Mary Bowerman
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mary Leolin Bowerman (January 25, 1908 - August 21, 2005) was a botanist and author of The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, California; Their Distribution and Association into Plant Communities, and co-founder of "Save Mount Diablo" helped to preserve tens of thousands of acres of Mount Diablo in the San Francisco East Bay, before dying at age 97. In 1936 she was the last person to record the Mount Diablo buckwheat
Eriogonum truncatum, until it was rediscovered nearly seventy years later on May 10, 2005. In 1978 the manzanita
Arctostaphylos bowermaniae was named in her honor.
, Canada, Dr. Bowerman was educated in England, was a resident of Pasadena, California
as a teenager, of Berkeley, California and the Bay Area beginning in 1928 and of Lafayette, California
since 1954.
A botanist and student of the flora of Mount Diablo for seventy-five years, she received her undergraduate degree in 1930 and her Ph.D in 1936 from U.C. Berkeley. Her doctoral advisor was famed California botanist Willis Linn Jepson
; she was his last surviving student. It was as a student that she began a project on Mt. Diablo. She later said, "Little did I know 65 years ago that my senior project would become my life's work."
Beginning in 1930, her botanical research pre-dated the creation of Mt. Diablo State Park and became a basis for preservation there. She expanded her 1936 doctorate into The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, California; Their Distribution and Association into Plant Communities, The Gillick Press, 1944. In 2002 the book was updated and republished by Bowerman and Barbara Ertter, Curator of Western North American Flora at the U.C. Berkeley’s Jepson Herbarium. Her other area of expertise was the flora of southern British Columbia.
Through "Save Mount Diablo", she worked toward her dream "...that the whole of Mount Diablo, including its foothills, will remain open space...that the visual and natural integrity will be sustained." Bowerman was involved in the expansion of public lands on Mt. Diablo from 6,788 acres (27 km²) in 1971 to more than 87,000 acres (350 km²) in 2005, including the tripling in size of Mt. Diablo State Park to 20,000 acres (80 km²). At Mt. Diablo she was directly involved in preservation of Blackhawk Ridge, the Blackhills; Sycamore, Mitchell, Back, and Donner Canyons; and North Peak.
, was renamed Founders Ridge in honor of Save Mount Diablo's founders. In 1978 James B. Roof, director of the East Bay Regional Park District's Botanic Garden named in her honor the manzanita Arctostaphylos bowermaniae, a variant found at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
near Antioch, California
.
She received many awards for her Diablo preservation efforts including a State of California Golden Bear award, John Muir Memorial Association’s John Muir Conservation Award (1980), the Chevron Times Mirror Magazine National Conservation Award (1996), Contra Costa County Women of Achievement Hall of Fame Award (1998), Diablo Magazine’s Threads of Hope Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement (2000), and the Daughters of the American Revolution’s National Conservation Medal. She was the subject of interviews, news articles, and editorials including in photographer Galen Rowell’s book Bay Area Wild, 1997. She was recognized in the Sept. 9, 1998 Congressional Record.
Mount Diablo buckwheat
Eriogonum truncatum, the Mount Diablo buckwheat, is a small pink wildflower, believed to have been extinct since 1936 until its rediscovery in 2005. The species is only known to live on Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, northern California....
Eriogonum truncatum, until it was rediscovered nearly seventy years later on May 10, 2005. In 1978 the manzanita
Manzanita
Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus Arctostaphylos. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from southern British Columbia, Washington to California, Arizona and New Mexico in the United States, and...
Arctostaphylos bowermaniae was named in her honor.
Life
Dr. Mary Leolin Bowerman "Leo" was co-founder of Save Mount Diablo in 1971 and served on its Board of Directors until her death. Born in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada, Dr. Bowerman was educated in England, was a resident of Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
as a teenager, of Berkeley, California and the Bay Area beginning in 1928 and of Lafayette, California
Lafayette, California
Lafayette is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 23,893. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero of the American Revolutionary War...
since 1954.
