350 Day!!!

Native Plants from the Seed Packet

Go to the following website for information on the seeds from the seedpacket. The ones in there are from the Nature Mix http://www.californianativeplants.com/index.php/plants/wildflower-seed-mixes

Save the Wetlands!!!

Save the Wetlands!!

October 12th 2pm
Long Beach City Hall
Council Chambers

Remember when the wetlands were bulldozed? The perpetrators are about to get away with it.

Before the Coastal Commission listens to the horrible news about wetlands destruction, the City of Long Beach is having a hearing on the illegal scraping of the wetlands by the 2H Construction Company near Loynes and Studebaker.

If you do not speak out at this meeting you cannot speak out at the important Coastal Commission hearing.

Please keep visiting
EcoLink4usWater.blogspot.com
For a template of a letter to send in.

Visit Lcwlandtrust.org
For more information on this

Come to the hearing, wear blue or green at the meeting to show your allegiance to Los Cerritos Wetlands

Just a small rant

So there is an entity called the CUWCC, thats the California Urban Water Conservation Council. There is also this entity called MWD, Metropolitan Water District. Under MWD there are 23 member agencies. MWD buys water from a few different sources (state water project, colorado river, etc) and the 23 member agencies (in Southern California) purchase about 80% of their water from MWD. Every two years, all 23 member agencies and MWD must report BMPs, Best Management Practices to the CUWCC. With me so far? :) There are at last count about 14 BMPs that the 23 member agencies have to follow. These are guidelines set up by the CUWCC to make sure that the member agencies have programs and plans in place to conserve water. Rebate programs, education programs, programs to fix leaks, etc. There is new legislation going through Congress because of the Governors call to arms on the 'drought'. It pains me, to have to say that at last count, 22 out of the 23 member agencies are signing on to a piece of legislation with sweetheart loopholes in them which essentially tricks the environmental lobby by making it appear that they are conserving water when in reality they aren't. 1 of the member agencies came up with a simple plan that would work to truly conserve water. Because the remaining 22 didn't like it - they called a SECRET MEETING to word the legislation to make it that the 1 agency wouldn't be in compliance. Because they wanted to actually save water. Because they think that this water situation won't be fixed by a rainy season. Its a new way of life. The sooner we embrace that the sooner life will be easier. Instead these people don't care enough about our future to make an effort now. Reason 493928 that its important now more than ever to get involved!!!!

EcoLink Letter re the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Swap

Below is the letter that EcoLink sent to the Mayor and City Council about the new Land Swap. This whole deal is exciting and we are enthused to see it progress intelligently and inclusively!

February 2, 2009

Re: Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Swap 2.0

Dear Mayor Foster and Long Beach City Council members:

We appreciate City staff and elected representatives for the hard and creative work of negotiating complex environmental and real estate issues involved in the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Swap. In these difficult economic times, it is exciting to see pro-activity with such important ramifications for our bio-region. Preserving these vital wetlands furthers the City’s commitment to our environmental health.

While we applaud the conservation, restoration and recreation of our wetlands, it would be irresponsible of us as stakeholders and invested community members to allow this deal to proceed without review and comment. The long-term consequences of this proposal require an open and honest airing of interests and concerns.

Questions which need to be explored include:
1. What is the motivation behind negotiating this deal in sections -- splitting the Los Cerritos Wetlands complex?
2. Why can’t the City retain the mineral rights and fully own the land?
3. If the current landowner does end up with the mineral rights, wouldn’t it be appropriate for them to accept responsibility for the hazmat cleanup after the oil is gone?
4. What is the City’s plan for this property after acquisition? Is it being acquired for eventual transfer to the Los Cerritos Wetland Authority, and are there plans for using the land for easing traffic congestion on 2ndSt?
5. What are the limits of the Coastal Commission’s power to curtail development on this property, due to its high probability of being classified as a wetland?
6. Has there been provision made to reserve a portion of the S. F. Yard as an easement to continue the L.A. River corridor for recreation and for wildlife?


