Το Ημερολόγιο του California Fire Followers 2021

Μάρτιος 09, 2023

Spring into Spring

Hello everyone,

The California Fire Followers Project first began in March of 2021. During that time, we have accomplished so much together. A major accomplishment in that time was the addition to our 2021 California Fire Followers Project last February!

THANK YOU

I want to take some time to thank you all for all your support this past year and for continuing to contribute to the project. We are thrilled for what will come this season. We are currently at ~25,000 observations with over 1,500 identifiers and 1,800 observers. We cannot emphasize it enough that the California Fire Followers Project would not be what is without YOU ALL.

Details

Lose an hour, win some merch!
We are here to celebrate the 1 year mark since the launch of our 2021 California Fire Followers Project! With Spring just on the horizon, we are excited to see all the new observations as we “spring forward” to the arrival of Spring! As a quick reminder, daylight savings begins this Sunday 3/12! We encourage everyone who can access nature safely to make as many observations as possible starting this Friday (3/10) through the arrival of Spring on 3/20! We will be recognizing our top 3 observers with a Fire Followers Pin!


Resources:

As always, we want to provide you with some valuable resources to help you get started on iNaturalist.

The Real Spring [Plant Identification] Training
In case you missed our Spring Training early last Spring, check out the recordings here. Watch as our “coaching staff” for plant identification demonstrate how to sharpen your skills. boschniakia
rupertclayton

Wildflowers of the Bay Area - California Native Plant Society and POST
https://www.youtube.com/live/MRMmYmlO3lA?feature=share

Hey, Hey we’re the Monkees! We’re too busy evolving to put anybody down
Additionally, From Friends of the Chico State Herbarium, be sure not to miss out on this recording by Steve Schoening on Monkeyflowers!
https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/html5/html5lib/v2.85/mwEmbedFrame.php/p/670832/uiconf_id/29182902/entry_id/1_0fx6lrq4?wid=1_kghtigge

AI: Andrea vs Identotron - Getting the most out of computer-aided plant ID
Check out this webinar by Andrea Williams, a botanist who can help you get the most out of iNaturalist’s suggestions! A lot of us simply accept without question the computer-aided suggestions in iNaturalist, but check again! Is the plant suggested even found in that region? Does it match the description in a flora? Check out the recorded webinar for the tips and tricks to get the best ID suggestion to your ability.

Also, check out what is happening with our California OakWatch Project!
If you have not heard of the project already, I invite you to join and help us reach our goal to protect young oaks by collecting data and mapping where they are and are not!
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-oakwatch]

To help you get started with oak identifications, check out this identification guide:
https://usercontent.one/wp/www.globalconservationconsortia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Identification-Guide-for-Priority-Threatened-California-Oaks.pdf

California OakWatch Training Webinar

  

Posted on Μάρτιος 09, 2023 0623 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Ιανουάριος 19, 2023

Lunar New Year

We started this year with heavy precipitation. Some places in California experienced severe weather events these past few weeks, so we hope that you are all well and safe!

Congratulations on another amazing year! It is now January 2023, almost 2 full years since the launch of the 2020 Fire Followers! Here is what we have accomplished together since:

California Fire Followers 2020

California Fire Followers 2021

We look forward to a new year with amazing opportunities for learning and discovering.

The Lunar New Year is fast approaching! Join us in celebrating the Lunar New Year with an identification challenge. Rabbits are thought to be vigilant, quick-witted and ingenious, so let’s bring that energy to the ~42k observations that need ID!

Details:
Starting Sunday 1/22, we encourage everyone to participate in identifying the observations on our California Fire Followers projects! We want everyone to have an opportunity to win, so anyone with 22 identifications by the of first Sunday of Feb 5 will be entered in a drawing for a Fire Followers shirt/pins!



Also, check out what is happening with our CA OakWatch Project!

If you have not heard of the project already, I invite you to join and help us reach our goal to protect young oaks by collecting data and mapping where they are and are not!

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-oakwatch

Consider joining us for the one-hour event, "For the love of oaks", an identification party to help the iNaturalist California OakWatch project get as many Quercus observations to Research Grade as possible. This event is co-hosted by California Native Plant Society, the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO), and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

We will have a panel of experts to facilitate the conversation and we can work collaboratively to help identify any tricky observations. This online event is open to identifiers of all experience levels. We will have a live raffle throughout this event so everyone participating will have a chance to win an oak t-shirt and a California OakWatch Pin!

