It is finally snowing here in Big Bear Lake, CA as I sit here writing this blogpost. It is long awaited as it has not really felt like winter at all in parched California with the warm temperatures and nonexistent precipitation. It is definitely going to be a dry summer full of fire.

Since my last blogpost I have been working on many things. Mary (my fellow CLM intern) and I are nearing completion of an invasive plant species identification guide for the Cleveland, Angeles and San Bernadino National Forests. It has been tough finding photos for the guide as it is January. We have managed to gather together a good many though.

We also have been helping Kerry Knudsen, a lichenologist out of UC Riverside, compile a lichen flora of the San Bernadino NF. This is a great experience for me because there are mostly crustose lichens out here because it is so dry. I am much more familiar with the large macrolichens from moister areas like northern California. I got to see a historical lichen collection from the late 1800’s from a southern California lichenologist.

I was happy to have a few field days that last couple weeks. One day we went out to the Bighorn Wilderness to see what kind of invasive plant species are out there and brainstorm about what species could invade next and in what areas. After the invasive plants guide we will be writing a wilderness management plan for the Bighorn. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful place! Another day we monitored riparian habitats for disturbance and it was great to see some wetter areas of the forest.

I hope you enjoy these photos!

This is a good example of an infestation of invasive English Ivy (Hedera helix) in a riparian area.

The invasive tree tobacco (Nicotiana glauca).

The flower of Nicotiana glauca.

Check out the berries on this manzanita! I think it is Arctostaphylos glauca.

Some awesome sandstone cliffs that we saw while out collecting lichens.

The giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbriata) that we spotted in a riparian area. I would never have expected to see a fern this large in such a dry place like the SBNF.

The view east of the desert from the Bighorn Wilderness.

A really deep mine shaft that we saw on the Bighorn Wilderness.

I’m not sure what this cool lichen is…maybe a Caloplaca or Candellaria…

Astragalus albens, which is endangered.

The sensitive species Long Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium longipes).

Dadder (Cuscuta sp.) is a beautiful parasitic plant that is vine-like.

The invasive castorbean (Ricinus communis).

A good looking Usnea phaea that is common on the SBNF.