Please consider providing a venue for community dialogue much like the constructive recent Breakwater workshops ably moderated by Councilman Patrick O’Donnell. We would be glad to assist in this effort.
Truly,
C. R. Ward, Chair
ECO-Link

Salt Marsh Plant #5: Salt Marsh Dodder- Cuscuta Salina

Okay, I haven't posted in a while but here's another plant...

It’s orange. It sinks it’s ‘teeth’ into another plant. It ‘smells’ other plants. No roots. It looks like it has no leaves. It is quick to search out a victim.

This is a plant, right?

Cuscuta salina is a parasite in the salt-marsh, visible by the tangled mats of orange wrapped amongst the green pickleweed stems. Maybe we need to clarify some things before we talk about Cuscuta proper. First a parasite isn’t necessarily bad; parasites don’t kill their host (well, sometimes I suppose), they need the host to live. A parasitoid kills the host; a parasite needs the host for all of their own nutrition. For this plant, parasitism gives it its unique characteristics. It is orange because it doesn’t get nutrition from the sun but rather from the water and nutrients made from the sun in other plants. To do this, Cuscuta has haustoria (teeth) that puncture the host plant tissue and, like a vampire, suck out a bunch of that goodness (but not too much because then it would kill it).

What is fun about this plant- other than it being orange- is that it grows from one of the gazillion little seeds put out by the fruit, quickly shooting into the air and then searching for the nearest green thing to attach itself to. How it does this is through ‘smelling’ its host. There are airborne chemicals produced by its favorite plant(s) and the Dodder will follow its ‘nose’ to the source. Once attached, the roots are no longer necessary and they shrivel up and go away.

This particular species has an affinity for halophytes (salt-marsh plants). It too can live with salt (not too hard, I would imagine, for a plant that doesn’t have roots) but, more importantly, it likes the smell of salty plants. I see it on top of all the salt marsh plants but mostly on pickleweed. This is one my favorites to show kids because it looks like silly string.

It is in the Convolvulaceae family, related to Morning Glory. It has really pretty, itty-bitty white flowers when it blossoms in the summer.

I am attaching a link that has much better photos and more technical verbiage. And a video that takes forever to download but is kinda cool. http://www.swarthmore.edu/NatSci/cpurrin1/dodder.htm
Oh and the photo above is from the Aquarium of the Pacific - an amazing place in Long Beach to learn about Marine everything! And they have Sea Lions which is never bad.