Posted on Ιανουάριος 19, 2023 0857 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Οκτώβριος 01, 2022

31 days of Identification Challenge


Buffalo Gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima)
© tbazzell, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136377149

You have all been tremendously busy! Thank you to everyone who continues to contribute to the CA Fire Followers project by adding more observations! We are currently at a total of 22,000 observations! With the end of Summer just last week, the start of fall has brought us the opportunity to shift our focus from observations to identifications. I also want to acknowledge all the tremendous contributions from the 1,300+ of you who have contributed to identifying observations on the project!

Left: © Boaz Benaiah Solorio, (CC-BY-NC) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136832322
Right: © Stacie Wolny, (CC-BY-NC-SA) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136773246

Details:
Halloween is just around the corner! Get in the spirit as we present you ~32,000 observations that still Need ID that will send a chill down your spine.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=california-fire-followers-2021&quality_grade=needs_id&verifiable=any&iconic_taxa=Plantae

The start of October will provide us with 31 days to identify! Join us all month long in an attempt to get some of these observations to RG. At the end of October, we will be awarding the top identifier with a Fire Followers Shirt! In addition, on All Hallows’ Eve, I will be randomly selecting 3 participants with at least 31 identifications a Fire Followers Pin.



Resources:
As always, we want to provide you with some valuable resources to help you get started on identifying on iNaturalist.

AI: Andrea vs Identotron - Getting the most out of computer-aided plant ID
Check out this webinar by Andrea Williams, a botanist who can help you get the most out of iNaturalist’s suggestions! A lot of us simply accept without question the computer-aided suggestions in iNaturalist, but check again! Is the plant suggested even found in that region? Does it match the description in a flora? Check out the recorded webinar for the tips and tricks to get the best ID suggestion to your ability.


The Real Spring [Plant Identification] Training
In case you missed our Spring Training early this Spring, check out the recordings here. Watch as our “coaching staff” for plant identification demonstrate how to sharpen your skills. @boschniakia
@rupertclayton


Hey, Hey we’re the Monkees! We’re too busy evolving to put anybody down
Additionally, From Friends of the Chico State Herbarium, be sure not to miss out on this recording by Steve Schoening on Monkeyflowers!
https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/html5/html5lib/v2.85/mwEmbedFrame.php/p/670832/uiconf_id/29182902/entry_id/1_0fx6lrq4?wid=1_kghtigge

You’re tagged in this post because you were among some of the top identifiers this month. We hope you take part in helping identify some of the observations made so far!
@tmessick @roomthily @tvl @grnleaf @sekihiker @dcoopercem @dgrimmphd @akk2 @wolfgangb @martina_andreas_ohr @morganstickrod @graysquirrel @stephanomeria @suburbanpoison @guidobrusa @dalemeister @frondsinhighplaces @tiwane @ryanandrews @phantom-sweattb

Posted on Οκτώβριος 01, 2022 1204 ΠΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Σεπτέμβριος 28, 2022

CA OakWatch Training Webinar


DATES: THURSDAY October 6; 12 PM PDT – 2 PM PDT
EVENT DETAILS |

Hello,

Please join us in an upcoming webinar hosted by California Native Plant Society, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak (GCCO), taking place on October 6th from 12-2 pm Pacific Daylight Time. This webinar will feature presentations from several expert botanists, detailing how to best identify priority, threatened oaks, native to California. This webinar is meant to serve as an educational resource and to encourage more people to contribute occurrence information to the iNaturalist California OakWatch Project.

The presentations will feature Quercus cedrosensis, Quercus dumosa, Quercus engelmannii, Quercus tomentella, Quercus pacifica and Quercus parvula, and other oak species.

You can register for the webinar through this link: https://bit.ly/3UoPGBW

We hope to see you there!Don’t forget to also check out the CA OakWatch Project here on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-oakwatch

Posted on Σεπτέμβριος 28, 2022 1139 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Σεπτέμβριος 02, 2022

CA Biodiversity Week

Sept 7 is #CABiodiversityDay!
To celebrate CA being a global #biodiversity hotspot, there are celebratory events planned for Sept 3-11.
Learn more: https://resources.ca.gov/biodiversityday2022/



While you are here, check out the events on iNaturalist and help document as many species as you can:

https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-biodiversity-day-2022-events



