President’s Message – Building Our Community

When my son was young we were involved in a parent participation pre-school. We were a group of twelve parents with a vision and not a lot of money. To increase enrollment, the parents got the word out every way that they could: building floats for the Christmas parade, selling cotton candy at Mule Days, and even creating a “Play Dough” booth at the Tri-County Fair. Every parent also volunteered a day each week in the classroom as the teacher’s assistant. Because there were so few of us, everyone participated in all the activities, which allowed us to develop strong relationships. Twenty-three years later many of these initial families are still friends.

Seven years after my first son graduated from the pre-school, my second son attended. This new group of parents chose to pay more and participate less. Although the parents still worked in the classroom every week, they no longer did the other activities that the first group had done, so the sense of community never developed, and neither did the relationships.

The long lasting lesson from this experience is that the time spent doing activities together with people of a similar interest is what builds a community. The Bristlecone Chapter of CNPS is a community of people whose love and interest is native plants. That passion can take many paths, just like the branches of a tree; one branch may be conservation, another gardening, or field trips, or even planning meetings.

In order for our native plant community to grow and be strong, we all need to be a little branch on a larger limb. If you have the expertise, lead a field trip; if you are interested in gardening, volunteer to help with some aspect of the plant sale or a garden clean up day. Participating on a highway cleanup is a great way to learn some of the native buckwheats. If you have secretarial skills, or a good number sense, or can run meetings, volunteer to be a board member. You don’t need to have a great knowledge of plants to be an integral member of this community. Check out the calendar section of the newsletter to see what is going on and how you can get involved.

We are adding a new sign-up sheet to our meetings and on the website. The sheet will have a place to put your contact information and write down just which activities are of interested to you. Then when those activities are happening we can contact you and let you know.

— Katie Quinlan

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Upcoming Bristlecone Chapter and Other Events of Interest

There are many great events still coming up - many programs presented by other organizations may also be of special interest to our members - be sure to check our events page for the latest updates and more events, including other organizations’ events of interest.

November Events

November 12, Wednesday, 7pm: CNPS Bristlecone Chapter Board Meeting, USFS/BLM Office Conference Room

Conference Room, Interagency Building, 351 Pacu Lane, Bishop. All members are welcome.

November 13, Thursday: CNPS Annual Potluck and Special Program: The CNPS Rare Plant Treasure Hunt: understanding the California flora through citizen science, with Danny Slakey, at White Mountain Research Center, 3000 E. Line St, Bishop.

The annual Bristlecone Chapter potluck begins at 6 PM. Bring food, drink and conversation to share, bring utensils and plates for yourself. Members and non-members welcome - click here for directions. We'll follow the potluck with Chapter Elections at 7 PM, including an important vote on the new Chapter Guidelines, followed immediately by the Chapter Program at 7:15 PM, described above.

November 13-14 (Thursday-Friday): International Sage-Grouse Forum to be Live Streamed in Lee Vining

On Thursday November 13 and Friday November 14, the International Sage-Grouse Forum being held in Salt Lake City, Utah will be live streamed at the Lee Vining Community Center located at 296 Mattly Ave, in Lee Vining, CA. The event will begin at 7am each day and is free and open to the public.

The forum will feature a session on sage-grouse conservation efforts focused on the Bi-State distinct population segment (DPS) of Greater Sage-Grouse, which are found locally in Mono & Inyo County, and adjacent Mineral County, Nevada. That session will take place on Nov 13 at 9:30am. To view the full conference agenda, please visit http://sage-grouseforum.org/Agenda.cfm

Coffee, water and snacks will be provided free of charge. If you would like to attend all or part of the program, please email info@bodiehills.org or call Jeff at 760-935-3960.

November 14-16 (Friday-Sunday): Re-vegetation project for Spring Peak Fire burned area.

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) are planning to host a major re-vegetation project in the footprint of 2013’s Spring Peak Fire which burned more than 14,000 acres of sage-grouse and mule deer habitat in California and Nevada in August of 2013. That project hopes to plant 24,000 sagebrush & bitterbrush seedlings in the burn area over the weekend of Nov 14-16. For more details or to sign up as a volunteer for the project, please visit NDOW’s website.

Contact Sherri Lisius at slisius@blm.gov if you are interested in participating.

