New interpretive board at Jacks Peak Park created by the FJPP Outreach Committee showing native plants and wildlife found in the Forest. (Photograph: Steve Pendlay).
 

Everyone is asking, "Where’s our beautiful yellow pollen that announces the spring courtship of the Monterey pines?" Yes, the candles are showing, but the sap flow is weak right now. Yet, new cones will be growing soon, and many plants, animals and birds are arriving for the warmth and sun. Indian soap plants are sending their wavy, thin leaves out into the pathways, and the Fremont star lilies are also re-appearing. The fuchsia-flowered gooseberries are greening up, and white-tailed deer, not often seen in the Park over the last several years, are rummaging through the new, green shoots, ignoring the dried grasses from last year. The small seed-eaters, like the nuthatches and chickadees, flit through the oak and pine undergrowth. Poison oak is still sporting its deceptive winter sticks, but a few early leaves are a stunning, innocent, bright green.

Friends of Jacks Peak Park's new Outreach Committee. From left: Katie Hart, Ventana Chapter leader and FJPP sponsor Mary Pendlay, Michael Layne and Elizabeth Lambert. (Photograph: Steve Pendlay).

At the western kiosk, a beautiful array of pictures cover the bulletin board next to the map, welcoming visitors with images of the most popular Monterey pine forest inhabitants. The rear of the kiosk now presents specific information and pictures of the Monterey pine forest. Chapter leader Mary Pendlay and three student volunteers from the CSUMB Service Learning Institute have created new public outreach media, which include the bulletin boards for the kiosk; a 12 page color booklet about the Park, Monterey pine forest and history, soon to be published; and an educational power point presentation for middle and high school science students about the pine forest and its habitat. Many thanks to CSUMB students Elizabeth Lambert, Michael Layne and Katie Hart for their hard work and excellent projects, and to Laura Lee Lienk for her support through her "Environmental Interpretation" course. The Friends of Jacks Peak Park (FJPP) and the local community continually look for ways to celebrate the unique nature of Jacks Peak Park and the means to share it. Please join the docents every second Saturday of the month at 11 a.m. for a leisurely one hour tour through the largest, native, contiguous stand of Monterey pines in the world.
(See Monterey County Parks for more information)