Orange County Society for Conservation Biology

Hooray for Natural History!

2011-01-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Why natural history is still relevant and very important:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/dying-for-discovery/

Electrocution of birds and collision with power lines: Solutions to a global problem

2010-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

An interesting article about the threat of electrical structures to bird species:

Electrocution of birds and collision with power lines: Solutions to a global problem

UCI Tree Campus USA Award and Volunteer Tree Planting, Nov. 19, 2010

2010-11-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

UC Irvine is moving toward a more sustainable landscape including some wildlife corridors! There will even be a volunteer event for anyone to attend.

According to an email from Wendell C. Brase, the UCI Vice Chancellor, Admin & Business Services, "On November 19, the National Arbor Day Foundation is recognizing UCI as a 'Tree Campus USA.' This national program recognizes college and university campuses that demonstrate good stewardship of campus trees. The 'Tree Campus' designation affirms UC Irvine's longstanding commitment to the planning and management of our campus urban forest.

"As a part of this recognition the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota will sponsor a student-volunteer tree planting event on campus. This will occur November 19 at 12:00 noon in Aldrich Park. Student volunteers are encouraged to attend. This hands-on event will involve the planting of multiple species of trees in Aldrich Park, furthering the campus' goal of increasing the diversity of tree species in the park consistent with UCI's "Green and Gold Plan" (http://www.ceplanning.uci.edu/greengold.html).

"As part of ongoing Green and Gold Plan tree management objectives, several eucalyptus trees will be removed in the vicinity of Aldrich Park over the next two weeks. The eucalyptus trees that will be removed are in a state of decline that poses a hazard. Consistent with established campus practice, trees removed will be replaced at a ratio of 3:1 with native trees or long-lived shade trees, consistent with our Green and Gold Plan.

"If anyone has questions or would like more information on this event, UCI landscape planning, or tree species in Aldrich Park, please contact Richard Demerjian at rgdemerj@uci.edu."

U.S. FWS Releases Annual List of Endangered Species Act Candidates

2010-11-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

Today the Fish and Wildlife Service released it's Candidate Notice of Review for endangered species including one new candidate species in California: the Vandenberg monkeyflower.
Post from the FWS homepage:

OCSCB Bayview Slope Restoration Event 11/7/10

2010-11-06T08:25:00.000-07:00

Our next Bayview Slope restoration event is from 9AM-12PM this Sunday, November 7th. We'll be planting shrubs and grasses, working on our research projects, and weeding. We'll also do a little work to maintain our fence and irrigation, and we'll take a short nature walk to learn about the ecology of the site and see what's blooming!

Park at the end of Mesa Drive, walk down the hill toward the bay, turn right onto the greenway, walk about 100ft and look for our banner. We'll be on the right behind the fence. Look for the OCSCB Banner!

See you out there!!!

Banning Ranch - Potential OC Open Space

2010-10-26T21:06:00.000-07:00

Daily Pilot article regarding Banning Ranch:

Rare plants, animals affected in Banning Ranch

Creating new habitat can never completely replace what is lost when original habitat is destroyed.

James Reserve Trip

2010-10-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

This Saturday/Sunday, October 23/24 - Join OCSCB members and friends for a weekend retreat at the James Reserve, part of the University of California Natural Reserve System. There are still a few spots left!!

If you enjoy hiking, wildlife, and campfires, this trip's for you!

Reservations can be made via email. See the ocscb.com event calendar and/or the Meetup.com event site for more details including how to RSVP by email.

Hope to see you there!

Quino Checkerspot Seminar - Dr. Gordon Pratt

2009-12-10T21:12:00.000-08:00

The Quino Checkerspot was once an abundant butterfly in Orange County until the 1930s when a combination of habitat loss and exotic invasive annual grasses lead to its disappearance. Now this native butterfly faces extinction as the same factors that have pushed it out of Orange County now threaten it all over its southern Californian habitat. Captive breeding of this once abundant butterfly is a complex process which has made the process of reintroduction difficult. There are plans in the works to reintroduce the Quino Checkerspot back into Orange County. However, previous reintroduction attempts have proven unsuccessful.

Dr. Gordon Pratt, a professor and researcher at UCR, gave a lecture at OCSCB's chapter meeting on the efforts to preserve the Quino Checkerspot. Read the minutes from his lecture.

Bayview Slope Restoration 11/8 Overview

2009-11-12T21:20:00.000-08:00

We had our 5th restoration event of the season at Newport Backbay on Sunday 11/8 and planted 100 shrubs! We planted a few new species this time including Laurel Sumac (Malosma laurina) and Lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia). These soon-to-be big shrubs will make great habitat for nesting birds and birds also love to eat the Lemonadeberry berries. All the shrubs we've planted so far look healthy, but we could really use some rain!

More details about the restoration and how to participate can be found on our website:
http://ocscb.org/restoration.shtml