November 22, Saturday, 9am - CNPS Work Day: DeDecker Garden Clean Up, DeDecker garden at the Eastern Sierra Museum in Independence.

On Saturday November 22nd we will be cleaning up the DeDecker Native Plant Garden in Independence. We are hoping to take out a barbed wire fence and replace it with split rail, replant a bunch of plants and do a general raking and fall clean up of the garden. If you are interested in helping we will meet at 8:00 am in Bishop, at the end of S. Fowler across from the DWP building, where people can share rides if desired. If you are coming from the south, we will meet in the parking lot of the Eastern Sierra Museum at 155 N. Grant Street in Independence at 9:00am. Bring rakes, gloves, water and hats. We will have a picnic lunch afterward.

Please contact Katie Quinlan at president@bristleconecnps.org or 760-873-8023 to let her know if you are coming so she can have a sense of how many helpers there will be.

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December Events

December 5, 2014 – Deadline for Mary DeDecker Botanical Grant Applications

Grants for research and projects that increase the understanding and appreciation of native plants and ecosystems in the Eastern Sierra are available to graduate students, college students, and primary and secondary students (K-12). Research projects need not be academic or scholarly but must be relevant to the native plants of the northern Mojave Desert, Sierra Nevada, and Great Basin portions of eastern California. Applications must include written support from a major advisor or teacher.

Grant recipients receive up to $1,000 each for expenses and are asked to present their results to the Bristlecone Chapter either at a regular meeting or in the chapter newsletter. The for the 2014 grants is December 5th. All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by the end of the following January. More information and application: http://bristleconecnps.org/dedecker/grant/index.php

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January Events

January 13-17, 2015: CNPS 2015 Conservation Conference - Celebrating 50 Years of Progress and Promise, San Jose, California

Join over 1,000 conservation and native plant enthusiasts in San Jose! Attendees include scientists, conservationists, university professors and students, policymakers, professional and amateur botanists, landscaping professionals, and land-use planners from California and beyond. There will be over 300 presenters for 25 themed sessions, lightning talks, plenary and keynote speakers, scientific and chapter poster sessions. More information about the conference here.

Check the Events page for more (including non-CNPS events of interest)

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Featured Articles

State CNPS Honors Steve McLaughlin with VIP Award

Steve McLaughlin joined the Bristlecone Chapter of CNPS seven years ago after moving to Inyo County and retiring from a 35-year career as a Professor of Botany at the University of Arizona. He quickly became an integral member of many of the environmental organizations in the county, including Audubon and Friends of the Inyo.

Steve started as the Chapter President and Chapter Council Representative. He then created a new chair, "Partnerships,” to help us work more effectively with other organizations on mutually-beneficial projects. His quiet yet persistent voice of reason has been instrumental in keeping native plants and their habitats on the table with the Owens Dry Lake negotiations. His ability and willingness to read through copious volumes of documents and sit through hours of meetings has made him a very valuable and respected member of the environmental community in Inyo County.

— Katie Quinlan

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A Note of Appreciation for Jan and Steve

We must send thanks to Steve McClaughlin and Jan Bowers for their years of service to our chapter and honor them as two rare and unique “species” from the Eastern Sierra. Steve McLaughlin and Jan Bowers have resigned from our Bristlecone board and are contemplating a move to the Bay Area. Jan left the board first, but continued to write the Birch Creek Journal for our newsletter. Steve recently resigned in his last role as CNPS Chapter Delegate.

It is hard to lose the leadership on our board of such wonderful folks, and difficult to show just how much they are appreciated. And respected. And liked. And just how much they will be missed. Both are educated, interesting, erudite, and just darned good people.

State CNPS is honoring Steve with a well-deserved VIP Award (above). The award refers to his “decades” of work for the Bristlecone Chapter. It is hard to believe, but Steve and Jan have only been involved in the Bristlecone Chapter for only seven years! It’s easy to understand the mistake, though, because the work they have done in that short time makes it seem like decades – and not only for CNPS, but with other organizations such as Friends of the Inyo and Eastern Sierra Audubon as well.

Steve has been our Chapter President, Chapter Delegate, and Partnerships Chair (a position he created for his work as a liaison with other organizations). As part of the Conservation committee he started conservation alerts. He has been a program presenter, and a leader of many wonderful field trips.

