Plants
California—with its size, varied topography and climate, and evolutionary history—is predictably a state with a great diversity of plant species. Indeed, there may be approximately 6,500 species and subspecies that occur naturally in the state. Almost 200 of these species occur in such low numbers that they are listed as threatened or endangered (federal Endangered Species Act). In the state of Washington, there is also a rich palette of native plant species—over 3,000. Here, though, a much smaller proportion are federally listed as threatened or endangered: just 11. Although CNLM preserves represent a very small fraction of the total wildlands area in these two states, we protect over 8% of the federally listed plant species on our preserves. In addition, we protect and manage the more common species that often provide the core elements of habitats for other species, as well as species that are naturally rare or occur only in one region.
