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Vol. 33, No. 3 July 2005 FREMONTIA

A JOURNAL OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY

IN THIS ISSUE:

CHAPTERS OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: INSTALLMENT III 3

THE CNPS CONSERVATION PROGRAM by David Chipping 10 CNPS VEGETATION PROGRAM: A FRESH LOOK BACK AND A NEW LOOK FORWARD by Todd Keeler-Wolf and Julie M. Evens 18 THE CONSERVATION OF TWO SONOMA COUNTY MANZANITAS by Greg Wahlert and Phil Van Soelen 24 IN MEMORIAM: SCOTT SUNDBERG, 1954-2004 by Aaron Liston 31 VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 1

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF CNPS CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY FREMONTIA CNPS, 2707 K Street, Suite 1; Sacramento, CA 95816-5113 (916) 447-CNPS (2677) Fax: (916) 447-2727 VOL. 33, NO. 3, JULY 2005 [email protected]

Copyright © 2005 MEMBERSHIP California Native Plant Society Membership form located on inside back cover; dues include subscriptions to Fremontia and the Bulletin Linda Ann Vorobik, Editor Mariposa Lily ...... $1,000 Supporting ...... $75 Bob Hass, Copy Editor Benefactor ...... $500 Family, Group, International . . . $45 Beth Hansen-Winter, Designer Patron ...... $250 Individual or Library ...... $35 Vivian Parker, Jake Sigg & Plant Lover ...... $100 Student/Retired/Limited Income . $20 David Tibor, Proofreaders STAFF CHAPTER COUNCIL CALIFORNIA NATIVE CALIFORNIA NATIVE Sacramento Office: Alta Peak (Tulare) . . . . Joan Stewart PLANT SOCIETY Executive Director . . . . . Pamela C. Bristlecone (Inyo-Mono) ...... Sherryl Taylor Muick, PhD Channel Islands ...... Lynne Kada Dedicated to the Preservation of Development Director . . Cari Porter Dorothy King Young (Mendocino/ the California Native Flora Membership Assistant . . . Christina Sonoma Coast) . . . Jon Thompson The California Native Plant Society Neifer East Bay ...... Joe Willingham (CNPS) is a statewide nonprofit orga- Finance Manager ...... Lois El Dorado ...... Amy Hoffman nization dedicated to increasing the Cunningham Kern County . . . . . Laura Stockton Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mtns . . . understanding and appreciation of Bookkeeper . . . . Suzanne DaVirro California’s native plants, and to pre- Betsey Landis serving them and their natural habi- At Large: Marin County ...... Bob Soost Milo Baker (Sonoma County) . . . . . tats for future generations. Fremontia Editor ...... Linda Ann Reny Parker CNPS carries out its mission Vorobik, PhD Mojave Desert ...... Tim Thomas through science, conservation advo- Senior Conservation Botanist ...... Monterey Bay ...... Robert Hale cacy, education, and horticulture at Ileene Anderson Mount Lassen ...... Jim Bishop the local, state, and federal levels. It Rare Plant Botanist . . . . Misa Ward Napa Valley ...... Marcie Danner monitors rare and endangered plants North Coast ...... Larry Levine Senior Vegetation Ecologist . . Julie and habitats; acts to save endangered North San Joaquin . . . . Gail Clark areas through publicity, persuasion, Evens Orange County ...... Sarah Jayne and on occasion, legal action; pro- Vegetation Ecologist . . . Anne Klein Redbud (Grass Valley/Auburn) . . . . vides expert testimony to government East Bay Conservation Analyst . . . . . Marie Bain bodies; supports the establishment of Jessica Jean Olsen Riverside/San Bernardino counties . . native plant preserves; sponsors work- Legislative Advocate ...... Katie Barrows Sacramento Valley . . Diana Hickson days to remove invasive plants; and Vern Goehring San Diego ...... Dave Flietner offers a range of educational activities Legal Advisor ...... Sandy McCoy including speaker programs, field trips, San Gabriel Mtns . . . . Lyn McAfee Website Coordinator ...... native plant sales, horticultural work- San Luis Obispo . . . . Charles Blair Sanhedrin (Ukiah) . Chuck Williams shops, and demonstration gardens. John Donaghue Bulletin Editor ...... vacant Santa Clara Valley . . . Judy Fenerty Since its founding in 1965, the tra- Santa Cruz County . Casey Stewman ditional strength of CNPS has been BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sequoia (Fresno) . . . . Warren Shaw its dedicated volunteers. CNPS ac- Shasta ...... Dave DuBose tivities are organized at the local chap- David Diaz, Vern Goehring, Steve Sierra Foothills (Tuolumne, Cala- ter level where members’ varied in- Hartman (Treasurer), Diana Hickson, veras, Mariposa) . . . . Patrick Stone terests influence what is done. Volun- Lynn Houser, Lynne Kada, David L. South Coast (Palos Verdes) ...... teers from the 32 CNPS chapters an- Magney, Sandy McCoy (Vice Pres- Barbara Sattler nually contribute in excess of 87,000 ident), J. Spence McIntyre, Carol Tahoe ...... Michael Hogan hours (equivalent to 42 full-time em- Witham (President) Willis L. Jepson (Solano) ...... ployees). Allison Fleck CNPS membership is open to all. PROGRAM DIRECTORS Yerba Buena (San Francisco) . . . . . Mark Heath Members receive the quarterly jour- CNPS Press ...... Holly Forbes nal, Fremontia, the quarterly statewide and Gail Milliken MATERIALS FOR Bulletin, and newsletters from their Conservation . . . . . David Chipping PUBLICATION local CNPS chapter. Horticulture ...... Peigi Duvall CNPS members and others are wel- Fremontia logo (by L.A. Vorobik) re- Posters ...... Bertha McKinley come to contribute materials for pub- printed from The Jepson Manual, J. and Wilma Follette lication in Fremontia. See the inside Hickman, Ed., 1993, with permission Rare Plants ...... Ann Howald back cover for manuscript submission from the Jepson Herbarium, UC. © Re- Vegetation . . . .Todd Keeler-Wolf instructions. gents of the University of California. Printed by Business Point Impressions, Concord, CA

FREMONTIAVOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 2 CONTENTS

GUEST EDITORIAL: TRIAGE AND THE CONSERVATION ETHIC ...... 2

CHAPTERS OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: INSTALLMENT III ...... 3

This third in a series of four articles celebrates members and local chapters which make up our Society, and includes those from the central part of the state: the Tahoe, El Dorado, Marin, Willis Linn Jepson, Yerba Buena, East Bay, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Valley chapters. Summaries of the remaining CNPS chapters will appear in the next issue of Fremontia.

THE CNPS CONSERVATION PROGRAM by David Chipping.... 10 David Chipping (Professor of Geology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) has headed the conservation program since 1997. At the close of his tenure, the author reflects upon the Conservation Program of the Society, including an overview, how it relates to other CNPS programs, and some current challenges.

CNPS VEGETATION PROGRAM: A FRESH LOOK BACK AND A NEW LOOK FORWARD by Todd Keeler-Wolf and Julie M. Evens ...... 18 This article highlights the history of the CNPS Vegetation Program from its inception, with a positive look at the present and towards the future. The program has benefited tremen- dously from the work of its committee members and chapter volunteers, and now advances to new projects with paid staff on board.

THE CONSERVATION OF TWO SONOMA COUNTY MANZANITAS by Greg Wahlert and Phil Van Soelen ...... 24 Sonoma County is a hot spot of plant endemism in California, with 18 plant taxa known only from the county, including four species of manzanita. The authors tell the story of two such endemics: Vine Hill manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora) and Rincon manzanita (Arctostaphylos stanfordiana ssp. decumbens), and speak to both the challenges to their survival and conservation successes.

IN MEMORIAM: SCOTT SUNDBERG, 1954-2004 by Aaron Liston ...... 31

BOOK REVIEW ...... 32

THE COVER: High elevation region in the Mineral King area of Sequoia National Park. The white rock in the background is rich in marble and carbonate-loving endemic species. One of the jobs of the California Native Plant Society Conservation Program is monitoring management actions of federal agencies so that special places like these and the endemic species they harbor enjoy continued protection. Photograph by D. Chipping.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 1 GUEST EDITORIAL: TRIAGE AND THE CONSERVATION ETHIC USEFUL WEBSITES AND CONTACT INFORMATION ot enough money, not enough human resources, and not enough N California Native Plant time! This lament is heard from anyone working in conservation. Society (CNPS): As I draw to the end of my tenure as conservation director, I will try to www.cnps.org, with links to conservation issues, chapters, define an ethical basis for making choices about which conservation battles publications, policy, etc. we should join or run from, one that reflects the ethical choices made in the For updates on conservation battlefield triage of the wounded. issues: It is no easy thing to agree on the value of an at-risk plant or habitat. If Audubon Society www.audubon.org Center for Biological Diversity a plant is long-lived (such as a redwood tree), is it more valuable in some way www.sw-center.org than a tree that lives a century, a shrub that lives a few years, or an annual Native Plant Conservation plant? Is a plant of great beauty of greater value than a plant of nondescript Campaign www.plantsocieties.org Natural Resources Defense appearance? Is the last little patch of native vegetation in the center of town Council where it is seen by hundreds of people on a daily basis more valuable than a www.nrdc.org thousand acres of native plant habitat in the distant corner of Modoc Sierra Club www.sierraclub.org County on private ranchland? Is a plant community that contains a CNPS Wilderness Society List 1B plant of greater value than one that does not, and how would the www.wilderness.org richness and health of the other species play a role in the decision? If we For voting information: work hard because we value and respect all of life, why do we pull weeds? League of Women Voters www.lwv.org, includes online voter Like so many, I fall back on the quote from Aldo Leopold: “If the biota, guide with state-specific nonparti- in the course of eons, has built something we like but do not understand, then who san election and candidate information. but a fool would discard seemingly useless parts? To keep every cog and wheel is the US Senate first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” But can we keep every cog when the www.senate.gov Cali-fornia population grows by 560,000 per year? Clearly not, if current US House of Representatives www.house.gov development in southern California continues apace. But the cogs and California State Senate wheels are connected in the machinery of the ecosystem, and in my judg- www.sen.ca.gov ment, triage must reflect the degree to which a portion of the machine will California State Assembly www.assembly.ca.gov cease to function. When we take out the cog, what dies with it? To write letters: As plants are the foundation of entire ecosystems, our value system must President George W. Bush extend beyond the plants. We have butterflies, sparrows, and coyotes to The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW consider. Under triage, is it worth a fight to the death over habitat for a Washington, DC 20500 plant species defined by one authority, but by another lumped taxonomi- Senator Barbara Boxer cally with a common species? If we have the resources we should fight for or Senator Dianne Feinstein US Senate each and every subspecies and variety of plant, but if not, we must fight first Washington, DC 20510 for the “cogs and wheels” of greatest ecological importance. Your CA Representative US House of Representatives David Chipping Washington, DC 20515 CNPS Conservation Director

2 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 CHAPTERS OF THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY: INSTALLMENT III

This is the third installment of summaries of several of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) chapters, and covers those from the middle part of the state. Each chapter summary has been authored by one or more representatives from that chapter. The first installment, covering chapters in the south, appeared in Fremontia Volume 33, No. 1 (January 2005); the next, covering chapters one step to the north, appeared in Fremontia Volume 33, No. 2, ( July 2005). Summaries of the remaining CNPS chapters, those in northern California, will appear in Fremontia Volume 33, No. 4 (October 2005). What a joy it is to read about chapter activities all over our beautiful state. If you are not a member and are inspired to join us, a membership form appears on the inside back cover.

