CNDDB News Blog

Happy April, all! This month brings a very special day, International Bat Appreciation Day! Spring has sprung and as hibernation comes to an end, bats can be seen feeding on insects returning to the state. This means April is an opportune time to observe them. Because their diet consists mainly of insects, bats are crucial to California’s fragile farming industry. The California Natural Diversity Database currently tracks 21 of the 25 bat species that inhabit California and holds over 2,800 mapped occurrences! With the spread of white-nose syndrome and recorded cases of the disease in Washington state, protecting California’s bat species is more important than ever. Want to contribute to the monitoring of these awesome critters? Have you seen some of these species in your area? If so, submit your observations through our Online Field Survey Form!

California is a biodiversity hotpot. A large part of California’s biodiversity is a result of the exceptional number of native plant species in the state. California currently boasts over 6,500 native plant taxa with about 30% of those plants occurring nowhere else in the world. In conjunction with the large number of native plants in California comes a large number of rare plants as well. The CNDDB currently tracks nearly 2,400 rare plant taxa.

To celebrate this amazing array of botanical diversity, the California State Legislature designated the third week of April to be California Native Plant Week. See the California Native Plant Society website for activities in your area or simply venture outside for a hike to take in and appreciate all the native plant diversity California has to offer!