We would love more publicity! Great opportu¬ nities if you like to write, photograph, speak to groups, or maintain our public presence in the media. • Phytosanitation: Native Here is constantly improving its systems and practices for ensuring our plants are healthy and happy. For example, we will soon be getting some new equipment to sanitize soil and pots and need someone to take charge of its operation and documentation. • Seed collecting: this is for advanced volunteers at the Nursery, an opportunity to learn the art of ethical seed collec¬ tion with John Danielsen. Seed collection forays are usually on Tuesdays from spring through fall or early winter. If you are interested or would like more information, contact Ruth Ann Pearsons at rapearsonsl@mac.com. Barbara Leitner NHN Committee 2 THE BAY LEAF December 2018 BECOME A DOCENT AT NATIVE HERE NURSERY This is a great opportunity to learn about growing locally native plants from the people who know them best! You can become a docent/ salesperson at Native Here Nurs¬ ery. Learn the basics of how the Nursery is organized and operates, informational resources about native plants, and the cultural needs of the most popular species grown at Native Here. Some classes will be held at the Nursery; others will be tours of Alameda and Contra Costa County gardens featuring local native plants, and walks in parks to visit native plants in their natural homes. Registration is $20 for a six-class series beginning Saturday, January 26 at Native Here Nursery. You must attend at least four sessions. FIELD TRIPS Tuesday, December 25,2018, Manzanitas, Toyon at Mount Diablo, hosted by Gregg Weber See this notice for more information: https:/ /www. meetup.com/ ebcnps / events / rdjpgmyxqbfc / Sunday, January 6, 2:00 pm, field trip to Huddart County Park to see fetid adder's tongue Leader: David Margolies Location: Huddart County Park, 1100 Kings Mountain Road, Woodside (San Mateo County) California. Meet in the parking lot just past the pay station. David Mar¬ golies will lead a hike on the Crystal Springs Trail where fetid adder's tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii, Liliaceae) usually blooms RESTORATION PROJECTS Skyline Gardens restoration: Workdays are held twice weekly, Thursday afternoons (after work) and Sunday mornings for three hours each. Since May 2016,88 volunteer workdays have been held, involving 142 people in some 550 volunteer shifts totaling over 1600 hours on site. Click on this link for more information: https://www.skylinegardens. org/ contact Saturday, December 1 at 9:30 am Greens at Work at Pt Isa¬ bel with Jane and Tom Kelly. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. Sunday, December 2 at 10 am, Northshore Basin weeding and planting (if it ever rains again) with John Kenny at Eastshore State Park. Saturday, December 8 at 9 am Sibley Park, starting from Old Tunnel Road staging area. Sunday, December 9 at 9 am Redwood Park French broom bash, starting from Pinehurst Gate. Your commitment to the Nursery is to help with sales once monthly on Saturdays during open hours (10 am-2 pm). Scheduling is flexible. When you complete 12 volunteer hours you will receive a gift certificate for $20 to be used at Native Here. To start, all you need is a willingness to learn and a desire to help customers with their native plant needs. Native Here Nursery is located in Tilden Regional Park at 101 Golf Course Drive. To sign up or get more information, contact Barbara Leitner at bleitner@pacbell.net. Barbara Leitner in early January. (In most locations outside botanical gardens, it blooms in late January or early February. We have seen it here every year except 2013.) This is a gentle trail, losing about 200 feet over about 1/2 mile to the creek. We will walk to the creek and then return the same way. It is unlikely that there will be any other flowers out this early, but the fetid adder's tongue's presence tells us that the new flower season has started. (Other plants out of flower will also be identified.) The area is second growth redwood and mixed evergreen forest. See meetup.com/ ebcnps/ Saturday, December 15 at 10 am Garber Park Stewards, start¬ ing from Claremont