Help designate an exquisite area in memory of Jeff Norman
August 2010
Coast Dudleya (Dudleya caespitosa), which grows only in California, clings to rocky outcrops in the proposed Botanical Area.. Photo: Mike Splain Representative Sam Farr has introduced a bill (HR 4040) in the U.S. House of Representatives to designate 65 acres at Pfeiffer Point the Jeff Norman Botanical Area. If passed into law, this area would be a fitting memorial for Jeff Norman who passed away in 2007.
Norman, a consulting botanist for California State Parks and the U.S. Forest Service, worked to understand and conserve the biodiversity of the Santa Lucia Range. Among Norman’s myriad discoveries was the ecological significance of a vegetation complex at Pfeiffer Point. Although generally considered Maritime Chaparral, such a classification paints an incomplete picture. Chaparral components like Carmel ceanothus and endemic Little Sur manzanita are certainly plentiful here; but so too are Coastal Scrub, Oak Woodland, and even Redwood Forest species. All seem to compete on a more or less even playing field, where dwarfed stature is the only defense from salt spray and perennial wind.
How to help
Please write Representative Farr (contact information) expressing your support for the Jeff Norman Botanical Area and HR 4040. To take a virtual tour of the area visit: www.ventanawild.org/hr4040/a-visit-to-the-jeff-norman-botanical-area.html.
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