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Bristlecone Chapter of the California Native Plant Society

Spring Flower - Mojave Woodyaster

Mojave Woodyaster, Black Canyon,
Photo by Larry Blakely

News:

The March-April 2023 Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter is online - read online or download and print.

The deadline for submitting articles for the next issue is April 15th, 2023.

Upcoming CNPS Events and Other Events of Interest

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

CNPS Event March 13, Monday, 5-6:30 pm: Tri-Valley Advisory Board Meeting, Chalfant Community Center

Nick Buckmaster of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be giving us some information about the effects of Tri-Valley water overdraft on Fish Slough and some strategies happening that we might support going forward. Fish Slough is a Area of Critical Environmental Concern and supports rare plants as well as the Endangered Endemic Owens Valley Pupfish, so pumping from this watershed is of interest to CNPS as well - please consider attending.

CNPS Event March 15, Wednesday, 6 pm: Bristlecone Chapter Board Meeting, (Online via Zoom), Bristlecone Chapter Event

All members are welcome to join. Contact our Secretary, Kathleen Nelson, at secretary@bristleconecnps.org for the Zoom link

CNPS Event March 18, Saturday, 9 am: Bristlecone Chapter Native Plant Garden, Bristlecone Chapter Event

Join Sue Weis every third Saturday, 9:00 am, to help work in our plot of native plants at the CNPS Bristlecone Chapter Plot, Bishop Community Demonstration Garden in Bishop City Park, 688 N. Main St. Workdays will be canceled if raining or snowing. Questions? Contact sue.weis98@gmail.com

CNPS Event March 23, Thursday, 1-4 pm, ONLINE: Rare Plant Treasure Hunt and Vegetation Sampling Training, CNPS

This is an introductory webinar for participants to build skills in vegetation sampling while conducting Rare Plant Treasure Hunts. Amy Patten and Jennifer Buck-Diaz will discuss applications of Rare Plant Treasure Hunt surveys and of fine-scale vegetation sampling, classification, and mapping. Registration for the free webinar at https://www.cnps.org/education/workshops

CNPS Event March 23, Thursday, 6-7:30 pm, ONLINE: Black Holes, White Gold: A Floristic Inventory of the Silver Peak Range, Esmeralda County, NV, with Peri Lee Pipkin, Masters student, Claremont University, 2022 WMRC Mini Grant and Bristlecone Chapter DeDecker Grant Recpient.

Peri Lee is conducting a floristic inventory of the Silver Peak mountains in Esmeralda County, Nevada. These desert mountains are arid yet full of incredible biodiversity, and range from valleys of alkali wetlands, cactus flats to red rock canyons, and peaks bearing lupines and bristlecone pines. There are several species of interest in the area, including the endemic and endangered Tiehm’s buckwheat, and the rare plant Tecopa Bird’s Beak. In addition to this floristic inventory, Peri Lee is also writing a conservation plan in order to preserve the threatened population of Tecopa’s Bird’s Beak that occurs in the alkali wetlands. Registration required via Zoom. This talk will be recorded. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

March 25, Saturday: Deadline for public input on Salt Creek Boardwalk, Death Valley National Park

Salt Creek Boardwalk Civic Engagement The National Park Service (NPS) is conducting civic engagement on the proposed replacement of Salt Creek Boardwalk Trail in Death Valley National Park. The NPS is planning this project in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration. A historic flash flood on August 5, 2022, destroyed the boardwalk and carried pieces of it over a mile into designated Wilderness. The NPS proposes to replace the accessible boardwalk, access road, parking lot, toilet and interpretive signs to maintain opportunities to view the endemic Salt Creek pupfish while simultaneously protecting the fish and its fragile habitat and more. The NPS is asking for public input on the proposed action and potential alternatives, environmental issues that should be addressed, and considerations regarding visitor experience. The NPS will use this feedback when starting the design process in late March. More information here. Public comments should be entered here by March 25, 2023. Comments can also be mailed to: Death Valley National Park, ATTN: Salt Creek Boardwalk Replacement, P.O. Box 579, Death Valley, CA 92328 (postmarked by March 25).

CNPS Event March 31-April 1: Maturango Museum’s Annual Wildflower Exhibit, 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest

Maturango Museum’s Annual Wildflower Exhibit 100 E. Las Flores Ave., Ridgecrest The exhibit showcases the wildflowers that grow in the watershed area of the Indian Wells Valley. This watershed area includes canyons as far north as Fossil Falls and as far south as Horse Canyon. Volunteers spend a day in late March combing a specific area for the plants that are growing and blooming. We will also feature presentations by students connected to the California Botanic Garden. The students will give presentations on their areas of study.

Nina House is the guest speaker for 2023 Maturango Museum Wildflower Exhibit. Nina will give a presentation of her study area, “A Vascular Flora of the Manter and Salmon Creek Watersheds in the Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, CA,”on Saturday, April 1, 2023 at 3 pm at the Maturango Museum. More information about the Wildflower Exhibit and presentations will be in the March/April newsletter. The Maturango Museum hours are from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. Website is www.maturango.org and phone number is (760) 375-6900.

CNPS EventApril 1: GLORIA Great Basin Peak Opportunity Fellowships 2023 APPLICATION DEADLINE

GLORIA Great Basin (www.gloriagreatbasin.org) surveys have long been an amazing opportunity for students and recent graduates to gain invaluable field experience in botany and field ecology while making connections with their peers and professionals in non-profits, academia, and in state and federal agencies. However, GLORIA Great Basin also recognizes that there are marginalized groups that face barriers which exclude them from research opportunities, especially for opportunities in remote mountains that pose unique challenges with required transportation, field gear, and time. Through our new Peak Opportunity Fellowships, GLORIA Great Basin will fully support two students (upper-division undergraduate or graduate students) to join us on White Mountains or Sweetwater Mountains surveys this summer. We will provide the successful applicants with transportation, field gear, room and board, and wages (totaling $2,500 per student), and mentorship (e.g., facilitating networking, providing guidance on job applications, etc.) both leading up to and following the field campaign. Fieldwork will be either July 16-23 in the White Mountains and/or July 25-31 in the Sweetwater Mountains.