Steve's always rational and gentle admonitions have garnered much respect. He has helped guide our direction as an organization. He re-wrote our by-laws (now chapter guidelines) to come into line with the State CNPS bylaws. He helped organize and present Sojourns, banquets, and the recent Statewide Chapter Council meeting hosted by the Bristlecone Chapter.

Jan led the Mary DeDecker Botanical Grants program for several years, has led field trips, and has written a regular column for our newsletters: Birch Creek Journal, a bitter-sweet account of seasons and changes on Birch Creek. In addition to all of this, she has written a book about the area (Fish Springs and Black Rock: Forgotten Towns of Owens Valley, a well-researched and sympathetic portrayal of early Inyo County settlers – see our book review in the September-October 2014 Bristlecone Chapter Newsletter).

Steve and Jan at the Spring Sojourn last year
Photo by Julie Anne Hopkins

Jan and Steve put down roots in our area quickly, and sunk them deep into the local environment and history. It is because of this, and because they are genuinely kind and caring people, that they are loved and respected by so many, even those whose views differed with them on the issues.

These are two amazing people whom it has been all of our privilege to know, to work with on the board, and to count as friends. We will miss them greatly when they leave our valley.

– Maggie Riley and the Bristlecone Chapter Board

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Autumn Color

Web bonus article!

Betula occidentalis - photo by Julie Anne Hopkins

It has happened again – evidenced when the first White-crowned Sparrow was heard, and the black-tailed mule deer arrived from higher elevations – fall arrived with shifting angles of sunlight. It is absolutely exciting to witness the autumnal vegetation color change and the golden explosion throughout the Eastern Sierra as the green, food-making chlorophyll eventually ceases in production and the yellow, orange and brown (carotenoid) pigments are visible in varying, (often neon-like) hues.

Starting in higher elevations, leaf color changes occur along riparian corridors that resemble bright decorative ribbons. Aspen (Populus tremuloides) shimmer like flickering candle flames, sharply contrasting against dark-green Jeffrey pines and the pure blue sky. Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosus), once the color of the sun and no longer in flower, look like tawny pom-poms dotting the landscape, and are filled with various birds and small mammals frantically foraging the seed in preparation for colder weather. Willows, wild rose, sedges and grasses – all gloriously changed and vibrant.

Taking a hike or a drive to see this spectacular display (highly recommended – Lower Rock Creek Road) is breathtaking, inspiring (“maybe I can finally paint!”), even overwhelming (“let me out of this car!”). The “must-see” multi-stemmed, western water birch (Betula occidentalis) with coppery-red young bark and lace-like gold-russet tiny leaves is sparkling along the streamside. Finally, descending into the valleys the huge, old cottonwoods are magnificently adorned with lemony, heart-like foliage, still hiding the raptors up high in the branches, soon to be fully exposed when the wind blows their cover away. Year after year, day after day, it is incredible. Take a deep breath and go on a color tour – it is going quickly – and then it starts over again.

— Julie Anne Hopkins

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News, Updates, & Reports

September Program Notes: A River Runs Through It (and how that's working out)

The LORP covers 78,000 acres and includes lakes and ponds, 1,500 acres of wetlands, and 62 miles of river and river delta

Our September program, held in Independence, was given by Larry Freilich who manages more than 50 water agreement mitigation projects for Inyo County. Larry’s presentation focused on the largest of these projects, the Lower Owens River Project (LORP). There was a lot to talk about, in that the project covers 78,000 acres and includes lakes and ponds, 1,500 acres of wetlands, and 62 miles of river and river delta.

The central component of the project is the Lower Owens River and its developing riparian strip. Since flow was established in the river seven years ago the river-riverine environment has really taken off; meadows are retaking the floodplain from the upland species that came in when water was cut off in 1913, clonal recruitment of Coyote Willow (Salix exigua) is widely observed, and a healthy warm water fishery has developed.

What hasn’t been observed is the expected recruitment of tree willow and cottonwood. It was predicted that more than 800 acres of willows and cottonwood would develop in response to the rewatering, yet likely less than acre has actually developed. Each year field staff walk nearly 250 miles to survey the wetted edge of the river, wetlands, and lakes and ponds. This past August they found only eight sites with woody recruitment.

