2017 - Robert's botanical adventures in Northern California

[Robert]

In bloom, Eriophyllum is a magnet for Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera Order insects.



Many different Blues (subfamily Polyommatinae) can be seen in the Wrights Lake area. There were Square-spotted Blue, Euphilotes battoides, or Dotted Blue, Euphilotes enoptes, (they can be difficult to distinguish in the field, however these appeared to be Square-spotted Blues) butterflies fluttering around the Wooly Sunflowers. There were also Skippers, but I did not have any time to guess at their identity. I am still learning the Hymenoptera, so no ID on them.

Next weeks outing to Red Peak could be outstanding. The blooming season is peaking and there is a great deal to see, especially when including the details. I hope that I do not get delayed while hiking the lower meadows in the Van Vleck area. Last year I observed 138 species on one outing. It was in the autumn! Ah… there is so much to see and do.

Until next time…..

[hamparstum]

Robert, I grew E.lanatum in my gardens along my Lavender bushes. They more or less flowered together. E.l. was stunning because it was completely covered in those wonderful yellows and stood like that for about a month here. After a few years the clumps dwindled and disappeared. I must get a replacement. Would they be short lived perennials?. I was wondering if the retraction of D. nuttalianum could be a multiple season dormancy during very dry years or actually death and replacement with juvenile plants in adequate places when the moisture conditions improved. In field conditions that could be solved with site staking individual clumps and returning to the site on a regular basis. I wonder if vandals will let stakes unnoticed... . These questions are more of the field ecologist in me, trying to provide extra arguments of why conserve/preserve and how to manage it later on. The way the regulatory system approaches to issues ( which includes government agencies, scientific bodies and the legal system with laws, regulatory enforcing bodies, judges and trials) require proof ready information over which they can rely collective decisions. Ethical considerations are usually left towards the end of debate because there is too much controversy around ethics, specially when environmental ethics starts to contend solely human ethics.
As you can guess, its enriching your diary with more information. Ecological basic information has fortunately good press nowadays...it will improve your stance in achieving the Crystal Range protection goals.

[Robert]

Arturo,

Yes, Eriophyllum lanatum is a short-lived perennial. Always having a few seedlings coming along is a good idea. It may also have considerable potential if it is worked with in a systematic way.

The main issue facing the Crystal Range and Desolation Valley Wilderness is population pressure. For decades it has been a popular destination for wilderness hikers and campers. The region is easily accessed by many major population centers in California. During my first experiences in the wilderness, campfires were still allowed (1960’s). Even back in the late 1960’s it could be difficult for overnight campers to find firewood at popular locations like Lake of the Woods. As usage increased, campfires were banned and small portable stoves where used. As usage continued to increase, permits were required for overnight camping in the wilderness and the number of overnight visitors needed to be limited, especially at certain popular destinations. (1970’s but not sure).

Today, I would have to say that the main threat to the Crystal Range and Desolation Valley Wilderness is the volume of usage. High alpine habitats are relatively fragile and repair slowly. Horses are allowed in some locations. In the wrong location, they can create much ecological damage very quickly. Back in the early 2000’s some horse riders spent at least one night at Lake No. 3. They caused considerable damage to the heathlands near Lake No. 3. I have a strong feeling when I visit lake No.3 next week that there will still be evidence of that damage. In addition, Lake No. 3 is one of the few locations where I have found Gentiana calycosa in any quantity on the west slope of the Crystal Range. Another batch of horses destroyed this population; the next year I found one plant, the following year there were zero. In places like Lake Sylvia certain traditional campsites cannot be used due to over use. The area of the Rubicon Trail is a site where a population of Erythronium purpurascens might exist in El Dorado County. I have discusses what happened there. I could add to the list, but the bottom line is that as usage continues to increase at some point the ecosystem will flatline.

The question is how can the wilderness be preserved? The real answer is zero, or even better, negative population growth. This might be discusses privately, but it will never be discussed in a public forum. So the next question is, how can the wilderness be best maintained with a continual increase in usage? I certainly do not have the answer and feel there is an extremely low probability that I will ever be asked to contribute to the answer to this perplexing problem. California has many highly qualified experts. What ever I do is way off the radar screen.

I am highly motivated to do what I do, only because I know deep within myself that it is the right thing for me to be doing. I have no idea how I fit into the scheme of things on this planet. Your conservation/preservation suggestions for California are probably best addressed to someone else. Realistically, there are probably 50,000 to 100,000 or more, qualified individuals in California that are in a much better position to implement or make use of your suggestions than I. Still, I think that there is a great deal that I learn from you. As you can, perhaps you can share some of your conservation/preservation experiences in Argentina. I think we could all benefit from your experiences.

