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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services Stained-glass window back in time for Easter services at Medford church Fun facts about the home of Medford brewpub being built by Standing Stone owners Mother and child killed in Butte Falls Highway crash identified Medford vineyard owner's companies made millions by skimming off subscription sales, AG alleges Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services Mother and child killed in Butte Falls Highway crash identified Medford vineyard owner's companies made millions by skimming off subscription sales, AG alleges March a banner month for Medford car thieves Alleged Medford burglar eats resident's pizza Politics and Elections Arthur I. Cyr: Afghanistan progress is uneven but undeniable Jackson County Commissioners plan no tax on marijuana for one year Arthur I. Cyr: Iran – a crisis without end Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Special election: Jackson County voters OK marijuana tax Education New SOU board hikes tuition 5 percent Southern Oregon Education Service District superintendent to retire in June Which comes first: The rocket or the egg? Medford School District one of most accident-prone in state Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Environment A sea-foam change Rogue Valley lions on their way to California Corps hopes to clear Lost Creek Lake of debris Beetles taking toll on Ashland pines Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 State News Man accused of arson in Albany high school cafeteria fire Old airport carpet finds new fame Klamath Basin irrigators look at another dry year Coal export terminal gets water-quality approval from Oregon Blaze destroys high school cafeteria Nation - World Obituaries Gary Dahl Death Notices Edward Thomas Reichenbach Frederick David Schatz James Francis Poole Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Coggins leads Challengers in romp Moore hurls OSU past No. 7 UCLA Barnes' shot lifts Warriors over Suns Stanford tops Miami for NIT crown Tigers pitcher Verlander heads to DL Varsity 541 College Sports Moore hurls OSU past No. 7 UCLA Stanford tops Miami for NIT crown Calipari citing more numbers than 'one-and-done' Wisconsin family tree has deep coaching roots UO’s Addison returns from knee injury Pro Sports Barnes' shot lifts Warriors over Suns Tigers pitcher Verlander heads to DL Djokovic, Isner triumph at Miami Open Ko ties Sorenstam's subpar record Cowboys’ latest moves point to Peterson Community Sports Business Latest Stories Business briefs Sustainable Valley fills two key roles Blog: Judge tells pilots to keep Allegiant airborne Standing Stone owners to open Medford brewpub and restaurant A study in fine-tuned artistry Real Estate News East McAndrews Road sees a resurgence in commercial projects Business briefs: March 7 New construction prices jump 18.2 percent in Jackson County People In Business People in Business, March 26, 2015 Transportation Rogue Disposal plans natural gas fueling site Alaska, United Express boost Medford airport to record February Agriculture Broth maker leaves San Diego for Medford Opinion Latest Our View: Local water supplies are not unlimited Letters to the Editor, April 3 Guest Opinion: Phoenix embraces Bee City USA designation Matthew T. Mangino: Prison deaths on the rise Arthur I. Cyr: Afghanistan progress is uneven but undeniable Editorials Our View: Local water supplies are not unlimited Our View: Cheers and Jeers Our View: The tangled web at Medford's Northgate Centre Our View: Lawmakers ending a small annoyance in the law Other Views: Sage grouse listing would be unfortunate Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, April 3 Letters to the Editor, April 2 Letters to the Editor, April1 Letters to the Editor, March 31 Letters to the Editor, March 30 Columns Guest Opinion: Phoenix embraces Bee City USA designation Matthew T. Mangino: Prison deaths on the rise George Will: The rough math facing Ted Cruz Republicans are on the wrong side of history Kathleen Parker: Religious freedom is a two-way street Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Phoenix embraces Bee City USA designation Guest Opinion: Marijuana offers Oregon benefits, drawbacks Guest Opinion: How to end the influence of money in elections Guest Opinion: How schools teach U.S. history raises hackles Guest Opinion: Lifestyle Latest stories Religion briefs: Friday, April 3 Looking Up: Springtime Big Dipper leaps for joy Fishing Report: Friday, April 3 'Stripped' hatchery steelhead eyed for release into Rogue Get Out: Friday, April 3 Food Community blog: Light lemon souffles are an easy Easter treat Page H. Onorato: Leftover ham and eggs make for some yummy dishes after Easter The journey from inspiration to written recipe Tammy Kelly: Lighten up traditional Easter desserts Kitchen Call: Goat cheese recipes worth bleating over Home and Garden Carol Link: Pruning rose plants, step by step How often should you paint the outside of your house? Carol Link: It’s time to get into shape for spring yard work Dear Monty: Relocation brings pay raise and challenges Garden Cameos: Planning for a fragrant garden year round Health Brent St. Germain: Feeling the burn again HealthStyle: Normal anxiety or anxiety disorder? Community blog: How to Get Rid of a Tension Headache St. Mary's student helps others with diabetes Community blog: Sleep Tight: Making Your Bed, Body and Mind Ready for Rest Hiking Biking Faith Religion briefs: Friday, April 3 Religion briefs: Friday, March 27 Religion briefs Religion News: Presbyterian Church gives approval on same-sex marriage Religion briefs: Friday, March 13 Milestones and Achievements Haga-Parks Exercise helps special-needs kids adjust to airport procedures Engagement: Workman-Wright Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories A Country Cajun Revival comes to the