Diario de joerich

I have lived in the Lincoln CA area for just a little over two and a half years. One of the things I noticed missing from the local environment was the Pipevine Swallowtail. These are beautiful black and purple swallowtail which, along with the Dutchman's Pipe vine are common up along the Sacramento River in the Red Bluff CA area in the summer. Doing a little research on the map function, I also saw they are observed along the American river just south of here in Folsom. We have some great riparian area here along the Auburn Ravine and, even closer to my home along Orchard Creek and South Creek. The question in my mind was why there was no California Dutchman's Pipe vines in the Lincoln area.

According to what I have been told and also read, the beaver population in this area was greatly reduced by Russian fur trappers prior to the gold rush. The few remaining were trapped out upon the arrival of the many miners and settlers coming in from the east. In addition, this area was modeled after English culture with sheep and goat herds feeding on the vegetation. The thinking is that the destruction of the riparian areas due to the removal of Beaver and the sheep grazing eliminated the Dutchman's Pipe vine.

I don't know if the beaver were reintroduced or if they arrived naturally but their presence on Orchard and South Creek is quite evident. They have done some amazing geoengineering. I have written about this in another journal entry.

I was able to get two Dutchman's Pipe vine starts and planted them along South Creek fairly close to my house so that I could tend them. One did not make it but the other is now starting to put on new leaves and looks like it is starting to thrive. It is planted adjacent to a willow tree and close to an old beaver pond on the creek. The soil appears damp about a foot below where the vine is planted. Since I have planted the vine I have been watering it twice weekly and , during this heat wave, every other day. I had noticed small bud leaves or stems forming on the plant but today the leaves have burst forth and the plant has taken on new vigor.

The California Dutchman's Pipe observation is here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/228855446