Enjoy

Taylor

Recent Storms Do Little for Water Supply Outlook

Thursday, December 18, 2008
BREAKING NEWS
Recent Storms Do Little for Water Supply Outlook Despite wet weather, snowpack remains well below normal; continued conservation critical
LONG BEACH, CA - Long Beach Water officials are today reminding customers to continue conserving all the water they can by taking advantage of the recent wet weather and shutting off irrigation systems until the middle of next week. While recent storms have provided local rain and snow, snowpack in the northern Sierra Nevada is currently 90 percent below normal for the year. Northern Sierra snowpack is a primary imported water source for Central Valley and southern California farms and cities. Long Beach imports half its water supply. "We need to take advantage of the rain we've received over the last couple of days and use it wisely," according to Matt Lyons, Director of Conservation and Planning for the Long Beach Water Department. "This rain is enough to allow all of us to shut our irrigation systems off for several days." Between 50 and 70 percent of all the water used in Long Beach is used outside the home, primarily on lush, non-native landscapes. "Not having to irrigate for 4 to 6 days saves vast amounts of water," added Lyons. Compounding the necessity to conserve, earlier this week, federal wildlife officials released NEW restrictions on pumping from northern California, further exacerbating the water supply reliability problems for imported water users in cities like Long Beach, as well as San Joaquin Valley farms. The curbs placed on pumping water through the Bay Delta are intended to save the Delta Smelt, an endangered fish, from extinction. A new biological opinion, released on Monday by Fish and Wildlife's office in Sacramento, supports continuing current pumping restrictions , which have resulted in a 20 to 30 percent reduction in water deliveries, but also adopts additional pumping restrictions that the agency believes will help improve Delta Smelt habitat. These additional restrictions could in some years cut imported water deliveries to the Central Valley and southern California by half, which is a worst case scenario, but entirely feasible. Again, the Bay Delta (State Water Project) provides about 30 percent of southern California's imported water supply.According to Kevin Wattier, General Manager of the Long Beach Water Department, the extremely weak snowpack, coupled with desperately low water storage throughout the state, not to mention the endangered species issues in the Bay Delta itself, should be a catalyst for southern California water managers to immediately increase action on extraordinary conservation measures. "We need a region-wide, full-scale effort to permanently prohibit certain outdoor watering activities." "Mandated prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water, which were adopted in Long Beach in September of 2007, continue to be the very best, most immediate way to save vast amounts of water," states John Allen, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners. With these mandated prohibitions, over the last twelve months, Long Beach residents have consumed less water than at any time over the past 10 years. Consumption for the past 12 months is 10.1 percent below the historical 10-year average. "We understood there would be a learning curve for us all, and that exercising these new practices would help us become the very best prepared city in southern California to deal with severe shortages; we're ready and we think it's prudent that other communities do the same," he added.The Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners has continued to call for increased action throughout southern California, with regard to extraordinary water conservation, and particularly prohibitions on certain outdoor uses of water.Long Beach Water is an urban, southern California retail water supply agency, and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.

Delta Smelt

U.S. tightens the tap on water from Northern California

New restrictions are intended to protect the delta smelt

and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
By Bettina Boxall December 16, 2008

Federal wildlife officials on Monday released new restrictions on pumping water from Northern California, further tightening the spigot on flows to Southern California cities and San Joaquin Valley farms.The curbs, intended to keep the tiny delta smelt from extinction and stem the ecological collapse of California's water crossroads, could in some years cut state water deliveries by half.

"The water supply is becoming less certain," state water resources Director Lester Snow said.The cutbacks will vary depending on conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the smelt's only home and a major source of water for the majority of Californians.In a typical year, the smelt protections will slash California State Water Project deliveries 20% to 30% -- essentially maintaining the level of cuts ordered this year by a federal judge. Under the worst conditions, that figure could climb to 50%.
The limits come on the heels of two dry years, growing concern over diminished supplies from the Colorado River and a biological meltdown in the delta east of San Francisco."We're going to keep doing this until we do a long-term fix in the delta," said Snow, complaining that the federal action placed too much of the blame for the smelt's problems on the huge delta pumps that send water south.Chemical contamination, invasive species, power plant operations and climate are all hurting the delta, he said. Federal scientists say pumping has altered the hydrology and salinity of the delta and as a result, its suitability as a wildlife habitat. The pumps are so powerful that they reverse delta water flows, carrying fish to the pumps. The smelt has become the emblem of the delta's environmental troubles. But it is just one of several delta fish species in trouble. Recreational and commercial fishing for chinook salmon, which migrate through the delta to the Sacramento River, was banned this year because the fall-run population was so low.The new restrictions are contained in a biological opinion issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 410-page document deals with the operation of the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, California's two biggest water systems.Ruling in one of a host of lawsuits that have been filed by environmental groups, U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger last year threw out an earlier opinion prepared by the service that concluded the projects wouldn't jeopardize the smelt's continued existence.Wanger called that finding "arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law," ordered the agency to prepare a new one and imposed a set of interim pumping curbs that reduced the amount of water exported from the delta this year by enough water to supply more than 1 million households.The new opinion, released by fish and wildlife's Sacramento office, reversed the agency's stance, essentially continuing the temporary curbs and adopting additional ones to improve smelt habitat and keep the fish away from the pumps."This is a major new reduction in water deliveries that will impact families, businesses and farmers throughout California," said Laura King Moon, assistant general manager of the State Water Contractors. The state project, which will be the most affected, provides about a third of the Southland's urban water. The rest comes from the eastern Sierra, the Colorado River, local groundwater reserves and reclaimed supplies.An ongoing drought in the Colorado basin has cut deliveries of surplus water that Southern California has long depended on. And a statewide drought has depleted reservoirs the length and breadth of California. If this is another dry winter, managers for the Southland's biggest water agency say they will have to cut deliveries to local districts.Agriculture interests have called for new reservoirs, water districts are urging homeowners to conserve water and environmentalists say it's time to recognize the limits of California's water supply."We need to make a fundamental change in how we see and use water," said Doug Obegi, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups that filed the smelt lawsuit. "There are a ton more opportunities in water conservation, improved groundwater management, water recycling and design that captures storm water."