Avenue trailhead above the hotel 17 at 9:30 am Huckleberry Park, starting from the parking lot. Sunday, December 16,at 9:30 am, help restore Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve. Click on this link for more in¬ formation: https://www.meetup.com/ ebcnps/ events/ dqwtthyxqblb/ Saturday, December 15 at 9:30 am Greens at Work at Pt Isabel with Jane and Tom Kelly. Join Greens at Work near the parking lot at the end of Rydin Road, on the side next to the salt marsh. TASH (Tending the Ancient Shoreline Hill). Plant Albany Hill natives on the little hill, Sunday, December 9 and Saturday, December 29, 9 am-ll:30 am. Email tashorehill@ gmail.com or locations. Gloves, tools, and snacks provided. Wear sturdy shoes and clothes that can get dirty, www.ten- dancienthill.org Margot Cunningham THE BAY LEAF December 2018 3 POINT ISABEL RESTORATION IN NOVEMBER In Daniel Chamovitz's fascinating book, "What a Plant Knows", he relates the story of the plant experiments con¬ ducted by Charles Darwin and his son Francis that reveal that plants "see". The chapter begins with this quote from Ovid's Metamorphoses : "She turns, always, towards the sun, though her roots hold her fast, and, altered, loves unaltered." The book illustrates that parts of a plant have "eyes" that see light. Plants "know", for example, whether you are wearing a red or a blue t-shirt. The recounting of what plants are capable of is a real eye opener. With that in mind, we have been conducting our own experi¬ ment with a tenacious area of Bermuda grass on the Adopt-a- Spot at the corner of Central and Rydin. And we think it fair to report that the Darwins got it right! We tried every envi¬ ronmentally friendly method to get rid of the Bermuda grass and have only now succeeded by laying opaque tarpaulins over the area and covering them with soil and mulch. Never¬ theless, though the rhizomes under the tarp remain leafless, the Bermuda grass continues to poke out leaves and flowers around the edges of the tarps. They see the light! Over these past weeks, we scheduled a special work party at the Richmond Adopt-a-Spot with Steward Lewis and new volunteer Vincent to tarp another large section of Bermuda grass while adding naked buckwheat ( Eriogonum nudum) to a small collection of buckwheats growing at this spot. We consider the Adopt-a-Spot a gateway to the Hoffman Marsh section of the Bay Trail. If we can keep it clean while showcas¬ ing a collection of California native plants, it may encourage passersby to develop a greater appreciation for native plants and the value of volunteerism in improving a section of vacant city property. Boy Scout Nicholas at work (photo by Jane Kelly). On November 1, we hosted a terrific Boy Scout (Star rank), Nicholas, from Troop 104 in El Cerrito. Nicholas, who was accompanied by his mother Jennifer, is working on a Merit Badge and is on his way to eventually becoming an Eagle Scout. The work party of 11 volunteers continued clearing the stretch to be planted this coming winter by digging out large fennel root systems, some remaining exotic mallows, and clearing out the annual oat grass. You will see from the accompanying photo just how much of the oat grass was removed! Along the trail, coyote brush ( Baccharis pilularis) is in full seed and California fuchsia ( Epilohium canum) is still producing her hummingbird attracting flowers. Wildlife sightings this month include a burrowing owl, white-crowned sparrows, a black phoebe, snowy egrets, a great blue heron, Canada geese, turkey vultures, and a sweet pair of mallards. Very special thanks this month go to Supervisor Scott Possin and staff from the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) and to Greg Hardesty and Shannon Elliott from the City of Richmond for clearing out a new load of trash by the Adopt-a-Spot and for delivering mulch. We are heartened and encouraged by the consistent and friendly support we receive from these crews. Our next work parties will be held on the 1 st and 3 rd Sat¬ urdays in December and in January 2019. Contact tkellv@ kyotousa.org Have a Wonderful New Year! Jane and Tom Kelly Fall at Point Isabel (photo by Nina Barton). 