Program – Vernal Pools Conference 2018

VERNAL POOL LANDSCAPES: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE 
A Conference in Chico, California, April 11-13, 2018
Presented by AquAlliance and the Vernal Pool Recovery Plan Implementation Regional Working Group of Butte, Glenn,Tehama, and Shasta Counties

Program of Speakers
Program Abstract

Wednesday morning, April 11

Registration begins at 8 a.m. The program starts at 8:45 a.m. and will end at 5. The social hour follows.

  • Barbara Vlamis, AquAlliance – Welcome
  • Scott McMillan, AECOM – “The conservation and management of vernal pools in Southern California: Tracking our path to today and planning our path to tomorrow”   Presentation to come
  • Russ Huddleston, Applied Technology & Science – “Vernal pool conservation, research, and education at the Jepson Prairie Preserve” View presentation
  • Barbara Castro, Northern California Botanists – “The vernal pool landscape at Nature Conservancy’s Vina Plains Preserve”  View presentation
  • Kirsten Bovee, Lassen National Forest – “Livestock grazing affects vernal pool specialists more than habitat generalists in montane vernal pools on the Modoc Plateau”  View presentation
  • Kyle Merriam, United States Forest Service – “Hydrologic influences on plant community structure in vernal pools of northeastern California”  View presentation
  • Eva Butler, Sacramento Splash – “Falling in love with vernal pools:  How Splash turns kids into conservationists”  View presentation – Listen to audio:

Wednesday afternoon, April 11

  • Don Hankins, Keynote, California State University, Chico – “Ecocultural species of vernal pool ecosystems: Case study from the Miwkoʔ Waaliʔ”   Presentation to come
  • Cara Clark, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories – “CRAM vernal pool module validation and applications in vernal pool landscapes”  View presentation
  • Jennifer Buck-Diaz and Carol Witham, California Native Plant Society – “Rings around the posies: Updates on the classification of vernal pool vegetation”  View presentation
  • Dan Rohlf, Lewis and Clark College – “Vernal pools: Evolving legal protections and an uncertain future”  View presentation
  • Niall McCarten, University of California, Davis – “Effects of variation in landscape structure and regional climate on vernal pool hydrology and plant species distribution”  View presentation
  • Rich Lis, California Department of Fish and Wildlife – “The United States versus Duarte Nursery: a summary of the hydrological and biological effects of the tillage as assessed by the federal expert team, and description of the final settlement agreement”  View presentation

Wednesday Evening, Poster Session, and Social Hour with hors d’oeuvres and no-host bar

Thursday morning, April 12

Registration begins at 8 a.m. The program starts at 8:45 a.m. and will end at 5.

  • Barbara Vlamis, AquAlliance – Welcome
  • Brent Helm, Helm Biological Consulting – “Monitoring and management of California’s endemic large branchiopods”  View presentation
  • Shannon Kieran, University of California, Davis – “Using environmental DNA to monitor vernal pool organisms in California”  View presentation
  • Jorge Montiel, University of California, Merced – “Understanding microbial communities in vernal pools”  View presentation
  • Leigh Johnson, Brigham  Young University – “The vernal pool Navarretia and their near relatives—what we know and what we have yet to learn about their relationships and genetic structure”  View presentation
  • Molly Stephens, University of California, Merced – “Diversity above and below ground: the genetics of vernal pool plants and seed banks”  View presentation
  • Daniel Toews, University of California, Merced – “Soil effects on an endemic vernal pool annual plant, Limnanthes douglasii ssp. rosea (Meadowfoam)”  View presentation

Thursday afternoon, April 12

  • John Vollmar, Keynote, Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting – “Preserving vernal pool landscapes one piece at a time: How we work within our socioeconomic system to achieve meaningful landscape-scale conservation”  View presentation
  • Ana Maria Saenz, State Water Resources Control Board – “ State wetland definition and procedures for discharges of dredged of fill material to waters of the state”  View presentation
  • Eric Smith, Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting, Inc. – “Whole-landscape Restoration of  a LeveledCalifornia Vernal Pool Terrain”  View presentation
  • Kealie Pretzlav and Barry Hecht, A Simplified Classification and Water-balance Model of Pools for the Efficient Characterization of Hydroperiod: Adaptive Habitat Management under Changing Climates in the Guadalupe-Coyote Valley, California.  View presentation
  • John Hunt and Paul Kirk, Northern California Regional Land Trust – “Landowner-led strategies for conserving vernal pool rangelands”  View presentation