Me: It makes you wonder, do men like Lester Snow and Dallas Raines HAVE to work with water/weather? Did their names leave them any choice?

On a serious note, at the water department we are definitely feeling the cut in water. With all of the work I do, and all of the numbers I see its also shocking how EASY it would be to live within our means of water. Sacrafice, if thats what you want to call it, would be necessary but with all of the good that comes from it I don't see why anyone would fight it. It seems so obvious. Getting THAT word out to people is so hard. Instead we are forced to come up with catchy (or not so catchy) advertising. I'd like to see a program, just a 30 minute segment on 2,4,5,7, or 11 - explaining the situation. It may be my naiive optimism but I think if everyone actually understood what was happening, they would change their behavior and water habits.

Salt Marsh Plant(s) #5 - Pickleweed(s)

The Pickleweeds. Sounds like a dysfunctional family on a bad sitcom. No? My career as a screenwriter is over before it started. Well, in reality, they are in the Chenopodiaceae Family, also known as the Goosefoot Family, one of the older flowering plant families. The Pickleweeds are actually three different species in the Salicornia genus: Dwarf Pickleweed (Salicornia bigelovii), Parish’s Pickleweed (Salicornia subterminalis) and Common Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica).

I grouped the three species together because people love the Pickleweed. On nature walks, people love to point it out; its celebrity precedes it. Also, you can munch on it and the response is always so wonderful when different audiences watch me demonstrate the Pickleweed’s edibility (sidenote: eating wild plants is one of my favorite things to do on a nature walk because most people equate anything not approved by the grocery store as something analogous to Fear Factor). Pickleweed is also highly visible: it has bright green, succulent “pickles” sticking in the air.

But wait, if there are three species of it are we talking about the same plant? Yes. I mean no. The confusion comes from the common name because they are all called Pickleweed. While they look different from each other they have similar characteristics. Most people know Pickleweed because Salicornia virginica can be found dominant throughout the marsh plain and we attribute the same idea for the others. But each species is very unique, destined to inhabit a particular part of the marsh, sometimes at different times. Blah, blah, blah. What does that mean though?

Parish’s Pickleweed (Salicornia subterminalis) is a perennial that grows in the high-marsh and is the most deeply verdant, stubbiest and shrubbiest out of the three. It makes a wonderful home for the Belding’s Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi), a State-Endangered species of bird that resides in the marsh throughout the year.

Common Pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) is the one everyone talks about. This perennial grows throughout the middle-marsh and is the most pickley of the Pickleweeds: green, salty and it tastes most similar – I promise.

Dwarf Pickleweed (Salicornia bigelovii) is the odd-ball of the family. Instead of hanging out in the marsh throughout the year, this guy pops up in the summer and fall and goes on vacation the rest of the year. Or something like that. This Pickleweed is an annual: it grows up as big and strong as it can then exhausts its resources, flowers, fruits and in a miraculous example of nature, dries out and drops seed.

