Chapter Meeting – July 10, 2023

“Preparing for Sea Level Rise and protecting biodiversity and Chloropyron maritimum populations at Bothin Marsh”

Guest Speakers: Julian Geoghegan, Shelly Benson, Veronica Pearson, & Rob LaPorte

Monday, July 10, 2023, 7:30 pm

Distichlis spicata-Limonium californicum Association at Bothin Marsh

This presentation will give and overview the Evolving Shorelines Project and will focus on the effort to protect tidal wetland habitat and the population of Chloropyron maritimum ssp. palustre at Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve. Topics will include fine-scale (plant community Association) level mapping, an introduction to the biology of Chloropyron and efforts underway to understand its presence and habitat, and plans for improving marsh habitat and climate change resiliency at Bothin Marsh.

Register for this Zoom meeting. https://cnps-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkf-itrDIoG9FQvZkr_0hNYor-H_U4EjK6

Join the speakers for a site visit to Bothin Marsh: July 18th, 2023, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm. See Field Trip. (add link)

Biographies

Limonium californicum and Chloropyron maritimum in the foreground, Spartina and Distichlis-annual grass communities in the background.

Julian Geoghegan is the Vegetation Specialist with Marin County Parks, where he started working in 2017. His work focuses on invasive species management and rare plant conservation in the County’s parks and open space preserves. While botany has proven to be his professional calling, in the past he has worked trails in the Klamath National Forest, and monitored wildlife for East Bay Regional Parks. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Conservation Biology.

Shelly Benson is an independent biological consultant with over 20 years of botanical experience in the Bay Area.  For the past eight years, she has been creating fine-scale vegetation maps of communities that cannot be accurately mapped using remote sensing methods, namely grasslands and saltmarshes.

Veronica Pearson is a Sr. Ecological Restoration Planner with Marin County Parks. She co-manages the Evolving Shorelines Project with Rob LaPorte. Veronica’s educational background is in natural resource management and ecogeomorphology with 15 years of experience working on environmental restoration and planning. She is also a project manager for the Bolinas Lagoon North End Restoration Project, the Aramburu Ecological Restoration Project, and the McInnis Marsh Restoration Project. All of which include wetland enhancement and sea level rise adaptation.

Rob LaPorte is a Project Manager with the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and has a background in urban planning. Rob has over 12 years of experience working in park planning, ecological restoration, and trail projects in collaboration with One Tam partner agencies. In addition to Bothin Marsh, Rob is focused on the Roy’s Redwoods Restoration Project, Redwood Creek Habitat Enhancements at Mt. Tam State Park, and several smaller scale projects in the GGNRA.