Cal Poly botany professor to speak at Cambria Forest Committee meeting

Cal Poly botany professor Matt Ritter will speak at the June 13 Cambria Forest Committee meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Rabobank on Main Street. His talk is free and open to the public.

His new book, "California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora," celebrates California’s rare flora and was a top selling plant book on Amazon this month.

“It’s a call to action for conservation,” he said. “I can help people to understand it, enjoy it, and appreciate it. We are only going to preserve what we appreciate.”

He’ll present a global overview of California’s plants and the pressures on them as climate change impacts them. Cambria’s Monterey Pine forest is a case study on the impact of climate change.

His mission and passion, in his work as a professor at Cal Poly, writing his books and speaking out, is helping people learn about plants, leading to appreciation, enjoyment and conservation.

Ritter also spoke about Cambria's open forest manager position, which is recommended in the Forest Management Plan. It may be brought up for discussion at the June Community Service District meeting. Having a forest manager is recommended in the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.

A forest manager could minimize the influence of invasive plants, by removing them before they get out of control, and plant indigenous plants to keep the forest healthy.

“A forest manager can do good work by paying attention to the health of the forest,” he said. “A forest manager can nip changes in the bud. It’s one of the things we can do.”

Governor Jerry Brown wrote the forward to Ritter's book. His books will be available for sale at the meeting and he will sign them.

”We can do better,” he said. “This is a fight that can be won.”

This story was originally published May 29, 2018 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Cal Poly botany professor to speak at Cambria Forest Committee meeting."