A huge THANK YOU to all of our wonderful rare and unusual plant field volunteers who have been traipsing all over Alameda and Contra Costa counties the last six months looking for and monitoring our most vulnerable native plant populations.
From January 1 to June 30, 43 CNPS East Bay Chapter volunteers monitored 554 populations of 253 rare and unusual plant species!
Many of these volunteers are still out there surveying for late-blooming plants, as well as summer plants of the marshes, shorelines, and alkali areas, and they are sure to produce a lot more data over the next few months.
Of the 554 populations monitored, 121 were populations of 30 statewide rare plants that occur in the East Bay, and 433 were populations of our local unusual and watch-list plants that, while not rare statewide, are rare or endangered locally.
| Ranking Code | Number of populations monitored Jan-June 2021 |
|---|---|
| Statewide rare plants (rare throughout California) | 121 |
| A1: Locally rare, generally with 1–3 current populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties | 59 |
| A2: Locally rare, generally with 4–6 current populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties | 86 |
| B (Watch List): Generally with 7–12 current populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties | 116 |
| C (Watch List): Generally with 10–25 current populations in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, but subject to potential threats | 172 |
| TOTAL | 554 |
In addition, we were able to glean data for 93 other rare or unusual plant populations from other sources like iNaturalist and Calflora, although generally not with the extensive data usually provided by our volunteers.
Our field volunteers add so much data and knowledge every year and help keep us aware of the conditions of our most vulnerable plants. Without them we would not be able to track and protect our plants. and we are so very grateful for all of the work these dedicated volunteers do.
A call for new field volunteers will go out in December or January, so watch the Bay Leaf for an announcement at that time. We will also contact current volunteers at the same time about survey plans and priorities for the spring of 2022.
— Dianne Lake, Unusual Plant Committee Chair, CNPS East Bay Chapter
August 2021
