San Francisco Garter Snakessssss at Cloverdale
While hiking out on Cloverdale Coastal Ranches recently, POST staffer Gordon Clark came across an endangered San Francisco Garter Snake.
San Francisco Garter Snake
The San Francisco Garter Snake has been listed as federally endangered since 1967, and we here at POST are proud to be part of regional efforts to safeguard this brightly-colored snake. In fact, our Cloverdale Coastal Ranches property is home to one of their largest populations, thanks in part to habitat restoration efforts on the property.
Using state and federal grants, POST has improved pond and wetland habitat at Cloverdale, and there are signs these efforts are succeeding. “One pond was so crowded with rushes, a person could walk across it,” says Dave Kelly, recovery program coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department in Sacramento. “Now there is open water and improved vegetation on the banks. Both are important for wildlife. Cloverdale is an excellent model for how habitat restoration should be done.”
Limited permits are available to visit Cloverdale. If you’re interested, please contact Catherine Waterston at cwaterston at openspacetrust.org.
Spring Hike at Rancho Cañada del Oro
On April 10, POST held a Walk & Talk at our Rancho Cañada del Oro property in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of Bailey Avenue and McKean Road in south Santa Clara County. Nature photographer and POST donor Judy Kramer (www.earthwitnessphoto.com) was on hand to offer wildflower photography tips as the group explored lush fields of Hound’s Tongue, Purple Owl’s Clover and Blue-Eyed Grass. And of course California’s iconic Poppy! Spring is a very special time to visit this POST-protected property, so click here for directions and more info!
You can also visit POST donor Renate Kempf’s blog to see her beautiful photographs and read her firsthand account of the outing! Thanks, Renate!
Buttercups © Renate Kempf
POST’s Walks & Talks are a benefit to our donors who give $500 or more annually. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Katie Morris at kmorris at openspacetrust.org.
Follow-up: Prescribed Burn at Cloverdale
By Jeff Powers, Conservation Project Manager, Cloverdale Coastal Ranches
As we reported in the fall, on October 20, 2010 CalFire completed a prescribed fire on 400 acres in the central part of POST’s Cloverdale Coastal Ranches. For the past seven years I have been working with the CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), the CA Department of Fish and Game (CFG) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to implement a prescribed fire program. This was the fifth prescribed fire in the last eight years at Cloverdale.
The following link from POST volunteer Curt Rowe shows how quickly the prescribed fire areas really “green up” and rejuvenate. In just a matter of weeks following the on-set of winter rains the seasonal ponds are filling in and the hillsides are covered in a carpet of new, green vegetation. Another POST volunteer, trained botanist Neal Kramer, also provided assistance in establishing the photo points that have been set up at Cloverdale. Both Curt and Neal plan to provide updated photos to the link every few months or so to record the changes in vegetation over the next several years. POST is very appreciative of their efforts and will be sure to share their results with you!
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll see at the link:
And if you’re interested in helping POST by becoming a volunteer, check out this link to learn more!
POST
Jeff Powers
Paul Ringgold
Meghan Scanlon
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