Theodore Payne Foundation posted its weekly wildflower report. This week’s reports include
See full report and photos at: May 19, 2017 report
The status of 27 U.S. national monuments is being reconsidered. Leading nature photographers have created a free ebook to show you the beauty at risk. See this spectacular land. Then raise your voice to save it.
Get the free ebook at Land Almost Lost
Time is short. The comment period for Bears Ears ends May 26; it ends July 10 for all other sites.
Thanks to Michael Frye for making me aware of this ebook and links to make public comments and contact our federal legislators.
Posted in Park | Tags: Save Our National Monuments
Bay Nature reports the following wildflower hikes for this weekend
Sun, May 21 Mary Bowerman Wildflower Walk at Mt. Diablo
Join naturalists Phil Reed and Steve Beatty as they explore the Mary Bowerman Trail, an easy 1 mile loop with its beautiful seasonal display of wildflowers — and great views! We’ll see how the vegetation type differs according to which way the slope faces, and how various plant species recovered from the September 2013 Morgan Fire. Reservations required.Sun, May Free Wildflower Walk
The Friends of Edgewood offer free docent-led wildflower walks in Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve every Saturday and Sunday starting at 10:00 March 4th through June 4th.
Charlie Russel reports
This is a great time to visit Calaveras Big Trees State Park. In addition to the wonderful Sequoia’s, the Pacific Mountain Dogwood are in full bloom (best trees are in the North Grove area), and there are large numbers of beautiful wildflowers on the Lava Bluff trail. Note that the trail is a bit rugged, as they’ve not cleared out the downed trees that cross the trail. But that didn’t slow us down much.
I don’t have a complete list of flowers yet, as I’m still working on classifying them. We found many kinds of ferns and mosses. Mountain Misery is in full bloom all along the trail. Three kinds of monkey flower (Bicolored, Torrey’s and seep spring). Hartweg’s iris were just starting to come out. Two, maybe three species of Miner’s lettuce. Two different yellow violets. False solomon’s seal just starting to bloom. Multiple native clovers, including big masses of white-tipped clover on one of the hillsides. Indian paintbrush just starting. Canyon dudleya, Miniature lupine, a small fritillary, a pale larkspur, Lemmon’s catchfly, a small cinquefoil all found along the trail in scattered places. There is an exposed, western facing slope about a mile in that had water seeping down the hillside, It had masses of Farewell to spring, huge numbers of seep-spring monkey flower, small baby blue eyes, a big patch of white meadowfoam. If you go up to the top of the hill here there were harlequin lupine and Valley tassels.
Starflower was just starting to bloom, in a week or two there should be masses of them. Leopard lily plants in abundance along one stream, but they are several weeks away from blooming. Lots of columbine plants starting up. Purple milkweed budding but not open yet.
It is a 2.5 to 3 mile hike, with a lot of shade in parts. Really great now, and I expect there to be a wide variety of flowers for several more weeks at least. Hiking during the week, we almost had the trail to ourselves.
from Official Page for The March for Science-San Francisco
05/15/17 – SAVE OUR NATIONAL & MARINE MONUMENTS FROM BIG BUSINESS
The 60 day public comment period for the 27 national monuments put under review by Trump’s executive orders re: the Antiquities Act (13792 – DOI) & Offshore Energy Strategy (13795 – Dept of Commerce), started on Friday May 12, 2017.
As of May 15, over 10K comments have been logged so far!
It may be very impactful if schools and Boy/Girl Scout troops submitted comments from the kids that will inherit the devast…
Posted in Park | Tags: National Monuments
Homestead Valley Land Trust reports on May 16
NEW
– American trailplant, Adenocaulon bicolor, is blooming with small white flowers at the top of a stalk. The bicolor in the Latin name refers to the arrow-shaped leaves that are green on top and whiter underneath. Turn one over to mark your way on the trail.
– Large leather root with its purple head is blooming beside the trail in the meadow below 11.
– Narrow leaved clover with its pink puff flower blooming beside the Homestead Trail.Forests
Starting
– Cleavers has a very small white flower. The plant creeps and has small cleaving barbs.
Peaking
– Andrew’s clinton, the most exotic bloom of the redwood understory, has started blooming. Its large waxy leaves and bright pink flower can be seen from the road on the bank above Laverne opposite Stolte Grove.
– Coralroot is blooming above the trail in the big Indian warrior patch. Look for it in the woods along the Homestead Trail.
