Dark red onion

Desert five spot

We spent three days in the Deep Creek area in mid-March with a 10 person Urban Conservation Corps crew, slashing and seeding unauthorized OHV trails.  The area is a challenging one to work in becuase it’s open, relatively remote, and not regularly patrolled.  Right now, we are focusing on “defensible” sites, where we can do work that won’t be moved or bypassed.

We’ve had several great volunteer events this month.  In partnership with the Southern California Mountains Foundation, SBNF restoration staff hosted a work day for a local community college ecology class at our Lytle Creek nursery.  Yesterday was our first yearly Green Thumbs volunteer day at the Mountaintop greenhouse, an event we host montly beginning in March.

I spent three (personal) days last week in the Newberry Mountians Wilderness, and am headed to the Orocopia Mountains as we speak.  There’s a lot blooming out in the desert right now, such as the charasmatic desert five spot (Erelmanche rotundifoila) and dark red onion (Allium a great time to go botanizing!

Mountaintop Ranger District

San Bernardino National Forest