Select Page

Current Conservation Efforts

These are current issues that the Marin Chapter of CNPS is following, and may have submitted comments on, because of their potential impact on California native plants especially in Marin County.
The Martha Property Saved as Open Space

The Martha Property Saved as Open Space

By Eva Buxton, Conservation and Invasive Species Chair (retiring)
After half a century of preservation efforts, 110 acres of land at the tip of the Tiburon Peninsula is now public open space.

read more
Report to CNPS Membership on CNPS et al. v. MMWD

Report to CNPS Membership on CNPS et al. v. MMWD

By David Long, Co-President CNPS Marin Chapter The California Native Plant Society (CNPS), Marin Audubon Society, and Marin Conservation League (MCL) have challenged the approval by the Board of Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD, aka Marin Water) for e-bikes to...

read more
Planning for Biodiversity in the Urban Corridor

Planning for Biodiversity in the Urban Corridor

by Paul da Silva

Marin County’s 1973 General Plan has been considered visionary and largely responsible for saving most of the County from the rampant development that has caused so much damage to the native plants and their ecosystems in California.

read more

Articles Index

The Martha Property Saved as Open Space

By Eva Buxton, Conservation and Invasive Species Chair (retiring)
After half a century of preservation efforts, 110 acres of land at the tip of the Tiburon Peninsula is now public open space.

Report to CNPS Membership on CNPS et al. v. MMWD

By David Long, Co-President CNPS Marin Chapter The California Native Plant Society (CNPS), Marin Audubon Society, and Marin Conservation League (MCL) have challenged the approval by the Board of Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD, aka Marin Water) for e-bikes to...

Planning for Biodiversity in the Urban Corridor

by Paul da Silva

Marin County’s 1973 General Plan has been considered visionary and largely responsible for saving most of the County from the rampant development that has caused so much damage to the native plants and their ecosystems in California.

Act Now! Save Rooftop Solar!

What does rooftop solar have to do with native plants? The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) wants to slash the incentives that homeowners receive for installing rooftop solar.

Planting A Community in the Novato Wetlands

By Stacey Pogorzelski and Tiffany Higgins

A dozen people gather on a levee in the Hamilton wetlands. They walk in pairs down the side of the levee toward a seasonal wetland where shorebirds and ducks feed in water left by the last rain. The volunteers measure off a square meter of earth, mark the corners with flags and sprinkle seeds of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and Douglas’ mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), and others. They then walk gently on the area to press the seeds into the soil.

Tiburon Middle Ridge Open Space Parcel on the Radar Again

by Eva Buxton

Tiburon Middle Ridge composed of serpentine grassland and outcrops is the most biologically and ecologically valuable of the Town of Tiburon’s preserves (26 parcels in all). Tiburon hired consulting firm LSA Associates, Inc. to update the Open Space Resource Management Plan (OSRMP) which I co-authored for that same firm in 2010.   Although I am retired, I had the opportunity to accompany the authors of the plan update on a field visit to the Middle Ridge (MR) parcel and give input into the new plan.  The updated plan, the Short-term Implementation Plan (STIP), is being reviewed by Tiburon’s Parks, Open Space & Trails Commission. After review, comments, and possible revision it will eventually be adopted by the Tiburon Town Council.

Genetic Diversity

by Dr. Paul G. da Silva

As we humans have learned more about the world around us, we have become increasingly aware of complexities that were previously unknown. In the process, we have gained new insights that can help us protect our environment more effectively.

What’s Up with the Sword Ferns?

by Kate Wing

Western sword ferns (Polystichum munitum) usually form a lush evergreen understory in redwood and mixed evergreen forests.

Bothin Marsh: A Test Case for Impacts of Sea Level Rise

by Eva Buxton and Ann Elliott

Sea level rise threatens to inundate Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve. Following studies of its geomorphology, ecology, and options for conserving the natural environment, public comments were invited on proposed plans for conserving the marsh and locating its multi-use trails.

Marin CNPS Opposes E-bikes on MMWD Lands

by Ann Elliott and David Long

As E-bikes rise in popularity, Marin MMWD is considering allowing Class I E-bikes on the parts of their trail system where bikes are allowed – on fire roads.

Important Landscape Decisions at the College of Marin

by Paul da Silva

When most people think of public lands in Marin, they first remember the national and state parks, the county parks and open space preserves, and the lands of the Marin Municipal Water District. However, there are other public agencies in Marin that manage sizable portions of land. One of these is the Marin Community College District.

Threat to Marin County Rare Species

by Doreen Smith, Vernon Smith, and Ann Elliott

In May 2002, Betty and Jack Guggolz, members of Sonoma County’s Milo Baker CNPS Chapter, discovered a large population of Contra Costa goldfields, Lasthenia conjugens (CNPS List 1B.1 and Federally Endangered) in a sheep pasture immediately east of Highway1 in north Marin County bordering Sonoma County at the Estero Americano.

Protect Walker Ridge

Located at the border of Colusa and Lake counties, Walker Ridge is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and designated for recreational purposes, but is now threatened by a large wind energy project where scientists have found at least 27 different rare plant species.

Concerns About Milkweed and Monarch Butterflies

By Laura Lovett, Gardening with Natives Committee Chair

As recently as the 1980s, millions of monarch butterflies over-wintered at sites along the California coast, including in Marin. In recent years, citizen scientists have documented a plummeting population, now less than 3% of its historic size.

California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Vegetation Treatment Program Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report

Marin CNPS criticized the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection Vegetation Treatment Program Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Report for taking a one-size-fits-all approach to fire management that ignored the uniqueness of Marin’s Mt. Tamalpais’ great biodiversity.  The Chapter also identified a series of questions the EIR needs to address.

Marin County Parks and Open Space District Road and Trail Management Plan Draft Tiered Program Environmental Impact Report (DTPEIR)

Marin CNPS commented on a recent Draft Tiered Program Environmental Impact Report (DTPEIR) for the Road and Trail Management Plan prepared by Marin County Parks and Open Space District.  The Chapter praised aspects of the Plan that would reduce impacts on native plants and identified additional issues the DTPEIR needs to address.

Further comments and concerns were expressed in a letter sent by the Conservation Committee of the Marin Chapter of CNPS in 2015.