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BOTANY

In 2000, development began on a botany program on Green Diamond's California timberlands in conjunction with the Department of Fish and Game. First, a list of plants was compiled from the federal, state and California Native Plant Society lists that represented the species most likely to be found in the regions and habitat types found on our California timberlands. The property was broken in to Botanical Management Units (BMUs) and the plants on the list were separated into the units in which they would most likely be found.

In the spring and summer of 2001 and 2002, complete botanical surveys of our Timber Harvest Plans (THPs) were conducted. A list of all species, habitat descriptions and descriptions of potentially sensitive plant habitats were documented for each survey site. Those botanical reports became part of the timber harvest plans.

The ultimate goal of this process is a landscape-wide, conservation strategy. Over the next few seasons, we will use the information gathered to realize this goal.

As a result of these surveys, many species of interest have been located on Green Diamond's diverse property.

Scientific Name Common Name	CNPS List/ Fed. List/ State List
Astragalus umbraticus Bald Mtn. Milk-vetch	2/ none/ none
Bensoniella oregana Benson's saxifrage	1B/ SOC/ CR
Carex praticola Meadow sedge	2/ none/ none
Erythronium revolutum Coast fawn lily	2/ none/ none
Lupinus elmeri South Fork Mt. Lupine	1B/ none/ none
Lycopodium clavatum Running-pine	2/ none/ none
Mitella caulescens Leafy-stemmed mitrewort	2/ none/ none
Monotropa uniflora Indian pipe	2/ none/ none
Montia howellii Howell's montia	2/ SOC/ none
Sidalcea malachroides Maple-leaved checkerbloom	1B/ none/ none
Sidalcea oregana ssp. eximia Coast checkerbloom	1B/ none/ none
Thermopsis robusta Robust false lupine	1B/ none/ none

Each time a sensitive plant or population of plants is located, protection plans are drawn up and become part of the Timber Harvest Plan.

Monitoring projects have been initiated on the following species. More monitoring projects are planned for the future.

Bensoniella oregana:

Bensoniella is a state and federally listed plant. A few populations have been located and the largest of these is the site for a long-term monitoring project designed to monitor the change over time. This population is located in a long, narrow meadow created by a small, subsurface drainage. The direct threat to this particular population seems to be encroachment of the surrounding forest and potentially cattle grazing. Timber harvesting may also have some effect in the future, although this particular population is uphill of and not directly adjacent to the current THP in the area.

Montia howellii:

Howell's montia is a state listed plant. It was considered extinct until a local botanist rediscovered it in 1999. Now, many populations have been found and many documented to determine the habitat requirements of this species. It is primarily found on poorly drained, low gradient, disturbed road surfaces now. Two locations have been found on our timberland. The maintenance of this road system has been conducted in the same way for the past ten years. In this particular area, this seems to be working well for these plants. This monitoring project is to determine if there is a decrease in plant numbers over time.

Counting Howell's montia in one of the monitoring points.

Lupinus elmeri:

There is still some controversy as to whether or not this particular population of plants, located on South Fork Mountain, is actually Lupinus elmeri, or if it is the more common Lupinus adsurgens. Monitoring plots have been established anyway and will continue to be monitored until further study can be done on the identification of these individuals. We are monitoring these pioneer species to document change over time after the disturbance of timber harvest.

Monotropa uniflora:

Indian pipe is widely found in Washington and Oregon, but we seem to be at its Southern most extent here in Northern California. In the Smith River and Winchuck River areas, many populations have been found. A couple of monitoring plots have been established and more will be implemented in the future. This species is also going to be the subject of a case study to examine the life history, habitat requirements and extent of the populations on Green Diamond's property.

Green Diamond's botany program is still young and, therefore, constantly changing and developing. Green Diamond works closely with the lead agency in this project, The Department of Fish and Game, in order to maintain consistent protocols and to share data. All of Green Diamond's new occurrences of sensitive plant species are recorded and sent to the Department of Fish and Game's Natural Diversity Database.

Green Diamond Resource Company's use of the logo indicates that it is a participant in the SFI program in good standing and that Green Diamond Resource Company's operations have been certified to be in conformance with the SFI Standard (SFIS) and guidelines by an independent auditor. For more detailed information on the SFI program and the standards and guidelines, please visit www.aboutsfi.org.