The Pickleweeds are really interesting plants that grow no taller than knee high. They have itty-bitty flowers with no petals, just stamens and anthers sticking out of the green stalks. The plants remind me of miniature Saguaro Cactuses, just as stoic yet a lot less spiny. They are halophytes like all the plants I write about, which means that they don’t need salt-water to live but have adapted to living within the briny water.

One of the coolest things about the Pickleweeds is that they are high in natural oils. This and the fact that they can live, flourish even, with saline and somewhat toxic water has made them highly attractive to some creative individuals attempting to solve some of the world’s pressing environmental problems. This group is taking the Salicornia and utilizing it for food crop, bio-fuel and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. All this with salt-water, thus saving highly valuable fresh water. Pretty amazing. You can read more about it here: LATimes. If not a sitcom, how about a Super Hero story? Too cheesy? Ok, I’ll stick to plants.

Enjoy,

Taylor

Salt Marsh Plant #4: Turtleweed - Batis maritima

One of my favorite things about enjoying a marsh is floating above it in a boat searching the water below for the universe that has been covered by the tide. It is as if you are flying high over a rainforest and far below is a dense world that you want to enter. On the surface tension are spiders and beetles running from one blade of protruding grass to another and occasionally a smelt or crab will scurry further below. It is very dynamic and happily keeps me mesmerized. For the most part, the plants are stationary and the animals are the ones that move with the tidal influence. There is one plant though, that, no matter how many times I see it, enthralls me. This fun plant, while attached with its roots in the ground, sends stolons with succulent green leaves, that are, in essence, little balloons lifting the unattached parts of the plant above the soil when the water encompasses all. What you’ll see when the tide is in is a floating, branching yellow-green bubbly mat with an anchor line stuck in the mud below.

Batis maritima, also known as –ready— Turtleweed, Saltwort and Beachwort (great names!), is a succulent mid-marsh denizen that creeps around the marsh dropping its roots where it is able. Truly remarkable, this plant snakes in and out of dominant patches of other plants and is found throughout the marsh to some degree. Although it enjoys the mid-marsh, it will search out both the high and low for an appealing place of residence. In the marsh plain, where all sorts of heterogeneous topographies are found, the best contrast of the biotic and abiotic is when Batis encircles a salt-panne creating a border around the barren mud. When it aggregates around something, it looks as if the soil below it is bubbling over in a snotty viscous cancer: green warts multiplying and calcifying together.

It is native to southern coastal areas of North America and into Central and South America. It is the only species in its family (Bataceae) around here. It is an invasive weed in Hawaii actually and apparently there are major eradication programs to take it out. I have no idea what pollinates this plant. Its sexual parts are incredibly tiny and I can only imagine one of the many ity-bity wetland pollinators loving it. I have no idea what eats it; it tastes salty (as all salt-marsh plants do) and I can imagine some salt-marsh shrew chewing through its juicy leaves.

Batis is actually, if I can say this, my favorite plant. I really don’t know why. There are other plants with gorgeous flowers (The Hibiscus wins this one for me- every time I see one I think of Aime Cesaire: “The hibiscus is but an exploded eye.”), with more interesting characteristics and behaviors (The Drosera or Sundew is a prime example as it is a carnivorous plant that lives in bogs –not needing to derive sustenance from its roots, certain species will actually move throughout a wetland if a current propels them so) and more dominating personalities (I am thinking of any large tree but specifically the Giant Redwoods in Northern California). There are so many plants that I am thinking of right now that are incredibly unique but there is something about Batis. It is strong in its resilience, unassuming with its size, uncompromising in its presence. Its flowers are nothing more than pencil-tip-sized pistils and stamens sticking out of a green bulb no larger than the tip of your pinky—no colorful petals, no inviting smells. Its fruit is that same pinky-sized bulb transformed into an incongruous dense pebble.

Maybe I like it because it was the first plant I recognized in the marsh and it is nostalgia, I don’t honestly remember. Maybe I like it because one of its common names is Turtleweed. I know every time I see it though, floating or not, I am captivated.

Enjoy,

Taylor