4 THE BAY LEAF December 2018 CONSERVATION REPORT FOR THE YEAR Local media reported this summer that if the Bay Area were a nation it would command the 19th- largest economy in the world, surpassing oil king¬ dom Saudi Arabia and finance center Switzerland over the last four years. The internationally high rate of economic growth in the Bay Area has inevitable impacts on natural areas and all of us. EBCNPS works to protect the resilient, but sensitive quilt of native plant commu¬ nities that hold our soils in place, help filter water, recycle carbon, provide habitat to diverse species, and feed the soul. This is a chance to say thanks for the work Con¬ servation Committee who take the lead on critical issues - David Bigham, Sally de Becker, Janet Gawthrop, Lesley Hunt, Marcia Kolb, Barbara Leit- ner, Peter Rauch, Glen Schneider, Judy Schwartz, Beth Wurzburg, and Karen Whitestone (who, after serving as a hard-working Conservation Analyst for over two years, has left to take a position with an environmental firm). Thank you to Board members Delia Taylor, Barbara Leitner, Clara Gerdes and Sue Rosenthal who organized the annual drive ap¬ peal to fund the Chapter’s half-time Conservation Analyst position. Thanks to each of you who makes a difference locally by supporting the Conservation fund and by connecting with local elected-officials on conservation alerts. In the following pages are some highlights of our Chapter’s conservation work. As with anything worthwhile, many of these conservation issues take active perseverance, passion, and patience over many years. Each conservation result is worth it. This year, let’s become an even more potent voice for conservation of the Bay Area’s important biodi¬ versity and natural beauty. Jim Hanson , Conservation Committee Chair EBMUD ADOPTS SENSIBLE TRAIL USE POLICY Following two years of advocacy by the Safe Trails, Envi¬ ronmental Protection Alliance (STEP) the EBMUD Board ap¬ proved opening two service roads to mountain biking while keeping all narrow trails - including the narrow trail section site of the Skyline Gardens project work - for hikers and horses (left - Eagle's Nest service road was opened for the first time to biking, right - typical narrow trail found along the Oakland ridges of the Skyline trail and adjoining Regional Park District trails). EBCNPS members Glen Schneider and Jim Hanson represent EBCNPS on the STEP Alliance of equestrian and environmental organizations. THE BAY LEAF December 2018 5 POINT MOLATE PLANNING Residents call for a balanced plan for Richmond's Point Molate. This summer and fall the people of Richmond completed a community planning ("visioning") process for Pt. Molate. Residents repeatedly asked that the ecologically-rich south valley and bluffs be repurposed from their former use as a WWII fuel depot shipping area to a public resource, including recreation, hiking, and an outdoor family gathering spot. The north valley, where the historic Winehaven building is located, would be the center of commercial, hospitality businesses and other forms of development. When the City Council was presented with the "Pt. Molate Vision Plan" in October, the plan did not include the majority of the public's input that was in favor of a balanced mix of public park and commercial development. Residents spoke out and the Council required that the Pt. Molate Alliance "Community Plan" (above) and a plan with many similar land uses by the Richmond Community Development Enterprise be included in the official VICTORY ON MEASURE FF CNPS and other environmental organizations helped East Bay Regional Park "FF" funding measure reach 84% voter support. The EBCNPS Board voted to endorse this measure. Members put Yes on FF signs in front of their houses. Some of the natural resources stewardship projects that will be funded by this measure include the Pt. Pinole coastal prairie City vision for Pt. Molate (with only Mayor Tom Butt voting "no"). This long awaited public planning for Pt. Molate takes place against the backdrop of an already- approved settlement agreement between a Council negotiating committee headed by the mayor and past casino developer Jim Fevine. That agreement stipulates a minimum