[hamparstum]

Robert,
I learnt from my  own path, that someone has to take the lead...someone has to become instrumental to the call from inside to care for each one's backyard. If your voice chimes in with that same voice inside others, then those other "better" qualified might stick out and start doing something, specially when there are no selfish goals , which is this case. Its sounds for the time being as if it were a single person's call in the barren desert. Yet that voice can be made to be heard worldwide...
Preservation/conservation are long term processes. They are multiple life paths involved. Its not only setting aside land under some type of regulatory system, but also continued monitoring and reassessing effectiveness and curtailing use. It requires sometimes a lot of shrewd thinking ahead. In many places, wilderness areas that are under public use pressure require booking ahead.  There are quotas that could be fixed. Eventually it will become inevitable.  My mentors in the US taught me that it all boils down to buying time ahead, until general issues are addressed. Sometimes  there are regressions and backward intent to return to a more free willed options. However the sheer numbers rule out that option even in the most stubborn.
The Iguazú N.Park had a magnet attraction in the falls that everyone had to visit. One particular site the Devil's Gorge (Garganta del Diablo) right in the center of the falls. The tourist industry utilized this magnet to overbook their tickets, as a result in peak season 30000 tourists tried to cram into a look out point that could house no more than 200 visitors simultaneously. The result was that everyone was angry because there were traffic jams, collapsed sanitary services etc. The area was finally brought back to a reasonable management scheme simply because all  actors involved accepted that the site has natural limits that impose a maximum simultaneously fixed  number of visitors.
I believe that what you describe is reaching to that point. That is why it will become necessary to act in that direction.
Your diary is a way of calling attention. In that sense you got me hooked into those concerns although I'm watching from so far away...

[Robert]

Arturo,

I think that it is wonderful that every place on this planet where the abuse of women is reduced and women are given a choice, birth rates fall and population levels (not including immigration) start heading to sustainable levels. No need for a One Child Policy! Just free choice and ending as much abuse as possible. It is not surprising where the forces of greed, lust of power, etc. reign, women are now being encouraged to have more children by the propaganda machine. My understanding is that China has ended or is going to end its One Child Policy. Here in the U.S.A. some politicians want women to have more children because it is good for business (i.e. more consumers).

It appears to me, if abuse is reduced and free choice is allowed, most people make good choices that are in everyone’s best interest. Maybe the same principles can be applied to the conservation/preservation of our planet. If I am called to do more in behalf of the Crystal Range and Desolation Wilderness there will have to be, very literally, Divine intervention. I get up each day and apply myself to my work and projects. I do the best I can to make wise choices and be proactive toward worthy goals. I am very willing to be of service, but I cannot allow myself to be exploited. Everything beyond this, I have no control. If I end up in a position where I can do more in behalf of the Crystal Range and Desolation Wilderness, you will have witnessed a Divine Miracle. To say that the odds are stacked heavily against me is an understatement.

Oh, by the way, I think that your proposed study of Delphinium nuttallianum is a great idea. Unobtrusive staking and labeling could be done and GPS use to find plants. There is no shortage things that could be studied that could benefit the Crystal Range and Desolation Wilderness Area.

[hamparstum]

Just keep doing what you are doing and the rest will come from beyond...

[David Nicholson]

Loved the historical content in this one Robert. American history interests me a lot and I read a lot about it.

[Robert]

Loved the historical content in this one Robert. American history interests me a lot and I read a lot about it.

Hi David,

Glad to hear that you enjoy the historic content. It is interesting investigating how past land use practices may have influenced the current distribution and make up of the flora today.

I am actually in the process of writing a book that weaves together the flora and natural history in this region with the history and my personal stories and memories. I am coming along with the writing, however it will most likely take another year or two before I am done. The book is part of my learning process. I have no intention publishing it, however I am sure I can send you some sort of electronic copy when I am done, providing you are interested of coarse.

More photographs taken at Lyons Creek the other day.



The tiny annual Castilleja tenuis creates small sheets of color.



Bistorta bistortoides is commonly found in moist meadows.



A Fritillary of the Genus Speyeria.

[David Nicholson]

....................I am actually in the process of writing a book that weaves together the flora and natural history in this region with the history and my personal stories and memories. I am coming along with the writing, however it will most likely take another year or two before I am done. The book is part of my learning process. I have no intention publishing it, however I am sure I can send you some sort of electronic copy when I am done, providing you are interested of coarse.............................

Yes, of course I would be interested in reading your book Robert. You probably know that Ian Young recently published his work on Erythroniums as an EBook and this is something you might wish to consider in the future. I am sure that Ian or Maggi would be happy to talk with you as to how to proceed when you feel the time is right.

