Santa Clara Valley Chapter
Chapter history | Membership | Chapter Activities | CNPS Policies & Legislative Activities | Patterns on the Hills | Plant Communities | Public Lands & Public Agencies | Rare & Endangered | Gardening with Natives | Gardens & Nurseries | Books and Publications | Weeds & Invasive Exotics | Birds, Wildlife & Native Plants
his issue of The Blazing Star has been prepared
to introduce new members to the Santa Clara Valley Chapter (serving both Santa
Clara and San Mateo counties) of the California
Native Plant Society (CNPS).
The Chapter's first twenty years, a brief history (PDF), by Jean Sorenson, chapter historian.
The Santa Clara Valley Chapter was founded in 1972, meeting a growing need for action concerning the native flora of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The first chapter field trip was led by Gerda Isenberg, April 22, 1972, to the Yerba Buena Native Plant Nursery. Fifteen members participated. The first issue of the chapter newsletter, The Blazing Star, was June 1, 1972, and the first wildflower show was held at the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation April 29, 1973. The newsletter, wildflower show, field trips and chapter meetings continue to this day, as has the growth of our membership devoted to the enjoyment of our native flora and its preservation. The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) is a state-wide organization dedicated to the preservation of the California native flora in its native habitat. In 1965 a group of citizens in the East Bay organized meetings to campaign against the dismantling of the arboretum in Tilden Park. Their success led to the founding of the first CNPS chapter in Sacramento in 1967.
Natalie Hopkins, the chapter's second president, died April 15, 2007. The Center for Biological Diversity published an obituary in Endangered Earth, Fall 2007, p. 11.
Check for upcoming events in The
Blazing Star or contact chapter officers
and chairpersons.
Muir fought the battle of Hetch Hetchy every year for thirteen years, and he only lost it once. That is the tragedy of conservation battles. (Dick Leonard, past-president Sierra Club)
The California Native Plant Society is a federation of 28 chapters, and while each has a great deal of autonomy, there are some policies set by the Executive Council and the State Board to govern their activities.
There is a policy on lawsuits, for example. No member or chapter can enter into a lawsuit voluntarily without approval of the Executive Council. The by-laws state the purpose of CNPS is serving and protecting native flora, preserving plant communities, and fostering horticultural use of California native plants. CNPS does not get involved with things like air quality and population growth; it sticks to plants.
There are several policies on horticultural use of native plants, covering the taking of seed (use good judgment) and plants (don't), use of natives that occur locally to create assemblages consistent with surrounding native vegetation, use of exotic species such as broom and pampas grass (no), and use of controlled burning (it's okay when done carefully). There is a policy governing preparation and review of environmental documents which is too long to cover here. The policy on tree planting generally follows the guidelines set forth in the policies on horticultural use of native plants.
In order to preserve its tax-exempt status there is a policy on lobbying and involvement in politics. CNPS may not spend a substantial part of its expenses on attempts to influence legislation and may not endorse or oppose candidates for office. Letter writing, lobbying non-legislative rule-making agencies, and expert testimony before legislative committees or agencies are not included in this restriction.
CNPS members sometimes testify before legislative committees as experts on native plants. Also, the Society monitors legislation in Sacramento and Washington D.C., and tries to keep its membership informed on proposed laws which affect native plants. You may be asked to write an elected representative in favor of a good bill or in opposition to a bad one. There are a surprising number of bills which affect native plants in Sacramento and Washington. For example, CNPS is concerned with forestry, wetlands, endangered species, environmental controls, habitat acquisition, and frequently in legislation which affects native plants in a particular area.
You can write your California State Assembly Member, Senator and Governor (call your public library or the CNPS Legislative Chair or search Know Your Legislators for the names of current office holders) about any bills or issues described in The Blazing Star at: State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814
Guidelines for writing
effective letters to your elected officials. Other suggestions from Patagonia.
Governmental and non-governmental agencies active
in our area:
Elna Bakker in her book An Island Called California: an ecological introduction to its natural communities writes:
Anyone driving the fifteen miles from Mill Valley to Bolinas Lagoon in Marin County will pass through or alongside seven of the natural communities found in California: chaparral, coastal scrub, grassland, coniferous forest, broadleaf evergreen forest, beach strand, and salt marsh. This mosaic of plant associations is quite bewildering to the casual observer. Why is there grassland adjacent to a dense redwood forest? Why is there chaparral here and a magnificent stand of Douglas Fir there? Common sense would suggest a reasonable uniformity of natural vegetation in the five crow miles between these two points. Marin County, however, is only a segment of many square miles of similar coastal landscape. This crazy-quilt arrangement is characteristic of many California hillsides [and] the inner Coast Ranges, those east of San Francisco Bay, share many species and communities with the fog-hooded mountains to the west.
Bakker's book, available from the chapter, along with other titles listed in the section Publications About Our Local Flora, will help you answer these questions.
Chapter members help locate and document rare and endangered plants. The CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California (5 ed., print and electronic, 1994) lists 43 plants in Santa Clara county and 47 in San Mateo county. This information is included in the CalFlora Database. In 1995 chapter members Toni Corelli and Zoe Chandik authored the illustrated book The Rare and Endangered Plants of San Mateo and Santa Clara County. A revision or supplement is planned.
Chapter activity is coordinated by the Rare and Endangered Plant Committee, and is done in cooperation with the State Department of Fish & Game using the department's Natural Diversity Data Base. Committee members submitted successful petitions in 1991 to the Fish and Game Commission requesting listing for three plants under the California Endangered Species Act. Members interested in participating in Committee work need not have previous experience in botanical field work, though it is helpful. Contact the Rare and Endangered Plants committee chair with questions.
Other material on rare & endangered plants:
Chapter history | Membership | Chapter Activities | CNPS Policies & Legislative Activities | Patterns on the Hills | Plant Communities | Public Lands & Public Agencies | Rare & Endangered | Gardening with Natives | Gardens & Nurseries | Books and Publications | Weeds & Invasive Exotics | Birds, Wildlife & Native Plants
©
Lottie Jenvey