Blog · Backcountry Press

California’s Deserts

November 15, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Desert environments have always held a fascination for many, their stark landscapes notwithstanding. At first glance these seemingly-lifeless landscapes are actually home to hardy woody shrubs and succulents with amazing adaptations to survive in harsh desert conditions. In California’s deserts, all this changes when the onset of winter rains bring carpets of brightly colored annuals and flowering shrubs. California Desert Plants celebrates how elevation, climate, and vegetation define the Great Basin, Mojave, and Sonoran deserts in California. What follows is an excerpt from that book.

THE KLAMATH MOUNTAINS: A NATURAL HISTORY

August 31, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Filled with mystery conjured by unparalleled biodiversity, the Klamath Mountains tell numerous stories of evolution and resilience shaped over long periods of time. Geology is the defining character of this range, with numerous smaller mountain ranges forming a jigsaw puzzle of big-shouldered river canyons and sharp ridgelines. Within the Klamath Knot, the geology also shapes the climate with wet coastal rainforests in the west and dry semi-deserts in the east.

Michael Kauffmann and Justin Garwood co-edited a new work titled The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History with the help of 32 other authors. Experts in all aspects of the region’s natural history came together and are the first to tell the entire story.

Plant Life in California’s Deserts

May 14, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

For the past 15 years, Philip Rundel, has been developing this book through his long-term relationship and travels in deserts of the Southwestern United States, northern Chile, and Southern Africa. His vision is now a reality. California Desert Plants: Ecology and Diversity is a new book written by Philip Rundel, Robert Gustafson, and Michael Kauffmann that explores plant life in California’s deserts. Published Backcountry Press, it describes traits and strategies that allow plants to survive in some of world’s harshest environments. In addition to describing major desert habitats, the book includes over 400 photographs to complement the text.

Philip Rundel, Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Los Angeles is a desert ecologist with extensive experience in arid and semi-arid landscapes all around the world. He would be the first to admit that California’s deserts are his favorite—and his new book goes a long way to showing why.

MarineBio.Life Features Allison Poklemba

April 27, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

In this podcast Kara Muzia, an ocean enthusiast and marine biologist interviews Allison Poklemba. They dive into the wonderful world of seaweeds! Allison shares how plants have fascinated her from a young age, why her move across the country for university was the financially responsible choice, and how she incorporated both botany and herbalism into her career. Allison puts a few different species of kelp on highlight including bull kelp and wakame. She shares how kelp can actually devour cancer tumors, how a walk on the beach can also be a walk in a medicine cabinet, and some fun ways to cook with sea vegetables.

Listen to the Podcast

Nature’s Archive features Michael Kauffmann

April 26, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Michael Hawk, the creator of Nature’s Archive, featured Michael Kauffmann a few weeks back. They discussed the many things that make conifers such an amazing group of plants including their evolutionary history, what makes them different from other trees, and gives us a special look at the amazing diversity of conifers in his area – the Klamath region of far northern California. This deep dive reveals many interesting ecological processes that likely can be generalized to other regions and other plants. It’s truly fascinating.

Listen to Michael on Nature’s Archive

Calling All Humboldt County Photographers

April 8, 2022 by Backcountry Press 7 Comments

We are working with First 5 Humboldt to develop a hiking guide for kids and families. We would love to feature your photos of these landscapes and people visiting these places!

We want your photos!

Both with and without people (kids and families).

Submit Photos Here With Your Google Account

Don’t have a google account? email mk@backcountrypress.com

Nature Nerd Protip: Cactus Compass

January 9, 2022 by Allison Poklemba 1 Comment

Never get turned around in the Mojave Desert again. As long as you can find this plant, it will point you south!

Directionality is seen in many cactus species, with our barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus) serving as a good example.

Magnificent Five-needle Pines of Western North America

December 5, 2021 by Backcountry Press 2 Comments

How well do you know them? Take a “quiz” to test your knowledge about this amazing group of pines!

Our upcoming 2-part webinar will explore the natural history of six closely related five-needle pines of western North America, and dive into the amazing factoids mentioned below in the “quiz.” Here’s what we have in store for you:

Part 1 on 12/9: Intro to conifers, intro to pines, sugar pine, and whitebark pine

Part 2 on 12/16: Limber pine, bristlecone pine, foxtail pines, and 5-needle pine conservation

Giving Back: 50% of your $15 class registration fee is being donated to the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation, a science-based non-profit dedicated to counteracting the widespread decline of all 5-needle pines throughout the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest, and Northern Sierra Nevada.