– Fringe cups with its greenish fringed flowers is blooming in the forest beside creeks, next to the bridge on the Eagle trail near 9, along the Homestead Trail and on Laverne right after the last house.
– Hedge nettle with its tall stalk and purple flowers is blooming in the forests.
– Hellebore an orchid, is native to Eurasia. The greenish pink flowers climb a 1′ stalk.
– Pacific star flower, a member of the primrose family, is out with its pretty pink flower, its white center showing off its yellow tipped stamens. Another forest lover, it is blooming on the Eagle Trail between 6a and 6b.
May 16, 2017 – Wildflowers and cactus are still in bloom at the higher elevations, in Arizona, Southern California, Nevada, Eastern Washington and Utah.
DESERT WILDFLOWER UPDATES BY STATE AND PARKS
Arizona Deserts
California Deserts
More Areas
Hungry Valley OHV has a new wildflower report for 5/14/17
There are still plenty of flowers to brighten your Mother’s Day! The poppies are continuing to bloom in the grasslands, though the grass is getting quite tall now and they can be hard to see. There is a nice display off of Badger and Powerline without too much grass.
Head up to Condor Mesa to see some lupine, chia, and the newly-blooming globe gilia sharing space on the road cuts. The purple gilia and the chia look similar, but the chia has several round flower heads on its stalk and the globe gilia has one.
In the south end of the park, the beavertail cactus and the yucca are still blossoming and the yucca buds continue to sprout, which means the bloom will last a while longer. Another new flower for this spring is the thistle sage, now blooming in a small patch near Lane Ranch.
The wildflowers are beautiful and so is the weather!
from the Office of Senator Ron Wyden
Resource Advisory Councils and Committees provide key community input on public land management issues
WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, 2017 – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today urged the Interior Department to lift its sudden suspension of long-standing local committees and advisory boards that provide essential community input on public land management.
The letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke follows reports from Oregonians on public resource advisory councils and committees (RACs) that the Department of Interior (DOI) postponed all their meetings until September.
“We are very concerned about this news and would like an answer as to why the RAC meetings were postponed during the BLM’s review of all advisory boards and committees,” Wyden and Merkley wrote. “It is critical that local voices, including RACs, have the opportunity to provide input and take part in the process at all times, not just when those local voices align with the Administration or a large special interest.”
Posted in Environment, Park | Tags: Suspension of Public Land Advisory Groups
The New York Times reported
LOS ANGELES — Foreign governments concerned about climate change may soon be spending more time dealing with Sacramento than Washington.
President-elect Donald J. Trump has packed his cabinet with nominees who dispute the science of global warming. He has signaled he will withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement. He has belittled the notion of global warming and attacked policies intended to combat it.
But California — a state that has for 50 years been a leader in environmental advocacy — is about to step unto the breach. In a show of defiance, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and legislative leaders said they would work directly with other nations and states to defend and strengthen what were already far and away the most aggressive policies to fight climate change in the nation. That includes a legislatively mandated target of reducing carbon emissions in California to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Read full article at California, at Forefront of Climate Fight, Won’t Back Down to Trump – The New York Times
Posted in Environment | Tags: California At Forefront of Climate Fight Change
Below are Oregon Wildflowers reports that were submitted during the past week…
One more just posted today Cape Horn in in Columbia River West inWashington visited 5/15/17.
| Location | Area/City | State | Visited | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Summit Prairie | OR | 05/14/2017 | |||
| Camassia Natural Area | Portland | OR | 05/08/2017 | ||
| Catherine Creek | Columbia Gorge (east – WA) | WA | 05/14/2017 | ||
| Gray Butte | Central Oregon | OR | 05/14/2017 | ||
| Painted Hills Unit John Day Fossil Beds | Central Oregon | OR | 05/12/2017 | ||
| Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside | Southwest Oregon | OR | 05/12/2017 | ||
| Sevenmile Hill | Columbia Gorge (east – OR) | OR | 05/14/2017 | ||
| Tom McCall Nature Preserve | Columbia Gorge (east – OR) | OR | 05/14/2017 | ||
The Marin CNPS Facebook page has photos of recent wildflower observations at Sea Ranch and Salt Point State Park in Sonoma County, Rancho Canada del Oro Open Space Preserve in Morgan Hill, and Buck Trust property (east of Mt. Burdell) in Marin County at Marin Native Plants.
