Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Loch Lomond Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve
of 8.22 acres (33,265.2 m²) in the community of Loch Lomond
in Lake County, California
. It is one of 119 ecological reserves managed by the California Department of Fish and Game
(CDFG). The ecological reserve system was authorized by the state legislature in 1968 for the purpose of conservation and protection of rare plants, animals and habitats.
The vernal pool
provides habitat for the rare and endangered Loch Lomond button celery (Eryngium constancei
) (also called coyote-thistle and Constance's coyote-thistle). The button celery was first collected in the vernal pool in 1941, and not until the late 1990s was there another discovery at two other locations in Lake County and one location in Sonoma County.
The southern portion of Lake County is in the Mayacamas Mountains of the California Coast Ranges.
Nearby Cobb Mountain
(4,722 ft) is the highest peak. Although extensively logged in the past, this area still has Ponderosa pine
, sugar pine
, and Douglas fir, as well as black oak
, with an underbrush of manzanita
, ground rose, coffeeberry and California lilac
.
in 1985 as an emergency measure due to the threat of habitat destruction from proposed dredging and filling of the vernal pool.
The land was purchased by the CDFG on March 28, 1988 for $46,000 with funds provided by the State Public Works Board and the California Wildlife Conservation Board. A post and rail fence was installed by CDGF to limit access.
Historically, the area was used as a recreation field for baseball games, horseback riding, ice-skating, volleyball and cycling and was adjacent to the Loch Lomond Lodge, a popular resort until destroyed by fire on August 14, 1967.
The emergency listing in the Federal Register by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) occurred in August, 1985 (50 FR 31187) to prevent the possible extinction
of the species. (At the time, the Reserve had the only known population. Since the 1990s, three more populations have been found.)
The emergency listing expired on March 29, 1986 and a new proposed rule was submitted by USFWS on March 26 which included public notification and request for comments. A Final Rule was issued and the button celery was federally listed as Endangered on January 22, 1987.
The landowner was planning construction of a pool or lake at the site and excavation had already begun, so the disturbed area was graded and reseeded with button celery. Other threats included off-highway vehicles, people treading through the meadow, and illegal dumping.
During the rainy season, off-road vehicles are still a problem, and the Department of Fish and Game is currently surveying the property for installation of new fencing.
The many-flowered navarretia is state (1979) and federal (1997) listed as endangered. It grows in wetland habitats near Ponderosa pine woodlands. An annual wildflower of the Phlox family (Polemoniaceae
) that has only been found in the California counties of Lake, Sonoma and Napa.
The plant form is a prostrate mat, flowers are clusters of white or blue with the bloom period in May through June.
Identification is difficult as the many-flowered navarretia closely resembles the few-flowered navarretia and Baker's navarrettia and will hybridize with few-flowered navarretia.
The few-flowered navarretia is state (1990) and federal (1997) listed as endangered.
Very similar to many-flowered navarretia, differences include smaller white or blue flowers and the plant stems are white with purple streaks. The species account from US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento reports that only Napa County
has a population of few-flowered navarretia remaining. Historically, there were populations at the Loch Lomond reserve, Boggs Lake reserve
, and in Sonoma County.
Lincoln Constance-Guggenheim Fellowship award
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
of 8.22 acres (33,265.2 m²) in the community of Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (California)
Loch Lomond is a reservoir in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Lompico, California in Santa Cruz County, California. It was created by building a dam across the Newell Creek. The Dam is an earthfill barricade, by . It was completed in the Fall of 1960, impounded water first ran over the spillway in...
in Lake County, California
Lake County, California
Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California, north of the San Francisco Bay Area. It takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic feature in the county and the largest natural lake wholly within California...
. It is one of 119 ecological reserves managed by the California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
(CDFG). The ecological reserve system was authorized by the state legislature in 1968 for the purpose of conservation and protection of rare plants, animals and habitats.
The vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
provides habitat for the rare and endangered Loch Lomond button celery (Eryngium constancei
Eryngium constancei
Eryngium constancei is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family known by the common name Loch Lomond button celery, or Loch Lomond coyote thistle. It is endemic to California, where it is known from only three occurrences north of the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the populations is at...
