[RWG] Starting locally with 100 acre preserves 99% native cover

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear All,

I am starting locally with the idea of eventually getting 700 preserves
established in California every 15 miles--that is for a land area of about
158,000 square miles, divided by 225 square miles.

Like the pine barrens on Long Island, it would be ideal to pick spots that
are already close to 99% pure natives to begin with, but as a default
position, pick spots that have the best potential to get restored within
each 15 mile x 15 mile area, or for every 15 minute USGS quad..

We have a highway in Southern California, Cal. Highway 58 that goes from
US Highway 101 to I-5, and all along 40 miles of that route we have the
best concentrated examples of wildflower fields in the whole State of
California, and the wildflowers usually occur near the roadsides, so you
could preserve long narrow 100 acre pieces, to capture the whole route?

You can see pictures we took of this route at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/wild.2008.html and everyone from around the
country in April should check and see if we are getting normal rainfall
and no drought, book a plane ticket to the Burbank airport, rent a car,
pay for a hotel room in San Luis Obispo for a couple of days, and drive
north a couple of hours to the junction of 101 and 58 at the town of Santa
Margarita, and come and enjoy the views, that I hope will be preserved as
part of this system of preserves that I am proposing.

I am hearing from people in Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, for example, of
similar wildflower display examples that are on private lands, that wopuld
be good candidates to preserve the best 100 acres of wildflowerws within
their areas?

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333