Jensen advocates for protection of CA biodiversity jewel Molok Luyuk
Molok Luyuk is a “a rare, idiosyncratic landscape.” The 11-mile rocky ridge lies north of San Francisco, and is home to “more than 30 species of rare plants and Indigenous village sites”, as well as unique geological formations.
A group of tribes and environmentalists are asking the Biden administration to protect the Molok Luyuk landscape to the Berryessa Snow Mountain national monument.
The Sacramento Bee reports, “If California conservationists, geologists, botanists and a Yolo County Native American tribe have anything in common, it’s a belief that this earthen backbone is a natural phenomenon deserving of federal protection and stewardship by its indigenous inhabitants.”
The Guardian and the Sacramento Bee recently published articles telling the story of the efforts to protect the ridge. Nick Jensen was quoted in both about the rich botanical diversity of the area.
“It’s a botanical wonderland,” Nick told the Guardian. “One of the things that makes this place special is the diversity of environmental conditions, the diversity of habitats,” he said. “You have oak woodland, right next to a patch of grassland underlaid with clay soils, right next to serpentine chaparral.”
“If the soils didn’t have such challenging chemistry and physical conditions, there likely would be so many non-native plants here,” Nick told the Sacramento Bee. “By any standard you’re looking at a place that is super special. It should be managed like the jewel that it is.”
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