CNPS's Edie Trimmer and other volunteers working to clear tules and obstructions from the Lower Owens River near Lone Pine

The talk followed along the lines of what’s working and what’s not. There are a lot of both in this ambitious restoration project. It seems that river flows have a lot to do with the project’s successes and failures. The river flow is constrained by court order to 40 cfs year-round, with a Seasonal Habitat Flow (SHF) of up to 200 cfs depending on predicted run-off (during the recent drought there have been no SHFs).

The SHFs were predicted to carry out all of the functions of a spring runoff in a natural river: scour the banks and expose open soil for seed germination, control tules, and improve water quality by flushing out organic material. But this is not a natural river and the flow varies so little that even the SHF does little of the work it was designed to do.

Larry presented the river’s current hydrograph against its pre-aqueduct hydrograph and the difference is stunning. The former unregulated river fully challenged its floodplain with seasonal flows that were 100 times greater than what is possible under the court ordered flow. The 200 cfs flows that are possible today barely creep up onto the floodplain. Although we’re not likely to see huge flows in the river, there is hope that a new hydrograph can be developed that can better maintain the river we have today.

The re-watered Lower Owens offers great scenic beauty and recreational and educational opportunities

Larry also touched on the LORP as recreational resource. He presented slides that showed the remarkable beauty of the area and its abundant wildlife. You can see why the LORP is being discovered by birders, anglers, hikers, bikers, hunters, and picnickers. To get ahead of challenges presented by increased use the County is developing a recreation use plan for the area. The plan includes trail signage, wildlife viewing areas, fishing access, and even two paddle trail routes.

I’m sure the talk helped motivate many of our members to get out and spend time exploring the LORP and to stay informed of the project’s developments.

— Larry Freilich

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Greenhouse and Plant Sale Update

To the general public the plant sale seems to be a two-hour once a year event. Actually it is a year-long project invested in by numerous people. There is a cadre of people who show up every time I put the word out that I need help. The process starts with collecting and cleaning seeds, then planting the seedlings and finally repotting the seedlings. Of course there is the maintenance of the facility itself.

Once the plants are grown they have to be organized and labeled for the sale. Posters and newspaper articles need to be written and distributed and the radio announcements have to be sent out. On the day of the sale itself there needs to be the people who will write up a sales ticket, or give advise on what plants would do the best in a garden. Other folks need to be there to take the money, sell a t-shirt and encourage membership. It is our largest fund-raiser and it takes a community to make it happen. I would like to thank all the folks who have contributed a total of 145 hours to this year’s sale; Kathy Duvall, Prudence Carr, Kay Wilson, Marti Holton, Ryan Renfro, Bryce Tiernan, Margaret Phelps, Tim Tiernan, Trish Schilting, Fran Hunt, Rosemary Jarrett, MaryAnn Salyards, Steve McLaughlin, Martin Oliver, Alison Collin, Jim Varnam, JulieAnne Hopkins, Hilary Parish, Margaret Lamb, Paul Satterthwaite, Nancy Hadlock, Tyler Starbard, Edie Trimmer, Scott Hetzler, Jerry Zatorski Sue Weis and Kristen Luetkemeier.

The 2014 Native Plant Sale was a big success!

All those hours of work were well worth it as this year’s sale was one of the best we have ever had. Thirty -five more people came than in the past, we sold 330 more plants and made $1400 more than last year. Many plants that I thought wouldn’t sell at all sold out! I think the increased interest in native plants is due to a few factors. One of course is the drought and people realizing that we need to reduce our water use. Another factor was the Eastern Sierra Land Trust’s pollinator garden project and Jamie Pawelek’s presentation on native bees (see her article in the September 2014 issue of the Bristlecone newsletter). The final factor is we expanded the shade house, which gave me 3 more tables to work with. All that extra space enabled me to have more plants for people to buy. Even though it is a year-long project to get the plants to the point of the sale, those two hours are a lot of fun – to see everyone excited and interested in planting native plants.

The proceeds from all the plant sales turn right around and are donated back to the community in the form of the DeDecker Grants. The call for applications has already gone out, if you missed it here is the link for the application that is due December 5th: bristleconecnps.org/dedecker/grant/index.php.

