Post Conference Workshop 1:
Rare Plants of Northern California Vernal Pools
Sponsored by The California Native Plant Society and Northern California Botanists

Instructors: Carol Witham and Jennifer Buck

California vernal pools have been called spatially-stable, pedo-climax
community dominated by dwarfish annual plant species. There are about 200
plants known to occur in vernal pools of which half are endemic to this
ecosystem. Most of the plants are small. There is a dizzing array of cyptic
species in several of the endemic genera such as Lasthenia, Plagiobothrys,
and Orcuttia. These genera also contain rare, threatened and endangered
species.

This one day laboratory course will focus on identification of vernal pool
rare plants of the Sacramento Valley. Participants will learn characters
used to distinguish the rare species beyond those used in the typical
dichotomous plant key. Specific microhabitat for the species will also be
discussed. Participants will receive numerous handouts to aid their future
rare plant survey work.

Participants are expected to have completed a plant taxonomy course.

Post Conference Workshop 2:
Conducting Rare Plant Assessments
Sponsored by The California Native Plant Society and Northern California Botanists

129 Holt Hall; 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Instructor: John Dittes

This is a short course on rare plant survey protocols with an emphasis on pre-field information review, field survey methods, mapping techniques, and reporting standards. This course is intended for environmental consultants, agency staff, and students of natural sciences who would like to improve their working skills in the applied field of rare plant conservation.

Attendees will learn about:

• basic NEPA and CEQA requirements, and CNPS guidelines for rare plant assessments
• basic geographical and ecological characteristics of rare plants and rare plant populations
• accessing and reviewing data, including the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), geology maps, soil surveys, aerial photos and topographic maps
• developing a list of "target species"
• field survey strategies and techniques
• mapping and use of GPS and GIS technology
• estimating plant numbers and population/occurrence sizes
• conducting floristic inventories
• when and how to collect a voucher specimen; importance of herbaria
• producing a quality botany report (including CNDDB forms)
• assessment of direct, indirect and cumulative effects
• mitigation approaches
• ethical considerations for professional botanists/biologists and planners

A variety of California Bio-Regions, plant communities and plant species will be touched upon during discussion; information learned is applicable to botanical assessments conducted anywhere in California.

The class will be lecture-based with power-point presentation, hard-copy examples provided, and group discussion. We will meet at CSU Chico in Holt Hall 129. The class will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a 1-hour break for lunch.

Participants who successfully complete an end-of class (open-note) and short take-home test (to be returned within 1-week) will recieve a certificate of completion.

Post Conference Workshop 3:
Traditional Land Care Practices of Indian Peoples on the Pacific Slope and Their Relevance to Restoration Today
Sponsored by The California Native Plant Society and Northern California Botanists

Instructors: Dennis Martinez and Don Hankins

This workshop will present an overview of the traditional landcare practices (TLPs) of Indian peoples of the Pacific Slope. We will argue that the rich cultures of the Pacific Slope worked very hard at plant, animal, and fish “management” including regular prescription fire, cleaning of salmon spawning beds, outplanting culturally favored plant species, transplanting of salmon, selective animal and plant harvesting, and pruning and other horticultural practices in a land tenure system which required families and clans that used cultural resources to take “turf” responsibility for TLPs necessary for their maintenance over hundreds of generations.