Klamath News: Buffett refuses to meet with Tribes, Chefs for Wild Salmon

The endangered salmon of the Klamath River are also interconnected with the unique geoscape of the Klamath Mountain block. The Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion is also known for exposed geological mineral formations, specifically serpentized peridotite. Many plant species have become adapted endemics to this ecosystem and need protection as peridotite sometimes contains chromium (& other heavy metal) deposits that are often sought after by profit driven mining corporations..

"Threats have been from industrial, urban, recreational, and occasionally agricultural development and other activities. Historically, mining for heavy metals including chromium, nickel, and mercury, have had a significant negative impact on serpentine habitats (Kruckeberg 1984; Brooks 1987; McCarten 1987, 1988a)."

from serpentine database @;
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/botany/projects/cpd/na/na16e-25.htm

Just in case of any potential future mining of Klamath mountains, the serpentized peridotite ecosystem needs some federal/state/local protection ASAP, as requested in this detailed scientific report about serpentine flora endemics;

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/rna/publications_pdf/psw_1986_stone_corral-josephine_peridotite.pdf

With the rate of increased corporate resource extractions on public & private lands under GW Bush, current mining claims on the exposed serpentine/peridotite mountaintop (High Divide Rd., east of Crescent City) belong to Nycal mining. Author is not sure about Nycal corporation's recent activities around Gasquet mountain and the vicinity of public lands. What is visible from High Divide Rd. are large piles of mine tailings and disturbed habitat around their mining claim. Like many other open pit mining sites around the world, once a site is mined for mineral resources, the corporation seldom performs any of the required clean-up steps needed. Many former mining site throughout NorCal have remained as toxic superfund sites with no clean-up performed by the corporations who created the mess (see Iron Mountain Mine, Redding). What can be expected for the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion under the resource extraction happy GW Bush regime if NYCAL mining corporation behaved this aggressively in '94??

This from free library;

"WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 1994--Nycal Corp. has filed suit
against the Hon. Mike Espy, secretary of the Department of Agriculture
("USDA") and the Hon. Jack Ward Thomas, chief of the United States Forest
Service in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
California, seeking a writ of mandamus and declatory relief in relation to
its Gasquet Mountain mining claims.

The company's complaint seeks to compel the secretary of USDA and the
chief of USFS to promulgate certain regulations called for under the Smith
River National Recreation Act which would allow mining by claim holders
having valid existing rights as of the date of passage of the Act.

Such regulations have not been promulgated since that Act was passed over
four years ago. The company believes that it has valid existing rights but
cannot proceed with development of its plans for realization of its claims
without these regulations.

The Gasquet Mountain Project, an asset shown on the company's financial
statements at approximately $15 million, is a series of mining claims
located in Del Norte County, Calif. The project would extract nickel and
cobalt from laterite ore using the company's patented acid leach process.

"Our shareholders have waited four years for these regulations to be
promulgated," said Nycal Chairman William G. Stern. "We believe that Nycal
has valid existing mining rights and hope to realize these claims as soon
as possible."

CONTACT: Nycal Corp., Washington D.C.

Jamie Klein, 202/944-4424
"

above found @;
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Nycal+sues+Department+of+Agriculture+and+Forest+Service-a015866622

Though this above article is outdated, the Nycal corporation can attempt circumvention of the ESA under the current GW Bush regime if nobody is watching out!!

(BTW, NYCAL also stands for New York City Asbestos Litigation);
http://www.nycal.net/


Here's some notes about the unique serpentized peridotite geology of the Klamath Mountains;

Date/Location; (04/14/07) Heading east from Crescent City along 199 towards Oregon, we traveled along the Smith River canyon until reaching the near summit of the tunnel. Several landmarks and sampling sites occurred along both ways.

Background; As we headed east past Gasquet, we left the Franciscan terrane zone and entered the Western Jurassic terrane; Josephine Ophiolite and Galice formation. This change was observed by a noticeable difference in vegetation phenotype and density, occurring along the South Fork Mountain fault line east of Gasquet. The vegetation of Western Jurassic and Josephine Ophiolite derived soils is not as lush as the vegetation along the coast's Franciscan derived soils despite nearly equal amounts of precipitation. The geological influence on vegetation here is likely a result of the higher ophiolite derived peridotite and serpentine content of the Jurassic's Josephine & Galice formations. Ophiolite is an ultramafic igneous rock containing ferromagnesian silicates formed as new oceanic crust by spreading rifts. Ultramafics like peridotite and serpentine contain large amounts of magnesium, nickel and iron though have very little availability of phosphorus, calcium and potassium for vegetation (Alt/Hyndman pg. 107). Peridotite contains olivine and pyroxene, weathering into iron oxides and iron rich clay soils in flatter terrains near Gasquet (Renner, pg. 2 of 6). Higher levels of magnesium, iron, and other heavy metals can withhold calcium availability to plants (Wallace, pg. 109).