TAHOE CHAPTER who love Sierra wildflowers.” At an evening meeting on Friday, Decem- Size of chapter: Approximately ber 3rd, 16 founding members as- 87 members sembled, elected officers including Website address: none Julie Carville as president, and se- lected the columbine as the In 1982 a brief article in Tahoe area chapter’s flower. newspapers reported that a local While the Donner Party didn’t chapter of CNPS was forming: “The make it over the Sierra that night, group will be non-pedantic, non-orga- Julie arrived in Berkeley the very nizationally oriented, and will search next day and presented the required out beautiful wildflower areas and en- petition to the State Board. On De- joy readings of John Muir, alpine peaks, cember 4th, Tahoe became the 21st and the harmony of being with others CNPS chapter. Dormancy over the Top: Tahoe Chapter mem- Map of the local chapters of the California Native Plant Society. The chapters bers working on a plant sur- summarized in the text include the Tahoe (10), El Dorado (11), Marin (12), Willis Linn vey using CNPS releve pro- Jepson (13), Yerba Buena (14), East Bay (15), Santa Cruz County (16), and the Santa tocol at Pope Marsh, near Clara Valley Chapter (17). South Lake Tahoe. • Right: Tahoe Chapter member won- dering “what the heck is this?” while checking out the aquatic plant Callitriche on a survey of Taylor Marsh. Photographs by S. Matson.

winter was followed by cabin fever in early 1983, and the chapter quickly developed a full suite of ac- tivities including field trips, plans for recruiting additional members, and conservation issues it wanted to tackle including National Forest management, development propos- als, and public education. While the chapter’s major focus over the last decade has been on our field trips, we have also worked with The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US For- est Service to measure and monitor

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 3 rare plants and plant communities ten general meetings, two plant mentor, the fund provides grants to in the Tahoe Basin. sales, and 20 field trips. several local schools each year to The minutes of the chapter’s Although the El Dorado Chap- support projects in which the stu- first meeting notes included the fol- ter covers a small region, it con- dents plant native plant gardens. In lowing goal: “The founding members tains a number of uniquely inter- the last five years we’ve tripled the agreed the chapter would accent fun esting botanical areas, including Youth Fund grants. experiences in getting to know wild- Pine Hill Preserve, Traverse Creek, Field trips are a hallmark of the flowers and other native plants.” True and dozens of local lava caps. The El Dorado Chapter. In recent years to our founders’ wishes, we have Pine Hill Preserve consists of sev- we’ve traveled from the ocean to been having a lot of fun for over eral units within 30,000 acres of the eastern Sierra, and from Lassen two decades. The Tahoe Chapter is gabbro soils, and is home to eight Peak in the north to Death Valley proud to be associated with the Cali- rare plant species that mainly grow in the south. On our trips we edu- fornia Native Plant Society and in this area. Traverse Creek, a ser- cate the public, learn taxonomy, and wishes our fellow plant lovers a won- pentine special interest area, has search for plants we’ve never seen. derful 40th anniversary. been largely cleared of Scotch Come join us! broom (Cytisus scoparius) by mem- bers our chapter and the US Forest EL DORADO Service. The local lava caps, with MARIN CHAPTER CHAPTER their unique soils, also support un- usual plants such as our chapter Size of chapter: Approximately Size of chapter: Approximately flower, the rare Calochortus clavatus 410 members 130 members var. avius. Website address: Website address: Our plant sales accomplish three www.marin.cc.ca.us/cnps www.eldoradocnps.org goals: providing the community with a source of hard-to-find native On the north shore of the Golden Formed in 1994 as an affiliate work- plants, educating the public about Gate, the Marin Headlands rise ing group of the Sacramento Valley the importance of natives, and fund- grandly from the ocean, green in Chapter, and chartered a year later, ing chapter projects such as the the spring, golden in summer, pre- the El Dorado Chapter of CNPS Clark Youth Fund. Named after senting a spectacular welcome to marks its tenth year in 2005. The George Clark, former president of Marin County. Almost 48% of chapter is active year-round with CNPS and El Dorado Chapter the county is open space managed by government agencies or non- Below: El Dorado Chapter field trip to Grass Lake, Luther Pass, July 2001. • profits: part of the Golden Gate Inset: The El Dorado Chapter flower: Calochortus clavatus var. avius. Photographs National Recreation Area; Muir by S. Perry. Woods National Monument; Point Reyes National Seashore; seven State parks; over 15,000 acres of county open space; Marin Munici- pal Water District (MMWD) lands; city park lands; and Audubon Soci- ety and Nature Conservancy pre- serves. In this grand setting, in the spring of 1973, 23 charter mem- bers founded the CNPS Marin Chapter. Over the years the chapter has provided testimony, data, and funds in opposition to real estate develop- ments on fragile habitat. We have taken positions against proposed ac- tions by various public agencies in Marin that we considered detrimen- tal to native plants and their habi- tats: herbicide use by Caltrans; sow- ing grass seed after burns; creating

4 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 wood Forest (Rosemary Bauman, art- ist). Kristin Jakob, our Public Pro- grams Chair, was the artist for Si- erra Wildflowers and the new Native Grasses posters. Annual spring plant sales at the beautiful Tiburon Audubon Cen- ter have been a major source of income since 1975. Eight months of the year we publish the chapter newsletter and hold our general meetings. Our logo is the image of the rare Calochortus tiburonensis.

WILLIS LINN JEPSON CHAPTER/ SOLANO COUNTY plant lists for our public lands on alternate weeks. Size of chapter: Approximately Monitoring rare species is a con- 78 members tinuing focus for the chapter. Since Website address: 1996, a group of members meets on www.cnpsjepsonchapter.org Fridays from March through Au- gust to monitor known rare plant Solano County is mostly rural. It is locations and search for others likely there are more sheep and within Point Reyes National Sea- cows here than people. Still, like shore. Two species have been redis- many other chapters, we are deal- covered, and three species new to ing with increasing development in Marin were found on these outings. sensitive areas. We are located east Top: Marin County Chapter members The chapter has assisted in the of the coastal mountains and west botanizing the drying strand of Lake Nicasio, September 2004. • Bottom: preparation of several native plant of the Central Valley. From the Marin County Chapter members in 1992 publications, including McHoul’s Bay to the Delta, we have a variety enjoying a merry potluck after a series of Wildflowers of Marin (1978); Shuford of soils, wildlife (including several walks. Photographs by K. Howard. and Tomassi’s Plant Communities of unique invertebrates), plants, and Marin (1989); and Point Reyes Na- ecosystems. Our county is full of “fire breaks” by clearing wide swaths tional Seashore Association’s Wild- ecological wonders from vernal along trails and roads in MMWD flowers of Point Reyes National Sea- pools to salt marshes. There is and State Parks. We have also sup- shore (1996). Since 1995 several ported public acquisitions of threat- members have been working with A Willis Linn Jepson Chapter member ened native habitat. We were among the California Academy of Sciences at the King Ranch in Solano County, the original signatories and currently Botany Department on the updat- where the chapter is doing restoration work for the Solano Land Trust. Photo- participate in the Marin/Sonoma ing of J.T. Howell’s Marin Flora graph by M. Shaw. Weed Management Area. which may be published later this We have had regular weekend year. field trips in Marin and nearby The CNPS poster project has counties, and extended camping had input from several Marin Chap- trips farther afield. Since 1975 the ter members. Wilma Follette initi- chapter has sponsored weekday field ated the project in 1979 and pro- trips from March through May duced beautiful posters such as throughout the county to educate Spring Wildflowers and Wildflowers our members and the public about of the Desert (Gompers Saijo, artist); our glorious native flora. Chapter Shrubs of the Coast Ranges and Wild- members have also monitored rare flowers of the Coast (Svetlana Buchli, plant populations and developed artist); and Wildflowers of the Red-

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 5 attempts and proposals, his widow cisco Bay Chapter. In 1986 the Norma pushed the dream forward. chapter board (of what is now the With a grant from the Coastal Con- East Bay Chapter), recognized that servancy, the garden is now open to members on the west side of the the public. Bay rarely participated in chapter activities and encouraged us to form our own chapter, which we did. YERBA BUENA Choosing a name and logo was easy: CHAPTER until the United States invaded in 1846, San Francisco was known as Size of chapter: Approximately Yerba Buena, in tribute to the “good 595 members herb” of the mint family, Satureja Website address: www.cnps- douglasii. The formative group was yerbabuena.org unanimous in choosing the same plant as its chapter name and logo. The Yerba Buena Chapter now in- Social, transportation, and plan- Willis Linn Jepson Chapter members at cludes San Francisco County and ning issues dominate public atten- the Botanic Garden in Benicia. Photo- the northern half of San Mateo tion in our densely-settled area, and graph by S. Dean. County, but it was formerly a part biological awareness is not common. of the larger, four-county San Fran- Therefore we made education a something here for every nature lover. Yerba Buena Chapter members on San Bruno Mountain for a winter hike led by Jake We organize several activities Sigg (to the left, with walking stick). This mountain is a richly diverse area and has and events throughout the county, been at the center of development battles for many years. In the distance is San Francisco. Photograph by M. Bors. including a semi-annual plant sale. Our propagation committee works on inventory for these plant sales as well as growing plants for restora- tion projects. We have two grow- ing areas, one at Benicia State Rec- reational Area, and the other at the Vallejo Sanitation District where we irrigate the plants with recycled water. All of our efforts have been successful (and some have been too successful: marsh plants, given a millimeter will take an acre, and when we repotted one, it took two of us and a crowbar to extricate the roots!). Our environmental education program covers curricula from grades 2 through 5. Mary Shaw originated this program, got it funded, and has been running it successfully for several years now. The grade appropriate programs explore how the environment af- fects our lives: past, present, and future. Last, but certainly not least, was a goal originally envisioned by chap- ter founder Forrest Deaner to cre- ate a botanical garden somewhere in the town of Benicia. After many

6 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 chapter priority, and take pride in parties, we have encouraged other our heavily-attended member pro- community groups to care for local grams, well-edited newsletter, and areas. Our newsletter currently has our networking with a number of contact numbers for 39 different diverse groups. Our chapter pho- projects that are caring for the land tography group exhibits in many in our area, many of which were venues, and the annual plant sale is either spawned or assisted by very popular. Recognizing that the CNPS. San Bruno Mountain, in- future of plant protection lies with cluded by E.O. Wilson as one of his today’s young people, involving 18 world biodiversity hotspots, is a them is uppermost in our minds, de facto island completely encircled which is why we are currently at- by cities in our chapter area. It is tempting to revitalize our educa- the site of the first Habitat Conser- tion committee. vation Plan and its health is declin- The main impetus for starting a ing; as a consequence, attempting plant sale ten years ago was to make arrest of that decline will consume available plants propagated from the much of our energy. East Bay Chapter member standing in a local genetic stock, and that is ex- We think biological diversity is sea of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) at clusively what we sell. While it is important to people’s lives, but rec- the site of a recently removed dam. Pho- difficult for many chapters to do ognize that this component is fre- tograph by B. Case. this because they cover such large quently overlooked by those work- and diverse areas, we are lucky in ing toward healthy surroundings. tive flora. It wasn’t until several that respect, as our chapter covers Therefore we help organizations to other chapters had been formed only about 100 square miles. enhance their agenda or mission by that the San Francisco Bay Chap- Listening to other chapters at including biodiversity, we keep en- ter began in 1973 with 200 mem- state CNPS meetings report on vironmental justice on our radar bers, and covered Alameda, Contra their struggles with unsympathetic screen, and we try to attract and Costa, San Francisco, and San commissions and boards, we feel encourage environmentally-caring Mateo counties. In 1986 the chap- lucky to be spared that kind of pain. local residents to join CNPS, sup- ter split, with San Francisco and However, we have our own set of port CNPS causes, and share in the San Mateo counties forming the problems. We are an urban area work of preserving our remnant lo- new Yerba Buena Chapter and and our wildlands are highly frag- cal biotic communities for future Alameda and Contra Costa coun- mented, tiny parcels that are heavily generations. ties forming the East Bay Chapter. impacted, subject to multiple and Since then the East Bay Chapter competing uses, and infested with has grown in number to over 1,200, weeds. As functioning ecosystems EAST BAY CHAPTER and we are able to support many they need assistance. Nevertheless activities to help educate the public they are cherished as refuges for Size of chapter: Approximately about rare plants and aid in their wildflowers and other native plants, 1215 members protection. as wildlife habitat, living museums, Website address: www.ebcnps.org For example, our Vegetation outdoor classrooms, and open Committee trains volunteers on the spaces, and their protection and res- The CNPS East Bay Chapter was CNPS protocol for data collection. toration has been a high chapter so named in 1986, but its roots go This information is used in vegeta- priority from its inception. back to the beginning of the Soci- tion classification and mapping ef- For instance, we persuaded the ety, which was formed 40 years ago forts in the East Bay. Our Rare and San Francisco Recreation and Park in the Bay Area by a handful of Unusual Plants Committee now has Department to acquire natural ar- dedicated native plant enthusiasts. a table display of our A1-ranked eas remaining in private hands and One of the first endeavors of the rare and unusual plants that includes to manage them and its other par- Society was to try and save the na- information on their location, habi- cels for their natural values. The tive plant garden in the East Bay at tat, and last date seen at each site. A department created a Natural Ar- Tilden. The campaign was success- team of volunteers monitors these eas Program, currently staffed by ful: it thrives today as the East Bay sites and provides timely feedback eight, and our volunteers work Regional Parks Botanic Garden, to the committee chair. The results alongside paid staff. In addition to and is one of the few public gar- of the data gathered by these two conducting our own weekly work dens to be totally dedicated to na- committees make it possible for our

