CNDDB News Blog

The CNDDB has added a new feature to the publicly accessible CNDDB QuickView Tool. In addition to generating lists of CNDDB elements for quads and counties, users can now view CNDDB quad-level data for any selected CNDDB-tracked element. Both CNDDB Mapped Data and Unprocessed Data will be displayed as with other searches in the CNDDB QuickView. Mapped Data indicates data that has been evaluated by CNDDB biologists and mapped into the CNDDB’s Element Occurrence database. Unprocessed Data indicates data that has not been quality-checked by CNDDB staff and should be used with caution. This new feature provides users with an easy way to visualize CNDDB quad-level data for a species. For more information on the CNDDB QuickView Tool, see our User Guide.

We have updated the Special Animals List to reflect the recent release of the 2016 California Amphibian and Reptile Species of Special Concern from CDFW’s Nongame Wildlife program and the University of California Press.  

 Over the past few months we have been working to add Element Occurrences for new Species of Special Concern (SSC) on the Special Animals List from this project. Lead Zoologist Brian Acord recently mapped over 200 Element Occurrences of the recently designated SSC, the California giant salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus), and visited a number of occurrences in the field. Tammy Dong, a CNDDB Scientific Aid, worked with Zoologist Ryan Elliott to map occurrences of another new SSC, the southern long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum sigillatum), with over 300 added Element Occurrences mapped in CNDDB as of the August distribution.

Space is available in two CNPS workshops on CNPS-CDFW vegetation mapping methods.

Vegetation Rapid Assessment / Relevé
July 19-21, UC WMRC Crooked Creek Station, White Mountains outside of Bishop
Taught by Julie Evens, Vegetation Program Director, CNPS; Jennifer Buck-Diaz, Vegetation Ecologist, CNPS
$555 CNPS Members / $585 Non-Members, INCLUDES ALL MEALS AND LODGING
This course will be a combination of lecture and field exercises in vegetation sampling with a focus on collecting data using the CNPS-CDFW combined vegetation rapid assessment / relevé method. We will discuss applications of fine-scale vegetation sampling, classification and mapping, how to document rare natural communities, and how vegetation information fits into planning documents

Vegetation Mapping
August 1-3, UC Berkeley GIF Lab & field sites in Marin County
Taught by Julie Evens, Vegetation Program Director, CNPS; Todd Keeler-Wolf, Senior Vegetation Ecologist, VegCAMP Program, CDFW; John Menke, Senior Vegetation Mapping Specialist, AIS
$665 CNPS Members / $695 Non-Members
Through a combination of field and computer exercises, participants will learn techniques for fine-scale vegetation mapping. Participants will learn about vegetation sampling, classification, and photo interpretation, practice creating a vegetation map using Geographic Information Systems, collect reconnaissance samples to support the 2nd edition of A Manual of California Vegetation classification, practice techniques of photo interpretation, delineation, and attribution, and validate a vegetation map through accuracy assessment.