A historic investment in vegetation mapping and a profusion of projects have occurred over the last two decades. Projects have involved many partners and perspectives to obtain high-quality, fine-scale vegetation data, represent new vegetation alliances and map millions of acres of natural landscapes, with far-reaching applications. We celebrate this progress and the 30th anniversary of the Manual of California Vegetation (MCV).
SESSION CHAIRS Julie Evens1, Leah Gardner2
1California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, United States. 2California State Parks, Sacramento, CA, United States
Julie Evens
California Native Plant Society
Julie M. Evens is the Vegetation Program Director for CNPS, directing regional projects for fine-scale mapping and classification of vegetation for over 20 years. She manages CNPS protocols and databases, coordinates vegetation sampling and training sessions, collaborates with partners on mapping projects, and writes reports on vegetation classification across California. Previously, she worked as a crew lead for major vegetation projects in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and in the central Mojave Desert. She has co-authored various reports and books including California’s Botanical Landscapes: A Pictorial View of the State’s Vegetation; A Manual of California Vegetation, second edition; and the CNPS Fire Recovery Guide. Julie received her BA degrees in biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz and an MA in biology from Humboldt State University.
Leah Gardner
California State Parks
Leah Gardner works for the California State Parks Natural Resources Division at Headquarters in Sacramento. In her role as statewide botanist, she provides support, technical assistance, and training to Park's staff throughout the state on a range of vegetation issues including plant identification, plant inventories, rare plant surveys, project review, monitoring design, vegetation mapping, and invasive species management. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UC Davis where she studied plant communities under Michael Barbour and took her first California Native Plant Society-California Department of Fish and Wildlife Vegetation Mapping class from Todd Keeler-Wolfe in 2006.
18.1 How the Manual of California Vegetation Instigated a Unified Approach to Define, Inventory, and Map the State’s Vegetation
Dr. Todd Keeler-Wolf
CA Dept. Fish and Wildlife, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description In the late 1980’s single-species conservation planning, driven by California and Federal Endangered Species Acts, was slow and expensive, especially in parts of the State with high property values and many threatened and sensitive species. In an alternative approach, academics, agencies and conservation NGOs began addressing conservation needs using terms such as Ecosystems or Natural Communities and mapped as vegetation. In this, often multi-species approach, biological communities are evaluated as habitat for targeted plant and animal species. Vegetation is the most useful surrogate for species’ habitat. However, to be useful, defensible definitions of vegetation communities must be developed. A manual defining the State’s vegetation communities needed to be written and accompanied by a standardized set of protocols for sampling and recording vegetation data.
In 1990, a small group of forward-thinking California Native Plant Society (CNPS) members asked one of the State’s preeminent vegetation ecologists, Dr. Michael Barbour, to convene a committee to write the manual and develop standardized sampling protocols. These data collection protocols and the body of work compiled by two lead authors (John Sawyer and Todd Keeler-Wolf) became useful to users in many areas of the State. Following the first edition (1995) was a second edition (2009), which not only included more details but demonstrated how quickly vegetation knowledge can grow after millions of acres of new areas were classified and mapped. Seventy-seven percent of the State is now inventoried. This information has been and will be used in conservation planning, monitoring species, and vegetation change throughout California.
Presenter Bios
Dr. Todd Keeler-Wolf
California Dept. Fish and Wildlife
Todd is former lead ecologist of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP), Chair of the CNPS Vegetation Committee, and co-author of the Manual of California Vegetation. He received his Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and worked for 30 + years as an ecologist for the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. As a retired annuitant he continues to work part-time for VegCAMP and takes time to explore the natural history of California and the adjacent world.
18.2 A Historic Investment in the Survey of California Vegetation and Keeping the Momentum
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description For over 30 years, California has pursued an ambitious effort to inventory and map its diverse vegetation. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program (VegCAMP), partnering with the California Native Plant Society, developed standards for vegetation classification and mapping. In 2007, the California Legislature recognized the importance of this work and mandated that the State maintain official standards, now embodied in the Survey of California Vegetation (SCV). The SCV outlines sampling protocols, a classification system aligned with the National Vegetation Classification System, and guidance for producing detailed, fine-scale vegetation maps. Together, these components will form a comprehensive inventory of California’s diverse vegetation types, published in the Manual of California Vegetation, and used to produce wall-to-wall, fine-scale vegetation maps.