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 7 newly hired part-time conservation SANTA CRUZ as the silverleaf manzanita (Arcto- analyst to provide public comment CHAPTER staphylos silvicola) or Ben Lomond on vital conservation issues. spineflower (Chorizanthe pungens Among other chapter activities, Size of chapter: Approximately var. hartwegiana); other species here we hold plant sales and field trips, 324 members occur as disjunct from the immedi- and cooperate with other groups to Website address: ate coast, for example sea thrift help remove problem invasive plants www.cruzcnps.org (Armeria maritima) and beach sage- from the East Bay. Recently we were wort (Artemisia pycnocephala). Still invited to have a seat on the Bay Located on California’s central others are usually found in mon- Area Open Space Council, and have coast south of San Francisco and tane habitats far inland, for example also been investigating a conserva- perched on the northern (sunny!) ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) tion easement in Oakland. Our up- side of the Monterey Bay, Santa and pussy paws (Calyptridium um- dated website now lists all A1 and Cruz County is home to a diverse bellatum). A2 plants in our area, contains cop- assemblage of vegetation commu- At Soda Lake occurs the only ies of chapter newsletters and up- nities, geologic features, and dedi- alkaline grassland community in the dates on committee work, and also cated CNPS volunteers. Our Medi- entire Santa Cruz Mountains biore- features information on our field terranean coastal climate, coupled gion. At least seven to eight genera trips and special events. with diverse soil types and topogra- and 13 species occur there which One of the East Bay’s most trea- phy, has resulted in a complex and are found nowhere else in Santa sured botanical spots is the Spring- varied array of habitats from chap- Cruz County, including the rare town Alkali Sink area. This area arral to coastal prairie grasslands, saline clover (Trifolium depaupera- contains one of the last seven popu- redwood and mixed evergreen for- tum var. hydrophilum) that was pre- lations of palmate-bracted bird’s ests to coastal scrub, and freshwater viously presumed extinct. beak (Cordylanthus palmatus) and has and salt marshes. Perhaps the rarest Our chapter volunteers are the most genetically diverse popu- vegetation communities in the highly dedicated, passionate folks lation known in the world. It is be- county are the inland sand hills of with a love of nature and a sense of ing threatened by development Ben Lomond and Bonny Doon, and stewardship. Our Conservation (again). We are recruiting local vol- the wet alkaline grassland of Soda Committee works unteers/members to help increase Lake, both of which contain nu- to save the above- public awareness of the botanical merous endemic plants. mentioned natu- devastation this development would In the sand hills, the combina- ral communities cause. tion of a relatively humid coastal from destruction We also support the non-profit climate coupled with a coarse, nu- by quarry expan- group, Save Mt. Diablo. One of trient-poor soil composed of an- sion. Our habitat their newest acquisition projects is cient, uplifted marine sand depos- restoration pro- the 207-acre Mangini Ranch. Pro- its has resulted in a unique assem- gram takes volun- tection of the Ranch is critical in blage of rare and endangered plants, teers from ages 8 the long campaign to keep urban many of which are endemic, such to 80 on biweekly development from engulfing the borders of Mount Diablo State Above right: Sand hills, Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, Santa Cruz County. Photo- Park. The Ranch is the location of graph by J. Hillman. Below: CNPS Habitat Restoration Program and the Girl Scouts the 1936 collection of the rare Troup of Monterey Bay, pulling invasive beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) at Sunset State Beach. Photograph by D. Susoy. Mount Diablo buckwheat (Eriogo- num truncatum) by Mary Bowerman as well as a number of other rare species. We operate two native plant nurseries, one which sells year- round and has a restoration focus, the other which grows year-round and houses our plant sale. Both have dedicated volunteers who diligently work to ensure a wide variety of native plants are available to our local communities.

8 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 work parties to remove invasive spe- solstitialis) and teasel cies from our State parks. Our chap- (Dipsacus sativus), these ter Flora Committee has been work- species are on retreat, ing since 1998 to create a flora of thanks to the long-term Santa Cruz County which will be dedication of volunteer published in fall of 2005. In addi- weed warriors. tion, our plant propagation folks Our chapter has many diligently grow a vast array of na- active subgroups, includ- tive plants for our twice yearly plant ing Gardening with Na- sale. As you can see from these vari- tives, devoted to increas- ous activities, we love this land and ing public awareness of are dedicated to its preservation and California’s amazing flora continued ecological integrity. by bringing plants into the home garden. The Going Native Garden Tour, an SANTA CLARA annual event supported in VALLEY CHAPTER part by CNPS, features private and public gardens Size of Chapter: Approximately designed and planted with 844 members native plants, and has been Website Address: www.cnps-scv.org tremendously popular in its first three years. The Santa Clara Valley Chapter was Every spring the chap- formed in 1972, and covers all of ter holds a two-day wild- Santa Clara County and most of flower show featuring San Mateo County. It includes miles plants from throughout of San Francisco Bay and Pacific central California. The coastline, redwood and mixed ever- chapter also maintains a green forests in the Santa Cruz nursery and holds two Mountains, chaparral, serpentine plant sales a year to bring grasslands and oak woodlands in the native plants to local land- foothills, and the wilderness of the scapers and homeowners. Mt. Hamilton Range. The area con- We also bring people to tains 140 rare or endangered plant the plants, with numer- species, including several narrowly ous day hikes and camp- distributed endemics. ing trips throughout the The members of the chapter year to all areas of the have fought long and hard to pre- state. serve open space and vital native Other chapter activi- habitats in an area that is rapidly ties include six program becoming urbanized. The serpen- meetings per year, parti- tine grasslands and foothill habitat cipation in two county Top: Display of native grasses at the bi-annual Santa remnants that make up Edgewood weed management areas, Clara Valley Chapter plant sale. By the end of the day, all the grasses were sold out. Middle: Native County Natural Preserve in San photography and keying plant sale, Santa Clara Valley Chapter. Bottom: Santa Mateo County were saved from be- groups, publication of our Clara Valley Chapter wildflower show. All photo- coming a golf course thanks to newsletter The Blazing graphs by A. Kumar. chapter members recognizing the Star six times per year, irreplaceable value of this 467-acre graduate student scholarships, and serpentine area. The recent comple- park, which contains nearly 500 numerous invasive removal pro- tion of the multi-year vegetation plant species. Significant habitat jects. We maintain an office in Palo assessment project for Coyote Ridge restoration efforts have continued Alto to further our numerous con- was a major accomplishment for our since the park was preserved in servation activities, including our chapter. 1993. Although a large part of the involvement in the Santa Clara park had been invaded by pests such County HCP/NCCP and our ef- Each chapter summary was authored by one as yellow star-thistle (Centaurea forts to protect the Coyote Ridge or more representatives from that chapter.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 9 CNPS continues to fight to limit the impact of invasive plants on native ecosystems. CNPS Chapters and individuals have funded research on the biological control of Cape ivy (Delairea odorata), seen here invading a riparian corridor in Cambria, San Luis Obispo County. All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted. THE CNPS CONSERVATION PROGRAM by David Chipping

he California Native Plant version (not conservation), and rec- when needed. Where possible we TSociety (CNPS) is “Dedi- reational interests that favor uses of work with like-minded fellow con- cated to the Preservation of our public lands that result in habi- servation organizations. the California Flora.” The goal of tat destruction. Incidentally, not the least of our the CNPS Conservation Program Our conservation goals are first problems lies within the definition is to achieve that preservation to inform decision makers, to ei- of “conservation” which means dif- through as many tools as we can ther completely protect plant re- ferent things to different organiza- bring to bear. This is not an easy sources or else forge palatable com- tions and government agencies. task in view of the recent drift away promises with development inter- Funk and Wagnall’s dictionary de- from a conservation ethic by both ests, to have meaningful conserva- fines conservation as, “the act of the federal and state government, tion laws in place and implemented, keeping or protecting from loss or powerful economic forces focused and to be able to mount a legal injury,” which is the CNPS goal for on development and wildland con- defense of threatened resources our flora, but then continues with a

10 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 troubling second definition: “The preservation of natural resources such as forests . . . for economic or recreational use.” For CNPS, rec- reational and economic uses can be big headaches, and have put us in conflict with some other conserva- tion organizations.

THE CURRENT CONSERVATION PROGRAM STRUCTURE

While just about everything that CNPS does could be called conser- vation, the program as defined with- in our administrative structure has been limited to an unpaid conserva- tion director and two staff. As we go Top: Agricultural conversion of lands to press we have a director and one known to contain San Fernando staff person, but when you consider Valley spineflower, soon after the species was rediscovered after being that most chapters have at least thought extinct. Photograph by D. one conservation position on their Magney. • Right: Los Angeles-Santa boards, this adds up to a lot of people Monica Mountains Chapter has throughout the organization who worked very hard to save Astragalus work directly on conservation issues. brauntonii habitat from develop- The role of the director and staff ment. The plant is found in a nar- row range of soils in Ventura, Los at the state level has been to facili- Angeles, and Orange counties. Of 28 tate conservation actions that can- populations, 12 have been extirpated not be handled solely by an indi- and most of the others are at risk.

SUCCESS ON HEARST RANCH

rroyo de la Cruz is a well A known center of ende- mism. CNPS was concerned that the original conservation ease- ment would allow construction of three homes within this im- portant drainage. After CNPS testimony at public hearings raised this issue, botanists Malcolm McLeod and John Chesnut met with Hearst repre- sentatives and the proposed ease- ment holder, Rangeland Trust, to provide them with vital spe- cies distribution information, and the home sites were moved View eastward along Arroyo de la Cruz. Photographs by D. Walters. • Inset: away from the Arroyo. Arroyo de la Cruz mariposa lily (Calochortus clavatus var. recurvifolius).

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 11 WORKING WITH OTHERS

NPS chapter members in CSan Luis Obispo County joined others in forming an in- dependent non-profit organiza- tion to bring local, state, and federal agencies together. They cooperated to make land pur- chases that protected rare Los Osos coastal dune habitat. The consortium of agencies, “Part- ners for the Conservation of the Los Osos Coastal Dunes,” re- ceived a commendation from the National Atmospheric and Oce- anic Administration and from Morro manzanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) habitat protected as part of the Los Vice President Gore. Osos Greenbelt. • Inset: Morro manzanita.

vidual chapter, and to provide ser- on the rarity status of California means by which these needs can be vices such as advice on handling plant species. More recently the met. specific issues, such as a city’s gen- CNPS Vegetation Program has The CNPS Education and Hor- eral plan revision. In many cases been setting the standard in Cali- ticulture programs also relate to the state program will handle re- fornia for the classification of veg- conservation, by educating the pub- gional concerns such as the routing etation types. Both programs were lic about the state of natural re- of a high-speed rail link through born of conservation needs and are sources and generating an interest the Central Valley and by organiz- dedicated to increasing knowledge in native flora. Sometimes they ing committees to follow and re- of plant species and vegetation types blend with our Conservation Pro- spond to the issue. Committees have without advocacy. gram goals, as in our efforts to get been formed to track changes in This was a sensible position, Caltrans to reject invasive species forestry regulation, management of adopted when CNPS was formed, in their roadside plantings, or re- desert lands, invasive plant control, to ensure that a scientific fact com- cent efforts to produce fire-safe but wetland regulation, specific habitat ing from CNPS was not colored ecologically valuable wildfire buff- conservation plans along with the by bias. By creating the Inventory of ers in southern California. Our In- general regulation surrounding such Rare and Endangered Plants of Cali- vasive Plants Committee and its plans, and many similar issues. fornia and the Manual of California chapter equivalents are frequently Conservation also encompasses Vegetation, CNPS can point with “gardening” in natural habitat by our Legislation Program, which re- pride to products of intense scien- removing pest species. sponds mainly to state issues and to tific peer review that have the The relationships between state regulation changes coming from power of scientific authority. These programs vary depending upon the Sacramento in partnership with our can then be used by the Conserva- issue at hand. Currently all pro- legislative consultant. tion Program as critical references grams meet periodically to explore in arguments regarding the impacts cooperative endeavors in a series of of proposed political actions or de- “cross-pollination” meetings. Such THE RELATIONSHIP velopment projects. Most recently issues as the best plant science re- TO OTHER we have been involved in the defi- sponse to county-wide Habitat PROGRAMS WITHIN nition of areas of critical habitat Conservation Plans—which are in- CNPS for plants listed under the Federal creasingly becoming a dominant de Endangered Species Act, an action facto land-use planning tool for en- The CNPS Rare Plant Program that requires both scientific pro- tire counties and cities—are high has maintained a well-deserved gram inputs on species needs, and on the CNPS agenda list as they reputation as a scientific authority conservation program inputs on the use generalized vegetation types as

