Bristlecone Chapter of the California Native Plant Society

Bristlecone Pine, photograph by Stephen Ingram

The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a state-wide non-profit organization of lay persons and professionals who share an interest in California’s native plants. The Society, working through its local chapters, seeks to increase the understanding of California’s native flora and to preserve this rich resource for future generations. Membership is open to all.

The Bristlecone Chapter covers all of Mono and Inyo Counties and northeastern Kern County, an area that includes the east slope of the Sierra Nevada, the Northern Mojave Desert, the Inyo and White Mountains, and the Owens Valley. The southern end of the Bristlecone Chapter’s geographically large territory, in and around the Indian Wells Valley, has its own sub-chapter, Creosote Ring.

News:

The July-August Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter is online - read online or download it here.

Call for Pots!

If you have any gallon pots you would like to donate for the plant sale, let our plant sale coordinator, Katie Quinlan, know. You can call or email Katie at 760-873-8023 or plant_sale@bristleconecnps.org to arrange donating pots.

California Native Plant Week - Action Alert!

At the beginning of June, Assemblywoman Noreen Evans introduced ACR 173, a resolution sponsored by CNPS that creates a California Native Plant Week, to be celebrated each third week in April.

Among the things you can do to help get this bill passed unanimously include calling and writing your state Assemblymember, and also sending a letter of support to Assemblywoman Evans. Inyo County is in Assembly District 34 and Mono County is in Assembly District 25 for contact information.

Additionally, if you would like updates on the status of the resolution (such as when it is coming up for a hearing, or if any amendments have been made), please email Joshua Stark, who represents the California Native Plant Society on legislative and regulatory advocacy issues in Sacramento. He will send you updates as the bill winds its way through the Legislature. If you have any further suggestions for helping to get this bill passed, or if you have any questions, please feel free to email him.

Upcoming CNPS Events

Field Trips, Meetings, and other events of interest scheduled for the next month - for more events, including non-CNPS events which may be of interest to our members, see our Events Page.

CNPS Event September 22, Wednesday, 7pm - CNPS General Chapter Meeting and Presentation: Walk The Sky: Following the John Muir Trail, with author John Dittli (Green Church, Highway 395 and Benton Crossing Road)

The September General Meeting of the Bristlecone Chapter will be held at the Green Church, 7pm Wednesday, September 22. Join us for a spectacular photo presentation by local photographer, John Dittli, about his recent book, "Walk The Sky: Following the John Muir Trail." John will talk about some of his hiking and photographing adventures while working on this beautiful book about the High Sierra. He will also have a few books to sell after the program.

Membership meetings include brief discussion of chapter business, followed by a presentation by a guest speaker. Presentations are geared to appeal to persons of a wide range of knowledge of native plants, from beginners to professional botanists.

CNPS Event September 25, Saturday, 9-11am - CNPS Annual Native Plant Sale - Bishop

Come to the annual native plant sale at the White Mountain Research Station (3000 E. Line St. Bishop). See an updated list of plants that will be available. Check the list and be sure to arrive early if a plant you'd like is only available in limited quantities! Our plants are grown from locally collected and propagated seed, so they should do well in your garden. To learn more, see our plant sale page.

CNPS Event October 6, Wednesday, 7 pm – Creosote Ring subchapter program: CNPS Rare Plant Treasure Hunt presented by Amber Swanson, Botanist and CNPS Program Coordinator. Meet at the Maturango Museum, 100 W. Las Flores, Ridgecrest.

The first season of the Rare Plant Treasure Hunt has been highly successful. Participants in Mojave Desert hunts have made over 20 field trips, logged more than 550 volunteer hours and found 34 separate rare plant species. This totals to over 195 historic and new occurrences that have been updated and documented on BLM land, about 150 of which are new occurrences. Come and learn more about this year’s results, next year’s goals and how you can be involved! For questions email treasurehunt@cnps.org or go to www.rareplanttreasurehunt.blogspot.com.

CNPS Event October 17, Sunday - CNPS Field Trip: Highway Clean-Up. Leader: Scott Hetzler.

Meet at the intersection of Highway 395 and Pine Creek Rd., west of 395, at 9.00 AM. We will try to be done by 1:00 PM. For more information contact Scott at (760) 873-8392.

CNPS Event November 17, Wednesday - CNPS Annual Potluck and General Chapter Meeting

White Mountain Research Station (3000 E. Line St. Bishop). Details TBA.

Membership meetings include brief discussion of chapter business, followed by a presentation by a guest speaker. Presentations are geared to appeal to persons of a wide range of knowledge of native plants, from beginners to professional botanists. The November meeting each year is a pot luck, often with a members’ slide show in lieu of a speaker.

For more events, see the Bristlecone Chapter Events Page

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