CNDDB News Blog

©2011 Duncan S. Bell

The saguaro (pronounced sah-wah-roh) cactus (Carnegiea gigantea) can grow to over 45 feet in height and is the largest cactus in the United States. It can survive for over 150 years but grows very slowly and generally does not start reproducing until about 35 years of age. The saguaro cactus only occurs in the northern reaches of the Sonoran Desert and is a critical component of the desert ecosystem providing homes and food for a variety of wildlife.

The saguaro cactus is an iconic component of the landscape in Arizona and northern Mexico with an entire National Park dedicated to preserving and celebrating these cacti (Saguaro National Park in Arizona). In addition to Arizona and Mexico, a few isolated populations of this species occur in the far southeastern corner of California along the Arizona/California border. This means that California can claim the saguaro cactus as part of our diverse native flora!

The saguaro cactus is an excellent example of a plant that is rare within California but more common outside the state (California Rare Plant Rank/CRPR 2B). As such, this species is tracked by the CNDDB with only about 30 occurrences known in California. By tracking species that are rare in California but more common outside the state, we are helping to conserve the entire geographic range of widespread species and protecting evolutionary processes and the genetic diversity of these species.

If you happen to come across a saguaro cactus in California, please submit your observation to the CNDDB using our Online Field Survey Form.

• Number of Element Occurrences in Current Distribution: 93,915
• Number of Element Occurrences Added Since Last Distribution: 224
• Number of Element Occurrences Updated Since Last Distribution: 262
• Number of Source Documents Added: 2,608

Species we’ve been working on:

Botany

• Allium munzii (Munz’ onion)
• Amsinckia grandiflora (large-flowered fiddleneck)
• Astragalus agnicidus (Humboldt County milk-vetch)
• Astragalus tricarinatus (triple-ribbed milk-vetch)
• Brodiaea orcuttii (Orcutt's brodiaea)
• Carex davyi (Davy’s sedge)
• Centromadia parryi ssp. congdonii (Congdon's tarplant)
• Lomatium stebbinsii (Stebbins’ lomatium)

Zoology

• Ambystoma californiense (California tiger salamander)
• Eumetopias jubatus (Steller sea lion)
• Gambelia sila (blunt-nosed leopard lizard)
• Prosopium williamsoni (mountain whitefish)
• Spea hammondii (western spadefoot)

Launched in 2018, the California Biodiversity Initiative is a statewide effort to secure the future of California’s biodiversity. Such a large undertaking entails improving our understanding of California’s biodiversity, protecting and recovering California’s native species and ecosystems, and engaging participation by many partners. This talk will provide an overview of the California Biodiversity Initiative and the history of its development and will share initial efforts to implement the Initiative that are underway at California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Kim Tenggardjaja joined CDFW in April 2019 as the Biodiversity Coordinator in the Science Institute and also serves as the lead coordinating staff for the California Landscape Conservation Partnership. Before this, she worked at the State Water Resources Control Board for several years, primarily focusing on seawater desalination and once-through cooling power plants. Kim has a PhD and MA in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC Santa Cruz, where her dissertation research focused on marine biodiversity in the Hawaiian Islands.

Melanie Gogol-Prokurat is a Spatial Ecologist in the Biogeographic Data Branch, where she develops and analyzes landscape-level datasets to support decision-making in conservation planning. Melanie began her career with the Department in 2000, and has been with the Conservation Analysis Unit since 2009. She received her PhD in Conservation Ecology at UC Davis.

Martha Volkoff, Environmental Program Manager for the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch’s Invasive Species Program, has worked for the Department for 20 years, the past 11 of those in the Invasive Species Program. A native to the Sacramento area, Martha earned her BS and MS in Biology, with a Concentration in Conservation, from CSU Sacramento.