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To: smoothsailing

for inquiring minds....

From THE BAY LEAF... January 2010

Here’s the original story -
link and copy.

http://ebcnps.org/Bay%20Leaf%20Archives/january-10-bay-leaf-c.pdf

the saN FRANCISCO MAnZANITA IS BACK!
The San Francisco manzanita (Arctostaphylos franciscana)
was driven extinct in the 1940s, as the 1849er cemeteries of
San Francisco were developed for houses, shops, and tennis
courts. The species was part of the diverse and miraculous
Franciscan floristic region, the smallest region in California
and one largely replaced by its namesake city—fortunately,
portions are preserved in the Marin headlands, Mount San
Bruno, and key natural areas in San Francisco.
Sixty years ago, it was not certain that Franciscan communities
would be lost. Very well developed communities remained;
many associated with the 49er cemeteries on Lone Mountain
and Laurel Hill. As the forces of progress began developing
San Francisco’s remaining wild places, the legendary botanists
of yesteryear fought to preserve some remnants. In 1906,
Alice Eastwood rescued the type specimens of Arctostaphylos
franciscana by throwing them out the windows of the burning
California Academy of Sciences; decades later Alice begged
San Francisco to save part of the old Laurel Hill Cemetery for
a city botanical reserve. Before he was diverted into the war
effort, James Roof salvaged Arctostaphylos franciscana plants
from bulldozers, along with other plants which were moved
to the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden. For the rest
of his life he grieved at not rescuing more of the Franciscan
region before it was ultimately lost. By the end of the 1940s,
the old 49er bones had been moved to Colma and the San
Francisco manzanita was extinct in the wild.
Until last month. Driving home from representing Audubon
Canyon Ranch at the Sonoma Climate Change conference,
scanning the roadside for red alert invasive plants to report
to BAEDN (http://BAEDN.org), I noticed a beautiful manzanita
flowing over a sharp green serpentinite rock outcrop
just south of the Golden Gate Bridge. The manzanita looked
suspiciously wild, and so the next time I drove by I tried to
get a better look. I returned a third time, took a photo; thinking
the plant might be a Raven’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos
hookeri subsp. ravenii) I called Lew Stringer, a biologist with
the Presidio Trust.
The message I left on Lew’s answering machine was garbled
with excitement, and was cut off before I completed the story.
No matter. When I called Lew again 15 minutes later he had
already recruited his co-worker Mark Frey for a trip to the
site. Lew and Mark didn’t ignore the report. They didn’t add
it to their list of things to do if they ever have extra time. They
went directly to the site, drove past again, and then sprinted
across lanes of traffic to identify an extinct plant. Lew and
Mark are conservation heroes. Without their quick response
the plant would have been lost once again. Forever.
We know the plant would have been lost because it is growing
on a small outcropping of serpentine rock adjacent to the
highway and in the middle of planned highway construction
for the Doyle Drive project. Fortunately, we have discovered it,
identified it, and now an expert team of biologists is working
to ensure its protection. Mike Vasey and Tom Parker, manzanita
experts from San Francisco State University, are analyzing
DNA from the plant to further confirm its identity. Cuttings
of the plant have been collected so that it can be propagated
at conservation nurseries under the care of experts including
Betty Young and Holly Forbes. Representatives from Cal-
Trans, Presidio Trust, the Golden Gate National Recreation
Area, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are developing a
conservation plan that will likely involve moving the plant
and replanting it in a protected location within the Presidio.
In another stroke of luck, we already have the elements of a
plan for saving this species: National Park Service biologist
Michael Chasse had already started work on his master’s
thesis project, a plan for reintroduction and restoration of the
San Francisco manzanita.
So far this is really a story about how the system worked. I
discovered this subtly beautiful plant, reported it to colleagues
at the Presidio Trust, who mobilized instantly to protect this
tenacious survivor of another era. Presidio biologists brought
in the manzanita experts to confirm the identification, and
then Caltrans and other agency staff began working on saving
it. Now Caltrans gets to save an extinct species!
THE BAY LEAF January 2010 3
restoration team at Point isabel
But there is a lot of work ahead of us, and we need to make
some decisions. We drove this species extinct once before,
digging up the last couple of survivors and then exiling them
to foreign soil in the East Bay hills. Now we have a second
chance. To save it? To remove it again? It seems likely that we
will have to dig up the last wild plant, once again, but if we
simply dig and replant then it shows that little has changed
since the 1940s. We must do something more, something that
demonstrates our improved understanding of and commitment
to biodiversity conservation.
If we have to move the San Francisco manzanita, then we
have an obligation to move it to a new home. We have to
find an appropriate nearby site, do significant site preparation
and restoration. Then we must bring the other San
Franciscan manzanitas back from the diaspora, plant them
alongside their natural neighboring species, and give them
a new home where they can flower, bear seed, and produce
baby manzanita plants to continue the lineage. That will cost
some money, but ultimately will be something of which we
can all be proud.
If you save someone’s life you are responsible for them. I
feel that responsibility for the San Francisco manzanita. I’ve
learned a lot about this plant in recent weeks, and the more I
learn about this plant and its history the more I feel a responsibility
to make sure we do right. The special thing about this
plant is that it is a natural plant, born of a seed that fell on
the ground and germinated and has grown ever since. Our
measure of success for this opportunity isn’t saving this individual
plant, but saving that phenomenon. We have to make a
place where San Francisco manzanita plants exchange pollen,
their seeds fall to the ground, germinate, and grow long after
humans have moved on to something else. If we don’t do that
then we have blown this rare chance for a do-over.
At this point, Caltrans and other agencies are really trying to
do the right thing. I’m going to stay involved to make sure
that this will continue to be a real success story, with Caltrans
leading a solution that reclaims a home for the shrub named
after my city. I hope you will join me in thanking Caltrans and
the Presidio Trust for going the extra step—not just rescuing
this single individual, but providing leadership to restore a
site and rescue the species.
Daniel Gluesenkamp
Dr. Gluesenkamp is Director of Habitat Protection and Restoration
for Audubon Canyon Ranch’s 30 Marin and Sonoma


20 posted on 04/13/2012 4:41:59 PM PDT by CaptainPhilFan
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To: CaptainPhilFan

Daniel Gluesenkamp

Talk about obsession, man, that clown is eaten up.


30 posted on 04/13/2012 5:38:29 PM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: CaptainPhilFan
Okay, now that I've read the “other side” I can see why they wanted to save the plant.

But $205,000? That's insane.

What possible reason could there be for not having state employees in the plant management and highway departments do the labor, perhaps under the supervision of some experts in the species to make sure something didn't go wrong? I can see special procedures to make sure the sole remaining known specimen of a near-extinct wild version of a now-domesticated plant doesn't get killed in the transplantation process, but that would be in the category of maybe a few thousand dollars of staff time, not $205,000.

Somebody needs to give answers.

40 posted on 04/14/2012 7:46:50 AM PDT by darrellmaurina
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