Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve

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Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve
Location	Lake County, California, U.S.
Nearest city	Clearlake, California
Coordinates	38°53′12″N 122°46′36″W / 38.88667, -122.77667
Area	153 acres (62 ha)
Established	1973
Governing body	Nature Conservancy, CA Dept of Fish and Game

The Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in Lake County, California. The land area is about one quarter of a square mile and contains a large vernal pool as well as endangered plants such as the Boggs Lake hedge-hyssop.

Boggs Lake is managed by The Nature Conservancy and the California Department of Fish and Game. It is eight miles south of Clear Lake and has a amall parking area and hiking trail loop. The protective fence and interpretative display board were installed by the Nature Comservancy.

Formed by a volcanic eruption more than a million years ago, Boggs Lake lies in a lush northern California forest of oak, madrone, Douglas-fir and Ponderosa pine trees. ^[1]

Originally a plant preserve of one hundred and one acres that resulted from the California Native Plant Society's (CNPS) efforts to save the land from development in 1973,^[2] is today a protected area of sensitive habitat for several endangered plants and animals.

[edit] Flora and fauna

The hedge-hyssop was discovered in 1923 in Lake County. It grows to a height of about four inches, has lance-shaped leaves and small yellowish-white flowers which bloom from April to August. It is found in vernal pools, marshy areas and at the edges of lakes and cattle ponds and can bloom in as much as two inches of water.^[3]

The few-flowered Navarretia is a member of the Phlox family and was first collected northwest of the town of Lower Lake in 1945. It is an annual herbs with lobed leaves, grows to a height of almost two inches and has tubular white or purple flower clusters. Germination is underwater like many vernal pool species. May and June are when the plants bloom after the pool has dried.^[4]

Other plants at Boggs Lake include poison oak, manzanita, wild pea, ferns, thistle, wild mustard and California rose. The mixed conifer forest has Ponderosa Pine (or Yellow Pine), Black, Canyon and Live Oaks, California Bay Laurel, and Douglas-fir. Wildlife include deer, coyote, jackrabbit, chipmunk, grey squirrel, raccoon, skunk, bobcat, and fox.

Birds use the vernal pool as a rest stop on migration flights as well as year around habitat. During a five year period from 1982-1987, 139 species of birds were observed at Boggs Lake including both bald and golden eagles.^[5] Other birds seen are Pygmy Nuthatch, Pileated Woodpecker, Hermit Warbler, Purple Martin, Red-winged Blackbirds, Coots, Rails, Ruddy Ducks, Marsh Wrens, Mallards, hummingbirds and California Quail.