[Maggi Young]

Yes, of course I would be interested in reading your book Robert. You probably know that Ian Young recently published his work on Erythroniums as an EBook and this is something you might wish to consider in the future. I am sure that Ian or Maggi would be happy to talk with you as to how to proceed when you feel the time is right.

Yes, indeed - this would be something the SRGC website could  publish to get  it out to a wider public- which it would  deserve.

[Robert]

Clearly, there is still much to do, but this all sounds great.

There is a general outline; a clear vision of “how, what, and why” and many of the chapters have been started.

My original idea was a “dry” botany of the Lyons Creek drainage, however my wife, Jasmin, kept encouraging me to do more; there is a much larger story that needs to be told.

Lyons Creek is at the southern end of the Crystal Range. Near Loon Lake, at the northern end of the Crystal Range, my father built a cabin on lot 36 of the Gerle Creek Summer Home Tract. This was about 1965. Needless to say I have a long history in this area. I am hoping that my personal experiences, historical references, natural history, etc. makes the story of the plants come alive.

Thank you for the offers of assistance. If my efforts can benefit the SRGC, this is even better. I will seek your advice when the time arrives.   

[Robert]

I was up in southeastern El Dorado County today (Saturday). Most of the snow has now melted, however as one approaches 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) spring has just arrived.



Phlox diffusa is still in bloom.



Viola purpurea ssp. purpurea is another early blooming species.



At this elevation the blooming season can get compressed. To a degree, everything tries to bloom at the same time. Penstemon roezlii was also coming into bloom.



From the top of a bluff there were some very nice vistas.



This vista to the southeast demonstrates the beautiful light-dark contrast of the granite with the vegetation. This is a typical scene in the high Sierra Nevada.

[Robert]

To the east, the volcanic intrusions near Carson Pass can be seen. It is not surprising that Basalt, Andesite, and Rhyolite can all be found somewhere within this region.



The Crystal Range is a short distance to the north. Depending on the geologic survey, 7 to 8 distinct plutons have been identified within the Crystal Range. Granodiorite is the most prevalent “granite” intrusion, however the intrusions range from alaskite through quartz monzonite to quartz diorites.



I will be back in Sacramento this evening.

I am looking forward to my next outing to Red Peak sometime this coming week.

Until next time…….

[Hoy]

Robert,

Don't you think Brown Mountain was covered by ice during the last Ice Ages? The rounded form suggests it was. - I have hears a lot of granite before. My youngest daughter studied granitic minerals for her degree in Geology 

The yellow Drymocallis is interesting. We have only a white one here, D. rupestris, which is also an attractive species.




Some of the vistas you show look very familiar. Especially when the rock is granite! Except that the flora differ a lot, of course.

Interesting with the snow-melt. At our mountain cabin the snow melt period is late May (1000-1200m ASL). Sometimes it is impossible to take a walk in the forest due to the heaps of snow. Although the snow melt you show is later I assume the trees get a reasonably high heat sum as the temperature is higher in summer than here.

The number of butterflies has increased at the cabin the last days also as the weather has been warm. Here is one tasting a special book!

[Robert]

Hi Trond,

I hiked into Lake No. 3 at the base of Red Peak on Thursday. The wildflowers were a bit over whelming - I logged 147 species and I know I missed many as it was a challenging hike into Lake No 3. Above 8,000 feet, 2,438 meters, there is still 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters) of snow on the ground.

I wish that I knew a lot more about the "granite" in the Crystal Range. Each pluton is different. There is a roof pendant of metamorphic rock in the area of Red Peak. As I approached the base of Red Peak there were all sorts of small pieces of metamorphic rock scattered on the "granite". Clearly they had been moved there by the glaciers as the roof pendant is located near the ridge top of Red Peak and moves off to the southeast, away from Lake No. 3. I do want to hike to the top of Brown Mountain and see if indeed the mountain was covered in glacial ice.



Junonia coenia, Common Buckeye

This photograph was taken in our Sacramento neighborhood. It is "Silent Spring" here in Sacramento, so I was happy to see this butterfly. There were also some Tiger Swallowtails, however I was not able to get a photograph of them. In the mountains the are many butterflies. I log about 10 different species per trip, however I admit that there is still much for me to learn about our native Lepidoptera species.



This is a view of Lake No. 3. As you can see there is plenty of snow.



Some interesting lichens - Lecidea atrobrunnea on granite.



Candelariella vitellina



Wolf Lichen, Letharia vulpina, is very common on the trunks of Red Fir, Abies magnifica, although I do see it on other species such as Incense Cedar, Calocedrus decurrens.

A lovely scene from Norway. I hope you can share more photographs. Maybe with the dry weather there are no wildflowers this year?

Anyway.... I am working on my posting for Lake No. 3 and Red Peak. There is a lot of material to work with so maybe Tuesday - Wednesday I will have something ready to post.