Fellowships will be awarded on a competitive basis and we encourage students that self-identify along one or more of the following axes of diversity to apply:

  • First-generation college student (neither parent/guardian having completed a baccalaureate degree);
  • Member of an ethnic or racial group that has been historically excluded from graduate education and STEM, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous (American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, other Native Pacific Islander) and/or Latinx;
  • Other groups that have been historically excluded from graduate education and STEM, including but not limited to those who manage a disability, identify as LGBTQ+, military veterans, holders of DACA, TPS, refugee, or asylee status, and single parents.

The awardee will be selected by GLORIA Great Basin Board with the following selection criteria:

  • Extent to which the candidate enhances the diversity of the GLORIA Great Basin community
  • Interest of the student in global change and conservation in mountains
  • Overall experiential strength of the applications

To apply, please submit a 1) a CV including 1-2 references, and 2) a 1-page statement that describes your current research interests, self-identification of axes of diversity, and how this fellowship will contribute to your future goals to brian@gloriagreatbasin.org. The application deadline is April 1, 2023.

CNPS Event April 6, Thursday, 6 pm: Guess who is coming to stay? Impacts from an extended visit by a family of atmospheric rivers, December 27, 2022 to January 16, 2023, with Sue Burak, ONLINE (White Mountain Research Center public lecture)

Sue Burak has been fascinated by snow, weather and avalanches in the eastern Sierra for many winters. Past project include study of snow properties in the Sierra Nevada during NASA’s recent SnoEx field campaign, collecting snow properties in the boreal forests of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, to on-going research into the mysteries of glide avalanche formation and release on Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park. This talk presents on-going efforts to unravel the relationship between specific weather, climate and snowpack factors that contributed to numerous large magnitude avalanches during December 2022 and January. This talk will be recorded. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Register Here

CNPS Event April 15: May-June Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter Deadline

Today is the deadline for submissions for the May-June Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter to our Newsletter Editor, Elaine Chow, at newsletter@bristleconecnps.org. Contact Elaine with any questions.

CNPS Event April 21-23, Friday-Sunday: Owens Lake Bird Festival

Since 2015, Friends of the Inyo’s Owens Lake Bird Festival in Lone Pine, CA has been celebrating the migration of thousands of birds as they alight at Owens Lake to replenish their strength before continuing their transcontinental journey along the Pacific Flyway, which extends from Alaska to Patagonia. Owens Lake has been designated a Nationally Significant Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy. This Festival is more than just about birding, and outings are designed to cover topics that include botany, photography, geology, local history and culture, and more to complement the experience. To find out the scheduled activities and register, go to: https://friendsoftheinyo.org/birdfestival/

CNPS Event May 7, Sunday, 9 am to 1 pm: Rising from the Ashes, Hogback Fire Area near Lone Pine, with leaders: Richard Potashin & Nancy Hadlock; Bristlecone Chapter Field Trip

Fires have been demonized for centuries. However, fires can produce a positive effect. Following wildland fires, some plant seeds are stimulated by the flames and fertilized by the ashes. What comes up the following years can be a profusion of plant species that have not been viewed for years. Join the BLM volunteer leaders in search of what has appeared this season following 2021's fire season. Meet at Moffitt Ranch turn-off from Hwy 395 (about 3 miles south of Manzanar). High clearance vehicles recommended. Bring water, hats, snacks/ lunch, boots. Any questions, contact 760-258-6574 or aspenluv1@gmail.com

CNPS Event May 27, Saturday, 7 am: Black Canyon and Marble Canyon, White Mountains, Bristlecone Chapter Event, Leader: Jerry Zatorski

Black Canyon begins at about 4500 ft at its opening on the alluvial fan. From there we will head up-canyon making stops along the way as the flowers dictate. At about 5500 ft Marble Canyon forks off to the east, and we’ll hike up to the Montenegro Spring area at about 7000 ft. We will also hike a bit up Black Canyon to at least Lower Black Canyon Spring. At these elevations many botanical treats can be found, and with some determination and little luck, species such as Broom Milkvetch, Buckwheat, Desert Crab Apple, Dwarf Ninebark and Mono Penstemon are all possible and may only scratch the surface here. Don’t forget binoculars! This is not only a great location for plants, but is also an excellent place to see and hear hummingbirds flying about defending breeding territories along with other passerines all in full breeding plumage and song. There will be about 5 miles of hiking, at least half of it up hill. Participants should bring lunch, snacks and plenty of fluids, field guides, hand lens. Dress for the weather conditions, hat, sunscreen, hiking shoes... 4WD vehicles with clearance are strongly recommended as the road up Black Canyon is always unpredictable. We will meet at 7:00 AM at the junction of Warm Springs Rd. and East Side Rd. For more information contact Jerry at jerryzat@gmail.com.

CNPS Event June 15: July-August Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter Deadline

Today is the deadline for submissions for the March-April Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter to our Newsletter Editor, Elaine Chow, at newsletter@bristleconecnps.org. Contact Elaine with any questions.

For more events, including some from other organizations, see the Bristlecone Chapter Events Page

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The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a state-wide 501(c)3 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.

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