Land
News, March 1999
April 17th Earth Day Party
at Dead Man's Flat
by Carolyn Chainey-Davis, California Native Plant
Society
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Land
News, March 1999 |
With a name like "Dead Man’s Flat" and a face of serpentine and gabbro chaparral that only a mother could love, this parcel of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) between Highway 20 and the McCourtney Road landfill is truly the underdog of local conservation concerns.
No sexy rivers or wildlife here. Yet, from a biological diversity perspective, Dead Man’s Flat and the chaparral of the American Ranch Hill area is far more significant than most natural areas in Nevada County.
Dead Man’s Flat is a "rare plant heaven" to local botanists and the California Native Plant Society. But with no rolling hills of velvety green grass and oak woodlands and no majestic conifer forests, even many local conservationists are immune to the charms of its rare species and natural communities. In fact, the area has been relegated to a dumping ground.
EARTH DAY CLEAN-UP PARTY AT DEAD MAN’S FLAT!
John Scull of the BLM has organized a team of local celebrities to help clean up the site as a way to celebrate Earth Day. District 4 Supervisor Izzy Martin and The Union editor John Seelmeyer will join the party to help us figure out the best use for the site, to pick up garbage, and party. And they’re inviting YOU!
WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 17th
WHERE: DEAD MAN’s FLAT