Thanks to sustained commitment and partnerships, the inventory of California’s vegetation types is nearly complete and over 75% of the state has been mapped. This presentation will explore how the SCV has been used to achieve these milestones, highlight current status, and discuss future directions. These ongoing efforts contribute to a more informed approach to managing California’s natural resources, helping to support the preservation of its unique biodiversity.
Presenter Bios
Jaime Ratchford
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Jaime Ratchford is a Senior Vegetation Ecologist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program. She has worked as a vegetation ecologist in California for more than twelve years.
18.3 Vegetation Inventory, Classification and Mapping Across Three Ecological Regions of California Provide Valuable Data for Land Management and Conservation
Arin Glass1, Lisa Cotterman1, John Fulton1, Mark Tukman2, Julie M. Evens3
1Aerial Information Systems, Redlands, CA, United States. 2Tukman Geospatial, Forestville, CA, United States. 3California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, United States.
Description Integrative approaches to fine-scale mapping with field-based inventory and classification are being honed across California to develop county-wide and regional vegetation datasets. Currently, teams within Aerial Information Systems (AIS), Tukman Geospatial, California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and partners are working on vegetation mapping with support from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW), California Department of Conservation, California State Coastal Conservancy, and other agencies within three large ecological regions: Northern California Coast and Coast Ranges, Central California Coast and Coast Ranges, and the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts.
Each area has a myriad of vegetation assemblages and complex ecosystem dynamics, where we will note additions to our statewide classification from newly described Pacific northwest forest to desert shrub types. New maps will cover more than 13.5 million acres and will provide useful, extensive datasets for natural resource management, conservation planning, and commercial applications. Applications of the GIS products include modeling of or adaptation to impacts from wildfire, development, drought-or pest-induced tree mortality, invasive plants, and other pressures.
We are grateful for the collaboration with CDFW and many other local, state and federal entities who provided standards, support, and contributions in these regions and throughout the state.
Presenter Bios
Arin Glass
Aerial Information Systems
Arin Glass is a vegetation mapping specialist at Aerial Information Systems with more than two decades of experience producing fine-scale vegetation datasets across diverse California ecoregions. His work integrates field-based botanical expertise with advanced GIS methods, including photo interpretation, spatial modeling, and accuracy assessment. He has collaborated with federal and state agencies—including US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife to deliver defensible, decision-ready vegetation maps that support habitat assessment, conservation planning, fuel assessment for fire management, and land use management.
Julie Evens
California Native Plant Society
Julie M. Evens is the Vegetation Program Director for CNPS, directing regional projects for fine-scale mapping and classification of vegetation for over 20 years. She manages CNPS protocols and databases, coordinates vegetation sampling and training sessions, collaborates with partners on mapping projects, and writes reports on vegetation classification across California. Previously, she worked as a crew lead for major vegetation projects in Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks and in the central Mojave Desert. She has co-authored various reports and books including California’s Botanical Landscapes: A Pictorial View of the State’s Vegetation; A Manual of California Vegetation, second edition; and the CNPS Fire Recovery Guide. Julie received her BA degrees in biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz and an MA in biology from Humboldt State University.
18.4 State Parks Vegetation Mapping to Support Natural Resource Preservation
Melissa Patten, Leah Gardner, Dr. Ron Melcer
California State Parks, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description California State Parks has long seen the need for fine-scale vegetation maps to help us fulfill our mission to preserve biodiversity. Our internal management policies direct us to “protect, restore, and maintain native plant populations and naturally occurring plant communities.” Each State Park utilizes a variety of planning documents to describe natural resources and inform management, but the information on vegetation communities contained in them has been inconsistent in quality, scale, methodology, and classification system.
