Irvine Ranch Conservancy
  • Home
    • Landmarks Blog
  • What We Do
    • Programs >
      • Habitat Restoration and Enhancement
      • Wildfire Prevention
      • Community Engagement and Education
      • Invasive Species Control
      • Plant Materials
      • Monitoring and Research
      • Planning and Infrastructure
      • Volunteer Management
    • Where We Work
    • About Us >
      • Careers
      • Meet the Team
      • Our Partners
      • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Donate

Invasive Plant Species: Castor Bean

3/30/2023

 
Picture
Castor Bean removal in Agua Chinon
Maintaining healthy plant communities is essential to preserving biodiversity on the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. Native plants have a close relationship with and are dependent on native wildlife, but invasive plants and animals can disrupt this relationship, creating degraded habitat over time. That is why it is so important to remove non-native and invasive plants, like castor bean (Ricinus communis) which can be found throughout Southern California. The spread of castor bean plants is one of the leading causes of native biodiversity loss because they spread quickly and displace and prevent growth of native plants.

Castor bean is a perennial shrub that can grow rapidly to be anywhere from three to fifteen feet in height. With thick, palm-like leaves, castor bean plants can shade the surrounding native plants, preventing the native plants from getting the sunlight needed for growth. Though the leaves are typically deep green in color, some varieties have a reddish tint and have an odor when crushed. Castor bean plants contain small, green flowers with separate male and female flowers present on the same plan. The fruit produced is a small, round, spiny capsule, often red and containing smooth seeds inside that can be fatal if consumed.


Read More

Bulking Plant Materials at the Native Seed Farm

3/23/2023

 
Picture
Growing plants at the Native Seed Farm
Native plants are the foundation of diverse ecosystems throughout the Landmarks, and restoration efforts rely on native plant materials to create healthy and resilient habitats. IRC’s Plant Material Development program is designed to produce the plant materials needed for a wide range of restoration projects in Orange County, like the butterfly habitat enhancement project currently underway in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon.

Sunny Saroa, Project Manager in the Plant Material Development program, helps facilitate the production of native plants and seeds for IRC’s restoration and enhancement projects by overseeing seed production at IRC’s Native Seed Farm, container plant production at our nurseries, coordinating wild seed collection, and maintaining an inventory of container plant and seed. Together, Sunny and the Plant Material Development team work to keep a robust inventory of native plants and seeds on hand at the Native Seed Farm to cultivate enough plant material to support major restoration projects. The Native Seed Farm currently has around 40 different plant species in production. 

Read More

Butterfly Monitoring Progress Updates

3/16/2023

 
Picture
Butterfly habitat islands in Limestone Canyon.
With recent enhancement efforts to butterfly habitats in OC Parks’ Limestone Canyon, Irvine Ranch Conservancy has been focusing on the monitoring of these local pollinators to track population growth after recent nationwide declines. The monitoring efforts have been steered by IRC Project Coordinator, Catherine Le, who is responsible for analyzing wildlife activity throughout the Landmarks and works closely with teams of volunteers to enhance knowledge of wildlife patterns and study the effects of land management.

Butterfly monitoring in Limestone Canyon, where Catherine and her team of dedicated volunteers visit on a monthly basis, began years ago and includes data from as early as 2012. This abundance of data from over the years has shown a  decline in butterfly populations, especially following recent wildfires in Limestone Canyon. During their monthly patrol, the volunteers are split into different groups that visit four separate routes, observing and recording the number of butterflies and flowering plants that are visible.


Read More

Wildlife Spotlight: Western Pond Turtles

3/8/2023

 
Picture
Western Pond Turtles
Irvine Ranch Conservancy is regularly involved in habitat restoration and enhancement projects that help restore and protect habitats for native plant and wildlife species. One current project includes managing and caring for a population of Western Pond Turtles living in City of Irvine’s Shady Canyon. What was formerly a cattle pond has been reconstructed to better hold water and provide more habitat for the turtles to hopefully support a threatened species in Orange County. 

The Western Pond Turtle (Emys marmorata) is a freshwater turtle with shells averaging between seven and nine inches in length and can be recognized by their yellow stomachs and black spots and lines on their heads. Though these turtles could once be found all the way from Canada down to Baja, California, the number of Western Pond Turtles has significantly decreased over the years and populations can now be found mostly in southern Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.

Read More

Happy World Wildlife Day!

3/2/2023

 
Today is World Wildlife Day–a day to celebrate all of the wild animals and plants in the world and the wonderful things they contribute to our lives and the health of the planet. The Irvine Ranch Conservancy is honoring this international day by highlighting a local, furry friend that can be spotted on the Landmarks: bobcats! 

In celebration of World Wildlife Day, follow
@irnlandmarks and follow the giveaway instructions for a chance to win an exciting prize perfect for outdoor enthusiasts!

    About

    Welcome to the Irvine Ranch Conservancy "News from the Field" blog. These articles are written by Conservancy staff about activities and projects in and near the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks. 

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    Agua Chinon
    Baker Canyon
    Big Canyon
    Birds
    Black Star Canyon
    Bommer Canyon
    Buck Gully
    City Of Irvine
    City Of Newport Beach
    Crystal Cove
    Dripping Springs
    Equestrian
    Family Friendly
    Fire
    Fire Watch
    Fremont Canyon
    Grasslands
    Habitat Restoration
    Hicks Haul Road
    Hiking & Fitness
    Interpretive
    Invasive Plants
    Irvine Open Space Preserve
    Irvine Ranch Open Space
    Irvine Regional Park
    Laguna Coast
    Limestone Canyon
    Mesa Loop
    Mountain Biking
    Native Plant Nursery
    Native Plants
    Native Seed Farm
    Nighttime
    OC Parks
    OC Zoo
    O'Neill Regional Park
    Orchard Hills
    Peters Canyon Regional Park
    Quail Hill
    Red Rocks
    Round Canyon
    Safety
    San Joaquin
    Santiago Oaks Regional Park
    Stewardship
    The Sinks
    Tracking
    Trails
    Trail Work
    Upper Newport Bay
    Volunteers
    Weir Canyon
    Wilderness Access Day
    Wildflowers
    Wildlife

    RSS Feed

Irvine Ranch Conservancy  •  4727 Portola Pkwy. Irvine, CA 92620  •  714-508-4757  •  info@irconservancy.org

© 2016 Irvine Ranch Conservancy, All Rights Reserved.   Irvine Ranch Conservancy reserves all rights under copyright, including (without limitation) rights to photographs. No permission to copy or publish any portion of this web
site or any material posted on the website is granted without the express written permission of Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 
  • Home
    • Landmarks Blog
  • What We Do
    • Programs >
      • Habitat Restoration and Enhancement
      • Wildfire Prevention
      • Community Engagement and Education
      • Invasive Species Control
      • Plant Materials
      • Monitoring and Research
      • Planning and Infrastructure
      • Volunteer Management
    • Where We Work
    • About Us >
      • Careers
      • Meet the Team
      • Our Partners
      • Contact Us
  • Volunteer
  • Donate