) (also called coyote-thistle and Constance's coyote-thistle). The button celery was first collected in the vernal pool in 1941, and not until the late 1990s was there another discovery at two other locations in Lake County and one location in Sonoma County.
The southern portion of Lake County is in the Mayacamas Mountains of the California Coast Ranges.
Nearby Cobb Mountain
Cobb Mountain
Cobb Mountain is the tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountains of California. Its 4720+ feet, main summit is located in Lake County, west of the town of Cobb...
(4,722 ft) is the highest peak. Although extensively logged in the past, this area still has Ponderosa pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane...
, sugar pine
Sugar Pine
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
, and Douglas fir, as well as black oak
California Black Oak
Quercus kelloggii, the California Black Oak, also known as simply Black Oak, or Kellogg Oak, is an oak in the red oak section , native to western North America...
, with an underbrush of manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
, ground rose, coffeeberry and California lilac
Lilac
Syringa is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family , native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere....
.
Background
The Loch Lomond button celery was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species ActEndangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
in 1985 as an emergency measure due to the threat of habitat destruction from proposed dredging and filling of the vernal pool.
The land was purchased by the CDFG on March 28, 1988 for $46,000 with funds provided by the State Public Works Board and the California Wildlife Conservation Board. A post and rail fence was installed by CDGF to limit access.
Historically, the area was used as a recreation field for baseball games, horseback riding, ice-skating, volleyball and cycling and was adjacent to the Loch Lomond Lodge, a popular resort until destroyed by fire on August 14, 1967.
Loch Lomond button celery
In 1941, Robert Hoover collected the first specimen of button celery, although the plant is named for botanist Lincoln Constance who, together with M.Yusuf Sheikh, collected samples from the vernal pool in 1973. Sheikh continued to search other areas for the button celery as part of his doctoral thesis, but found no other populations. In 1984, California state botanists also conducted a search for other populations with no success.The emergency listing in the Federal Register by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) occurred in August, 1985 (50 FR 31187) to prevent the possible extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
of the species. (At the time, the Reserve had the only known population. Since the 1990s, three more populations have been found.)
The emergency listing expired on March 29, 1986 and a new proposed rule was submitted by USFWS on March 26 which included public notification and request for comments. A Final Rule was issued and the button celery was federally listed as Endangered on January 22, 1987.
The landowner was planning construction of a pool or lake at the site and excavation had already begun, so the disturbed area was graded and reseeded with button celery. Other threats included off-highway vehicles, people treading through the meadow, and illegal dumping.
During the rainy season, off-road vehicles are still a problem, and the Department of Fish and Game is currently surveying the property for installation of new fencing.
Other rare plants
- Many-flowered navarretia (Navarretia leucocephala ssp. plieantha)
The many-flowered navarretia is state (1979) and federal (1997) listed as endangered. It grows in wetland habitats near Ponderosa pine woodlands. An annual wildflower of the Phlox family (Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae
Polemoniaceae are a family of about 25 genera with 270-400 species of annual and perennial plants, native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity in western North America, especially in California.Only one genus is found in Europe, and two in Asia, where they...
) that has only been found in the California counties of Lake, Sonoma and Napa.
The plant form is a prostrate mat, flowers are clusters of white or blue with the bloom period in May through June.
Identification is difficult as the many-flowered navarretia closely resembles the few-flowered navarretia and Baker's navarrettia and will hybridize with few-flowered navarretia.
- Few-flowered navarretia (Navarretia leucocephala ssp. pauciflora)
The few-flowered navarretia is state (1990) and federal (1997) listed as endangered.
Very similar to many-flowered navarretia, differences include smaller white or blue flowers and the plant stems are white with purple streaks. The species account from US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento reports that only Napa County
Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
has a population of few-flowered navarretia remaining. Historically, there were populations at the Loch Lomond reserve, Boggs Lake reserve
Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve
The Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in Lake County, California. The land area is about one quarter of a square mile and contains a large vernal pool as well as endangered plants such as the Boggs Lake hedge-hyssop....
, and in Sonoma County.
See also
List of California Department of Fish and Game protected areasLincoln Constance-Guggenheim Fellowship award