A

dventure does not always mean goingsomewhere no one else has ever gone.
It does not necessarily mean experiencing
extreme thrills or chills, or doing what
others would never dare to do. It can simply
be pushing the limits of your own
experience. In fact, kneeling in the Baldwin
Lake Ecological Reserve admiring minutepincushion wildflowers could be called anadventure.

soil of the pebble plain. Clay soils swellwhen wet, then shrink and crack in thedry months. Over thousands of years, thisBy Colleen Flannery
cycle of swelling and shrinking, combinedwith freezing, has pushed up the pebbles,

Enjo
Enjoyy aaBaldwin
Baldwin LakLakeeadv
adventurenturee

Baldwin Lake as it appears following the rains.
Let this wildflower adventure begin at
the Department of Fish and Game (DFG)
Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve, on thenorth shore of Baldwin Lake in Big Bear
Valley,San
Bernardino
County.
Interspersed between the lush meadowsand springs lies an open plain covered bysmall quartz rocks (“pebbles”) with low
growing, tufted plants rooted in thecrevices. An Ice Age lake formed the clayNovember - December 2001

which accumulate on the surface. The
combination of unique soils, harsh
growing conditions and isolation fromother similar areas has created a plantcommunity found nowhere else in theworld.
Spring brings beauty to the treelesspebble plains. The flowers of cushion-likeplants create a panorama of color. In early
spring, bright yellow Douglas’ violets (Violadouglasii) speckle the purple hue of Parish’srock-cress (Arabis parishii). As the season
progresses, new waves of flowers bloom.
Special adaptations help the pebble plain
plants survive months of freezing
temperatures and intense summer sun.
These special traits include having tiny
leaves that are often gray or covered withfine hairs. These features reflect harshsummer sunlight better than larger, green

Subscribe to Outdoor California

DFG photo by Mary Meyer
leaves and help reduce water loss. Mattgrowing plants have adapted to grow undersnow that lingers for weeks, their deeproots allowing them to quickly takeadvantage of the short summer growing
season. The ash-grey paintbrush (Castillejacinerea), has grayish leaves and gets someof its nutrients by tapping into the rootsof other nearby plants. Kennedy’s
buckwheat (Eriogonum kennedyi var
OUTDOOR CALIFORNIA 17

Pebble Plain overlooking Baldwin Lake.
austromontanum), another Baldwin Lakearea exclusive, grows deep roots thatanchor it even when the clay freezes andexpands beneath.
Plants as hardy as the buckwheat andthe paintbrush seem able to weather
anything. But these Baldwin Lake
wildflowers, like many of California’s most
specialized species, appear on the state andfederal endangered species lists or are on
DFG’s special plants list. DFG has managed
this ecological reserve since 1991.
Even the Baldwin Lake EcologicalReserve (BLER) parking lot acts as a garden,
where locals know fiery orange poppies,
giant grape-soda lupines, and large, white-flowered evening primroses bloom every
spring. The parking lot gems prelude thewildflower show within BLER.
The reserve also provides a home forwildlife. Coyotes, jackrabbits, lizards anddeer live in and around the reserve,
drinking from Baldwin Lake when it haswater. Overhead, the small saw-whet andscreech owls, and the larger great hornedowls fly silently in the night. The daytime
sky belongs to Cooper’s hawks, sharpshinned hawks, red-tailed hawks andkestrels while fiery hummingbirds flit
past and butterflies flutter by. Watch arainbow of perching birds, from the redbreasted nuthatch to the Western bluebird,

Pebbles and matt-like plant (Cusikiella douglasii).

18 OUTDOOROUTDOOR CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA
18DFG photo by Mary Meyer

DFG photo by Mary Meyer

Sagebrush and pinyon juniper habitat
whose colors blaze nearly as brightly asthe wildflowers beneath them. Bald eagles
winter here, taking advantage of thewarmer Southern California weather.
They fish at Baldwin and Big Bear lakes,
and can be seen roosting on tall pines inthe area.
The eagle is not the only visitor. TheBig Bear Lake area, just west of Baldwin
Lake, is a popular all-seasons recreation
destination.
“The challenge in the Baldwin Lake area
has been that these unique plants havebeen sitting there in Southern California’s
idea of an outdoor recreation area,” said
Mary Meyer, a DFG botanist who studied
Ash grey paintbrush (CastillejaNovember -- December
December 2001
2001
November

sDFG photo by Robert Waldron

Panoramic views from Baldwin Lake ER.

the slender-petaled mustard (Thelypodiumstenopetalum), a state and federal-listed
endangered species that flourishes in themoist meadow areas of BLER.
Meyer accepted the challenge ofstudying the plants when the DFG
purchased BLER from The Nature
Conservancy in 1989. Hard work andpainstaking observation paid off as she
watched the slender-petaled mustard’s
numbers rise from 29 to a more healthy
1,000. DFG botanists and biologists learn
from natural communities that are more
precious than gold.
During the southern California gold
rush, which hit the Baldwin Lake area afew years after the 1848 northern
California discovery of gold, E.J. “Lucky”
Baldwin mined the yellow metal in theBaldwin Lake area – until he found theground too dry in more than one sense. A
mysterious fire destroyed most of his mineand Lucky was fortunate enough to havethe land insured. He bought a share inanother mine and, using cyanide to leachgold from the ground, Lucky finally
lucked out, striking it rich at $4,000 a week.
Lucky’s and other miner’s breaks have left
their mark as scars from mining can still
be seen on the land.
The fish in the lake graced by Baldwin’s
surname have a similar hard luck story.

cinerea).

