Wednesday Weed Walks

Pat Matthews has decided to lead weekly Wednesday weed walks (that's a lot of w's) for the month of March. Each weed walk will occur from 8am - 11am and will focus on clearing Sahara mustard and Volutaria from wildflower areas in the valley. To minimize bending over participants will use Hula Hos (or D-hoe or stirrup hoe).

Meet each Wednesday in March at 8:00 AM at the Anza Borrego Desert Natural History Association parking lot.  People should bring water, hat, gloves and a Hula Ho if you have it. Some hoes are available.

Three New National Monuments in the California Desert

President Obama has announced the designation of three new national monuments in the California desert -- Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains -- protecting 1.8 million acres of desert lands. The Mojave Trails National Monument, at 1.4 million acres, helps link Mojave National Preserve and Joshua Tree National Park, allowing wildlife to migrate in a changing climate.

In permanently protecting these special places, the president follows in the footsteps of nearly every president since 1906, who have used the Antiquities Act to leave a legacy of national monuments more than 140 times. These new monuments are habitat for rare wildlife like desert tortoises, Mohave fringe-toed lizards, desert kit foxes and western burrowing owls.

Read more in the Los Angeles Times and get the details on all three monuments.

Modified from Center for Biological Diversity

Daniel Winkler to Speak on Desert Extremes and Plant Communities

Daniel Winkler

Daniel Winkler is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Irvine and a National Park Service Young Leader in Climate Change at Saguaro National Park. He worked for several years throughout the Sonoran Desert as a Biological Science Technician for the National Park Service’s Sonoran Desert Network before returning to school to get his Master’s in Environmental Systems from the University of California, Merced. Most of current PhD work brings him to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park where he is investigating the spread of the invasive Sahara mustard across the southwestern US.

Daniel is a plant ecophysiologist interested in invasive species and how they alter native plant communities in “extreme” environments. His field sites include much of the desert southwest, alpine regions of Colorado, the sky islands of Baja California, and the tundra of northern Japan. All of Daniel’s research focuses on climate change impacts on native systems, with an emphasis on Parks and protected areas.

Who: Daniel Winkler, Graduate Student, University of California, Irvine
What: Desert 'extremes' and plant communities out of balance
When: Monday, March 14, 2016; 10 AM
Where: Discovery Lab, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Visitor Center
Cost: Free to the public

February Newsletter Has Been Posted

The ABDSP BOTANY SOCIETY NEWSLETTER for February 2016 has been published. This issue features information on the Botany Certification Course activities and February schedule, a book report on The Triumph of Seeds by Marilyn Dickson, which was the focus of the Botany Study Group, and an installment of The Native Garden featuring Rush Milkweed by Don Rideout.

You can download the latest issue to your computer and read it on screen or print it out and read a hardcopy version. In addition, all Botany Society newsletters are now published electronically on the ezine (electronic magazine) Web site Issuu. By clicking on the link you can go directly to an index of all Botany Society newsletters and other documents. The newsletters can then be read in a professional magazine-like format.

Publishing on Issuu gives the Botany Society the ability to publish instantly and makes the newsletters available to any reader worldwide. Coincidentally, the Anza Borrego Foundation also publishes its newsletters on Issuu as well. Lastly, there are other publications focusing on botany on the site such as the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont, California. Check it out.

Don and Shiela Rideout, editors, remind all members that their contributions to the newsletter are welcomed. You can email news briefs, blurbs, bits, and blog writings directly to Don. 

Don Fosket to Speak on Physiological and Biochemical Adaptations for Drought Resistance in Desert Plants

Dr. Don Fosket, Professor Emeritus, Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, will speak at the next public Botany Society public speakers program.  Don has a BA and PhD in Biological Sciences and has done postdoctoral work at Harvard University and Brookhaven National Labs.

Dr. Fosket's current research interests include hormonal control of plant cell division and differentiation, sex determination in Jojoba and White Ash, and plant response to stress, particularly drought stress.

When not conducting his research he spends his time hiking in mountains and deserts and taking pictures of what he encounters. Don also enjoys gardening.

Who: Dr. Don Fosket, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine
What: Physiological and Biochemical Adaptations for Drought Resistant Desert Plants
When: Monday, February 8, 2016; 10 AM
Where: Discovery Lab, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Visitor Center
Cost: Free to the public