An opportunity for improving a subset of our maps arose in 2020 when our Off-Highway Vehicle parks were statutorily required to develop new management plans. To ensure we had the best available vegetation community data, we decided to develop new maps for these parks, conducting field sampling and mapping with support from CDFW’s VegCAMP (Vegetation Classification and Mapping Program). The results are actively used in restoration and management of our landscapes and provide invaluable insight to park managers.
As VegCAMP has expanded the coverage of mapping in the Central and North Coast regions, State Parks has actively partnered, supporting project scoping, logistics, data collection, and classification. We are continuing to add VegCAMP maps to our planning documents, filling in the gaps with our own sampling and mapping. We are also using the data in other management applications, including as part of sea level rise modeling and in restoration decision-making tools.
We are grateful for the support and collaboration with California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Native Plant Society’s Vegetation Program, which has produced valuable data, as well as training for park staff throughout the state.
Presenter Bios
Leah Gardner
California State Parks
Leah Gardner works for the California State Parks Natural Resources Division at Headquarters in Sacramento. In her role as statewide botanist, she provides support, technical assistance, and training to Park's staff throughout the state on a range of vegetation issues including plant identification, plant inventories, rare plant surveys, project review, monitoring design, vegetation mapping, and invasive species management. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UC Davis where she studied plant communities under Michael Barbour and took her first California Native Plant Society-California Department of Fish and Wildlife Vegetation Mapping class from Todd Keeler-Wolfe in 2006.
18.5 Ten Years of Vegetation Change across Natural Lands of Orange County, CA
Danny L. Fry1, Jennifer J. Buck-Diaz2
1Natural Communities Coalition, Irvine, CA, United States. 2California Native Plant Society, Sacramento, CA, United States
Description Legal conservation frameworks protect a variety of plant and animal species and vegetation communities across tens of thousands of acres in Orange County, CA. Land management activities to maintain and improve species populations and associated habitat require monitoring to understand their status, trends, and influence of environmental factors. An updated fine-scale vegetation map was recently completed across approximately 86,000 acres in central Orange County. This effort updates the initial map created in 2012 and reflects a 10-year map interval, during which vegetation dynamics, land use changes, and environmental disturbances were documented.
Across ten years, approximately one-third of the 16,500+ monitored polygons changed between alliance types. This region of southern California experienced several wildfires in 2017 and 2020, resulting in a decrease in acres of coastal sage scrub and a corresponding increase in post-fire seral scrub types. Some sensitive natural communities such as Tecate cypress woodland (Hesperocyparis forbesii) increased in acreage over the past 10 years due to the absence of recent fire. Other communities, such as coast prickly pear scrub (Opuntia littoralis), declined 17% under recent fires, directly impacting populations of the coastal cactus wren.
The updated vegetation map has various applications for land management. Areas that remain in a degraded state may be highlighted as high priority sites for mitigation level restoration. Fine-scale vegetation maps can inform fuel models to aid fire risk assessment and fuels management planning. Alongside other monitoring data, areas with high quality habitat can be prioritized for management actions, including targeted invasive species control to preserve and enhance conservation assets.
Presenter Bios
Danny L. Fry
Natural Communities Coalition
Danny Fry is the Science & Fire Management Coordinator for the Natural Communities Coalition whose mission is to support the implementation of a 75-year species and habitat conservation plan across a 37,00-acre nature reserve in central Orange County, CA.
Jennifer J. Buck-Diaz
California Native Plant Society
Jennifer Buck-Diaz is a vegetation ecologist and Vegetation Program Manager for the California Native Plant Society, where she has managed vegetation sampling, classification and mapping projects across California for more than 15 years. She collaborates with partners on maintaining standard vegetation sampling protocols, coordinates vegetation sampling training sessions, and writes reports on vegetation classification analyses across California. Prior to joining CNPS, Jennifer worked as an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy at the Cosumnes River Preserve. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Plant Biology from the University of California, Davis, where she participated in a state-wide classification project that looked at fine-scale vegetation in vernal pools.
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The mission of the California Native Plant Society is to protect California’s native plants and their natural habitats, today and into the future, through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy.
DateFriday, February 6