The blackoaknaturalist reports Oakland Camp in Plumas county near Quincy
A week ago after work I went out toward Oakland Camp to check on the status of the Mountain Lady Slippers. …. I saw several of the plants with no buds yet. Yesterday, I went to the same spot and Voila! Blossoms. They are not yet fully open, but certainly identifiable as the flowers of the Mountain Ladyslipper. I hadn’t even gotten around to posting all of the photos of other species that I took on that trip last week. But these new blossoms were so exciting, I decided to jump ahead. Also, just a few feet away from the Ladyslippers were dozens of specimens of the Spotted Coralroot, another orchid, in full bloom. I hadn’t noticed even small shoots last week. The soil temperature and moisture must be ideal, because things are happening fast. Also, every time I turn around I see another species blooming for the first time. Western Dog Violet, Scarlet Fritillary, various species of Ranunculus (buttercups), a few Stickseed (Forget-me-nots), among others. My favorite photos from yesterday’s outing was the newly blooming Lemmon’s Wild Ginger.
See photos at It Happened So Fast!
Today we went birding in the Berkeley section of the McLaughlin Eastshore SP in the area between Gilman St. and University Av. It was low tide. We walked about 2.5 miles
from Gilman Street to Sea Breeze through and around Berkeley Meadow and along Virginia Annex. Some of the seasonal ponds in Berkeley Meadow still have water in them although there were only a few birds in them. We identified 26 species today. Click read more to see bird list.
Posted in Birding Reports, Birds | Tags: Bird report, Birding, Birding Eastshore State Park
Pacfic Northwest Wildflowers has just posted a number of new detailed reports of flowers, birds and other animals seen in several locations in Ochoco National Forest in the last week:
May 11, 2017: Lithosol soils east of FS Road 4040 at MP 5.8 downhill towards the North Fork Crooked River (Ochoco National Forest)
May 10, 2017: Balds and riparian areas adjacent to Road 30 and south of the junction with FS Road 3000-100, near the old Cold Springs Guard Station (Ochoco National Forest)
May 10, 2017: Road 2630 from Scotts Campground to a forested, rocky point west of the road about the one mile mark (Ochoco National Forest)
May 10, 2017: Bald east of FS Road 22-300 and opposite the junction with FS Road 4215 (Ochoco National Forest)
May 9, 2017: Bald and riparian area at southwest corner of the junction of FS Roads 42 and 4215 (Ochoco National Forest)
May 9, 2017: Wildflowers west of a butte at the north end of Antler Prairie and west of Road 4215 and north of the junction with FS Road 4215-100 (Ochoco National Forest)
Center for Biological Diversity News Release
New Lawsuit Seeks to Stop Wildlife Services From Exterminating Native Wildlife
BOISE, Idaho— Conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal court today to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s wildlife-killing agency from shooting, trapping, and poisoning Idaho’s wild animals.
In the suit, Western Watersheds Project, WildEarth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity and Predator Defense, represented by Advocates for the West and a staff attorney at Western Watersheds Project, assert that Wildlife Services has written itself a broad, statewide authorization to kill native predators like coyotes and mountain lions along with ravens and other animals without taking a hard look at the impacts of its unscientific slaughter. The program has also never revealed to the public the potential consequences of its actions, as the National Environmental Policy Act requires.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Wildlife Services to complete an “environmental impact statement” and to halt the ongoing and expanded killing of native wildlife until a proper environmental analysis is completed.
“Wildlife Services is stuck in the barbarism of the 19th century, before the full value of predators in ecosystems was understood,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. “This is 2017, and the agency’s current plan to wage war on Idaho’s wild animals is scientifically unjustified and ignores the important role of these animals in the landscape.”
Posted in Animals | Tags: Lawsuit To Halt Federal Wildlife Killing in Idaho
The Guardian reports
US Glacier national park losing its glaciers with just 26 of 150 left.
Warming climate makes it ‘inevitable’ that contiguous US will lose all of its glaciers within decades, according to scientists
Read full story at US Glacier national park losing its glaciers with just 26 of 150 left | Environment | The Guardian
Yet there are still some who deny Climate Change and don’t seem to notice Global Warming.
Posted in Environment | Tags: Glacier National Park Is losing its Glaciers
May 13, 2017 – Wildflowers and cactus are still in bloom at the higher elevations, in Arizona, Southern California, Nevada, Eastern Washington and Utah.
DESERT WILDFLOWER UPDATES BY STATE AND PARKS
Arizona Deserts
California Deserts
More Areas
Sierra Club National News Release
WASHINGTON, DC – As reported by POLITICO Pro, scientists resigned today from an EPA advisory panel in protest of Administrator Scott Pruitt’s recent decision not to reappoint nine members of the Board of Scientific Counselors, a panel of outside experts that advise EPA on research and development issues. The New York Times reports these scientists believe that Pruitt’s intention is to replace scientists with industry representatives.
Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Tags: SCIENTISTS RESIGN FROM EPA IN PROTEST
Yosemite National Park News Release
Yosemite National Park will close the Big Oak Flat Road to all vehicular traffic from 9:00 pm onMonday, May 15, 2017 to 5:00 am on Tuesday, May 16, 2017. This closure is necessary for paving on the roadway.
Paving will continue throughout the day on Tuesday, May 16 and Wednesday, May 17, with single-lane closures and up to 15 minutes delays.
For updated 24-hour road and weather conditions for Yosemite National Park, please call 209-372-0200, press 1 and press 1 again.
Posted in Park | Tags: Yosemite Rd. Closure
Santa Monica Mts. National Recreation Area reports
Reports are that this is the best flower season the Santa Monica’s have seen in years.
Malibu Creek State Park – Backbone Trail from Piuma Rd. to Saddle Peak 5/10/17
Hiked the Backbone Trail eastbound from Piuma Road to Saddle Peak. There is a large variety of flowers blooming on this trail. There is a lot of Golden Yarrow, Elegant Clarkia , Orange Monkey Flower, and Purple Sage blooming on this trail. Other flowers seen; Yellow Monkey Flower, Deerweed, Chemise, Indian Pink, California Everlast, Tarweed, Mariposa Lily, White Pincushion , Wooly Bluecurl, California Fuchsia, Buckwheat , Popcorn Flower, Canyon Sunflower, Purple Nightshade, Black Sage, Purple Sage Turkish Rugging Goldenstar, Fern Phacelia, Tarweed, Large Flowered Phacelia, Caterpillar Phacelia Cliff Aster.
See older reports and photos at What’s Blooming
Santa Monica Mt. Quick Links:
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains – Photos of 1000 SMM plants.
Archive – Previous “What’s Blooming” reports.
Outdoors – The Calendar of Events for the Santa Monica Mountains NRA.
SMM WildFlowers – The Park’s popular wildflower app for the iPhone.
New! SMM WildFlowers – The Park’s popular wildflower app for Android smartphones (Pre-Release Beta Version)
The Guardian reports
Secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, signs a commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to extend scientific cooperation in the Arctic region
Environmental campaigners were given some hope that the US may stick to its commitments under the Paris climate change treaty when Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, signed a commitment to protect the Arctic and extend scientific co-operation.
Read full story at: US signs treaty to protect Arctic, giving some hope for Paris agreement | Environment | The Guardian
Posted in Environment | Tags: US Signs Treaty To Protect Arctic
Photos from today at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA
You can see larger higher quality images on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandysteinman/albums/72157680974254142
Mono County Tourism reports
Wildflowers are starting to make an appearance in Bridgeport!
See photos at Mono County Tourism
Death Valley National Park reports
Fuchsia! Gold! Indigo! Lime! The high country is ablaze! Feast your eyes on these stunning blooms and savor the cooler mountain air. These flowers were spotted near Wildrose Campground but elevations above 5,000 feet are exploding with color.
The view from the road may be striking, but do stop to look around. More flowers appear once you slow down and take time to notice! Where have you seen flowers blooming?
See photos at Death Valley National Park
May 12, 2017 – Wildflowers and cactus are still in bloom at the higher elevations, in Arizona, Southern California, Nevada, Eastern Washington and Utah.
Read more: http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/wildupdates.html#ixzz4gvT4rSD9
DESERT WILDFLOWER UPDATES BY STATE AND PARKS
Arizona Deserts
California Deserts
More Areas
Theodore Payne Foundation posted its weekly wildflower report. This week’s reports include
See full report and photos at: http://theodorepayne.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/12-May-Report_2.pdf
Bay Nature has a Trailfinder tool on its website that helps you find a trail based on your interests. You enter the trail length, difficulty and which county you are looking to go for a hike in. Next you can choose what the trail is good for including
Views
Beaches/Shoreline
Wildflowers
Birding
Waterfalls
Trail biking
Accessible
Kid-friendly
Dogs allowed
Check it out at Trailfinder 2.0 – Bay Nature
Posted in Walks & Hikes | Tags: Bay Area Trail Finder
Mono County Tourism reports
The California super bloom has hit Visit Bishop!The flowers are slowing making an appearance in Mono County and should be out in full force in 2-3 weeks.
Natural History Wanderings 