Fremontodendron californicum ssp. decumbens or Pine Hill flannelbush. This species is federally listed as endangered and state listed as rare. This species is known to be endemic to the Pine Hill area of El Dorado County. There is a similar plant found in Nevada County and experts are unsure as to whether it is the same plant or just closely related.Photo credit: Graciela Hinshaw.

As a CLM intern I have been fortunate to participate in the operations of a rare plant preserve at many levels. I have attended cooperative management meetings, met with developers to discuss the possibility of land acquisition, conducted rare plant surveys as part of long-term monitoring, participated in the creation of a fuels break, met with conservation professionals to discuss the rare plants and their relationship to similar species, participated in the NEPA process, assisted in rapid response invasive species removal and gathered native seeds for seeds of success. My mentor has been very active in exposing me to many aspects of land  management. I get exposure to a little bit of everything.

Salmon Falls. My favorite and the largest parcel of the Pine Hill Preserve.

I am working for the 4,122 acre Pine Hill Preserve at the Sierra Foothills in El Dorado County where eight rare plants are in need of protection. This is a fragmented preserve made up of five non-contiguous units. The mission of the Pine Hill Preserve is to “conserve in perpetuity the rare plants species and plant communities of the western El Dorado County gabbro soil formation.” There are five federally listed species and four of the plants are endemic to the Pine Hill area.

Unfortunately, much of the land where the rare soils, and thus the plants, are/were found has been developed. Therefore, a lot of what goes into protecting the plants on this fragmented preserve is acquiring new lands to prevent further development and loss of habitat. A new acquisition is being considered where the very small and federally listed El Dorado bedstraw is relatively abundant. If this land is acquired, it would be wonderful for the preserve and for the little Galium californicum ssp. sierrae. It would also increase the amount of open space to be enjoyed by future generations and could be a good site for scientific research.

Monitoring at the Cameron Park parcel prior to fuels reduction. Due to the abundance of fire prone chaparal throughout the Pine Hill Preserve, the creation of fuel breaks is imporant to prevent wildfires. While prescribed burning would likely benefit the rare plants, the proximity of homes makes the creation of fuel breaks a safer option.

I feel very lucky to be experiencing conservation at work on the fringe of urban sprawl. While I am definitely not channeling John Muir in my day to day experiences as an intern (sometimes I am quite literally working adjacent to backyards and not backpacking through the wilderness), I am experiencing what will continue to be an important aspect of conservation, protecting endangered species surviving at the edge of modern development.

Jennifer Bartlau, BLM Field Office, El Dorado Hills, California