number of condominiums be built at Pt. Molate. It was approved before the public's vision came to the Council. EBCNPS has long spoken for the conserving the heritage botanical diversity of the south valley and bluffs. This requires keeping the south valley and bluffs as a public resource, centering commercial development around Wineheaven, while favoring hous¬ ing development downtown where City services and transportation are already in place and where any new housing is likely to be affordable to a greater number of people (map plan courtesy of Pt. Molate Alliance). management, start up funds for pallid manzanita recovery in Huckleberry and Sobrante Ridge Reserves, invasive weed removal at Miller-Knox, and conservation of lower-fuel load native flora consistent with the District's wildfire risk reduction plan. 6 THE BAY LEAF December 2018 SAVE SAND CREEK INITIATIVE CNPS helped Antioch Save Sand Creek initiative reach the 5,000 voter signature mark. The Sand Creek area in south Antioch was headed to become a sprawl development of over 4,000 housing units until organizations and community members of Let Antioch Voters Decide - Antioch Community to Save Sand Creek organized an initiative to rezone 1,850 acres (shaded area) to less intense development. EBCNPS volunteers, organized by Lesley Hunt, helped gather enough signatures for the initiative to reach and surpass the required 5,000 voter signature mark. The Antioch City Council subsequently adopted both the Save Sand Creek initiative and a somewhat similar initiative by the Richland Development Company that allowed a larger development area (Richland owns the area to the upper right above). Both these successful initiatives are now being legally challenged. This issue is not over. (Graphics provided by Let Antioch Voters Decide - Antioch Community Save Sand Creek https://letantiochvotersdecide.org/). SIBLEY-MCCLOSKER PARK EXPANSION The Sibley-McCosker park expansion plan has substantial benefits overall, but EBCNPS is not in favor of adding moun¬ tain biking onto a proposed new narrow walking trail that is also in an ecologically sensitive area. A proposed new narrow Meadow Barley trail the Regional Park District's draft Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) included plans to add mountain biking to a new narrow walking trail in an area of rare and sensitive native perennial grassland. A post EIR botanical report documented five sensitive plant communities in the path of the currently proposed new Meadow Barley trail and two other new trails: Valley Needlegrass Grassland, Foothill Needlegrass Grassland, California Brome Prairie, Dense Sedge Marshes, and White- Root Beds. The post EIR report goes on to state that "these vegetation types are considered sensitive natural communities and are considered to have a high inventory priority based on their Subnational Conservation Status Rank (CDFW 2018)." THE BAY LEAF December 2018 7 OAK PROTECTION AT MOUNTAIN VIEW CEMETERY One year ago the Mountain View Cemetery filed an Environ¬ mental Impact Report with the Oakland City Planning Com¬ mission to remove 92 live oaks and build a 7.5 acre cemetery expansion project on the ridgetop above the historic cemetery designed by Frederick Olmstead. The Oakland Planning Commission approved their application in November 2017, but not without adding several conditions advocated by CNPS conservation volunteers who spent tens of hours reading thick documents, writing comments, and speaking at City Hall evening meetings. EBCNPS appealed the Oakland City Planning Commission's approval of the EIR, Design Review and Conditional Use Permit in order to gain additional protections for oaks at risk of injury during the construction project. In a settlement agreement with MVC in March 2018 negotiated with the pro bono assistance of attorney Martin Bern of Munger, Tolies, & Olson LLP, they agreed to hire an independent arborist during the construction phase to advise the Cemetery on protective measures for up to 200 live oaks at the limit of grading. In the last several months the independent arborists are visit¬ ing the cemetery as needed to monitor the live oaks that will not be removed. In