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| French Flat monitoring site |
The Klamath-Siskiyou wilderness region in Southern Oregon is
well-known for its incredible biodiversity.
As home to over 1,800 plants, 131 of which are endemic to the area, the
Klamath-Siskiyous are a hotspot for botanical research and have seen increased
interest and investment in restoration of the forests, river systems, and
native plant communities. The Klamath-Siskiyou region contains the largest
block of protected wildlands on the West Coast.
In addition to having serpentine soils, which many plant species cannot tolerate,
the Klamath-Siskiyou region did not experience any glacial activity during the
last ice age, making it an ice-free refugium for many plant species. One of the numerous endemic species present,
Lomatium cookii, is listed by state and
federal authorities as endangered and has been monitored by IAE for nearly
twenty years. Monitoring efforts have
focused on identifying trends in population size and density in order to produce
a population viability analysis and provide management recommendations for the
BLM.
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| L. cookii inflorescence |
Lomatium cookii
(commonly known as either Cook’s desert parsley or agate desert parsley) is a
small perennial in the Apiaceae family that produces yellow umbellate flowers
in early spring. It is similar in
appearance to Bradshaw’s lomatium, an endangered species that occurs in the
Willamette Valley. (
For more information on identification of L. cookii, click here.) In late April/early May of each year, IAE monitors three
populations of
L. cookii within the
Medford BLM district. Analysis of
monitoring results indicates that the population sizes have remained fairly stable
and that there has been an increase in seedling recruitment. However, some of the populations are physically
limited by mine tailings, land disturbance, and hydrologic manipulation caused by
placer mining that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. Three sites in the Illinois Valley are designated
as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and
as critical habitat for
L. cookii, therefore
any potential mining activity would require an ESA consultation. However, mining continues to be a threat to the
L. cookii populations because claims remain available and the ESA cannot prevent mining activities. This conflict of resources occurs throughout
the serpentine region in which the high botanic value is rivaled by high mining
value. Interest in the extraction of
valuable ore, such as gold and nickel, presents an ongoing threat to southwest
Oregon’s natural areas and native species.
Additional threats to
L. cookii habitat
include climate change and recreational use of off-road vehicles.
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| Staff and volunteers at Rough and Ready monitoring site |
Given the large amount of data collection included in this
project, IAE brought six volunteers on the week-long monitoring trip. All of our volunteers gained experience identifying
L. cookii and recording botanical information
relevant to each population’s size, density and demography. Unfortunately, our crew found that the
majority of plot markers at French Flat- the largest of the subpopulations
monitored and the location of a long-term demography study- had been removed
since the previous monitoring season.
With the extra help from our volunteers we were able to reestablish many
of the plots and create a new structure for future monitoring. After
monitoring was completed, the volunteers were able to spend time exploring
local sites such as the
darlingtonia fens and the Logan irrigation cut. The
week also included an informational lecture from a representative of the
Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center about the history of the region and the
current efforts being made to protect and restore the wilderness areas.
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| Transects laid out to aid monitoring of every individual in the Rough and Ready population. |
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