If we were to start distributing NAFHA informational sheets at Nature Centers, how many targets would we have? I don't really know of much outside of LA/Orange Counties, but these are the ones I'm familiar with:

Friendship Park in San Pedro
George F. Canyon Nature Center in Rolling Hills
Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena
San Dimas Canyon Nature Center in San Dimas
Madrona Marsh in Torrance
Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens in Claremont
El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach
Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim
O'Neill Regional Park in Trabuco Canyon
Grassy Hollow Visitor Center in Wrightwood
Mojave Desert National Preserve
Anza Borrego State Park

On top of that, there are many location-based organizations that I've seen that don't have physical "nature centers" of their own right, but still may be great places to send some fliers and develop contacts. For instance, I'm familiar with:

Gardena Willows Wetlands
Harbor Lake
Orange County Bay
Santa Monica Mountains State Park

What other ones are out there?

If we want to be ambitious, I'm sure many survey efforts could grow out of these relationships (perhaps undertaken with just 1 or 2 local NAFHA members with easy access and a personal interest in the area), but for now I'm just thinking about the easy step of getting them acquainted with NAFHA and sharing some fliers for them to display.

Oh, here's one possible flier:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~smit4155/NAFHA/NAFHA%20flyer.pdf


Fliers were discussed on these two threads - I'm not sure whether more efforts have been made since then:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5495&p=69997
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6508

The surprising thing about our relatively young organization is that we already have more opportunities than we can handle - it's been a struggle to keep up with San Dieguito and Fallbrook. What we really need our more members who are willing to put in the time doing the surveys!

I'm working on a survey opportunity for in the Mojave Narrows wetlands.. to see if any WPT's remain.

Here are some areas in San Diego County that I would like to help with:
- Black Mountain Open Space Park
- Sycamore Canyon County Park
- Torrey Pines State Park
- Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve
- Blue Sky Ecological Reserve
- Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve
- Dos Picos County Park

I'm also interested in the Cleveland National Forest, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, and the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy.

I am especially looking forward to helping conduct herp surveys in Torrey Pines and Black Mountain.

Please let me know how I may be able to get more involved.

Thanks,

Jeff

I don't even know about Fallbrook. I've been away for too long!

The thing I was thinking about local places is at least informing them of NAFHA and giving them our fliers to distribute. That could be a way to recruit more members, who would then upload more data as well as possibly provide more survey bodies. One trip to an out-of-the-way open space preserve that members don't usually frequent could result in the eventual recruitment of 1-2 new members who might hit that spot ten times a year.

The other thing is that some members may have spots near them that might be easier for them to make it to survey than the surveys that NAFHA has lined up so far. I've hit the San Dimas Canyon Nature Preserve at least half-a-dozen times and got 8 species in the immediate area, but I know there's a lot more. If I worked out something official with them, was able to lay down boards and visit after-hours, I could probably have hit it every-other week and found at least 4-5 more species, even though I didn't make most of the other survey trips last year other than Tejon.

I am familiar with Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Altadena and could possibly go there and see whether they would be interested in displaying an NAFHA flyer and/or sponsoring future NAFHA surveys there.

The EC Nature Center is also where the San Gabriel chapter of the Southwestern Herpetologists Society (SWHS) holds its monthly meetings, so the nature center already has some awareness of herps and herpers. They also have some herps on display.

In terms of staffing future surveys, I think the problem is simply distance. The surveys Kent was referring to are all located in SD county, which is too far a drive for most members who don't live in SD or Orange County. The opposite is true for Tejon: it is too far for most folks down in SD. Maybe, having some surveys in the middle - LA and Orange County - would be a good idea. That way, more people could attend.

Robert

Anyone else want to volunteer? I might be able to pass out fliers at some of those locations, but probably not until 2012. And I definitely won't be able to offer to survey any of them, even though there are at least three that I'd really like to survey more extensively.

Can we look at this again?


I especially want to hear answers to Jeff's question. I could take a stab at it, but others might have better advice.

We have the Placerita Canyon Nature Center up here in Santa Clarita, and they have been great in letting the SWHS do exhibitions there. Also, I'm sure Frank (head ranger) would let us do surveys there as well (Frank claims to have found some very interesting herps on the park grounds). They have a small gift section and some books (including Hubb's) for sale. I'm sure we could put some info on NAFHA in there...John

Nicholas and I are members of the SWHS and ealier this year helped man a table of the SWHS at a Nature Day type of event at the Placerita Nature Center. It's actually one of the better nature centers in the area, with some herps (including rosy boas, rubers, cerastes, gophers, alligator lizards), owls, hawks, tortoises, and more. We have not explored the area much yet, but it sounds like there is stuff to be found there, including zonata. I would be nice to do a survey there in spring. We'd certainly be interested.

We could also act as a liaison, if necessary, since the SWHS already has a working relationship with the Nature Center. Then again, if John already knows the head ranger, that may be a non-issue.

Much the same goes for the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, btw (see my earlier post above). The San Gabriel chapter of the SWHS holds its monthly meetings there and we would be in a position to act as liaisons for the NAFHA, both for disseminating NAFHA materials and organizing NAFHA surveys.

Robert