Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations

Using classroom and field exercises, the workshop will focus on the role of plant population monitoring for adaptive management. Participants will learn how to develop good management objectives. Topics cover principles of sampling and several sampling designs, field techniques for measuring vegetation, analyzing monitoring data and presenting results. Participants will receive a copy of the BLM-published book, Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations, by Caryl Elzinga, Dan Salzer, and John Willoughby, a notebook of all materials covered and a CD with additional materials to help with monitoring programs.

Riparian & Wetland Plant Identification
Taught by David L. Magney

This is an intensive introductory/intermediate course on riparian and wetland plant identification and ecology. It is geared towards anyone who wants or needs to improve their knowledge and skills about riparian/wetland plants. Emphasis will be given to southern California species and habitats; however, information learned in this class will be readily applicable throughout California and elsewhere. Common and rare species will be covered. The class will include classroom presentation and exercises, and field excursions, primarily into the Ventura River, a dynamic free-flowing southern California river. We will spend at least half the time in the field

Riparian Ecology and Restoration
Taught by Bruce Orr and Amy Merrill
Stillwater Sciences
Yolo Bypass Visitors Center, Davis, Cosumnes Preserve in Galt, and upper and lower reaches of Redwood Creek on Mount Tamalpais and Muir Beach

This will be a three-day, riparian ecology and restoration workshop in Davis, California and various river and creek restoration sites in Marin County and the Cosumnes Preserve, Galt. This workshop will include a day of lecture and discussion that provides a conceptual framework for riparian ecology and the natural processes that sustain riparian systems (day 1). The remaining days will include at-site lectures and field visits to riparian areas within a one to two hour drive of Davis. In the field, we will see how riparian systems function from the source waters to the river mouth, and visit restoration sites that demonstrate a broad range of approaches and techniques. The strengths and concerns associated with each will be discussed, as well as the practical challenges (and solutions) that arise in the planning, implementation and monitoring phases of riparian restoration and management. The workshop begins in Davis; the second day is at Cosumnes Preserve, and the third day begins on Mount Tamalpais and ends at Muir Beach, in Marin County.

Ecology of Edible and Medicinal Natives: Traditional and Scientific Perspectives
Taught by Alicia Funk, co-author of Living Wild, Flicker Press, 2013, and Farrell Cunningham, Mountain Maidu teacher
Nevada City
9am-4pm

This classroom and field course will give participants the knowledge of how to combine available science, traditional knowledge and current interest in wild foods as a basis for instruction in the sustainable use of native plants. The classroom section will focus on the scientific information supporting native plants for food and health, as well as top priorities for additional research and an overview of sustainability issues. Participants will receive hands-on demonstrations of current processing methods of edible and medicinal native plants and sample recipes. The field portion will be conducted at 3,000' in the Sierra Nevada region, near Nevada City, California, with views of Donner Summit and the Yuba River, and will focus on identifying edible and medicinal natives in the field and reviewing uses within traditional, Native American ecology.