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Recreation
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
NICE, Calif. – On Wednesday, April 13, a special program entitled “Why is our region a hotspot of botanical diversity?” will be presented at the Rodman Slough Preserve Nature Education Center at 6350 Westlake Road.
The program will start at 6 p.m. and because of limited space at the center, reservations are being requested. This can be accomplished by calling the land trust office at 707-262-0707.
If you asked the average person on the street where the nearest global biodiversity hotspot was, what answers would you expect? Maybe the Brazilian rainforests? Indonesia? Well, how about California and, even more specifically, right where we are living, in Lake County?
In our region, a unique climate and a complex geologic history result in tremendous variation in how moisture, temperature, soil types and soil nutrients come together.
These factors govern how plants distribute themselves across the landscape, and provide opportunities for the evolution of species that associate with unique conditions.
The end result is that we are living in one of the 25 locations across the globe that together comprise only 1.4 percent of the earth’s surface but contain 44 percent of vascular plants and 35 percent of vertebrate species on the planet.
Cathy Koehler, executive director of the Lake County Land Trust and co-director of the McLaughlin Reserve, will give an overview of the processes that have lead to California, and our small corner of it in particular, being one of these amazing hotspots of biodiversity.
We hope you can join us.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
NICE, Calif. – The Saturday morning walks at the Rodman Slough Preserve, operated by the Lake County Land Trust, will be temporarily closed because of the excessive rains over the past few weeks.
The trails at the preserve are under several inches of water in some areas, making an enjoyable walk impossible, a land trust spokesperson said.
It's hoped that the walks will resume by mid to late April.
The Lake County Land Trust would like to thank everyone for their patience and express appreciation for continued support of the trust and the Rodman Slough Preserve.
For information about the Lake County Land Trust, go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org or call Roberta Lyons at 707-994-2024 regarding the walks.
- Details
- Written by: Ron Hallman
The results were:
First flight: Tom Gibbs was first with 33 and Fred Figg was second with 35, while Olie Smith and Rick Conrad tied for third, with 36 each.
Second flight: Paul Bertlin finished on top with 31, while Jerry Tamura, Jim Brown and Mike Casolo tied for second, each with 32.
Third flight: Glenn Neasham was first with the low net of the competition, with 30, Phil Tyler was second with 35 and Mike Riley, Ron Hallman and Ed Carver tied for third with 36 each.
Closest to the par 3 pins were Randy Brown and Ron Hallman.
Chip-ins were scored by Byron Hoss, John Jones, Jim Cary, Bob Schossler, Jim Brown, Ed Carver and Jerry Tamura.
Thirty-eight men enjoyed cold, cloudy, cart path-only golf.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
MENDOCINO COUNTY, Calif. – The Big River program of the Mendocino Land Trust and the Mendocino Coast Chapter of the Audubon Society are offering a free two-day bird survey training workshop on April 16 and 17.
The workshop will be led by expert birder, wildlife photographer and endangered species consultant Ron LeValley.
LeValley, founder of the avian consulting firm, Mad River Biologists, will train participants in identifying birds by visual and audio cues, as well as bird surveying methodology.
The classroom portion of the workshop will be held at the Stanford Inn on Saturday, April 16, from noon to 4 p.m. Power point presentations and audio recordings will help attendees hone their bird identification skills.
On Sunday, April 17, participants will meet at 7 a.m. at Big River Beach to further practice field identification skills on a guided hike up the haul road with the training leader and other experienced birders from the Mendocino Coast Chapter of the Audubon Society. The training will conclude around 11 a.m.
After completing the training, participants will have the opportunity to put their new skills to work by signing up for the annual Big River Bird Survey, an ambitious project, begun in 2003, that is cosponsored by California State Parks, the Mendocino Coast Audubon Society and the Mendocino Land Trust.
The survey seeks to document bird species present at Big River parklands and track changes in their populations over time.
Volunteer bird surveyors have counted over 13,330 individual birds of 87 species at the original 28 point count stations during the spring surveys at Big River and additional stations and routes have been surveyed in collaboration with neighboring landowner, the Conservation Fund.
For more information about the surveys, a report entitled “Report on 2005 Big River Breeding Season and Fall Bird Surveys Conducted by the Big River Stewards” is available on the Mendocino Land Trust's Web site, www.mendocinolandtrust.org.
Data from the past seven years of spring and fall surveys will be available at the training.
To attend the workshop, please RSVP to Big River Stewards Volunteer Coordinator Matt Coleman at 707-962-0470 or by e-mail at