Unitarian Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists New exhibits open at Schneider Museum of Art Tim & Myles Thompson play Paschal Winery Sweetwater String Band at Oberon's Tavern in Ashland Theater Auditions for youth musical set at Camelot Review: From past into present in OSF's 'Long Day's Journey' ‘A Dream of Red Pavilions’ at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Review: Education and its discontents Next Stage Repertory presents 'Educating Rita' at the Craterian Theater Music A Country Cajun Revival comes to the Unitarian Tim & Myles Thompson play Paschal Winery Sweetwater String Band at Oberon's Tavern in Ashland Rising Stars raises $10,000 for LIFE Art ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ plays the Craterian Theater Community Events Easter egg hunts are a long-standing tradition in the Rogue Valley Get Up & Go: Friday, April 3 Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists New exhibits open at Schneider Museum of Art Get Up & Go, April 2 Dining Standing Stone owners to open Medford brewpub and restaurant Restaurant Inspections: March 29 Basque-inspired cuisine at Eleven in Ashland Parsing the meaning behind wine medals and scores Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, March 22 Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Stained-glass window back in time for Easter services at Medford church ... Our View: Local water supplies are not unlimited ... Fishing Report: Friday, April 3 ... Stained-glass window back in time for Easter services at Medford church ... Our View: Local water supplies are not unlimited ... Fishing Report: Friday, April 3 ... ENVIRONMENT A sea-foam change Rare plants that struggle in the wild thrive at federal J. Herbert Stone Nursery By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 31, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 31, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> CENTRAL POINT — Paul Benton looks down a 900-foot-long row of large-flowered woolly meadowfoam and he's seeing more of this endangered and extremely rare plant than most botanists could possibly see in their lifetimes. "That's why it's called meadowfoam, because it's supposed to be like sea foam in a meadow," says Benton, an Oregon Department of Transportation wetlands specialist. "In the wild, though, it's not. But here, it's cool to see." The federal J. Herbert Stone Nursery is finding great success in growing this huge swath of meadowfoam along with a massive patch of another endangered and rare plant, Cook's lomatium, as part of a project to seed new vernal pools with these rare native species. The plants are grown so Benton can harvest their seeds and scatter them in a 44-acre chunk of Agate Desert that's being turned into vernal pool habitat as mitigation for filled-in vernal pools as part of ODOT's planned Highway 62 bypass. Now in their second year of growing plants at the nursery, Benton and his crews have found that the meadowfoam thrives so well in this controlled environment that they literally are raking the seeds in. "It grows in a very harsh environment, but you bring it here and baby it, it goes crazy," Benton says. "Last year, we got 90 pounds of (meadowfoam) seeds off 1/10th of an acre and that (row) should be about 180 pounds this year," he says. "Harvesting with a rake and filling hoppers is so cool." Benton is charged with recreating vernal pools in a 44-acre portion of a 63-acre ODOT mitigation site off Truax Road, where vernal pools were filled in to make grazing land in the 1920s. The work includes scattering seeds from about 20 different native plants, including these two endangered plants. Large-flowered woolly meadowfoam is found only in the Agate Desert. Cook's lomatium, also known as Cook's desert parsley, is native to the Agate Desert and also is found in the French Flat area of the Illinois Valley in Josephine County. The mitigation plans require that 200 meadowfoam plants and 3,400 Cook's lomatium become established at the site, and for the first two years of the mitigation, Benton collected the seeds from wild plants. But that proved very difficult and time-consuming because the wild sites had to be painstakingly inventoried to ensure that no more than 10 percent of the wild seeds were collected. In 2012, he contracted with Stone to give it a whirl. The plants get watered and fertilized and then they are left to their natural devices to produce seeds, which were first collected last spring and summer. In the wild, a single meadowfoam plant will have four to 20 flowers and each flower will produce one to five seeds, Benton says. At Stone, individual plants are sporting around 250 flowers with four to five seeds per flower, he says. In the wild, only 2 percent of scattered meadowfoam germinate, while the rate is 12 percent at Stone, Benton says. "Occasionally you run into a species that doesn't like to be treated nicely," nursery Manager John Justin says. "A lot of species, when you plant them in a nursery environment, they thrive." The Cook's lomatium is also faring extremely well, once Benton built a chicken-wire fence around the 320-foot-long plot to keep the rabbits at bay. Now this plant that can live for 40 years is growing in three years what it would in decades on its own in the Agate Desert, Benton says. It's also flowering at age 2 instead of the more typical age 5, he says. Under the mitigation contract, the site must be monitored for a decade after it is completed, so Benton will continue to grow the seed-plants during that monitoring period to ensure there are seeds for spreading should mitigation plants die. He expects to have plenty of seeds for other uses in the region. "We had no idea it would be this successful when we started," Benton says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted Mar. 31, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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