This year, we encourage anyone interested in taking part in Biodiversity Day 2022 to take part in the Find 30 Species for CA 30x30 challenge! During CA Biodiversity Week (Sep 3-11), find and photograph at least 30 wild species in California. Your observations will automatically end up in this project! Your observations of plants, animals, fungi, and other species in California will help inform the California 30x30 initiative, to conserve 30% of California's lands and coastal waters by 2030. Go out and explore your neighborhood or local park, take a hike or explore the coast, or join in one of the many CA Biodiversity Week events Learn more about how you can participate here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ca-biodiversity-week-2022-find-30-species-for-ca-30x30

Other ways to celebrate:
Check out these events that are also concurrent with CA Biodiversity Day!
Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz (September): https://www.nrpa.org/our-work/Three-Pillars/conservation/parks4pollinators/bioblitz/
Coastal Cleanup Day (September 17): https://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html
International Vulture Awareness Day (September 3): https://www.vultureday.org/

Posted on Σεπτέμβριος 02, 2022 1149 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Ιούνιος 28, 2022

Geophyte Club 2


Here we go again, BREAKING THE RULES!

Welcome to Geophyte Club
The first rule of Geophyte Club is: You DO NOT talk about Geophyte Club
The second rule of Geophyte Club is: You DO NOT talk about Geophyte Club…

First, what is a Geophyte?
Geophytes are perennial plants that store resources in underground organs: usually bulbs in a broad sense, but also tubers, corms or rhizomes. They can wait out drought or poor growing conditions underground and emerge when the time is right.

Second, what makes some geophytes fire followers?
Geophytes survive burning because the storage organs are below ground protected from burning, but they also emerge en masse after fire from chemical or light cues, particularly in chaparral. It’s been an amazing year for mariposa lilies(Calochortus), and we’ve seen amazing displays of geophytes of all types through this whole year. 4 of the top observations are actually geophytes, just like in the 2020 project! The top geophyte observed in this project is the Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) with 85 observations so far!



Check out some of the amazing (Calochortus) observed this year within the 2021 fire perimeters!

Left | Butterfly Mariposa Lily (Calochortus venustus)
Jose Esparza, no rights reserved (CC0)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/120345668
Left-center | Shirley Meadows Star-Tulip (Calochortus westonii)
© Aaron Echols(@aaron_echols), some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118479174
Right-center | Desert Mariposa Lily (Calochortus kennedyi)
© getlost (@getlost), some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/114250508
Right | Plummer's Mariposa Lily (Calochortus plummerae)
© Maureen McHale (@mmchale), some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117904836


Challenge Details:
Starting this week on Thursday June 30, 2022 we will be holding our Geophyte Club challenge! As always, we strongly encourage you all to go out and make observations, however, this week we will be focusing on identifications! You will have until July 7th to make as many identifications as possible! We will be focusing specifically the following:
1) Asparagales (Agaves, Orchids, Irises, and Allies)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=california-fire-followers-2021&quality_grade=needs_id&taxon_id=47218&verifiable=any
2) Manroots (Marah)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=california-fire-followers-2021&quality_grade=needs_id&taxon_id=53145&verifiable=any
3) Liliaceae (Lilies)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&project_id=california-fire-followers-2021&quality_grade=needs_id&subview=table&taxon_id=47328&verifiable=any

The search links above will direct you to a list of those specific plants. Here are is the links on the identification page as well:
1) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae&project_id=125938&taxon_ids=47218%2C53145&taxon_id=47218
2) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae&project_id=125938&taxon_ids=47218%2C53145&taxon_id=53145
3) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?iconic_taxa=Plantae&project_id=125938&taxon_ids=47218%2C53145&taxon_id=47328

The top identifier of the listed plants above will be rewarded with a Fire Followers Shirt!
Additionally, 2nd and 3rd place will also receive Fire Followers Sticker and Pins!





1) As a reminder, even if you do not know the species, you can help by identifying the observation to a finer level such as identifying the family, which is extremely helpful for others. Also, feel free to use the comment section to let others know what you're thinking! There are also approximately 8,000 observations that need an ID! Out of those 8k observations, ~80 liliaceae need ID, ~30 Marah need ID, ~400 are Asparagales of which we are considering Agaves, Orchids, Irises, and Allies.

2)You can help by confirming IDs that have already been made, refining IDs from general to more specific and correcting mis-identifications. The Suggestions tab will offer similar plants seen in the area--make sure you check it’s a good match.

3) To find likely mis-identifications, look at the Species tab of one of the fire areas you know pretty well. Scroll down to the bottom and look at the plants that only have one or two observations. Check on any out of range observations or plants you know are ornamental.