12 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 the typical mapping unit, and this is not always the best strategy for the protection of plants. Interestingly enough, it was a conservation need that resulted in the Vegetation Program being cre- ated. During the late 1980s the first regional federal Habitat Conserva- tion Plan (HCP) and state Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP) were being developed in San Diego County. However, they were being designed around veg- etation types (such as coastal sage scrub standing in as habitat for Cali- fornia gnatcatcher) and not indi- vidual plant species. When we real- Above left: The management of mountain meadows by the Forest Service, particularly ized that there were no good scien- regarding summer season grazing, is deficient throughout most California National tific standards for describing veg- Forests. CNPS has been active in pressuring for better monitoring of meadow conditions. etation types, CNPS rushed to cre- Grazed meadows seldom look as healthy as this beauty in Lassen National Park. • Above right: What was once a desert wash with desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) is now ate some good science under a com- reduced to sticks and cow pies. While CNPS believes that grazing may be an appropriate mittee chaired by Dr. Michael management tool in less arid environments, experience shows that grazing in the hot Barbour (for more about the Veg- deserts can seriously damage native plant populations. etation Program, see pages 18-23). a threat to botanical resources in A scientific evaluation of the the East Bay Hills. My own chapter rarity of elements of our flora was HOW THE PROGRAM in San Luis Obispo was formed started by G. Ledyard Stebbins as a EVOLVED shortly afterwards, in part to com- card index file, and was developing bat a proposed massive fuel break at a time when the first legislation From its inception, CNPS has through a rare stand of Sargent cy- to protect plants was being formu- been a conservation organization. press. Both situations requiring tak- lated. The CNPS Conservation CNPS started when the current ing strong public stands against Program was active in getting leg- East Bay chapter organized to fight powerful interests. islation passed to protect plants with

Sheep grazing in the area now included in Carrizo Plain National Monument. The timing and amount of grazing, the choice of animal, and other issues are of concern to CNPS regarding the impacts to native flora, particularly to those native species growing in association with aggressive Eurasian range grasses.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 13 The protection of rare desert plant associations such as those found with California palms (Washingtonia filifera) (left) and elephant tree (Bursera microphylla) (middle) or plants found in rare soil types such as the Ione buckwheat (Eriogonum apricum var. apricum) (right) require special vigilance.

tional network of organizations that sionalize the Conservation Direc- advocates for native plant species tor position as soon as sufficient and community conservation, and funds can be found. We are cur- left us in 2004 to build the Cam- rently conducting a series of con- the California Native Plant Pro- paign as an independent entity. In servation meetings throughout the tection Act (1977) and the far supe- the late 1990s CNPS hired Ileene state aimed at envisioning what we rior California Endangered Species Anderson as Southern California want the program to be, but it is Act (1984), along with the federal Regional Botanist. She addressed a already clear that many chapters Endangered Species Act of 1973, series of Mojave Desert land-use is- want the program to provide more the latter addressing plants for the sues that were overwhelming the consultative help with their local first time. Desert Committee, and has taken conservation activities. The first conservation staff po- over coordinating actions in the four sition within CNPS was created in southern national forests. Ileene has response to a mass revision of fed- been successful in stemming the im- WHERE ARE THE eral forest plans that took place in pacts of limestone mining on car- BATTLE LINES the late 1980s. Jim Jokerst was hired bonate endemic flora in the San Ber- TODAY? to review mountains of documents nardino National Forests. She also and to provide some scientific in- works with the conservation com- The extended debate that pre- sight and guidance from CNPS to mittees of several southern Califor- ceded enactment of the environ- the Forest Service. After Jim’s un- nia CNPS chapters, and has repre- mental protection legislation of the timely death, our concern over the sented CNPS on such diverse issues “green” 1970s took place during a management of federal forest lands as the planned Newhall Ranch in time when the prevailing public at- continued with Mary Meyer, and Ventura County, and the develop- titude was to protect the “com- then with Dr. Emily Roberson. Dr. ment of giant habitat conservation mons” of air and water quality and Roberson provided capable guid- plans in the Inland Empire. She also biological richness. Today, how- ance to CNPS chapters, worked with played a strong role in building ever, we are in a period where the many different conservation com- chapter strength in the region. concept of a “commons” seems to mittees, forged a strong association As you might guess, CNPS has be vanishing, and many behave as if with the Endangered Species Coa- never had enough staff to take care nothing exists but private property. lition, and concentrated on issues of all the threats to California’s flo- Consequently, despite the pres- such as grazing impacts on forest ral heritage that arise on a daily ence of various protection acts, lands and the need for staff bota- basis. However, our paid staff has CNPS is still forced to fight as ac- nists in Forest Service district of- always been of exceptional quality tively as ever to protect native habi- fices. She also started the Native and extremely hardworking. The tat due to an unprecedented level of Plant Protection Campaign, a na- organization also intends to profes- attacks on government regulation

14 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 by politicians and development in- terests. Thus a very large amount of our time is spent fighting direct assaults on the protection of indi- vidual species, and on the other wholesale exemptions regarding the application of the Acts to certain agencies and activities.

THE WAR IN THE WOODS

We have continued to actively engage the US Forest Service on a national and local level, although the work of many decades is rapidly being undone by an administration that seems to be more concerned with resource extraction than con- servation. CNPS is working with several national conservation orga- nizations on issues such as reduced opportunities for public review of forest plans and failure to monitor the impacts of grazing on forest re- sources. A current hot issue is the adoption of illegal off-highway ve- hicle trails into the trails system. We are also trying to get more CNPS volunteers to monitor and comment on the planning processes within their local National Forest or Ranger District as part of local chapter activities. Regarding issues of forests on state and private lands, Greg Jirak recently tried to build an inter- chapter network to review timber harvesting plans and forestry regu- lations, but was unable to find suffi- blanket approval of harvesting pro- cient volunteers or funding. Part of grams that fail to identify the lo- this work is being carried on by Jen cations of rare plant populations Kalt and Vivian Parker, but much through field surveys or sufficiently more help is needed. CNPS finds mitigate damage. This minimal over- fault with the current process, par- sight is partly due to funding reduc- ticularly the lack of meaningful re- tions in state agency budgets, and view by trustee agencies and the thus is an issue for our Legislative

Above right: CNPS continues to monitor and comment on changes in Forest Service management policy, including the misuse of the so-called Healthy Forests Initiative to log more commercial lumber rather than increase fire safety around communities. Such policies are also being instituted within Sequoia National Monument and have been protested by the California Attorney General. • Right: The beautiful harlequin lupine (Lupinus stiversii) is one of many species threatened by massive development pressures in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 15 Program. CNPS has also been work- Act itself and in the all-important ing with the California Oak Foun- CEQA Guidelines by which the Act dation on several issues, including is implemented. proposed massive removals of oaks CNPS maintains a Legislative in the Sierra foothills and proposed Consultant, Vern Goehring, who is massive herbicide applications to backed by a Legislative Committee eliminate native flora in favor of tim- that waxes and wanes in size. We ber plantations. are trying to beef up our letter writ- ing output throughout our mem- bership concerning legislation, and DESERTS welcome people who could write a letter or two each month as the Our greatest problem seems to need arises in support of CNPS po- be the growing sympathy shown to sitions. Go to the CNPS web site to extractive industries and to active join our “alert list,” or contact your recreation users of the desert at the chapter’s conservation chair. expense of desert habitat. An ongo- “Working” the legislature can be ing battle continues in the protec- like stepping on eggshells, and some- tion of plants from off-highway ve- times puts CNPS—with its species- hicles in the Algodones Dunes. Steve centered philosophy—at odds with Hartman is maintaining a watch on other green organizations that favor invasive plants, particularly some recreation, high-speed rail lines, and nasty mustards that are invading generic multi-use open space. Joshua Tree National Park. Cindy While the legislation end of Burrascano and the San Diego things is taken care of by the state Chapter continue to monitor ac- CNPS Conservation Program, most tivities in Anza-Borrego State Park. of the battles are fought by chapters on individual projects. This is an URBAN PLANNING ongoing, never-ending activity that requires amazing dedication on the AND THE part of volunteers in reading volu- CALIFORNIA minous environmental impact re- ENVIRONMENTAL ports, writing letters, testifying at QUALITY ACT long and often boring meetings, and sometimes asking help from other Soon after CNPS was formed, chapters and the state. Some people the California Environmental such as Corky Matthews of the Quality Act (CEQA) of 1970 be- Monterey Bay Chapter have been came the legislation that has af- doing this great service for decades. fected plant conservation on pri- It is in the realm of abuses of vate and state lands like no other. It CEQA and poor mitigation of im- was supported strongly early on by pacts to native flora that CNPS most the CNPS Legislative Committee, often finds itself in court, where and remains an area of great con- most issues are resolved in settle- cern. Every year the conservation ment. I regret to report that a num- community and the anti-regulation ber of California’s counties and cit- forces clash on minor and major ies attempt to circumvent the spirit changes to language, both in the of CEQA at every turn. As these

Top: A fenced exclosure on the Algodones Dunes shows what might have been there in the absence of the off-highway vehicles that are present on all sides of the exclosure. CNPS has been protesting the degree to which agencies fail to protect floral resources in the dunes. • Middle: A highway delineates protected and unprotected habitat in the Algodones Dunes. CNPS is working to maximize protection of the dune flora from off- highway vehicles. • Bottom: After much pressure on agencies, the off-highway vehicle destruction above Afton Canyon in the Mojave Desert has been halted.

16 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 Martis Valley, adjacent to Truckee, has wetlands and sagebrush steppe that are threatened by changes in the Placer County General Plan. Such large scale developments can overwhelm the conservation resources of our smaller chapters. often coincide with an unsympa- low each of these plans, especially A small but determined committee thetic local judiciary and small chap- since they sometimes encompass an generates cooperative action with ters with no volunteers to face up to entire county, are used to decide the California Invasive Plant Coun- the developers, there are still lots of which areas will be developed or cil and with the state’s network of holes in our program. conserved, and generally replace Weed Management Areas. Most Tangled with CEQA is the con- land-use review under CEQA once weed control programs operate at stantly evolving framework of Gen- they are in place. In many cases plant the chapter level, but state and fed- eral Plans, Specific Plans, and Land- conservation is given only passing eral policy issues are addressed by Use Ordinances that govern future consideration in plans driven by the the state Conservation Committee. land use. In the coming years, protection of animal species. A current “hot button” issue re- CNPS will be working on produc- One such issue is the conserva- garding invasive plants is the role of ing more tools for chapter mem- tion of vernal pools within the en- herbicides in weed control. bers to help them better understand tire Central Valley. Carol Witham and influence this process. has taken a leadership role on these wetland issues, but the current US A FINAL WORD Fish and Wildlife Service adminis- THE HABITAT tration appears to place economic I will be stepping down shortly CONSERVATION interests far higher than those of as conservation director, although I PLAN PROCESS the species it is meant to protect. will remain active in the program. We would welcome more legal ex- Having been in the position since Perhaps the greatest concern of perts on wetland protection, endan- 1997, it is now time to step aside. It CNPS is the regional conservation gered species protection, and the has been a great experience, and I plans that are often countywide or legal implications of flawed regional will never cease to be amazed at the larger. These frequently disregard planning efforts. dedication shown and the thousands science, contain insufficient research of hours given by our volunteers. on the distribution of species, and They work for the most noble of are unresponsive to changes in fu- ECOSYSTEM causes. ture conditions. Above all, mitiga- INTEGRITY tion in these plans is frequently poor David Chipping, 1530 Bayview Heights and based on flawed feasibility esti- Another statewide issue con- Drive, Los Osos, CA 93405. dchippin@ mates. It is critical that CNPS fol- cerns the control of invasive plants. calpoly.edu