In dating the exposed peridotites of the Western Jurassic, we guess that millions of years of transport, folding and uplift exposed this Ordovician oceanic crust formed 500 mya into the Klamath Mountains alongside gabbro, olivine and eastern Franciscan sandstones about 20 mya (Wallace, pg. 109). Evolution over time (approx 20 million years) enables unique traits of regional endemism to plant species adapted to serpentine and peridotite soils.

Yet undiscovered plants adapted to the Klamath block's serpentine soils may yield discoveries of medicinal cures or therapy for human illnesses. The Klamath Mountain block is a known medicinal plant collection site for the regional indigenous nations of the Karuk, Yurok, Hupa and Tolowa linguistic districts. The variation of language names combined with unique serpentine adapted plant subspecies can make species identification a challenge. In addition medicinal plant identification is not practiced as often by younger members of the Klamath region's indigenous nations so a great deal of information is lost and forgotten! However, the databases of medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples are continuously updated by those interested. Indeed the Klamath mountains would fare better under the stewardship and care of the indigenous nations than profit driven mining corporations like Nycal..

Karuk Tribe Dept. of Natural Resources;
http://karukadm.securesites.net/dnr/pdf/Public%20releaseECRMP%20May%202006.pdf.

Across the world's oceans many other peoples have also realized the medicinal value of serpentine endemics;
http://199.33.141.23/faculty/webpages/nrajakaruna/pdfs/Antimicrobial.pdf.

Medicinal plants endemic to peridotite in Klamath Mt. are evolutionarily sheltered by the relative isolation of the formation in context to exposed peridotite in Trinity/Shasta or Sierra Nevada. The serpentine and peridotite ecosystems of the Klamath block are climactically and geologically regional islands. To the north and south east various gabbros and granites end the peridotite's ultramafic habitat. The western boundary for the serpentine and peridotite ecosystem is the Franciscan shales and mudstones. Along the fringes and edges where serpentine and peridotite meets Franciscan shales and sandstones the changes in plant species can help determine locations of unexposed ancient faults between oceanic crust and accumulated sediments. Absence of species frequently found on non-serpentine is also common indicator. However, continuous contact zones between serpentine and surrounding soils is rare (Kruckeberg, 44). On the ophiolite section of this contact zone the absence of non-serpentine plants will be noticeable along with the presence of serpentine adapted species. Serpentine as an excluder of plants also prevents the spread of non-serpentine adapted invasive species.

Additional location; On the way up, we visited the Darlingtonia botanical rest stop along 199 on side opposite of Smith River. This location could be described as a relatively central point of the Josephine ophiolite terrane that crosses the Klamath range east of Gasquet and South Fork Mountain fault, along a northwest by southeast directional belt of predominantly peridotite.

Observation/Discussion; 'Darlingtonia californica' species (cobra lily) are found in bogs sheltered by dense pine stands as nearly horizontal microterrains found above road after ascending steep slope. The Darlingtonia bogs appear as near horizontal catch basins that delay runoff on otherwise steep slopes. We witnessed the 'Darlingtonia californica' insectivore cobra plants at an earlier date since rain was too heavy during field trip visit. The Darlingtonia species is adapted to the nutrient poor serpentized peridotite soils found throughout Josephine ophiolite. Along the crest of oceanic ridges, hot peridotite can undergo a chemical reaction with ocean water and metamorphose into serpentized peridotite or serpentine (Alt/Hyndman, pg. 12). The appearance of serpentine is a grayish green smooth, slippery rock. The lack of nitrogen, phosphorus and other essential minerals characteristic of serpentine soils results in the adaptation of insectivore traits in plants similar to Darlingtonia. Insects are good sources of nitrogen, so cobra plants trap the insect after luring it into the hooded pitcher with pheromones, trapping insects with sticky fluids in the narrows of the cone shaped pitcher. Insectivore plant species like Darlingtonia are usually absent in most ecosystems where nitrogen, phosphorous and other minerals lacking in peridotite are present in larger amounts. However, similar Darlingtonia species can also occur in other nutrient poor or sterile soils such as dune-slack bogs that are non-serpentine in origin (Kruckeberg, pg. 40).

Yet the presence of 'Darlingtonia californica' in mountainous regions is usually an indication of serpentine derived soils and also bogs or small wetlands that occur on serpentine derived soils. The combination of climate, regional genetic isolation after twenty million years of exposed serpentine and peridotite minerals present on the Klamath block have produced an endemic subspecies of the 'Darlingtonia californica' cobra lily. This is an excellent example of underlying geological terranes having a direct impact on botanical biodiversity. Many other species of plants are called endemics, genetically distinct species completely dependent on serpentine peridotite habitat and found nowhere else. Serpentine endemism combined with floristic provinces also results in regionally isolated plant species like 'Streptanthus batrachopus' of Mt. Tamalpais. Along with the 215 plant species known for serpentine endemism in California, the Klamath block leaves many more undiscovered (Kruckeberg, pg. 34). Either way, regional genetic variations of Darlingtonia subspecies are indeed dependent on Klamath's regional geological anomalies to find suitable habitat for survival.

