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CNPS welcomes anyone interested in native plants to join our events. No expertise required.
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Evening Program
November 11, Wednesday. 7:00 p.m. “Saving Humboldt’s Big Lagoon Bog.” Big Lagoon Bog is a botanically exciting spot, with diverse herbaceous species embedded in a sphagnum matrix, including 11 species considered rare or uncommon in California. Encroachment by woody vegetation, slow and steady for approximately 85 years, threatened the existence of these bog species. After a massive woody vegetation removal project orchestrated by our chapter three years ago, Joseph Saler, an M.S. student at Humboldt State University and a biological consultant, stepped in to document the change and how the bog plants responded. This exciting presentation will introduce the need for treatment, the unique species found there, and tell how they have responded so far in this important experiment in ecological stewardship. Register for this Zoom event on our website.
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Field Trip
November 7, Saturday. Big Lagoon Day Hike. The diverse habitats in Big Lagoon County Park include ocean bluff, sand, wetland, spruce forest, and the small, precious bog. We will wander through as many as we want. We will look at the bog from the periphery. Our Covid protocol insists on small groups, face coverings, and social distancing. Please register with Carol at 707-822-2015 or theralphs@humboldt1.com to learn details.
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“Hands Off” vs. “Benevolent Disturbance”
by Carol Ralph
Nature doesn’t stand still. In Big Lagoon Bog, Dennis Walker watched over 50 years as the native shrubs and trees grew, while the area of sphagnum moss and associated rare plants shrank. In the reserve for Western Lily on Table Bluff, Dave Imper watched over 30 years as the coastal scrub grew thick with encroaching shrubs, crowding and shading out the lilies. Lily seedlings showed their disdain for the protective fence by sprouting outside the fence, in bare earth trampled by cows. At Ceremonial Rock in Patrick’s Pt. State Park, Virginia and Jim Waters over 50 years saw the surrounding meadow become a tall, dark spruce forest. The lily, bog plants, and meadow plants are telling us that “hands off” management loses precious species. These species need more active management, as the indigenous people knew, using fire, grazing, or mowing to hold nature in that dynamic state of meadow or bog. Disturbance of the right kind maintains this plant and vegetation diversity.
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Native Plants for the Garden
Our native plants are available every day, 12 noon-6 p.m., at the Kneeland Glen Farm Stand at Freshwater Farms Reserve, 5851 Myrtle Ave. If you don’t see what you want, contact us at northcoastcnps@gmail.com.
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