Media Release Date: August1,2014
Subject: Newly Discovered Population of the Lime Ridge Navarretia in the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve Contact:
AbigailFateman
InterimExecutiveDirector
EastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancy
30MuirRoad
Martinez,CA94553
Phone:(925)674‐7820
www.cocohcp.org
Photo Credit: Scott J. Hein Anew,andnowlargestknown,populationoftheLimeRidgenavarretia(Navarretiagowenii)hasbeen
discoveredintheBlackDiamondMinesRegionalPreserveonapropertyrecentlyacquiredbytheEast
BayRegionalParkDistrict(EBRPD)inpartnershipwiththeEastContraCostaCountyHabitat
Conservancy(Conservancy).
"ThediscoveryoftheLimeRidgenavarretiainlandsnearBlackDiamondMinesRegionalPreserve
remindsusthatwemustbethoughtfulaswebalanceconservationanddevelopment,"saidContra
CostaCountySupervisorandEastContraCostaCountyandHabitatConservancyChairMaryNejedly
Piepho."Weneedtothinklongtermandconsiderwhatweleavebehindforfuturegenerations.The
worktoestablishandmaintaintheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancyisonewayweare
doingthat."
TheLimeRidgenavarretiahadformerlyonlybeenknownattwolocationsinContraCostaCounty;both
intheLimeRidgeOpenSpaceinWalnutCreek,California.DavidGowen,abotanistassociatedwiththe
CaliforniaNativePlantSociety,originallydiscoveredthepreviouslyundescribedspeciesin1998and
lateridentifiedthepopulationasitsownspeciesin2008.(Forinformationontheinitialdiscoverysee:
http://www.savemountdiablo.org/downloads/Media_New%20Species%20on%20Lime%20Ridge.pdf)
DavidGowenconfirmedthisrecentlydiscoveredpopulationintheBlackDiamondMinesRegional
Preserve.
HeathBartosh,aprincipalwithNomadEcology,workingfortheConservancywasconductinga
baselinebotanicalsurveyonthesitewhenheandcolleagueBrianPetersondiscoveredthepopulation.
“Thisisaverysignificantfindgiventhattherearesofewpopulationsofthisspecies”Bartoshsays.
“Thisgivesustheopportunitytolearnmoreaboutaplantwhosehabitatrequirementswearejust
beginningtounderstand.”TheLimeRidgenavarretiaislistedas1B.1,rare,threatened,orendangered
inCaliforniaandelsewherebytheCaliforniaNativePlantSociety.
TheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancyandtheEastBayRegionalParkDistricthave
partneredtoacquireover10,000acresofland.BobNisbet,AssistantGeneralManagerwiththeEast
Lime Ridge Navarretia August 1, 2014 Page 2 of 2 BayRegionalParkDistrict’sLandDivisioncommented:“Thelandsthathaverecentlybeenconservedin
theregionarespectacular.TheyconnectparklandjustsouthoftheCityofPittsburgtoMountDiablo
StatePark.Thesepropertiesprovidecriticalhabitatforwildlifeaswellasrecreationopportunities.”
“Thediscoveryofthisplantpopulationremindsusthattherearebenefitstoourconservationefforts
thatwedon’tanticipate.Weworktopreservethespeciesandhabitatsthatweknowarethreatened.It
isabonustolearnthatwehaveprotectedotherrarespeciesalongtheway,”notedAbigailFateman,
InterimExecutiveDirectoroftheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancy.TheConservancyand
EastBayRegionalParkDistrictareworkingtogethertoidentifyappropriateconservationand
managementeffortstoprotectthepopulation.
BackgroundinformationontheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancy:
Beginningin2002,ContraCostaCountyjoinedthecitiesofBrentwood,Clayton,OakleyandPittsburgto
developtheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservationPlan/NaturalCommunityConservation
Plan(HCP)thatgiveslocalcitiesandagenciescontroloverendangeredspeciespermittingintheir
jurisdiction.Undertheplan,landownersanddevelopersfulfilltheirobligationsundertheEndangered
SpeciesActbypayingafeeorprovidingtheirownconservationmeasuresdesignedtoprotectlisted
speciesandtheirhabitat.Inexchange,landownerscanproceedwithotherwiselawfulactivitiesrelated
tolanduseoreconomicdevelopment.TheCounty’sDepartmentofConservationandDevelopment
staffstheEastContraCostaCountyHabitatConservancyandleadstheimplementationoftheHCP.
www.cocohcp.org