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 17 Plant communities such as Engelmann oak woodlands are being documented and defined by CNPS staff and other biologists for scientific and conservation purposes. Photograph by J. Evens. CNPS VEGETATION PROGRAM: A FRESH LOOK BACK AND A NEW LOOK FORWARD by Todd Keeler-Wolf and Julie M. Evens

he inception of the CNPS rences at a much broader scale than nization at that time. They wrote a TVegetation Program oc- the individual species, taking into white paper in which they spelled curred 15 years ago when a account the set of plant species that out the following tenets of plant select team of CNPS visionaries got occur together in an area along with conservation: together to advance a new model wildlife that goes with the plants. In for conserving the state’s native addition, this new approach allows • We realize that in order to con- plants through plant communities. biologists to identify the most im- serve species it is most effective Unlike the 11th hour species-by- portant sites for conserving our to conserve the habitat around species approach that was the stan- nation’s biodiversity, including them. dard, but was frustrating to all those those that contain rare species oc- • The most realistic way to con- involved in conservation work, this currences as well as those that rep- serve habitat is to translate it new approach advocated for con- resent the many ecological regions into discrete plant communities serving the larger habitat in which in the state. that can be clearly identified and rare and endangered species were Thus, the CNPS Long-Term thus quantified. found. This community-based ap- Planning Committee identified • Beyond the individual plants proach allows biologists to recog- “plant communities” as the biggest within these communities, there nize and document plant occur- neglected opportunity in the orga- are also other values that will be

18 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 conserved when these entities munities into vegetation types that 1995), involves the collection of are protected, including the can be recognized easily by differ- valuable data on a plant commu- communities themselves and the ent biologists and that could be nity in order to define and inven- wildlife that depends on them. identified systematically for conser- tory it quantitatively. The data col- • Some plant communities are, vation purposes. lected include floristic, environ- in and of themselves, rare or mental, and site information. The threatened and should be pro- data records are then analyzed tected as a means of preserving DATA COLLECTION quantitatively by ecologists using a portion of our natural floristic PROCEDURE multivariate statistics to develop heritage. clear definitions of the vegetation • Common as well as rare com- By the spring of 1992, the com- assemblages comprising these com- munities need to be protected mittee set forth a standard sam- munities and how they differ from and properly managed, with an pling protocol that was effective similar communities. understanding that the common yet simple enough to be used by This procedure was first used to types precede legal protection any interested professional or ama- quantify the definitions and extent for the rare. teur who knew how to identify of several of the rarest and most • Laws should be enacted to con- plants. The protocol, the CNPS threatened vegetation types in the serve the communities them- Point Intercept Sampling Tech- state, as identified by the California selves. nique (see Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf Natural Diversity Database’s Natu- • The most effective way to con- serve communities is to develop a means to decisively identify Table 1. Partial list of surveys done per region or habitat over the past them and catalog their distribu- 15 years using the point intercept, relevé, or rapid assessment methods tions, such as through classifi- for purposes of plant community identification. cations of their existence and maps of their extent. Transect Location Point Relevé Rapid Out of those basic ideas sprang Intercept Assessment the CNPS Plant Communities Committee in 1991. The team re- North and Central Coast Ranges 82 712 766 quested that Dr. Michael Barbour, (including serpentine) one of the foremost plant ecolo- Mojave Desert 5 1,510 3,767 gists in the nation and a long-term Colorado Desert (including 4 1,318 30 advocate of native plants and veg- Anza-Borrego, Northern & Eastern etation conservation, serve as the Colorado, and Joshua Tree) first chair of the new committee. Dr. Barbour developed a veri- Great Basin Desert 7 548 0 table who’s who of plant ecologists, Desert Transition (including 181 250 0 vegetation experts, and chapter alluvial fan scrub and Tehachapi members to volunteer as members scrublands) of the committee. These included members of academia, scientists Sierra Nevada (including foothills 21 4,206 3,296 from state and federal agencies, ex- and montane) perienced members of the ecologi- Valley habitats (including sink scrub, 127 150 0 cal consulting community, and the valley oak, and sycamore) visionary CNPS members who started the whole process (Keeler- South Coast and Ranges (including 126 203 6,211 Wolf 1993; Hillyard 1999). coastal sage scrub and chaparral) Initially, the committee decided Salt Marshes (including coastal 135 199 220 to focus on two main goals: 1) de- marshes and Suisun Marsh) veloping a data collection proce- Grasslands (including vernal pools 220 1,791 0 dure for inventorying and protect- and coastal terrace prairie) ing rare and threatened plant com- munities, and 2) developing an ef- Subtotal per Method 908 10,887 14,290 fective system to classify plant com-

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 19 ral Communities Program. These rare riparian woodland that mainly tion of A Manual of California Veg- included Sycamore Alluvial Wood- encompasses the intermittent etation (Sawyer and Keeler-Wolf land (Keeler-Wolf et al. 1994), creeks surrounding the southern 1995) was released, and Todd Riversidian Alluvial Fan Sage Scrub half of the Central Valley. The defi- Keeler-Wolf took the chair posi- (Barbour and Wirka 1997), and nition and mapping of the indi- tion of the Plant Communities Southern Maritime Chaparral vidual sites where this plant com- Committee. (Hogan et al. 1996). More than 900 munity is located, along with the The development of the classi- data transects were collected over conservation priority ranking of fication system was vetted and re- the course of five years, especially these sites, has led to the protec- viewed, in part, by means of a series by chapter members in various eco- tion of the highest quality locations of symposia held through the Ameri- logical regions. These have fur- of these woodlands at Los Baños can Academy for the Advancement thered our understanding of many Creek and Orestimba Creek. Fur- of Science (AAAS). The first of these plant communities in the state (see ther, this work has alleviated the occurred in 1993 on the campus of Table 1 on page 19). imminent threat of inundation by the University of California, Santa These definitions were imme- proposed off-site storage or flood Barbara, where speakers discussed diately used in certain cases involv- control dams. the methods of quantitative analysis ing regulatory measures to defend to be used in the classification and the validity of these plant commu- the broader over-arching rationale nities, and to support solutions of VEGETATION for developing a conservation-based either strict mitigation or avoid- CLASSIFICATION classification of plant communities ance of any disturbance to these AND MAPPING (Barbour 1995). natural areas. A case in point is the A second symposium was held Sycamore Alluvial Woodland, a While these projects on rare in early 1996, immediately follow- plant community sampling and de- ing the release of the book. In this Sycamore alluvial woodlands have been fining were going on, other mem- symposium, participants discussed sampled systematically across California bers of the Plant Communities the successes and shortcomings to better describe the variation and Committee were developing a new of the contents of the book and distribution of these rare riparian wood- lands. Photograph by T. Keeler-Wolf. compendium of all known vegeta- the classification, along with the tion and plant communities in the system’s future development and state—one based on surveys of the use (Keeler-Wolf and Barbour quantitative literature, quantitative 1997). data, and expert opinion. This A Manual of California Vegeta- project started with the best exist- tion (MCV) quickly became re- ing classification of natural com- garded as the new state standard munities in the state (Holland 1986) for vegetation classification. How- and attempted to translate these ever, experts also recognized that it communities into more floristic and was far from complete. Almost as standard terms. This new basis for soon as it was published, informa- inventory was being done in a sys- tion began pouring in from the aca- tematic and scientific classification, demic, agency, and consulting com- so that the existence of the plant munities about new vegetation communities could be defended in types that had yet to be defined. site-specific conservation or man- This was actually a positive devel- agement plans and within laws such opment, for it contributed to the as the California Environmental collection of valuable quantitative Quality Act. data and expert information needed In the fall of 1994, the commit- before new plant communities tee completed the first draft of this could be defined in the MCV. The classification system, which in- publication is regarded as a work- cluded detailed descriptions of the in-progress that will need to be con- known plant communities. It was tinually refined and updated as new extensively reviewed by members information becomes available on of the committee and outside ex- plant communities. perts, and CNPS agreed to publish In 1996, only a few months fol- it. In the fall of 1995, the first edi- lowing its publication, new agency

20 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 the rapid assessment methods. gathered on vegetation since the These methods have been tested first edition. The original authors, and refined during various sampling John Sawyer and Todd Keeler- projects in the state, including the Wolf, have envisioned a more de- Northern and Eastern Colorado tailed discussion of the distribution Desert and Point Reyes National of vegetation, and the relationships Seashore projects. Additional pro- between the vegetation alliances and jects are using the relevé method to the ecological situations that lead catalog the diversity of plant asso- to their existence. This has included ciations in uniquely native habitats disturbance information with sup- of California, such as vernal pools port from the Federal Joint Fire from San Diego County to Modoc Sciences Council in a series of five and Mendocino counties (Robert state-wide workshops held between Holland, pers. comm.). 2000 and 2002. The workshops These types of projects also have brought together experts in vegeta- been occurring simultaneously tion and fire ecology to assist in throughout much of the nation. The revising the descriptions for the sec- result has been a renewed national ond edition. focus on vegetation classification The final manuscript of the sec- Figure 1. In the past ten years, fine-scale (Grossman et al. 1998), culminating ond edition is slated to be published mapping projects have codified specific in the ratification of the National in late 2006. It will treat twice as locations of many vegetation types at the Vegetation Classification System many vegetation alliances (previ- alliance and association levels. Map (NVCS) by the Federal Geographic ously called “series”) as the first edi- produced by the California Department of Fish & Game. A color version of this Data Center. In many ways, these tion. It also will incorporate new map can be seen at www.cnps.org/images/ national efforts have mirrored what ecological information on fire and figure3.jpg. CNPS and other organizations have other disturbance ecology, distri- been doing in California. bution maps, introductory informa- projects began in California, which In 1998, the CNPS Vegetation tion on the uses of vegetation for evolved into a combined effort of Committee initiated plans to de- conservation, and an extensive pho- sampling, classification, and map- velop a second edition of MCV to tographic catalog of the vegetation ping the vegetation. These com- incorporate all new information types in the state. bined, comprehensive efforts have been implemented for purposes of Vernal pools are being sampled across the state to identify the unique floristic resource management in many of assemblages that occur in these habitats, such as this location in Sacramento County. the largest federal and state natural Photograph by J. Cox. areas in the state. Further, these projects used the MCV system as the primary basis for vegetation clas- sification and mapping. Specific lo- cations of many vegetation types have been codified in associated sampling and mapping projects at fine-scale alliance and association levels (see Figure 1). In these and other projects that have occurred since then, we have realized the great value of combin- ing baseline sampling, classification, and mapping to accurately define and adequately depict vegetation. We also have refined the sampling methods over a period of several years, and the Vegetation Program has now adopted two additional standard protocols: the relevé and

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 21 VEGETATION hands of Jeanne Wirka, a recent tem and to coordinate vegetation PROGRAM STAFF graduate of the UC Davis masters workshops and projects for chap- program in the Graduate Group in ters and the public. During the first eight years of Ecology. In her year with the pro- Since the spring of 2001 and its existence, the Plant Communi- gram, Jeanne developed a series of continuing to the present, Julie has ties Committee operated as a sepa- tables relating vegetation and spe- conducted chapter workshops on rate committee within CNPS that cies composition to specific plant vegetation sampling methods. Most was independent of any particular life history, fire, and disturbance workshops were first offered to program. However, in 1999 CNPS traits. chapters located in areas that con- officially created a Vegetation Pro- In 2000, two part-time staff took tained habitats lacking detailed veg- gram with the hiring of staff. The Jeanne’s place. Sau San was hired etation descriptions. For example, first task was to hire a part-time to continue refining the MCV in- we began sampling in poorly-de- vegetation assistant to help integrate formation tables, and to help coor- scribed serpentine habitats, such as information from the MCV work- dinate and organize three of the Coyote Ridge with the Santa Clara shops and develop formal descrip- workshops for the integration of Valley Chapter. tions for new vegetation types. new MCV information. She also By the fall of 2001, the program This task first fell to the able worked diligently on developing de- also spearheaded training sessions scriptions for many new for the public, in which the first Public training sessions are being taught jointly by plant associations that participants were taught the new the California Native Plant Society and Department arose from the classifi- rapid assessment method in the Si- of Fish and Game. Participants of the first vegetation cation work in several of erra Nevada amongst the aspen, workshop in the Sierra Nevada in 2001 learn the ins and outs of sampling vegetation for classification and the California national conifer, and meadow stands. For mapping purposes. Photograph by J. Evens. parks, including Point the past three years, the program Reyes, Golden Gate has facilitated efforts to have our Recreation Area, Joshua standard sampling and classification Tree, and Yosemite. system used by hundreds of chapter Mehrey Vaghti also was members, agency personnel, con- hired in 2000 by CNPS sulting biologists, and the like. to act as its first tempo- The program has also initiated rary field vegetation pilot projects in ecological regions ecologist. She worked or counties to establish a vegeta- specifically on complet- tion type model of categorizing ing the Suisun Marsh habitats floristically and catalogu- Vegetation project, a de- ing existing vegetation in maps. tailed classification and CNPS has begun model projects mapping project at the in western Riverside County, cen- association level. tral San Diego County, western San By the end of 2000, Benito County, and now in the the Vegetation Program Sierra Nevada foothills to test these had attained a high de- approaches. We have hired addi- gree of credibility, and tional full-time and part-time veg- the Chapter Council etation staff through grants or made the decision at its contracts for these pilot projects, December state board including Anne Klein and Jeanne meeting to hire a perma- Taylor. nent full-time vegetation ecologist for an initial term of two years. Julie THE VEGETATION Evens was hired in 2001, TYPE MODEL a recent graduate of the Humboldt State Univer- In practice, how does this new sity masters program. vegetation model work? In each re- Primary roles were to co- gion, we collect surveys of plant ordinate efforts in the patterns that recur at multiple loca- state classification sys- tions. We identify the plant species

