Wednesday, March 17, 2021 — 7:30 pm
Speaker: Dr. Tim Krantz
Rare plants are like canaries in coal mines: they are indicator species of environmental impacts to their respective ecosystems. If these indicator species are ignored or left unattended, their unique habitats could be destroyed. In California, there are 286 taxa (species and subspecies) designated as rare, threatened, or endangered under federal and state endangered species acts. Each one has its own story of endangerment, from the Presidio manzanita, with only one naturally occurring specimen in the wild but reproduced from cuttings in the native nursery trade, to the Cushenbury buckwheat, restricted to limestone soils and threatened by mining. And they need your help!
With more than 40 years of environmental impact assessment experience, Dr. Tim Krantz will share some tricks of the rare plant protection trade, including a citizen’s guide to the California Environmental Quality Act and federal and state endangered species acts as they pertain to rare plant conservation. One doesn’t need a PhD to be an effective rare plant advocate. Anyone can adopt a local rarity, become familiar with its natural history, and testify before a local agency as an “expert witness” on the rare plant’s behalf. You too can become a Wildflower Warrior!
Dr. Tim Krantz combines more than 40 years of experience as a botanist, environmental planner, and professor. His day job is professor and chair of the Environmental Studies Department at the University of Redlands, and in his “moonlight job” he serves as the founding director of the Southern California Montane Botanic Garden at The Wildlands Conservancy’s Oak Glen Preserve. He is an authority on the flora of the San Bernardino Mountains, which was the subject of his dissertation from UC Berkeley, as well as on the Salton Sea. He is also an avid birder, but his particular passion is conserving rare and endangered plants. He has been cited on the listing petitions of 15 rare, threatened, or endangered species.
Our CNPS East Bay speaker programs will be presented as online meetings until it is once again safe to gather in person. If you have questions, contact programs@ebcnps.org.