4) Check out this amazing video from our Spring Training by Ruper Clayton and learn about the "tips and tricks" as well as what to look for that's not included in the key for the Brodiaea subfamily.


You’re tagged in this post because you are among some of the top identifiers in this project. We hope you take part in helping identify some of the observations made so far and feel free to check out our CA Fire Followers 2020 project challenge as well!
@looking4salvia @alan_rockefeller @sgene @tvl @wolfgangb @susanmf @dalemeister @ug56bdi @martina_andreas_ohr @boschniakia @kalelevin @tmessick @akk2 @egordon88 @naomibot @tchester @polemoniaceae @klubetkin @sweiser @dcoopercem @davidenrique @andrew_dudley @nathantay @sharp_eyez @erythronium123 @gheaton @david99 @alexb0000 @dgrimmphd @sfelton @birgitknorr @eriogonumla @tiwane @sshigenaga @sekihiker @jdmore @truthseqr @jeff31 @calibas @dionaea @cnddb_brian @diego4nature @something1 @chrismo @suburbanpoison @stomlins701 @smcameron @a_wandering_ecologist @mettcollsuss @claire146963

Posted on Ιούνιος 28, 2022 0858 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Ιούνιος 20, 2022

Pollinator Week Challenge


Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon)
© Alicia Di Rado, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

Beginning on June 20, National Pollinator Week honors the all the pollinators that are critical to our ecosystem. Pollinators perform a valuable ecosystem service and are critical to the success of plants after fires. Some pollinators may be more abundant after fire, following the flush of flowers. Pollinators may be flies, bees, butterflies, wasps, beetles, moths, ants, birds, bats, mice...wind and water don’t count for our challenge though.

This week is the start of Pollinator Week! Pollinator week is a way to learn, celebrate, and protect pollinators. This year, or CA Fire Followers Project will be doing another challenge to promote and celebrate Pollinator Week 2022.

Challenge Details:
Starting June 20-26, we encourage you all to go out and make as many observations as possible in any of the burn sites. Keep a close eye out for flowers being pollinated along your hike! This week, there will be an opportunity for 3 individuals to win a Fire Followers Pin! Here are the categories:

Most observations total:
Most observations of pollinators:
Most identifications of pollinators:

Thank you all for your continued support of our Fire Followers Project and be sure to check out other ways in which you can celebrate Pollinator Week this year!


From Pollinator Partnership, check out their website and their official resources to help you celebrate and promote your involvement in this year’s #PollinatorWeek!

https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week/pollinator-week-resources

Posted on Ιούνιος 20, 2022 0802 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Ιούνιος 06, 2022

Monkeyflowers - from Friends of The Chico State Herbarium

Details|
HEY, HEY WE’RE THE MONKEES! WE’RE TOO BUSY EVOLVING TO PUT ANYBODY DOWN
June 16, 2022
7:00 – 8:00 PM (Via Zoom)
By Steve Schoenig

Hello everyone,

From Friends of the Chico State Herbarium --
the Next Presentation in "All Things Botanically Related"
Every third Thursday.
www.friendsofthechicostateherbarium.com/

"California botanists are becoming more comfortable with the new family for monkeyflowers (Phrymaceae) and the "new" genera (Diplacus, Erythranthe, Mimetanthe) but there may be low awareness that the subgenus Simiolus within Erythranthe that includes the diversity of the old name Mimulus guttatus has grown from 5 species (in The Jepson Manual II) to 20 named and recognized species in California currently. Identification of these species is tricky, although half are restricted to very localized regions (like Butte County!).

The "common yellow monkey" has gone from one of the easiest identifications to one that I think most botanists are now ignoring because of unfamiliarity and the trickiness of the characters used in identification. The group is still not fully understood and may be genetically messy, but I encourage people to become more familiar with the new species recognized in this group and provide some advice on using many of the new names, especially in professionally prepared reports and lists. My talk will emphasize both the common and rare species found in the northern portion of California. If you like the color yellow, this talk is for you!"

Be sure not to miss out on this presentation by Steve Schoening on Monkey Flowers! For more details about the talk and the link to connect, please follow the links at the Friends of the Herbarium web site:
http://www.friendsofthechicostateherbarium.com/eventsviewcalendar/monkeyflowers

Posted on Ιούνιος 06, 2022 0758 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Μάιος 24, 2022

French Fire Burn Area RPTH

Details | June 3, 10:30am, Greenhorn Summit, Kern Co.