Parish’s rock-cress (Arabis parishii).

DFG photo by Mary Meyer

November -- December
December 2001
2001
November

DFG photo by Robert Waldron

The unarmored three-spined stickleback(Gastereosteus aculeatus williamsoni) is
found in Baldwin Lake in wetter years,
when the usually seasonal lake remains
full year round. The stickleback dies out
as the lake evaporates in dry summers.
The fish can also be found in a few ponds
and creeks near the lake. BLER only gets
about 15 inches (38 cm.) of precipitation ayear, most of that as winter snowfall.
“If the lake dries up, sticklebacks dryup too,” Meyer said.
Like the rare plants onshore, thestickleback has developed some uniqueadaptations that improve the chances ofspecies survival. Male sticklebacks, which
DFG photo by Mary Meyer

OUTDOOR CALIFORNIACALIFORNIA 1919
OUTDOORMeyer calls “a fish that makes nests,”
attract females by building nests which
are shallow depressions in the lake’s sandy
bottom. After fertilizing the eggs, the malechases the female away – her work is done,
while his has only begun. “Mr. Mom”
strictly shepherds his young ones both
before and after they hatch, guarding theschool as the young fish mature. He will
even retrieve stragglers, catching them in
his mouth and spitting them back into
his offsprings’ school.
With such strong parenting
skills, how can the species bein danger? Listed as“endangered” at thestate and federal level,
thestickleback
exists in only afewisolated
populations.
DFG
scientists
hopetomaintainandstabilize ahealthy
population in af e w
artificial
ponds
near ther e s e r ve .
R a u lRodriguez,
D F G
fisheries
biologist,
said the DFG
plan diverts
grey water(treated wastewater) into theponds. He isquick to note thattheexperiment
hasn’thurt
thestickleback.
“We have determinedthat the fish is not being
harmed by the grey water,” hesaid.
In a unique ecological reserve
partnership, the Big Bear Lake municipal
water treatment facility provides the water.
Rodriguez hopes to provide more habitat
for the sticklebacks soon, perhaps in a wetyear when Baldwin Lake remains for theyear.
“It’s a precarious situation,” Rodriguez
said of the stickleback’s endangered status.
“This is an experimental plan.”
20 OUTDOOR CALIFORNIA

Near the town of Big Bear Lake is thereservoir with the same name, formed by
the damming of Big Bear Creek. The
creation of the lake resulted in theinundation of Southern Californiamountain meadows, which were home to
many rare plant species. One such species,
the endangered slender petaled mustard,
is host tothe

Rabbitbrush at Baldwin Lake.
DFG photo by Robert Waldron
Andrew’s marble butterf ly (Euchloe
hyantis andrewsi), a species of federal
special concern. When the butterfly’s eggs
hatch, long, green caterpillars emerge tofeed on the mustard’s blossoms and fruits.
These larvae eventually metamorphose

into soft, white butterflies that look as if
they have been “marbleized” with veins ofgold paint.
Another mountain meadow flower,
the California dandelion (Taraxacumcalifornicum), thrives in wet meadows. The
endangered Bear Valley blue-grass (Poaatropurpurea), grows in only a few
Southern California mountain meadows.
A scent reminiscent of lemonade wafts
from lemon lilies (Lilium parryi). These
rare and fragrant flowers appear in
high-mountain springs andmeadows southwest of Big
Bear Lake.
As the name Big
Bear implies, blackbears exist in thevicinity of the
Baldwin Lake/
Big Bear area,
althoughthey arenot thesame biggrizzlybears
t h a tused toroamt h e
S a n
Bernard i n oMountains(thoseh a v eb e e n
extirpated inC a l i fornia).
Bobcat andgray fox slink
s i l e n t l ythroughtheshadowed twilightplains. Visitors arevery lucky to see anyof these rarely viewed
animals, but they should begiven ample distance.
So pack up and walk into an
adventure of another sort at theBaldwin Lake Ecological Reserve.

Colleen Flannery is a scientific aide in DFG’s
Lands and Facilities Branch.
Mary Meyer of DFG’s Region 5, Dee Sudduth andRaul Rodriguez from DFG’s Region 6, contributed
to this article.

November - December 2001