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May NewsletterWhat's in this issue: Speaker Series, Spring Plant Sale, News from the Nursery, Pitkin Lily, Sonoma County Tree Ordinance Update, May Plant Walks, North Park Restoration Day, Remembering Betty Lovell Guggolz, LandPath's Grass Blast, Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities |
Speaker Series
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Spring Plant Sale and Eco-Friendly Garden Tour– Natasha Granoff, Milo Baker Plant Sale Chair
Mark your calendar for the Milo Baker spring plant sale, on May 18th, 10 am – 12 pm at our Laguna/CNPS Nursery at the Laguna Environmental Center, 900 Sanford Rd, Santa Rosa. We will have a nice selection of 4” plants available and a few species in gallons. The Laguna Foundation will be selling plants as well, and their garden is on the Eco-Friendly Garden tour the same day from 10 am – 4 pm. Spring Plant Sale plant list (pdf) Shop and tour – start your day at the plant sale, we sell out quickly! |
News from the Nursery– Betty Young, Milo Baker Nursery Co-chair
These root rot infections have become such a problem, killing plants in restoration projects and gardens, that there is now a certification that nurseries can apply for to assure customers that their nursery has uninfected plants. We have had that certification (AIR-Accreditation to Improve Restoration) for three years. Only seven nurseries in Northern California are accredited. Our nursery is one of those seven. Photo: UC Davis plant pathologists testing our plants during the inspection. We just went through the complex process of being re-certified (every 2 years) through the UC Davis Plant Pathology and passed the inspection and testing of 10 of the crops in the nursery. We hope that you will visit our Spring sale, on May 18, 10:00 – noon, and pick up some of our certified healthy native plants for your garden. |
Pitkin Lily Recovery Plan seeks plant samples,
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Sonoma County Tree Ordinances Update – One Step Closer– Wendy Smit, Milo Baker Conservation Committee Permit Sonoma Press Release: "On April 16, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors approved updates and expansion of the Tree Protection Ordinance to protect more of the county’s trees and help combat climate change. The Ordinance now requires a zoning permit to remove trees of specified type and size, and may also require replanting or other mitigation. The Ordinance requires public review for the proposed removal of large heritage trees. Removals that meet specific public safety, defensible space, and basic property maintenance criteria may be exempt from the ordinance. The Board of Supervisors also approved the Oak Woodland Ordinance which enhances protections for oak woodlands, a sensitive and valued natural resource. The Ordinance applies these protections through an Oak Woodland Combining District that has been applied to parcels containing oak woodlands. Depending on the nature and scale of a project, proposed impacts on oak woodlands will now be subject to either a ministerial or discretionary permitting pathway. Removals that meet specific public safety, defensible space, and basic property maintenance criteria may be exempt from the ordinance." The Milo Baker Conservation group wrote letters of comment and some appeared and spoke during the hearing. The final wording has not been released but it is expected to be an improvement over previous ordinances. The second reading will be on April 30 for the Tree Protection Ordinance's final adoption. The Oak Woodlands ordinance will also go into effect soon. For more information and background visit Permitsonoma.org/longrangeplans/proposedlong-rangeplans/comprehensivetreeordinance |
May Plant Walks– Lynn Houser, Milo Baker Field Trip Coordinator Sunday, May 12, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Join us on Mother’s Day for a hike in the forest led by Michelle Karle, a California native plant enthusiast, who is thrilled to share this magical place. We will see second-growth redwoods, ferns, and wildflowers in this new 515-acre County Regional park. Be ready for 2.5 miles with an 800-foot elevation if we do the full loop. The trail is in good condition for its age. We will meet at the Monte Rio Rec and Park parking lot — across the street from the theater and north of the river, where there is a nice restroom and plenty of space. We will carpool from there. Bring water, a lunch or snack, and wear sturdy shoes. Photo: Hooker’s Fairy Bell, Prosartes hookeri, Ranchero Mark West. From April 14 Plant Walk. Register on Eventbrite. Sign up for email notices for future hikes at milobakerevents@gmail.com Sunday, May 26, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm | RESCHEDULED from April 6 Auberge Ceanothus Preserve, Kenwood. Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (APOSD) Meet at 10:00 am at the SW corner of the Calistoga Road and Highway 12 Safeway parking lot to carpool or caravan up to see Ceanothus sonomensis and other chaparral plants in this 65-acre preserve which is recovering from both the Nuns and Glass fires. We will walk about and note observations for the APOSD. Wear sturdy shoes, a hat, and sunscreen, and be prepared for steep, rocky terrain, and thick brush. Bring water and lunch; we’ll enjoy the beautiful view above Kenwood. This hike is not on Eventbrite; it is only advertised in the newsletter, so please email Lynn at Lynnaeus@gmail.com to sign up or ask questions. |
North Park Restoration Day – Community Spirit at Work– Alynn Kjeldsen, Milo Baker Invasive Plant Co-chair