addition, the Conservation Committee is developing guidelines for an Oak Fund that was negotiated as part of the settlement agreement. Judy Schwartz serves as the Conservation Committee lead on the project. This project was dear to the heart of Jean Robertson. SAVING TESLA PARK State legislation to preserve Livermore's TESLA progressed this year.The Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area bill (SB 1316 by Glazer) passed the Senate and made it through the Assembly to the Appropriations Committee. While the bill progressed further than last year's legislative session, it was not released from suspense and therefore did not make it out of the 2018 session. The bill would have allowed the sale of this state property to public agencies for use as a park. Chapter President Beth Wurzburg traveled to Sacramento to sup¬ port the bill. In the final stages California State Parks communicated their opposition to the bill. Save TESLA Park and supporters, including EBCNPS and State CNPS, will continue to advocate for a change in state policy and work to open new opportunities in the new year (photo- Desert Olive Grove in TESLA area proposed for state off road vehicle expansion. Courtesy Save TESLA Park http://www.teslapark.org/ ) 8 THE BAY LEAF December 2018 DONORS TO CONSERVATION FUND Thanks to the following generous donors, the 2019 fund has grown to $29,893 as of November 19, 2018! We are almost three quarters there for our goal of $40,000. We truly ap¬ preciate your support! Donations to the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Program are tax deductible and are used to support a half-time Con¬ servation Analyst position as well as the work of the East Bay Chapter's Conservation Committee. Donations may be made via PayPal at the Chapter's website, www.ebcnps.org, or by check to "CNPS", sent to the Chapter's address: PO Box 5597, Elmwood Station, Berkeley CA 94705. Dues to CNPS do not go to the chapters and are used for the many important projects of the State office in Sacramento. If a donation is sent to the Sacramento office and is intended for a chapter it must be designated as such i.e. East Bay Chapter. Ann Adams, John Alcorn, Carl Anderson*, Carol Baumann, James Barse and Loren Corbridge, Luann Beadle, Carol Bieri, David Bigham and Howard Arendtson, Liz Bittner, Terry Blair, Peter Boffey, Richard Bogaert, Barbara and Robert Brandriff, Margaret Brostrom, Robert Case, Albert Chung, Patricia Coffey, Robert and Carol Coon, Elizabeth Crews, Colette Cussary, Mary Frances Dahlquist, Charli and John Danielsen, William Davis, Mary and Jay Davis, Sally de Beck¬ er, Isabelle de Geofroy, Adrienne Debisschop, Gene DeMar, Mark Detterman, Tri Do, John and Lisa Doyen, Sue Duckies, David Edelson and Karen Garrison, Chris Erickson, Marsha Feinland, Andrew Fitanides, Gordon and Jutta Frankie, Clara MYRTLE WOLF GRANTS The chapter sponsors research grants to students in East Bay colleges and universities studying aspects of California native plants. Both horticultural and botanical projects are eligible. This year, we sent out announcements for the program in August with a deadline of October 19. Out of the applica¬ tions, we accepted seven to receive grants. The projects are: 1. Systematics of the genus Isoetes (quillworts) in the California Floristic Province. The student believes that there are more species of quillwort than have been described and plans to use DNA studies to demonstrate this. 2. California kelp forest health: obtain results about the kelp forests in Monterey Bay and also study the feasibilty of monitoring population health using drones as a demonstra¬ tion of using drones for monitoring the health of other plant communities. 3. Study of bishop pine ( Pinus muricata), a relict pine species in California. The project involves seed collection from popula¬ tions across the range in the state and then testing the fitness of plants from different populations in various controlled environemnts. 