The High Divide summit exposed angular formations of solid peridotite, exteriors weathering into reddish orange flakes that form iron and magnesium rich claypans throughout the near horizontal surface. The chemical similarities of both serpentine and peridotite results in specialized vegetation adapted to both variations of ultramafic oceanic rocks. Upon entering the peridotite dominated summit, we noticed a replacement of the lush Franciscan vegetation by sparse vegetation, specifically redwoods, Douglas firs, and ponderosa pines replaced by dwarf varieties of Jeffrey pines (Pinus jeffryi) and some incense cedars further east. Jeffrey pine usually grows in the drier Sierra Nevada climate and at higher elavations between 6000 -9000 ft., though is found as a dwarf subspecies throughout serpentine soils at 3000 ft in significantly wetter climate (Kruckeberg, pg. 37). Dwarf subspecies show evolutionary adaptation of non-serpentine species to serpentine soils. Along the summit we witnessed several ground shrubs resembling Ceanothus, showy pink wildflowers with smaller leaves as one would expect in a desert ecosystem, and a few stonecrops yet unidentified. The species 'Ceanothus pumilus' is another serpentine endemic within range (Kruckeberg, pg. 111).

Conclusion; After observing the complexity of the Klamath block and exposed coastal formations, it is clear that there are specific patterns of vegetation adapted to the chemistry of the underlying geological sequence. Since soil formation is a direct result of parent material, it follows that the unique geochemistry of peridotite and serpentine found in Josephine ophiolite has evolved an entire ecosystem of dependent species endemic only to the serpentized peridotite. The cobra plant is a close relative of the eastern pitcher plant, though the cobra is specifically adapted to the high levels of winter precipitation and sunny summers of the northern California climate (Wallace, 112). Plants endemic to serpentine soils clearly require protection from needless mining and development activities. Unfortunately the ophiolite terrane where serpentine adapted species are present are also desired by mining corporations for their widely dispersed heavy metals (nickel, chromium, mercury, etc.). Mining disrupts sensitive habitat by removing large amounts of surface material and also concentrates toxins in piles of mine tailings. Serpentine ecosystems are considered to be steady state ecosystems and require no human intervention (other than being left in peace) to maintain their endemic plant communities (Kruckeberg, pg. 69).

However, potential disruption from mining activity as occurred during the last two world wars can adversely effect serpentized plant communities. Wartime results in shortages of metals and greater demand for metal use in military equipment (Kruckeberg, pg. 68). When measuring the value of a rare peridotite ecosystem with potential medicinal plants to the drain of the military industrial mining complex that consumes chromite deposits out of peridotite rocks in large quantity, the benefit for humanity would be better served by protecting the serpentized peridotite ecosystem and recycling chromite from scrap metal. It can be reasoned that the resulting scarcity of accessible minerals is a direct result of US military activity overseas, specifically resource draining events like the current 5 year occupation of Iraq under GW Bush Junior's leadership. Since the last attempted mining extractions in Del Norte were the two world wars, people of today need to work for peaceful solutions by negotiating with diplomacy, not by building more military equipment with mined chromium. The serpentized endemics of the peridotite highlands require the protection of humans to continue their evolutionary adaptation to peridotite and serpentine soils. Thankfully California Native Plant Society members and others volunteer their time to protect serpentized endemic wildflowers.

References;

"Roadside Geology of Northern and Central California" by David Alt &
Donald W. Hyndman, Mountain Press Publishing; Missoula, MT 2000

"Geology 9 Course Packet" by J. Mark Renner, College of the Redwoods, Del
Norte; Crescent City, CA 2007

"Introduction to Shore Wildflowers; CA, OR, WA" by Philip A. Munz,
University of California Press Berkeley, CA 2003

"California Serpentines: Flora, Vegetation, Geology, Soils, & Management
Problems" by Arthur R. Kruckeberg, UC Press Berkeley, CA 1984

"The Klamath Knot" by Davis Rains Wallace, UC Press Berkeley, CA 1983

Websites with serpentine info;

http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/california_hotspot/habitat_klamath_siskiyou.htm

http://www.kswild.org/ksregion

http://www.siskiyou.org/SWRC/overview/

http://www.thesfi.org/Page.asp?NavID=130

Coming up;

"Ecology of Serpentine Darlingtonia Fens
Naturalist Certificate
Instructor: Jennie Cramer, MS
Date: May 19th, 2007
Location: Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR
Tuition: $38 Course Code: FEN7

Explore intricate ecological dynamics and botanical wonders of serpentine Darlingtonia fens with Jen Cramer. Visit hill slope and terrace fens in search of three species of carnivorous plants, four orchid species, and five federally listed species that are found in fens. Investigate complex vegetation patterns as influenced by geology, hydrology and fire dynamics. Examine differences between fens burned in the Biscuit Fire and those not burned."

Sign Up Here @;
http://thesfi.org/Page.asp?NavID=153