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Plant Life in California’s Deserts

May 14, 2022 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

California Desert Plants
California Desert Plants

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.

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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
Area covered by this guide.

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
    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
    Wildflowers of California’s Klamath Mountains paperback + eBook
    $34.95
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The Wild(flower) World of Ken DeCamp

February 20, 2020 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

In this interview with the lead author of Wildflowers of the Trinity Alps, Ken DeCamp shares stories about the book and how he became a photographer and naturalist. Hopefully his thoughts inspire you to get out on a wildflower adventure this year!

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Obligate & Facultative Seeding Manzanitas

February 10, 2017 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Elegant crossing of Tule Creek. Photo by Josh Smith.

Last weekend, I hiked in Trinity County along a low-elevation, fire-prone section of the Bigfoot Trail between Highway 3 and Hayfork and was able to witness obligate & facultative seeding in action.

From Field Guide to Manzanitas, Backcountry Press, 2012

One-third of manzanita species are facultative seeders. These are species that regenerate post-fire by both seed and burl resprouting. The remainder are obligate seeders that lose their entire adult population in a fire and depend on a seed bank for regeneration. Obligate seeding is the current model in manzanita evolution.

To understand why, consider the climatic dynamics over thousands, or tens of thousands of years or more. In the case of the resprouting species, particular individuals can live for centuries, resprouting over and over, cloning new individuals as the burls expand with each fire cycle. But in that population, the rate of genetic change is limited, because most individuals live a long time by way of asexual reproduction. This suggests that populations may be unable to respond to rapid climatic changes that might occur in only hundreds of years. The obligate seeders, on the other hand, lose all adults in stand-replacing fires and new post-fire generations have to establish from more genetically diverse seeds. Those populations consequently have greater flexibility to shift and adjust as circumstances require; traits that might have been rare and less important in older generations can emerge through natural selection and become critical in the newer generations within the lifetime of resprouting manzanitas.

Much of this area burned in the summer of 2015. While evidence of the fires were everywhere, there are many signs of the next generation of plants returning to the landscape. This was particularly true on some of the south-facing slopes above Philpot Campground where two species of manzanitas were exploring different reproductive regimes– both obligate & facultative seeding.

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Arctostaphylos manzanita is a  facultatative seeder. It can resprout by seed but also from dormant buds. When present, these structures are often prominent and are called burls (also ligno tubers)–seen in the middle of the sprouting leaves.

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Arctostaphylos canescens is an obligate seeder and does not have a burl. Instead, genetically unique seedlings resprout from a well-stocked seed bank.

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Nature Notes:

  • eBird List
  • iNaturalist Observations

A large burned stand of the obligate-seeding hoary manzanita, above Philpot Campground on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Discovering Douglas-fir

November 13, 2016 by Backcountry Press Leave a Comment

I took my son hiking today and I am proud to say he loves looking at trees, exploring the forest, and playing at our fort. Here he is identifying a Douglas-fir cone…

Douglas-fir
Discovering Douglas-fir

  • Conifers and Places along the Pacific Slope

Conifers of the Pacific Slope is a contemporary field guide built to assist plant lovers in identifying one of the most intriguing and ancient groups of plants in the world. Conifers survive within the West’s most spectacular environments—from the coastal temperate rainforests to the highest mountain summits.

Forest Pathogens

November 3, 2016 by Backcountry Press 1 Comment

Select Forest Pathogens of California’s Klamath Mountains

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Forest Pathogens often go unnoticed while exploring, but offer an exceptional window into the intricacies of forest ecology when better understood. I created free document linked below in 2010 while in Grad School at Humboldt State. Forest Pathology was one of the more interesting classes I took while turning Conifer Country into my thesis for a Master’s Degree in Biology. Most of the information for this document was taken from Terry Henkel’s lecture notes as well as from internet and book sources–all cited within the document. I was recently reminded of this creation because of the October weather that has dropped unprecedented amounts of rain and nurtured fungal growth across Northwest California.

Fomitopsis pinicola
Fomitopsis pinicola
Document Overview
Document Overview

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Trivia Challenge: Wildflowers of the Klamath Mountains

https://backcountrypress.com/podcast-player/21109/trivia-challenge-wildflowers-of-the-klamath-mountains.mp3

Download file | Play in new window | Duration: 19:11 | Recorded on July 8, 2022

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🎉 New Book Day! 🎉 Our first bilingual book c 🎉 New Book Day! 🎉 Our first bilingual book created in partnership with @first5california Humboldt!

And for the extra amazing bit: First 5 Humboldt will be handing these out FOR FREE to families at their playgroups and library events. Three cheers for accessibility!

Humboldt folks will be able to pick this up at their favorite local bookstore over the next few days.

