CNDDB News Blog

The CNDDB Online Field Survey Form is a fantastic tool for observers to submit their findings to us. Often times, reporters include pictures of species and habitats along with the forms. Over the years, we have come across great photo submissions and want to start highlighting a few each month. Here are the April photos of the month!

Rana boylii – foothill yellow-legged frog
Submitted by Lauren Dusek of Stillwater Sciences

Lauren came across 2 adult foothill yellow-legged frogs perched on a rock near the Van Duzen River in Humboldt County and was able to snap a photo of one of them. Currently, Rana boylii is a candidate species for the California Endangered Species Act and has been a species of focus for the CNDDB for the past year. Thank you Lauren, for your great submission!

Erythronium citrinum var. citrinum – lemon-colored fawn lily
Submitted by Daniel D. Palmer of the California Department of Transportation

Daniel found these amazing plants in Trinity County along a road cut under the canopy of a hardwood, conifer mixed forest. Erythronium citrinum var. citrinum is a California Rare Plant Rank 4 plant found in northwestern California and up into Oregon. Thank you Daniel, for this amazing picture and submission!

Do you have some great photos of rare plant or wildlife detections? Submit them along with your findings through our Online Field Survey Form and see if your photos get showcased!

An exciting botanical discovery has recently been made! A new species of spineflower, Chorizanthe aphanantha (Irish Hills spineflower), has been formally described after its discovery on the Irish Hills Natural Reserve in San Luis Obispo County. This species was found growing in rocky openings of serpentine chaparral and can occur with several other rare, serpentine-endemic taxa. So far, this new species has only been found on the Irish Hills Natural Reserve and nowhere else in the world!

The CNDDB botany program and the California Native Plant Society’s Rare Plant Program will be working together over the next few weeks to review this species for addition to the CNDDB Special Vascular Plants, Bryophytes, and Lichens List and to the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants.

For additional information about this discovery, see the City of San Luis Obispo’s webpage.

The "Endangered, Threatened, and Rare Plants List (PDF)" and "Endangered and Threatened Animals List (PDF)" have both been updated. No changes to federal Endangered Species Act listing status have occurred since the previous updates, but the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) listing status for several taxa has changed as follows:

• Coast yellow leptosiphon (Leptosiphon croceus): Endangered (Effective date of regulation: April 1, 2019)
• Lassics lupine (Lupinus constancei): Endangered (Effective date of regulation: April 1, 2019)
• Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis): Endangered (Effective date of regulation: March 18, 2019)
• Tricolored blackbird (Agelaius tricolor): Threatened (Effective date of regulation: March 18, 2019)
• Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina): Threatened (Effective date of regulation: March 18, 2019)
• Fisher (Pekania pennanti), Southern Sierra Nevada ESU: Threatened (Effective date of regulation: March 18, 2019)
• Upper Klamath-Trinity River Spring Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha): declared a candidate species (February 2019)

Links to the T&E lists can be found on the CNDDB Plants and Animals web page. More information about state listing can be found at the California Fish and Game Commission CESA website.