Rare & General Botanical Surveys at VMF's New Teofulio Summit Property
After closing escrow the month before on VMF's new Teofulio Summit property, in May VMF Conservation-Stewardship Committee Co-Chair, Valerie Cournoyer helped lead two botanical surveys with small groups of (masked and distanced) volunteers.
Botanical brainiac, and committee-member, Larry Hendrickson made tremendous contributions to both the general botanical survey at the beginning of the month, and the rare plant survey with volunteers from the California Native Plant Society San Diego (CNPSSD) at the end of the month.
The collective knowledge -- and passion for plants -- of all the volunteers is truly remarkable -- and appreciated! Thank you to Valerie, Larry, Aaron, Sharyl, Susan, Jonathan, Greg, Cass, Angelo, Justin, Fred, Tom, Vince, Josue and Margie, for all your help in the field -- and some armchair assistance as well!
A rarity that the survey teams were excited to document was the Hulsea californica (San Diego sunflower). It's part of a group of plants listed by the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) as 'Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere', and falls under the guidelines of California's Endangered Species Act for protection.
If you've got botanical knowledge to spare and are interested in participating in future surveys, you can contact VMF's Engagement Coordinator, Susan Meyer at: susan@volcanmt.org or by phoning the VMF office at 760-765-2300.
The team is still sorting through the survey results. We look forward to posting and sharing it with you as soon as it is available on VMF's website: www.VolcanMt.org