And our pre-sale is up at our L I N K for a few more days: your paperback comes with a free eBook!

#hikinghumboldt

#takeahike #humboldt #humboldtcounty #goplayoutside #naturehike #hikingwithkids @sequoiaparkzoo @cityofarcata @cityofeureka @cityoffortuna @benselman

https://backcountrypress.com/book/hiking-humboldt-kids/
Journey to the spectacular tide pools of the Lost Journey to the spectacular tide pools of the Lost Coast of Northern California!

>> Only 4 spots left! <<

You’ll bring the intertidal “seaweed blur” into focus by learning to identify and ethically harvest the bountiful sea vegetables that grow along their rocky shores: Nori, Kombu, Wakame, Sea lettuce, Bladderwrack, Sea cabbage, and many more. 

We'll camp along the gorgeous & serene Mattole River and create a dinner feast (including dessert!) with our foraged sea vegetables.

Campground class time includes hands on lessons on how to use common seaweeds for food, medicine, first aid, self care, and fun!

Class meets: 6pm Friday May 19 to noon on Sunday May 21 in Petrolia, CA for one of the best low tides of the year (a -1.4' at 6:40am Saturday)

$300 Tuition includes camping, product samples, and several meals

Find all the details and save your spot at our L I N K

#seaweed #seavegetables #lostcoast #wildfoods #humboldt #humboldtcounty

https://dandelionherb.com/product/seaweed-adventure/
Banana Slug party in the redwood forest today!
🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌🍌

🎤 Sing it with me now…

You know I love my baby (love my baby)
I love the way that she hugs (way that she hugs)
Some people don’t understand it (don’t understand it)
She’s a banana slug (banana slug)

BA-NA-NA SLUG!

He’s got just one foot
He ain’t got no toes
He hangs out in the forest
And helps it decompose.

#bananaslug #redwoodforest #humboldtcounty
Southern Oregon friends: we're coming to see you! Southern Oregon friends: we're coming to see you!

The Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon is sponsoring a FREE presentation (in person and via Zoom) with @michael.kauffmann on the Plant Communities of the Klamath Mountains.

Thurs., April 20, 7pm PT
Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center, 569 Hanley Road, Central Point, OR

Tap our L I N K to register fo the Zoom

The Klamath Mountains contain some of the most exceptional temperate plant communities in the world. Within its geographic boundaries, over 3,500 taxa (species, subspecies, and varieties) of vascular plants occur, including 35 conifer species and 20 species of oak.

Michael will provide an overview of the Klamath Mountains, highlighting the plant communities across the region, and share photos of the rare and unusual plants that call the Klamath Mountains home.

Michael Kauffmann is an educator, author, publisher, and ecologist in Humboldt County who loves the Klamath Mountains and their native flora and fauna, including his favorite group of plants—conifers! He is the co-editor of a new book entitled The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History. 

#southernoregon #nativeplants #klamathmountains #oregonnativeplants #sou #osu #ecology #botany #medford #ashland #jacksonvilleoregon #exploregon

https://backcountrypress.com/calendar/?mc_id=20
We’re so pleased to announce our new book create We’re so pleased to announce our new book created in partnership with @first5california Humboldt!

🙌 en Español y Ingles 🙌

“Hiking Humboldt KIDS” by Rees Hughes

(and many book parents including Jennifer Gonzales, @benselman, @michael.kauffmann, @earth2allison, and talented local photographers)

Built for use with kids, this book will inspire family adventures with authentic experiences in nature that develop wonder in children and adults alike.

Research shows us that these shared experiences in early childhood have valuable and long-lasting positive effects on our health and wellbeing.

25 Hikes are grouped into four geographic regions of Humboldt County, CA. Each hike includes:

✅ Descriptions, driving and walking directions, and a custom map

✅ An activity for kids that highlights various flora, fauna, historical, or cultural aspects related to the hike

📗Paperbacks are coming to you in hand in early May! Preorder and eBooks are available now at our L I N K — and the eBook is FREE with your paperback preorder!

#hikinghumboldt #hikingwithkids #familyhike #goplayoutside #humboldt #humboldtcounty #redwoods #redwoodforest #takeahike #optoutside 

https://backcountrypress.com/book/hiking-humboldt-kids/?mc_cid=6f5a4ea575&mc_eid=UNIQID
❄️ Happiness is snowline at @backcountrypress ❄️ Happiness is snowline at @backcountrypress HQ ❄️

#humboldtcounty #redwoodforest
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Recent Posts

  • California Book Award Gold Medal May 20, 2023
  • Hiking Humboldt KIDS Released May 5, 2023
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  • Webcast: The Natural History of the Klamath Mountains February 15, 2023
  • Greed and Destruction: Klamath Mountains Mining History February 10, 2023

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