| On July 30, we did an inventory for the endangered and threatened Santa
Cruz tarplant, to see if the fall '06 and spring '07 mowing did any good. We
were not hopeful, as this has been a very dry year, rainfall being less than half of the normal average.
Although the mowing and raking in the fall resulted in a lot of soil (and seed?) going to the dump, we were delighted to see tarplant, alive and well. We found it in places that were mown, including one place that was not mown but where we had hand-mowed a 10 foot diameter area surrounding last year's population of one plant. To our delight, there are now thirteen plants in that same area. Thoughtful management for tarplant works! We are far from the 100,000 plants that used to grace Arana Gulch; this step is a promising beginning toward restoration. Jean Brocklebank & Michael Lewis |
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