22 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 and their abundance values in the surveys along with site environmen- tal factors, and the information is entered into computer databases. Then we analyze relationships of species occurrences to identify and describe repeated plant associations across the landscape. This informa- tion provides the scientific rigor to support delineation of vegetation in detailed maps. The comprehen- sive vegetation data also support modeling efforts at various scales, including modeling for wildlife and plant species, habitat monitoring, fire effects, land conservation and easements, mitigation, restoration, and many other purposes. Our goal is to continue estab- lishing the vegetation type model as the standard practice for habitat The California Native Plant Society supports many efforts in sampling and mapping assessment, monitoring, and con- vegetation with staff and volunteers involved, such as in the Sierra Nevada foothills. servation purposes. By accurately Photograph by J. Taylor. depicting plant communities in a detailed scientific approach, we can prove conservation decisions as all www.natureserve.org/publications/ provide synergism in conservation plant communities are becoming library.jsp. efforts to represent and conserve identified and represented. Hillyard, D. 1999. A short history of biodiversity at both the species and CNPS Vegetation Committee and ecosystem levels. Thus, we con- plans for the future. Fremontia 27:7– tinue to seek new opportunities and REFERENCES 11. Hogan, D., J. Sawyer, and C. Saunders. support for detailed mapping of 1996. Southern maritime chaparral. Barbour, M. 1995. The story behind vegetation across the state, includ- Fremontia 24:3–7. the Manual of California Vegetation. ing a comprehensive map at the Keeler-Wolf, T. 1993. Conserving Fremontia 23:19–22. alliance and association levels. We California’s rare plant communities. Barbour, M.G. and J. Wirka. 1997. expect to complete future editions Fremontia 22:14–22. Alluvial scrub vegetation in South- of A Manual of California Vegeta- Keeler-Wolf, T., C. Roye, and K. ern California: A case study using tion based on this new vegetation Lewis. 1994. The definition and dis- the vegetation classification of the tribution of Central California sy- model, with sampling and classifi- California Native Plant Society. camore alluvial woodland. Unpub- cation progressing concurrently Contract #FG5638-R-5, US Fish lished report on file at the Califor- with mapping. and Wildlife Service Section 6 Pro- We also think further supple- nia Department of Fish and Game. gram. Unpublished report on file California Natural Diversity Data- ments and guidebooks will be use- at the California Department of base, Sacramento, CA. ful to identify local vegetation types Fish and Game. California Natural Keeler-Wolf, T. and M.G. Barbour. and rare plant assemblages, and vari- Diversity Database, Sacramento, 1997. Conservation and classifica- ous CNPS chapters are taking on CA. tion of vegetation in California: A projects to identify regional varia- Evens, J.M. 2000. Vegetation in wa- symposium. Fremontia 25:17–27. tion. In these efforts, we want to tercourses of the eastern Mojave Sawyer, J.O. and T. Keeler-Wolf. facilitate volunteer and public par- Desert. Fremontia 29:26–35. 1995. A Manual of California Vegeta- Grossman, D.H. et al. 1998. Interna- ticipation in training and implemen- tion. California Native Plant Soci- tional classification of ecological ety, Sacramento, CA. tation of relevé and rapid assess- communities: Te rrestrial vegetation of ment sampling. These plans will the United States. Volume I. The Na- support better statewide recogni- tional Vegetation Classification Sys- Todd Keeler-Wolf, 1416 9th St., 12th Floor, tion of the plant communities that tem: Development, Status, and Appli- Sacramento, CA 95814. [email protected]. occur in California’s diverse eco- cations. The Nature Conservancy, gov; Julie M. Evens, 2707 K St., Suite 1, logical regions, and they will im- Arlington, VA. Available at: http:// Sacramento, CA 95816. [email protected]

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 23 The Vine Hill Preserve in Sonoma County. Photograph by D. Graber. THE CONSERVATION OF TWO SONOMA COUNTY MANZANITAS by Greg Wahlert and Phil Van Soelen

Editor’s Note: Portions of this article the 18 species and varieties of Arc- about the Vine Hill manzanita were tostaphylos found in Sonoma County previously published in an article by has long attracted the attention of Van Soelen in Pacific Horticulture botanists. (2004) and are used with permission Four species of manzanitas are by the publisher. endemic to Sonoma County: Vine Hill manzanita (Arctostaphylos den- ‘‘ rom the era of collaboration siflora), Rincon manzanita (Arcto- Fbetween Milo S. Baker and staphylos stanfordiana ssp. decumbens), Alice Eastwood, Sonoma Baker’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos County has been established as a bakeri ssp. bakeri), and The Cedars center of endemism for Arctosta- manzanita (Arctostaphylos bakeri ssp. phylos” (Wells 2000). Indeed, the sublaevis). All four manzanitas are diversity, endemism, and beauty of listed by the California Native Plant

Vine Hill manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora). Photograph by D. Graber.

24 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 Society (CNPS) as rare, threatened, or endangered. Baker’s manzanita and Vine Hill manzanita are listed by the California Department of Fish and Game as Rare and Endan- gered, respectively. For over 20 years, CNPS Milo Baker Chapter volunteers and pre- serve stewards have worked hard to conserve the Vine Hill manza- nita and the Rincon manzanita. Each has its own small preserve that the chapter actively manages. The Vine Hill Preserve, located near Forestville, is owned outright by CNPS. At the Southridge Preserve on Rincon Ridge in Santa Rosa, the chapter was granted a conservation easement “for the protection and conservation of certain rare and en- dangered plant species.” Over the The lower portion of the Vine Hill Preserve showing plantings of propagated Vine years, chapter volunteers have mon- Hill manzanita (Arctostaphylos densiflora). All photographs by G. Wahlert unless other- itored these preserves, removed wise noted. invasive plants, propagated and planted out the rare manzanitas, West’ manzanita; see Van Soelen The road’s north-facing flank was a developed management strategies, (2004) for an interesting account of long sand slope, and the plants and educated local homeowners. this cultivar). However, no one has tumbled down it in blooming pro- Continued vigilance by Milo Baker found those plants, or any other fusion, ending only at the cultivated Chapter preserve stewards and vol- Vine Hill manzanitas growing out- margin of a vineyard a hundred feet unteers will be required to ensure side of the immediate vicinity of below. The last remnant of the the survival of these beautiful plants the preserve in recent decades. Sonoma Barren was a very lusty and the habitats they grow in. James Roof, former director of remnant indeed.” (Roof 1972a). the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic This reference to what is re- Garden in Berkeley, was much taken ferred to by locals as the “Sonoma THE VINE HILL by the beauty of Arctostaphylos den- Barren” reflects Roof’s observation MANZANITA siflora and writes in flowery prose that the habitat of the Vine Hill of his first visit to the location of manzanita shares many similarities When Santa Rosa Junior Col- this taxon’s first collection (type lo- with that of the pygmy forest bar- lege botanist Milo Baker first de- cality): rens of coastal Sonoma and Men- scribed the Vine Hill manzanita in “My first view was on a winter docino counties. The sandy clay 1932, he stated that it was “prob- day in 1940. The manzanitas were soils of Vine Hill are pale yellow to ably a relict in a region where natu- in rose-colored bloom, and comple- nearly white and are distinctly acid. ral vegetation is fast disappearing menting this were the sky-blue flow- The Vine Hill manzanita often through an intensive system of ag- ers of Ceanothus foliosus var. vineatus. grows widely spaced with moss and riculture” (Baker 1932). By that Most of the Ceanothus though, was lichens growing on the ground be- time, according to Baker, the Vine in bud, the red flower-bracts blend- tween plants, much as Arctostaphy- Hill manzanita had been reduced in ing enchantingly with the blue flow- los nummularia grows in the Men- population to about 100 individuals ers. Low shrubs both, in places the docino Pygmy Barrens. At least two along a narrow strip of Vine Hill two species sprawled into one an- other species growing in associa- School Road, and about six plants other, making a mix of colors in the tion with A. densiflora link it with on nearby Vine Hill Road. There sunlight that was too gorgeous to the Pygmy Barrens: bear grass (Xe- may have been a single individual, take. The warm air hummed with rophyllum tenax) and salal (Gault- or a very small population, in the legions of bees at bumble. The road- heria shallon). Freestone area eight miles to the side strip was then about fifteen feet In James Roof’s subsequent vis- southwest (the locality of the ‘James wide and several hundred feet long. its to the Vine Hill School Road he

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 25 also been observed for Rincon man- zanita on Rincon Ridge in Santa Rosa. Neither manzanita sprouts from a burl or lignotuber, but in- stead relies on seeds cached in the soil seed bank to germinate after fire or disturbance. On his first visit to Vine Hill, Roof observed, “The sand between the plants was open, clean, and nearly weed-free,” indicating plants that had germinated in cleared soil. In his species description, Baker wrote: “Since these road banks are apparently not very old, one won- ders where this species maintained itself before the present banks were graded” (1932). Perhaps burning by Native Americans or the lack of fire suppression maintained the neces- sary ecological and physiological Above: A chaparral “barrens” on Rincon conditions for the Vine Hill man- Ridge. • Left: Rincon manzanita (Arcto- staphylos stanfordiana ssp. decumbens) and zanita to regenerate. Rincon ceanothus (Ceanothus confusus) are usually found growing together. THE VINE HILL World War II it was bladed by bull- PRESERVE dozer at least once. A protest from the Santa Rosa Junior College and After visiting the Vine Hill growing neighborhood awareness of School Road site in 1971 and not- the rare manzanita slowed the de- ing a modest recovery of Arctosta- struction somewhat. Subsequently, phylos densiflora (45 plants), Jim Roof the driveways of two newly con- devoted the May 1972 issue of The structed country homes wiped out Four Seasons to the history, evolu- witnessed numerous assaults to the another portion of the colony, and tion, and biology of the Vine Hill roadside flora. He writes of a visit in 1957 the farmer owning the land manzanita. In that issue, he made an in 1947: “Though the manzanitas removed a wide swath. All of this so eloquent plea for the permanent were in full bloom, there were no negatively affected the population preservation of the Vine Hill man- bees working the shrubs for honey. of Vine Hill manzanita that by 1963, The strip had overnight become an Roof notes that there were only Yard waste smothering Rincon ceanothus ecological disaster area. Sonoma “two shrubs left and one not a good (Ceanothus confusus). County road crews had dripped used one.” Returning in 1967 Roof was crankcase oil over the road margin “agreeably astonished to discover 14 in an experimental program de- two- and three-year-old shrubs on signed to employ used oil as a ‘con- the slope that, a long time back, had trol for roadside weeds and brush’. been so much disturbed” (1972a). The oiling had been done the day This regeneration occurred on the before; the black sludge still oozed bare soil exposed by the 1957 inci- from some of the rose and blue flow- dent, ten years earlier. ers. No savages would have been so It appears that, to a point, Arc- heedless of beauty; it was an act of tostaphylos densiflora thrived on the morons” (1972a). denuded roadside and hill. Scrap- Work crews of the WPA at one ing by heavy machinery probably point completely denuded this same scarified dormant seeds lying in the roadside of vegetation and after soil seed bank. This response has