4. Seed collection and seed banking of the rare Eriastrum errterae. Gerdes, Krista Glickman, Greenberg Family Trust, Ann Gur- baxani, Miao He, Claudia and Scott Hein, Peter Hopkinson and Wendy Woolpert, Russell Huddleston, Robin Hunter, Toris Jaeger, Ashok Jethanandani and Arvind Kumar, Nicole Jurjavcic, Jane and Tom Kelly, John Kenny, Caroline Kim, Julie Kinder, Arti Kirch and Cindy Siegel, Gudrun Kleist, Marcia Kolb, Kathy Kramer, Eve Lednicky, Barbara and Phil Leitner, David and Evelyne Lennette, Ed Leong, Vera Lis, Patricia Litton and Peter J. Ralston, David Loeb, Ronald Lutsko, Jr., Joel Lym, Matthew Madison, Thomas McCall, Lisa McCarty, Shirley McPheeters, Christina McWhorter, Jon Merkle, Lou¬ ise Miller, Caroline Moyer, Steve Mullin, Sheldon Nelson, Linda Newton, Meredith Nielsen, Jana Olson, Sharon and Erik Ordeman, Christine O'Rourke Gaber, Elizabeth O'Shea, Anita Pearson, Stefanie Pruegel, Linda Ramus, Kira Reoutt, James Ringland and Karen Ivy, Krehe and Katherine Ritter, San Leandro Garden Club, Carol Schneider, Judy Schwartz, Shirleymae and Igor Skaredoff, Doris Sloan, Karen Smith, Dr. and Mrs. Lionel Sorenson, Robert Sorenson, Douglas Stinson and Joy Barnitz, Ruth and Donald Stiver, Emilie Strauss, Aaron Sunshine, Mary Jo Sutton, Chris Tarp, Delia and John Taylor, Elizabeth Thomas, Iris Tommelein and Jim Lovekin, Laurie Umeh, Michael Vandeman, Jeanne Walpole, Stephen Walsh and Brenda Buxton, Wendy Weikel, Berthold and Risa Weis, Karen Wetherell, Shirley White, Susan Wickham, Steve Wiley, Joe and Doris Willingham, Kelly Woodard, Elaine Worthington-J ackson *In loving memory of Margo Hart Anderson 5. Carex albida is now considered the same as Carex lemmonii, and as a result, the few C. albida sites are no longer montiored or protected. This study will look at variation within C. lem¬ monii and consider its implications for conservation. 6. The effects of drought on California chaparral plant com¬ munities. The study will look at plants on greenhouse, doing chemical and sprectral analysis and then see whether data collected by drones can be used to monitor community health during droughts. 7. Genetic studies of two rare Bay Area plants ( Streptanthus glandulosis niger, S. glandulosis secundus). These two subspe¬ cies have very different distributions, one in two location with many individuals and, the other is scattered at locations with few individuals. The study will measure the genetic diversity of the two species over their ranges and consider their likely ability to survive environmental change caused by climate change. At the end of the projects (in about one year), recipients will write an article for the Bay Leaf on the research and what was accomplished. David Margolies THE BAY LEAF December 2018 9 CANDIDATES FOR CHAPTER OFFICERS Judy Schwartz, candidate for Chapter President, gives this biographical sketch: "I grew up in the East Bay and have been passionate about plants most of my life. Three years ago I became involved in monitoring pallid manzanitas in the East Bay and restoring habitat for them at the Chabot Space and Science Center. As a member of the Conservation Committee I helped to increase protections for the coast live oaks that would be impacted by the new development plan at Moun¬ tain View Cemetery in Oakland. If I become President of our chapter, I will look forward to becoming involved in more of our chapter's conservation projects. Sally de Becker, candidate for Chapter Vice President, cur¬ rently is the Membership Committee Chair, has been a mem¬ ber of CNPS since 1982, and in the past served our chapter as President, Vice President, and Field Trips Committee Chair. She grew up at the foot of Mount Tamalpais always hiking there and throughout California with her family. With that background, who wouldn't fall in love with California flora, even if while at UC Davis, she earned a Zoology degree. David Margolies, candidate for Chapter Treasurer, was born in Washington DC and moved to California in 1970 to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley, where he was awarded a PhD in Mathematics in 1977. After working at a government lab for some years, in 1985 he joined Franz Inc., a local software com¬ pany, where he has worked ever since. He became interested in plants as an adult and learned about them from Glenn Keator, taking courses at the California Academy of Sciences. He is an active volunteer