We’ll explore the burn area around Alta Sierra and Shirley Meadows in Kern County, home to rare plants such as the endemic Shirley Meadows star tulip, Calochortus westonii. We’ll collect data for the CA Fire Followers project in iNaturalist and document post-fire blooms in the area. We may walk up to 4 miles on unstable terrain and will possibly drive on Forest Service roads to visit rare plant populations. Please read up on safety tips before joining the event. Email Jose Esparza at jesparza@cnps.org to RSVP.

CA Fire Followers: French Fire: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-fire-followers-2021-french
Safety Tips: https://www.cnps.org/fire-followers/burn-areas

Exploremos la zona de incendio alrededor de Alta Sierra y Shirley Meadows en el condado de Kern, el hogar de plantas raras como la endémica Shirley Meadows star tulip, Calochortus westonii. Colectaremos datos para el proyecto de CNPS, Seguidores de Fuegos en iNaturalist, y documentamos las floraciones después de los incendios en la zona. Es posible que caminemos hasta 4 millas en terreno inestable y posiblemente manejaremos por carreteras del Servicio Forestal para visitar poblaciones de plantas raras. Por favor, lea los consejos de seguridad antes de participar en el evento. Envíe un correo electrónico a Jose Esparza a jesparza@cnps.org para reservar su lugar.



Shirley Meadows Star-Tulip (Calochortus westonii)
© Amy, some rights reserved (CC-BY-ND)



Additional Event

Exploring the Kern River Watershed/ Explorando la cuenca del río Kern
Details | June 4, Cannell Meadows RPTH
June 5: Community Hike, Audubon Kern River Preserve
RSVP on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exploring-the-kern-river-watershed-explorando-la-cuenca-del-rio-kern-tickets-337374535317

Join CNPS & Latino Outdoors to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Kern River watershed! We will have hikes on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5th, with the option for camping out Friday-Sunday. Join us just for the day or for both hikes!

¡Explore la belleza escénica de la cuenca del río Kern! Tendremos caminatas el sábado 4 y domingo 5 de junio, con la opción de acampar de viernes a domingo. ¡Únase con nosotros solo por el día o por ambas caminatas! Cuando se registre, dejen nos saber a qué caminatas le gustaría asistir.

Posted on Μάιος 24, 2022 1216 ΠΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 0σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο

Μάιος 02, 2022

Whispering Bells Cup

May Bracket Challenge

The Whispering Bells Cup is a single elimination tournament. Last year, we had our first ever Fire Poppy Cup and the Whispering Cup as a consolation tournament. This year, out Elite Eight tournament will be a part of our CA Fire Followers 2021 project! Don’t forget to also check out the Fire Poppy Tournament on our 2020 project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-fire-followers-2020/journal/65250-fire-poppy-cup

Details:
The Whispering Bell Cup is a tournament-style challenge of the top eight fires in 2021.

Dates:
Elite Eight: May 2 - 15 Winner: Most observations
Semi-Final: May 16 - 22 Winner: Most species
Final: May 23 - May 31 Winner: Most Participants (identifiers+observers)

Team List
These seeds were ranked based off of the observations since the start of the project
Seed | Burned Zone
1 | Single Fires
2 | Caldor
3 | Dixie
4 | KNP
5 | Alisal
6 | Monument
7 | Windy
8 | French

Whispering Bells Cup:
As stated before, this tournament will be single elimination. The Elite Eight will be focused on the total number of observations from the first two weeks (May 2-15). The Semi-Finals will be all about the number of species in celebration of International Day for Biodiversity on May 22! Finally, the championship round will be all about community science and connecting with nature over the holiday weekend. We want to encourage as many people as possible to venture out into some of these burn areas, but if you can't access the outdoors that week, you can also participate by identifying observations that need ID!

Each round is shown below and the Champion will hold bragging rights over other zones! Be sure to support your Burn Zone throughout the competition!
-Tournament detail along with dates are shown above-

You are tagged in this post because you were among the top observers in the month of April! Thank you all for your tremendous contributions and I hope you take part of this challenge as well.
@efmer @aaron_echols @mmchale @dgrimmphd @antrozousamelia @trickykid1 @danielfeinberg @eogren @arquivi @looking4salvia @smfang @acastelein @carlfrederick @dunksterd @ksmadsen1 @nnuebel @tjhastings @lattedray @rookie404 @roycecumming

Posted on Μάιος 02, 2022 1142 ΜΜ by jaesparza11 jaesparza11 | 3σχόλια | Αφήστε ένα σχόλιο