26 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 zanita through the creation of a pre- shaped center and a broad skirt of siderably more threatened, and they serve. It was this act that led to the prostrate growth. may represent the reintroduction purchase of the property by The Since the early 1990s, Milo of genetic material previously lost Nature Conservancy and the deed- Baker Chapter member Jay at the preserve. They were sub- ing of the property to CNPS for the Pedersen has been preserve stew- sequently planted at the preserve creation of the Vine Hill Preserve, ard at Vine Hill. He has organized where they have thrived. This is home to the last remaining popula- chapter volunteers in the ongoing one of the few times that rare plants tion of Arctostaphylos densiflora. removal of coast live oak (Quercus from a living botanical collection Roof made several suggestions agrifolia) and Douglas-fir (Pseudo- have been successfully repatriated. for its management, including the tsuga menziesii) to maintain the bar- It is somewhat ironic that one introduction of the very rare local rens and to prevent the conversion of the most endangered species of endemic annual Clarkia imbricata, a of the site into a mixed-evergreen Arctostaphylos, the Vine Hill man- federally listed species. Following forest. Total eradication of Spanish zanita, has given rise to so many his suggestion, members of the Milo broom (Spartium junceum) has al- useful and adaptable progeny. That Baker Chapter introduced the rare most been achieved. The propaga- Arctostaphylos densiflora is an adapt- clarkia to the preserve. This was tion and planting of cutting-grown able plant is not fully true: it is done in the lower portion, an area young Vine Hill manzanitas is an the hybrids that are unusually dis- at the time dominated by weedy ongoing effort. ease resistant, garden tolerant, and non-native grasses and old grape- In the early 1990s Bart O’Brien, widely adaptable. Plants of A. vines, where it has persisted and Director of Horticulture at Rancho densiflora are healthiest when grow- thrived despite competition with Santa Ana Botanic Garden, deliv- ing in their native sandy soils of exotics. Also occurring on the pre- ered to Van Soelen several plants of the Sebastopol-Forestville area and serve is the Vine Hill ceanothus, Arctostaphylos densiflora propagated often “sulk” elsewhere. Popular Ceanothus foliosus var. vineatus. from the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic clones and hybrid cultivars derived CNPS lists the Vine Hill ceano- Garden living collection. The par- from Arctostaphylos densiflora in- thus as rare, but it is not yet listed ent plants were the result of cut- clude A. densiflora ‘James West’, by state or federal agencies. Until tings taken at Vine Hill decades A. ‘Howard McMinn’, A. ‘Senti- very recently, it was thought that earlier when the species was con- nel’ and A. ‘Harmony’ (a detailed the range of the Vine Hill ceano- thus was entirely within the bounds Propagated plants of Rincon manzanita (Arctostaphylos stanfordiana ssp. decumbens) of the preserve. However, in Janu- and Rincon ceanothus (Ceanothus confusus) with deer cages at the Southridge Preserve. ary of 2004, Van Soelen discov- ered a new population nearby in Sebastopol. In 1982, acting as preserve stew- ard, Van Soelen took cuttings from many individuals of A. densiflora on the preserve, rooted them at Cali- fornia Flora Nursery where he is co-owner, and planted them out from gallon containers the follow- ing winter. Mounds remaining from grape cultivation were used to plant on and plantings were typically made in November or December after soaking rains. The new plant- ings sometimes received a little wa- tering at planting time, but never again. Since the lower portion of the preserve has good sun expo- sure and has been free of manza- nita pathogens, the plantings have thrived. Currently some of those early plantings, now 20 years old, are 15 feet across with a lovely bell-

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 27 account of the various cultivars is Vine Hill and Rincon Ridge areas tus of Rincon manzanita to the name given by Van Soelen 2004). near Santa Rosa, Sonoma Co., this that is now generally accepted: A. species becomes a much depressed stanfordiana ssp. decumbens (1992). shrub, often cascading over road Regardless in which infraspecific THE RINCON banks” (Adams 1940). rank this manzanita is recognized, MANZANITA Apparently, both botanists failed it is a unique entity with a very to differentiate the yet-to-be-de- limited distribution. The Rincon manzanita (Arcto- scribed Rincon manzanita from the Other populations of this man- staphylos stanfordiana ssp. decumbens) Vine Hill manzanita. In 1980, Roof zanita have been reported from is another Sonoma County endemic states, “. . . there is still an odd, erect the Bradford Mountain area, that the Milo Baker Chapter active- form of A. stanfordiana near the Vine above Dry Creek Valley west of ly manages for conservation. The Hill School, despite early-day re- Healdsburg. However, these plants first mention of this subspecies of ports that the species never occurred are best described as aberrant, semi- A. stanfordiana was in 1939 when there.” However, substantial popu- spreading individuals of the erect McMinn writes, “In Sonoma County lations of the upright A. stanfordiana A. stanfordiana ssp. stanfordiana in the Rincon Ridge and Vine Hill ssp. stanfordiana and the sprawling (Wahlert, personal observation; districts this species often becomes A. stanfordiana ssp. decumbens do not Roof 1972b). In other locations much reduced in size and often has a presently occur in the immediate where A. stanfordiana ssp. stanford- sprawling habit” (McMinn 1939). area of the Vine Hill Preserve. iana occurs, it is common to see One year later, in his treatment of Roof originally described Rin- low-growing, stunted individuals on the genus, Adams writes, “In the con manzanita as a variety of the road cuts, firebreaks, and extreme nominate species A. stanfordiana var. rocky soils mixed in with erect repens (Roof 1972b). In 1988, Wells shrubs. Such mixed populations can demoted it to A. stanfordiana forma also be found in Lake County near decumbens, a name which was re- Lake Pillsbury and French Ridge jected by the editors of The Jepson just north of Upper Lake in the Manual (Wells 1988). A few years Mendocino National Forest. At an later, Wells again changed the sta- old quarry at Buzzard Peak, Sonoma County, A. stanfordiana ssp. stan- Left: The median strip of Fountain- fordiana has been observed in the grove Parkway landscaped with Rincon same stunted condition, rooting at manzanita (Arctostaphylos stanfordiana the nodes where branches come into ssp. decumbens) and Rincon ceanothus (Ceanothus confusus). • Below: Native contact with the rocky substrate. vegetation, including Rincon ceanothus, However, it is on Rincon Ridge in was scraped away to bare soil at the northeast Santa Rosa that the Rin- Southridge Preserve. con manzanita reaches its best de- velopment. On the red rhyolite soils on top of the ridge, Rincon manzanita is found in an open, dwarfed chapar- ral also reminiscent of a barrens. This low-growing chaparral is domi- nated by Rincon manzanita, Rincon ceanothus (Ceanothus confusus), and wavy-leaved ceanothus (C. foliosus). Other associates found on the mar- gins of these “chaparral barrens” include Cushing’s manzanita (A. glandulosa forma cushingiana), com- mon manzanita (A. manzanita), coy- ote brush (Baccharis pilularis), cha- mise (Adenostoma fasciculata), and interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii var. frutescens). Rincon Ridge has long been

28 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 known for its unique flora. It is the natives like Douglas-fir and coyote spared, a large portion of the pre- type locality for Rincon manzanita, brush continue to threaten the rare serve was scraped to bare soil with Rincon ceanothus, and Sonoma plants at Southridge Preserve. heavy machinery, leaving it vul- manzanita. Sadly though, most of Chapter volunteers have sought nerable to erosion and invasion by the natural vegetation, rare plants, to mitigate these disturbances exotics. The management of the and wildlife of Rincon Ridge has through yearly work parties and Southridge Preserve has always been eradicated to make room for regular monitoring by the chapter been accompanied by a sense of office parks and hundreds of new preserve steward. Numerous at- frustration in the face of disturbance houses. tempts have been made to educate by contractors and indifference of local homeowners about the unique local homeowners. land around their homes and to fos- Since the preserve’s creation, THE SOUTHRIDGE ter a sense of stewardship. Cages to volunteers have established about PRESERVE prevent browsing by deer are con- 50 new Rincon manzanita plants on stantly being installed and main- the preserve (as well as about 40 In the early 1970s, development tained over the rare plants. In 1989 Rincon ceanothus). Many of these plans for Rincon Ridge (known lo- a work party removed all of the were propagated from parent ma- cally as the Fountaingrove Ranch) Douglas-fir on the preserve, thereby terial that has since been extirpated. were being drawn up. This prompted preventing the conversion of the Some Rincon manzanitas propa- Betty Guggolz, CNPS Fellow and chaparral and black oak woodland gated by California Flora Nursery the chapter’s former Rare Plant Co- to Douglas-fir forest. have also been planted on the pre- ordinator, to secure a preserve that Even though this preserve is serve. Despite its delicate beauty, would protect both the Rincon man- monitored closely, it continues to the Rincon manzanita has yet to zanita and Rincon ceanothus. After be degraded and impacted through enter the horticulture trade. wrangling with developers for many outside disturbance. During the Several years ago, the median years, a small 4.2-acre conservation summer of 2004, a contractor killed strip of Fountaingrove Parkway on easement was granted to the Milo about half of the Rincon ceanothus Rincon Ridge was landscaped with Baker chapter in 1988. Initially there plants on the preserve by construct- a few hundred Rincon manzanitas were only three individuals of Rincon ing a firebreak in response to the grown from cuttings. These plants manzanita at the site (along with devastating wildfires in southern represent a starting point for selec- perhaps 200–300 Rincon ceanothus California in the summer of 2003. tion and trial of potentially valuable individuals). While the Rincon manzanitas were cultivars as some mature plants are Unfortunately, the Southridge Preserve is shaped like a donut and A firebreak was cut through the center of the sensitive plant area at Rincon Ridge Park has a very high perimeter-to-area in 2004. ratio. This type of preserve design does not allow for a buffer area be- tween disturbance and rare plants. Furthermore, only about a third of the preserve is suitable habitat for the Rincon manzanita and Rincon ceanothus. Over the years, effective man- agement of this tiny urban preserve has been a challenge for the chap- ter’s preserve steward and volun- teers. Disturbances from adjacent homeowners continually impact, and sometimes kill, rare plants on the preserve. It is common to see yard waste dumped on top of the rare plants, smothering and killing them. Deer take refuge in the pre- serve and heavily browse the veg- etation. Invasive exotic plants such as French broom and aggressive