at the Jepson/UC Herbaria and regularly takes Jepson courses. He joined CNPS in the 1990s, and soon started giving field trips for the chapter. He has been assistant editor of the Bay Leaf for some years and treasurer of the chapter since 2010. He lives in Oakland. Clara Gerdes, candidate for Chapter Corresponding Secre¬ tary, has been a member of the California Native Plant Society for a number of years and the Corresponding Secretary since 2014. Clara has been a dedicated volunteer for restoration proj¬ ects in Redwood Regional, Huckleberry and Sibley regional parks, where she wields her weed wrench with enthusiasm. Clara gained her appreciation for the outdoors and the envi¬ ronment from her mother, taking long walks along the paths and woodlands of western Michigan. Sue Duckies, candidate for Chapter Recording Secretary,is a biomedical scientist. She grew up in Oakland, close to Redwood Park, where she developed a life-long love of wild places. After a career as a medical school Professor, Sue and her husband returned to Oakland, where she spends her time maintaining a large native plant garden reclaimed from an ivy covered hillside, volunteering at Native Here Nursery, with Friends of Joaquin Miller Park, and as a Weed Warrior in Re¬ gional Parks. Sue has served as EBCNPS Recording Secretary for the last three years. THEBAYLEAF December2018 10 DIRECTORY Officers President Beth Wurzburg president@ebcnps.org Vice President Judy Schwartz vice-president@ebcnps.org Recording Secretary Sue Duckies spduckle@uci.edu Corresponding Secretary Clara Gerdes corresponding-secretary@ ebcnps.org Treasurer David Margolies 510-654-0283 treasurer@ebcnps.com Committees Bay Leaf Newsletter Bay Leaf Editor and Web¬ master Joe Willingham 510-705-1798 bayleaf@ebcnps.org webmaster@ebcnps.org Bay Leaf Assistant Editor David Margolies 510-654-0283 dm@franz.com Bay Leaf Mailing Holly Forbes 510-234-2913 h 510-643-8040 w Conservation Jim Hanson, Chair conservation-chair@ ebcnps.org Conservation Analyst Vacant Field Trips Janet Gawthrop, Chair janetgawthrop47@gmail. com Funds Development Delia Taylor, Chair funds-development-chair@ ebcnps.org Hospitality Vacant Information Infrastructure Peter Rauch, Chair info-infra-comm-chair@ ebcnps.org Membership Sally de Becker ebcnps-membership@ ebcnps.org Native Here Nursery Liaison Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Outreach Lesley Hunt ldhunt@astound.net Programs Sue Rosenthal, Chair 510-496-6016 programs@ebcnps.org Publicity Vacant Rare Plants Danny Slakey rare-plant-chair@ebcnps. org Restoration Chair Vacant 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 spon¬ sored activities East Bay Chapter News list Emailed announcements of upcoming EBCNPS events Robin Mitchell eccommunitygarden@ gmail.com Native Here Nursery 510-549-0211 nativehere@ebcnps.org Charli Danielsen, production manager nativehere@ebcnps.org Volunteeer Coordinator Ruth Ann Pearsons rapearsonsl @mac.com Penny Spear, infrastructure 510-549-0211 Gudrun Kleist, bulbs 510-549-0211 John Danielsen, propagule collection nativehere@ebcnps.org Restoration Projects Leaders Huckleberry Regional Botanic Preserve Janet Gawthrop, leader janetgawthrop47@gmail. com John Muir NHS (Martinez) Elaine Jackson, leader 925-372-0687 elainejx@att.net Marsh Creek Heath Bartosh, leader 925-957-0069 hbartosh@nomadecology. com Point Isabel Tom and Jane Kelly, lead¬ ers 510-704-8628 (w) 510-684-6484 (c) kyotousa@sbcglobal.net Skyline Gardens Glen Schneider, leader skylinegardens@ebcnps. org Walnut Creek Lesley Hunt, leader 925-937-6791 ldhunt@astound.net Officers and Commit¬ tee Chairs serve on the Board Committees are formed based on chapter needs and the interests of vol¬ unteers. Proposals for committees and projects are welcome and will be considered by the Board California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter PO Box 5597 Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 THE BAY LEAF December 2018 11 California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter P.O. Box 5597, Elmwood Station Berkeley CA 94705 Address Service Requested Nonprofit org U.S. Postage Paid Oakland CA Permit No. 2018 Time Value December 2018 issue