A botanist and student of the flora of Mount Diablo for seventy-five years, she received her undergraduate degree in 1930 and her Ph.D in 1936 from U.C. Berkeley. Her doctoral advisor was famed California botanist Willis Linn Jepson
Willis Linn Jepson
Willis Linn Jepson is known as California's most distinguished early botanist. He became interested in botany as a boy and explored adjacent regions. He had come in contact with various botanists before he entered college...
; she was his last surviving student. It was as a student that she began a project on Mt. Diablo. She later said, "Little did I know 65 years ago that my senior project would become my life's work."
Beginning in 1930, her botanical research pre-dated the creation of Mt. Diablo State Park and became a basis for preservation there. She expanded her 1936 doctorate into The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo, California; Their Distribution and Association into Plant Communities, The Gillick Press, 1944. In 2002 the book was updated and republished by Bowerman and Barbara Ertter, Curator of Western North American Flora at the U.C. Berkeley’s Jepson Herbarium. Her other area of expertise was the flora of southern British Columbia.
Through "Save Mount Diablo", she worked toward her dream "...that the whole of Mount Diablo, including its foothills, will remain open space...that the visual and natural integrity will be sustained." Bowerman was involved in the expansion of public lands on Mt. Diablo from 6,788 acres (27 km²) in 1971 to more than 87,000 acres (350 km²) in 2005, including the tripling in size of Mt. Diablo State Park to 20,000 acres (80 km²). At Mt. Diablo she was directly involved in preservation of Blackhawk Ridge, the Blackhills; Sycamore, Mitchell, Back, and Donner Canyons; and North Peak.
Honors
Mt. Diablo State Park's summit Fire Interpretive Trail was dedicated in her honor in 1982 and renamed for her in 2007. She was further honored by East Bay Regional Park District in 2001 when the crest of Highland Ridge, in Morgan Territory Regional PreserveMorgan Territory Regional Preserve
Morgan Territory Regional Preserve is a regional park located north of Livermore, California, bordering on Mt. Diablo State Park, that is part of the East Bay Regional Park District. The main access road runs from Livermore.-External links:...
, was renamed Founders Ridge in honor of Save Mount Diablo's founders. In 1978 James B. Roof, director of the East Bay Regional Park District's Botanic Garden named in her honor the manzanita Arctostaphylos bowermaniae, a variant found at Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve
The Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve is a 6,000-acre park located north of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County, California under the administration of the East Bay Regional Park District. The 60 miles of trails in the Preserve cross rolling foothill terrain covered with grassland, California...
near Antioch, California
Antioch, California
Antioch is a city in Contra Costa County, California. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, it is a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland. The city's population was 102,372 at the U.S...
.
She received many awards for her Diablo preservation efforts including a State of California Golden Bear award, John Muir Memorial Association’s John Muir Conservation Award (1980), the Chevron Times Mirror Magazine National Conservation Award (1996), Contra Costa County Women of Achievement Hall of Fame Award (1998), Diablo Magazine’s Threads of Hope Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement (2000), and the Daughters of the American Revolution’s National Conservation Medal. She was the subject of interviews, news articles, and editorials including in photographer Galen Rowell’s book Bay Area Wild, 1997. She was recognized in the Sept. 9, 1998 Congressional Record.
External links
- Ertter, Barbara, Savior of the Mountain: Mary Leolin Bowerman (1908-2005), Fremontia, Vol. 34, No. 2, April 2006, pp. 3-10
- THE FLOWERING PLANTS AND FERNS OF MOUNT DIABLO CALIFORNIA, by Barbara Ertter and Mary Bowerman
- Save Mount Diablo photos & obituary
- San Francisco Chronicle: Mary Bowerman -- helped start Save Mount Diablo
- San Francisco Chronicle EDITORIAL" One woman's mountain
- In Memory of Mary Bowerman, East Bay Chapter of the California Native Plant Society
- The Four Seasons, Volume 5, No. 4, pp.15-18, 1978