Are you ready? Here’s your quiz…

Forest Mushroom Class Pairings

October 17, 2021 by Backcountry Press 2 Comments

Part 1: Kombucha In The Mist

We’re kicking it off by pairing Part 1 with a beverage that you can watch develop with a culture of your very own — or just pick up a bottle from your neighborhood market: Kombucha! For best effect, pour yourself a sparkling glass and sit outside on a misty autumnal evening listening to the trees drip, the moss plump, and the fungi fruit.

The Vivid View of Ken Jarvela

September 17, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Once you get on a roll with a painting, its like you have free license to be part of the mountains. It’s an odd feeling.

Ken Jarvela is one of our favorite local artists. His work captures the wildest plants, rocks, sky and these are the subjects we love.

He grew up in Bayside, California alongside Humboldt Bay and, today, is one of the region’s premier landscape painters. His ability to capture light with vivid brushstrokes using subtle color palettes is, in our opinion, unparalleled. He loves the challenges of tough subjects including majestic redwoods, mountains with low winter sun, and wild rivers weaving through boulder fields.

Forest Mushrooms of the Pacific Coast

August 28, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

A five-part fall webinar series

Join Maria Morrow and Christian Schwarz for a comprehensive introduction to the forest mushrooms of California and the Pacific Northwest. Over the course of this series we’ll cover foundational topics ranging from the fundamentals of mushroom identification to basic fungal biology. We’ll also discuss the fascinating complexities of the bigger picture: Patterns of ecology, evolution, and biogeography. The series will close with opportunities for field excursions with the instructors and community-science challenges to participate in over the course of the upcoming years!

Part 1: Introduction to Mushrooms – October 19th
Part 2: Mushroom Ecology along the Pacific Coast – October 26th
Part 3: Forest Pathogens of the Pacific Coast – November 2nd
Part 4: Mushroom Explorations – November 9th
Part 5: Gaps in our understanding / Future Directions / Threats and Changes in the coming decades – November 16th

All webinars will be recorded and available for viewing for three months after purchase.

Franklin’s Bumble Bee

August 24, 2021 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are an important group of North American wild pollinators. However, in the latter half of the 20th century, concern has arisen because of a noticeable declines in many species’ populations—due to a variety of factors including pesticides and diseases from managed bees.

Decline of the world’s rarest bumble bee

The Klamath Mountain endemic Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) was named in 1921 for Henry J. Franklin, who authored the bumble bees of North and South America (1913). The Franklin’s is even more vulnerable than other Bombus species due to its restricted range—confined to Siskiyou and Trinity counties in California; and Jackson, Douglas and Josephine counties in Oregon. This is considered the smallest range of any Bombus species in the world.

With ‘intentional forests,’ hope grows on trees

August 15, 2021 by Marie Antoine 12 Comments

Prioritizing long-lived giant trees could maximize the carbon sequestration and biodiversity of city parks and other green spaces.

By Marie E. Antoine and Stephen C. Sillett

Current environmental crises can seem overwhelming in scale. Confronting climate change and conserving biodiversity will require huge changes in how humans manage the landscape and in our use of fossil fuels. But one part of the solution is growing all around us, we call them intentional forests.

Our team studies trees and forests. Coast redwood, giant sequoia, Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce — the four tallest conifers have been our main focus for over two decades. This work has helped us understand how, though trees alone can’t save the world, they can help.

Cryptic Carnivores

August 9, 2021 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Sticky trap carnivory discovered in western false asphodel (Triantha occidentalis)

The botanical world is being rocked by a new lineage of carnivorous plants described by Qianshi Lin et al. (August 2021)! Previous to this discovery scientists have recognized only 11 independent origins of plant carnivory—and now there is a 12th. This cryptic carnivore secretes a digestive enzyme from its annual flower stalk to supplement upwards of 2/3 of its diet.

western false asphodel (*Triantha occidentalis*) in the Klamath Mountains of northwest California.

Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where nutrients are deficient. In western North America this often means peatland bogs. While carnivorous plants generate some energy from photosynthesis they supplement by trapping and consuming animals like insects and other arthropods.

Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains

May 9, 2021 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

AVAILABLE NOW!

Including the Marble Mountain, Russian, and Trinity Alps Wilderness areas

Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains features flowering plants found within one of the most biodiverse temperate mountain ranges on Earth. This photographic collection is representative of the most common, beautiful, and unique plants across this amazing region.
• 629 species, subspecies, and varieties of wildflowers
• Over 800 full color images organized by flower color
• Localized, detailed species descriptions
• Destinations to find flowers throughout the year

The Klamath Mountains are a fascinating and botanically diverse area situated at the the crossroads of the Coast Range, Modoc Plateau, Sacramento Valley, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada the Klamath Mountains and hold representative species from each. Combine that with their attendant geology, topography, and climate, and the floristic diversity is second to none for a temperate region.

Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains eBook

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Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains

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Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains paperback + eBook

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