CNDDB News Blog

CNDDB and CDFW are implementing a new system for managing subscriber access to CNDDB-related data and tools, including RareFind 5, the CNDDB and Spotted Owl Data Viewer, CNDDB-related datasets in BIOS, and downloadable GIS files for both the CNDDB and Spotted Owl Observations Database. We will no longer be distributing the monthly cnddb_gov and cnddb_com login and password information to our subscribers. Instead, starting February 4, 2020, any user wishing to access CNDDB data and tools will be required to register for an individual CDFW account and be listed as an authorized user under a current CNDDB subscription.

We have developed a custom web application to allow subscription account-holders to independently maintain their authorized user lists. The process is straightforward: subscription administrators create a list of authorized users for their organization, and those users create individual login accounts. Once an individual account has been verified as an authorized user, that individual will be able to log in using their personal credentials as long as the subscription remains active.

This new system has many benefits for subscribers and CNDDB alike:

• Provides a mechanism for subscribers to easily control who has access through their subscription
• Allows subscribers to add, edit, or remove authorized users at any time
• No monthly password updates to keep track of
• Addresses IT security concerns associated with multiple users accessing secure data via the same login account
• Facilitates a better understanding of our CNDDB subscription client base
• Improves customer service by enabling CNDDB staff to communicate more effectively and directly with our users

More information can be found in the Subscription User Management Instructions and FAQs (PDF), and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Calflora has developed a new rare plant data collection form that enables users to more easily fill out the detailed fields CNDDB staff need to generate high quality occurrence records. Supported with funding from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, and designed in collaboration with Parks Conservancy staff, CNDDB experts, and rare plant botanists from throughout California, this new form allows users to collect rare plant observation information in the field via the Calflora Observer Pro mobile application, available for iOS and Android devices.

To use the new Calflora form, you must have a registered Calflora account and join the Specialty Group when logged in to the Calflora webpage. You will see the new form when you refresh Observer Pro and when you enter data using the Specialty Group in Plant Observation Entry.

Calflora also has an option to obscure your rare plant observations. If you choose to obscure your observations, we recommend that you allow CNDDB to have access to your unobscured location information by indicating your preference in My Calflora / Preferences under Observation Sharing.

Keep in mind that observations entered into the Calflora database are not automatically submitted to the CNDDB. To ensure we receive your data, you can notify us of your Calflora upload or submit your data directly to CNDDB.

In December 2019, the Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) updated the “map of vegetation maps” in BIOS that shows footprints of fine-scaled vegetation maps: Vegetation (MCV/NVCS) Mapping Projects – California [ds515]. This dataset can help you discover what vegetation types are in your area of interest. California’s Natural Communities are based in the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS), which is a hierarchical system; and VegCAMP works together with the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to maintain California’s expression of the system. We publish a list of Natural Communities at the bottom two levels: alliance and association. We also work to rank these communities for rarity, using the same ranking concepts as are used for species in CNDDB. Our published Natural Community lists and other online information were also recently updated. For more information, please see VegCAMP's Natural Communities page (updated November 2019) and CNPS' Online Manual of California Vegetation (updated October 2019).

Where does ds515 come in? If you are working in an area and want to know what vegetation types have been documented there, you can see if there is a mapping project overlapping or near your area of interest. If you click on one of the polygons of ds515 in BIOS, you will see who is responsible for the map, whether it is complete, and how old it is. There are links in ds515 to download the datasets and view the classification and mapping reports. The classification reports have keys that will help you determine vegetation types based on species cover. Since many of the maps are produced at the alliance level, which is coarser than the association level, it is important to know how to identify associations. This is particularly true for those interested in determining whether there are sensitive natural communities present, because there can be sensitive associations within alliances that are broadly distributed that are not considered sensitive. To see ds515, along with other published vegetation datasets, including a newly published, updated map of the Delta (ds2855) and part of the Modoc Plateau (ds2858), please see our BIOS bookmark.