— Katie Quinlan

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Field Trip Reports:

Prospect X, October 4

Prospect X Field Trip Participants

Prospect X Field Trip - Climbing the Dolomite Canyon to the Silver Mine

We had beautiful, warm weather on our field trip to “Prospect X,” on the East side of the White Mountains, above Deep Springs Valley.  Twelve of us took the hike in, through diverse geology in sagebrush and pinyon-juniper, to the spectacularly sculpted dolomite canyon below a well-preserved silver mine at the end of the route.  We saw mound cactus, wild crabapple, and several rare plants, including Shockley’s rockcress, little cutleaf, and Nevada ninebark, and had views from the Sierra Nevada to the Last Chance Range.  It was a great bunch of plants and people, with one participant best describing the exceptional landscape as “totally wigged out.”

The plant list from the trip can be found on our Checklists Page, under Payson to Prospect X, Mollie Gibson Area, White Mountains.

— Michèle Slaton

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Volunteer planting crew and fire crews

Bristlecone - BLM Bitterbrush Planting Workday – We Got ‘Em In!

On October 18, 2014 the Bristlecone Chapter teamed up with Bishop BLM botanist, Martin Oliver and wildlife biologist, Sherri Lisius, as well as Bodie Hills Conservation Foundation members, to plant 500 +/- bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) and Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). The purpose of the planting was to help re-establish habitat for the Bi-State Greater Sage Grouse in the Indian post-fire (burned ~ 12,600 acres in 2012) location. All of the healthy seedlings were grown out by Katie Quinlan with the help of volunteers.

It was a gorgeous day with panoramic views encompassing Mono Lake and Sierra Nevada mountains to the West and Montgomery Peak and White Mountains to the east. We were so fortunate to have fire crews from both the BLM and the Forest Service – along with a water-tender rig – to help dig, plant and water the seedlings in. Although volunteer participation was fairly low (4 Bristlecone Chapter members), counting the fire crew there were 18 of us and we had a great time working in a beautiful place on an important restoration project. Watch our newsletter (website and FB) for upcoming planting/restoration projects, field trips and other events in the future. It is a great way to get to new or familiar locations with great company! Thanks to all who participated.

— Julie Anne Hopkins

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From the Editors

Next Newsletter Deadline: December 15, 2014

Send articles to: newsletter@bristleconecnps.org

If you still receive this newsletter via US Mail, please send your email address to the editor (email address above) so you can receive the electronic version. Please help the Bristlecone chapter save money, energy, and trees

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Membership

The California Native Plant Society is an organization of lay persons and professionals united by an interest in the plants of California. It is open to all. 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. Varied interests are represented.

JOIN or RENEW ONLINE

Membership Application

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Bristlecone Chapter Directory

President: Katie Quinlan (760) 873-8023
Vice President: Michèle Slaton (760) 258-1464
Secretary: Rosemary Jarrett (760) 387-2782
Treasurer: Paul Satterthwaite (773) 208-7858
Past President: Yvonne Wood (760) 258-7949
Chapter Council Delegate: OPEN- interested? Contact any board member!
Membership: Thomas Brill/Edie Trimmer (760) 920-3702
Newsletter Editors: Edie Trimmer/Thomas Brill (760) 920-3702
Conservation/Partnerships: Julie Anne Hopkins (831) 566-6012
Adopt-A-Highway: Scott Hetzler (760) 873-8392
Programs: Michèle Slaton (760) 258-1464
Field Trips: Sue Weis (760) 873-3485
DeDecker Native Plant Garden: Richard Potashin (760) 263-5022
DeDecker Grant Program: Michèle Slaton (760) 258-1464
Publicity: Kristen Luetkemeier (703) 862-4395
Historian: Kathy Duvall (760) 387-2122
Librarian: EvelynMae Nikolaus - (760) 878-2149
Rare Plant Committee Chair: OPEN - interested? Contact any board member!
Bishop Plant Sales: Katie Quinlan (760) 873-8023
Mammoth Plant Sales: Sherry Taylor (760) 934-2338
Book Sales: Sue Weis (760) 873-3485
Posters: Stephen Ingram (760) 937-9918
Creosote Ring Sub-Chapter Coordinator: Kathy LaShure (760) 377-4541
Webmaster: Maggie Wolfe Riley (760) 258-9694

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