On September 9, 2023, when I arrived at North Park (on Franklin Street), in Santa Rosa, I quickly realized that a bigger operation was underway than I had expected. There was coffee, donuts, paint supplies, the Bird Rescue Center setting up a table, and lots of tools. I had been asked to join a group of volunteers, to eradicate a patch of English ivy and plant some natives in its place. The day was a tremendous success and organized beautifully! Over 70 neighbors of all backgrounds came together in work and play—cleaning the children’s play area, removing invasive ivy, planting native pollinators and shrubs, making art, learning about the role of birds in our local ecology, and building community. It was so much more than I had expected and was a heartwarming experience to participate in. The Friends of North Park continue their plans to transform North Park into a more people- and planet-friendly outdoor haven, for and by the community. Their hope is to create a native plant and habitat restoration project in miniature, combined with ecological education opportunities, an improved play area for young kids and families, pétanque courts and local art nestled into North Park’s existing acre of open space. A second annual North Park Day is tentatively scheduled this fall. Watch Derek Knowles short film capturing the North Park community spirit at work on Vimeo. |
Remembering Betty Lovell Guggolz– Liz Parsons, Milo Baker Vice President Recently I was hiking in Rincon Ridge, the rare plant preserve in Fountaingrove. Betty Guggolz helped establish the preserve to protect the rare Ceanothus confusus, Rincon Ridge California Lilac. The Ceanothus was blooming beautifully. It has come back after the Tubbs Fire in 2017. I remember hiking there with Betty in 1979 before the subdivision was built. She identified the places where the Ceanothus grew. Because of Betty’s hard work with the developers, a preserve for the rare plant was set aside. Milo Baker Chapter maintains the preserve. The City of Santa Rosa has put a wide path through it and installed a rail fence. The Ceanothus foliosus, is blooming there as well. The C. confusus is a very prostrate plant and requires a bit of searching. Betty was the founder of the Milo Baker Chapter and was so important in preserving this special spot. The park is located off Fountaingrove Parkway at Rincon Ridge Drive. It is very accessible and I hope that members will take advantage of the easy access to visit, and walk there in memory of Betty's commitment to native plant conservation. Read more about Rincon Ridge on our website. |
LandPath's Grass Blast Volunteer OpportunityEvery Thursday throughout the month of May, LandPaths is hosting volunteer stewardship days in the serpentine grassland at their Ocean Song/Myers preserve (Coleman Valley Road, Occidental). This is an opportunity to help remove invasive species, learn about the ecosystem function of grasslands, and how to identify parts of a grass, different species of grasses and forbs. For more information and to volunteer, visit the LandPath calendar on their website. |
Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers at Bodega Head; photo credit: Jan Lochner Living Learning Landscapes Workday – second Friday of the month (9:30 am - noon). Meet at 1808 Albany Drive in Santa Rosa. Please RSVP to April Owens aprilleeowens@gmail.com so we know to expect you! Weekly Doran Beach Ice Plant Removal – every Wednesday (9:30 am - 11:30 am). Bring clippers and gloves and knee pads if you like. One of the most pleasant workdays happens every week – a trip to Doran Beach to pull ice plant. We are clearing out the ice plant that is in the marshland to make room for natives. It is very visual and quite satisfying, with the sound of the waves, birds, and foghorn. To join us, please text Jan Lochner at (707) 569-4724, to let her know you are coming. Bodega Head Ice Plant Removal Project – second Sunday of each month (10:00 am - 1:00 pm). CNPS is leading volunteers at Bodega Head to save native species from getting smothered by ice plant. Meet at the main parking lot near the bathrooms. Bring water, clippers, and gloves if you have them. Email Alynn at alynnkjeldsen@gmail.com for more information and to let us know that you are coming. For more information, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities page on our website. |
| Visit the CNPS Milo Baker website |
Abstract: We increasingly hear about species on the brink of extinction. We usually think, oh too bad, that's happening in the Amazon or wherever, but it's happening right here is Sonoma County. The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation are working on saving several species that are on the brink of extinction in our own backyard.
Betty Young, CNPS – Milo Baker Chapter, will be highlighting work in saving our local Vine Hill manzanita, which is endangered and previously occurred in only one place in the world. Its last remaining habitat has been affected by Phytophthora sp. root rot. Our work has resulted in the propagation, genetic research, and planting of the Vine Hill manzanita to 3 new preserves in Sonoma County and 7 Botanical Gardens from Santa Cruz to Eureka.
If you have come to one of our plant sales, you were probably slightly annoyed that you had to step on a disinfection mat before entering the nursery. To ensure that you take home healthy clean plants we follow over 100 best management practices to prevent root rot infections, Phytophthora spp.
As you may know, the Pitkin lily, Lilium pardalinum ssp pitkinense (our chapter symbol) now occurs in the wild only at our Cunningham Marsh preserve. It was listed as a Federally endangered species many years ago. However, due to very low funding for work by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Recovery Plan is just now being written.
Monte Rio Redwoods Regional Park and Open Space Preserve, Monte Rio
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CNPS Statewide Website | Milo Baker CNPS Website      |