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 29 city, monitoring the site, and offer- Rincon Ridge, yet this small rem- ing occasional tours for the public, nant continues to be greatly im- led by chapter volunteers. pacted. There are enormous chal- Because the city does not have lenges to ecologically managing an experience with ecological manage- inherently flammable habitat in an ment, the Milo Baker Chapter is urbanized setting. working closely with city officials Clearly, the Milo Baker Chapter to ensure the proper steps are taken has to intensify its cooperation with to conserve not only the Rincon City officials and contractors to pre- manzanita, but also the chaparral vent such destructive practices in the habitat. Acting on advice from the future. While there are hundreds of Chapter, the city has already re- Rincon manzanitas growing in both moved about 100 Douglas-fir trees the Chapter’s Southridge Preserve that were encroaching on the chap- and adopted green space at Rincon arral and threatening to dominate Ridge Park, volunteers must remain the entire area. The other main vigilant to guard against a slow deg- threat to the preserve is browsing radation of the last wild plants grow- by deer and trampling by humans. ing on Rincon Ridge. CNPS volunteer Lynn Houser surveys the Hadley Hill site, a highly valuable After many years of planning, the remnant of chaparral barrens that may city has recently installed a six-foot soon be developed. high fence around the sensitive plant REFERENCES area that will create a physical bar- decidedly more decumbent than rier to disturbance. Adams, J.E. 1940. A systematic study others. In the last couple of years of the genus Arctostaphylos Adans. California Flora Nursery has made J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 56(1): Rincon manzanita available for sale INTO THE FUTURE 1–62. to the public. McMinn, H.E. 1939. An Illustrated Manual of California Shrubs. J.W. The best hope for the conserva- The long-term survival of the Stacey, San Francisco, CA. tion of the Rincon manzanita is a Vine Hill manzanita and the Rincon Baker, M.S. 1932. A new species of new City of Santa Rosa Park. This manzanita will depend greatly upon Arctostaphylos. Leafl. West. Bot. 1(4): City park, situated less than a mile the efforts of Milo Baker Chapter 31–32. from the Chapter’s Southridge Pre- preserve stewards and volunteers. Roof, J.B. 1972a. Detective story: Our serve, is unique in that it contains a While the Vine Hill Preserve is free “lost” Sonoma Barren. The Four one-acre sensitive plant area that is from intense impacts found in an Seasons 4(2):2–16. one of the few remaining patches of urban setting, a catastrophic event Roof, J.B. 1972b. A new variety of Rincon manzanita and Rincon cea- such as a fire or pathogen could Arctostaphylos stanfordiana from Sonoma County, California. The nothus. About a quarter of a mile seriously reduce or even extirpate Four Seasons 4(2):16–17. away is another undisturbed rem- the only remaining population of Roof, J.B. 1980. A fresh approach to nant of chaparral barrens, but it is Vine Hill manzanita. the genus Arctostaphylos in Califor- not yet protected. On Rincon Ridge, where the nia. The Changing Seasons 1(2):2–32. Given Milo Baker Chapter’s ex- final stages of development are Van Soelen, P. 2004. The Vine Hill perience at its small preserve at now occurring, the chapter is still manzanita. Pacific Horticulture 65(1): Southridge, chapter volunteers are advocating for the conservation of 34–42. in the unique position to influence Rincon manzanita. In addition to Wells, P.V. 1988. New combinations City of Santa Rosa officials to en- the ceanothus killed at the South- in Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae): An an- sure that this remnant will be pro- ridge Preserve, a firebreak was con- notated list of changes in status. Madroño 35:330–341. perly managed. In the absence of structed at Rincon Ridge Park. Wells, P.V. 1992. New infraspecific ecological processes that maintained This firebreak cut a 30-foot swath taxa and combinations in Arctosta- the Rincon manzanita in the past, an through the heart of the sensitive phylos. The Four Seasons 9(2):54–59. intensive management program will plant area, wiping out about 50-100 Wells, P.V. 2000. The Manzanitas of be required indefinitely. The Milo plants each of Rincon manzanita California, Also of Mexico and the Baker Chapter has entered into the and Rincon ceanothus. The park World. Published by the author. “Adopt-A-Greenspace” program was meant to serve as the major site with the city. This will involve de- of protected rare plant habitat as Greg Wahlert, 2166 35th Ave., San Fran- veloping management plans with the mitigation for development on cisco, CA 94116. [email protected]

30 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 IN MEMORIAM: SCOTT SUNDBERG, 1954-2004

Editor’s note: Scott Sundberg was a Jepson Manual author and collector OREGON PLANT ATLAS ON-LINE in California, and loved the part of Oregon that is part of the California he Oregon Flora Project announces the launching of the Or- Floristic Province: Josephine and Curry Tegon Plant Atlas, the first comprehensive on-line mapping tool counties. He was a personal friend of for Oregon plants. Over 385,000 data points representing 4,337 taxa mine, and like Jim Hickman and are derived from the Atlas specimen and observation databases, and myself, a University of Oregon alum- virtually all information associated with each data point is accessible nus. In forging ahead with work on a to the user by clicking on the dots. Information is continuously new flora of Oregon, he followed in updated through the efforts of avid field workers and Oregon Flora Hickman’s footsteps. His work is being Project staff. The Oregon Plant Atlas can be accessed through the carried on by his wife, Linda Hardisan, Oregon Flora Project website at www.oregonflora.org. The Atlas is and others. partially funded by National Science Foundation grant BRC- 0237459, and by donations from individuals and plant-oriented cott D. Sundberg of Corvallis, societies including the Native Plant Society of Oregon. SOregon, died 30 December 2004 of cancer. An Oregon native, Scott’s interest in the plants of the state began as an undergradu- his PhD in botany in 1986 from the ate at the University of Oregon. He University of Texas at Austin, where was a botanist for the Bureau of he studied the taxonomy of plants Land Management, Coos Bay Dis- within the Compositae. After post- trict from 1978-1980. He received doctoral studies in Ohio and sev- eral years of research and botanical Scott Sundberg, Oregon Flora Project consulting in Seattle, Scott returned Director. Photograph by D. Wolverton, to Oregon to oversee the integra- courtesy of The Oregon Stater. tion of the University of Oregon and the Oregon State University Herbaria. In 1994, Scott initiated the Oregon Flora Project, with the goal of writing a new flora of Oregon. He served as director for that project until his death, supervising over 60 students, several professional em- Scott Sundberg in September 2004. Pho- ployees, and directing over 230 vol- tograph by M. Sundberg. unteers. Along with a new flora he envisioned the establishment of the tributed numerous articles to the Oregon Plant Atlas, the Oregon Oregon Flora Newsletter (www. Vascular Plant Checklist, the Or- oregonflora.org). A complete list of egon Flora Photo Gallery, and the his scientific publications will ap- Oregon Flora Newsletter. pear in that publication. Scott’s 29 scientific publications include taxonomic papers (descrip- Memorial gifts in Scott’s honor can be tions of new species, nomenclatural made to NPSO—Oregon Flora Project, changes, and new classifications), and mailed to P.O. Box 402, Corvallis, laboratory-based investigations in OR 97339. plant systematics, and treatments for checklists, field guides, and Aaron Liston, Department of Botany & floras. The majority of his publica- Plant Pathology, Oregon State Univer- tions concern the composite fam- sity, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR ily. In addition, Scott has con- 97331.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 31 BOOK REVIEW

Plants and Landscapes for Sum- by restricting their choices to the 124 reptiles, and amphibians), clay soil- mer Dry Climates of the San Fran- natives listed which comprise trees, tolerant plants, plants for ground cov- cisco Bay Region. 2004, East Bay shrubs, grasses, perennials, annuals, ers, tree selections in three sizes to Municipal Utility District, Oakland, biennials, ferns, and vines. meet individual circumstances, and CA. 336 pages, soft cover, $34.95. This gardening reference is also a choices for hedges, screens, wind- Once again the East Bay Municipal sound primer for the general reader breaks, dry shade, and hot exposed Utility District (EBMUD) has pro- on local plant communities, charac- locations. duced a wonderful reference guide teristics of drought tolerant plants, Individual plant descriptions are to selecting plants suited to the Medi- weather and climate unique to the well written in a comfortable, flowing terranean climate of the San Fran- Bay Area, general design principles, style, include cultivars available in the cisco Bay Area. The book is a design and water conservation. Several pages trade, and give horticultural tips when achievement and is supported by vivid are devoted to healthy soils, a topic appropriate. EBMUD’s entry into the photographs of the plants selected. often overlooked in other similar horticultural landscape realm began in Non-native plants do dominate the books. Borrowing a feature found in 1986 when they published Water Con- book, but when one must select plants the Sunset Western Garden Book, spe- serving Plants and Landscapes for the Bay from local nurseries, having this book cial sections detail plant choices for Area. A popular favorite, this publica- on the shelf is a requirement. In fact, attracting birds and butterflies (but tion was designed more as a ready ref- the purist could easily create a garden overlooks much needed pollinators, erence guide and featured the plants together with all their cultural require- ments. The latest book requires the reader to flip back and forth between the plant catalogue and the cultural requirements found in the section “Plants At A Glance.” This change in format is cumbersome and at times annoying, but the diligent gardener will persevere. (Let’s hope the bind- ing holds out.) This latest book also lacks the irri- gation principles found in its prede- cessor, an omission I found surpris- ing in an agency that provides water to 1.3 million customers. However, their attention to California natives as recommended plants is noteworthy. Overall, natives comprise 36% of their listings compared to only 17% in their first publication. Of particu- lar interest is the broad list of refer- ences that highlight California native plants, local gardening, and regional natural history. Even though the num- ber of plants featured in this publica- tion is similar to its predecessor, the book tops out at a whopping four pounds, four times heavier than the original. There are over 345 specific plant entries with 520 color photo- graphs, making this a book that can serve as a fine guide to appropriate plant selection for the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as a beautiful visual reference to many native plants grow- ing throughout our region. Mike Koslosky East Bay Chapter

32 FREMONTIA VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 Please Join Today! CNPS member gifts allows us to promote and protect California’s native plants and their habitats. Gifts are tax-deductible minus the $12 of the total gift which goes toward publication of Fremontia and the CNPS Bulletin.

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MATERIALS FOR PUBLICATION www.VorobikBotanicalArt.com* Members and others are invited to submit material for publication quality botanical art at affordable prices in Fremontia. Instructions for contributors can be found on the CNPS website, www.cnps.org, or riginals, prints, and cards for chocolate lily, butterfly can be requested from Fremontia Otulips, camas, maidenhair fern, other California Editor, Linda Ann Vorobik, [email protected], or c/o native plants, and more. University and Jepson Herbaria, 1001 Valley Life Sciences Bldg. New this month: Western #2465, University of California, sword fern 16 by 20 inch Berkeley, CA 94720-2465. prints (edition 200) on Arches watercolor paper. FREMONTIA EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD *My apologies to those who had Susan D’Alcamo, Ellen Dean, Kathleen Dickey, Phyllis M. tried to visit the site before and were Faber, Holly Forbes, Pam denied access; the site has been Muick, Bart O’Brien, John Saw- updated and improved. Please try yer, Jim Shevock, Teresa Sholars, again! Thank you, Linda Nevin Smith, Dieter Wilken, John Willoughby, Carol W. Western Sword Fern (Polystichum Witham, Darrell Wright PAID ADVERTISEMENT munitum). Pen & Ink with Watercolor.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIAFREMONTIA 3 FROM THE EDITOR

elcome to the third of four cents worth for his final days as direc- 18 county endemics, including four Winstallments of the cel- tor of this program, with his thought- species of manzanitas. This issue ends ebration of the California ful overview, cover image, and with a farewell to Scott Sundberg, who Native Plant Society’s 40th year. This thought-provoking editorial. The next passed away in 2004. Scott was a sun- issue’s article on the Society’s Chap- article summarizing the Vegetation flower family specialist, author of the ters includes those from the middle- Program follows naturally in that coyote brush treatment for The Jepson north section of state, west from the many conservation goals are answered Manual, and at the time of his death, Bay Area east to and over the Sierra. by the work of the Program. Consider working towards the production of a Once again I am amazed by the var- this article, written by Todd Keeler- new flora of Oregon. ied activities and conservation work of Wolf, director, and Julie Evens, senior A final note: keep a lookout for a the chapters. Can I be a member of vegetation ecologist, as the introduc- new editor for Fremontia. My tenure every chapter? After reading about tion to a special issue on California as editor ends with the October 2005 each of them, I want to! vegetation, slated for the January 2006 issue, and I hope to help find some- In line with the 40th celebration issue of Fremontia. one for this position who will enjoy as theme for this year’s Fremontia there Greg Wahlert and Phil Van Solen much as I have this great society of are two articles on state programs. remind us of why California is botani- botanists, conservationists, and those David Chipping, author of the Con- cally such a fascinating state: they write appreciative of flowers. servation Program article, has pro- of two rare manzanitas from Sonoma Linda Ann Vorobik vided us with much more than his two County, where there are no less than Fremontia Editor CONTRIBUTORS

David Chipping is the director of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Conservation Program, but will be

stepping aside this year.

Address Service Requested Service Address

Sacramento, CA 95816-5113 CA Sacramento,

2707 K Street, Suite 1 Suite Street, K 2707 California Native Plant Society Plant Native California Julie M. Evens is the senior vegetation ecologist for CNPS. She has directed projects and workshops to identify and define plant communities in the state from the Mojave Desert and Sierra Nevada west to the Coast.

Todd Keeler-Wolf is the senior vegetation ecologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. He has ac- tively promoted the classification of vegetation in the state through vegetation sampling and mapping projects.

Aaron Liston is the director of the Herbarium at Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Phil Van Soelen is co-owner of California Flora Nursery in Fulton, Sonoma County, a past president of the CNPS Milo Baker Chapter, and for many years was the manager of the Vine Hill Preserve. His article on Vine Hill Manzanita

appeared in the January 2004 issue of Pacific Horticulture.

U.S. Postage U.S.

Nonprofit Org. Nonprofit Permit # 3729 # Permit

Greg Wahlert is currently finishing a molecular phylog- CA Oakland, PAID eny of Arctostaphylos for his master’s degree at San Fran- cisco State University. He has served as CNPS Milo Baker Chapter’s preserve steward at Southridge in Santa Rosa for the last 15 years.

VOLUME 33:3, JULY 2005 FREMONTIA 4