It’s been a dry start to the field season here in the Mi-Wuk Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest. All of the passes through the Sierra have been opened for the season, and we are scrambling to keep up with plant surveys that have strict floristic timing. Today marks the end of my fourth week on the Forest and I am finally starting to feel comfortable with local flora, with special attention to our primary survey species: M. filicaulis and M. pulchellus. In the field, we see the effects of California’s third year of drought almost every day. My field partner is a return CBG intern from last season and often balks at the diminished populations of these species, which enjoy moist, open areas.
Pansy Monkey Flower, Mimulus pulchellus
The bulk of our work this season will be in restoration sites for the 2013 Rim Fire. Recently, we have been surveying areas slated for conifer removal or reforestation in order to identify and properly mark occurrences of rare and sensitive species. In flagging these element occurrences we are essentially the hands and eyes of powerful environmental legislation – who knew it all came down to some striped tape on a tree?!
In addition to the more traditional surveys we have been lucky enough to participate in a number of other projects. One includes setting up cages around mountain ladyslipper orchids that are bouncing back from the fire in cattle range. These shade-loving plants are elusive in the brushy, post-fire undergrowth and sometimes difficult to distinguish vegetatively.
Mountain ladyslipper, Cypripedium montanum
Jake setting up a cage to protect from grazing cattle
The weekends have taken me into the San Francisco Bay, the Emigrant Wilderness, and the Eastern Sierra, and I can’t wait to see more of this extraordinary country. Until next time, I’ll ask for your best wishes as I survey for Erythronium tuolumnense. While excited to see the fawn lily, I would otherwise not venture into a place called “Tecnu Springs”…
Cheers,
Emily
Lupinus nanus covering a hillside post-burn