We are excited to announce that over the past year, Rincon Consultants, Inc., led by GIS team member John Donoghue, collaborated with The Jones Payne Group and California Native Plant Society (CNPS) Webmaster Mark Naftzger to develop a new version of the CNPS Rare and Endangered Plant Inventory Website. CNPS unveiled the site on June 2, 2021.

The new CNPS Rare Plant and Endangered Plant Inventory website (Inventory) is the latest evolution of an effort that started in 1974 and included six print editions from 1974 to 2001 until the first online edition was launched. The new version integrates back-end plant management features with front-end search and status information in a modern, mobile-friendly interface and a new underlying architecture that establishes a foundation for future enhancements that take advantage of the latest web technologies.

CNPS is the leading voice in plant science and conservation in California and one of the foremost native plant organizations in the world (CNPS, 2019). The Inventory is a widely used resource that directly guides rare plant protection, conservation planning, land acquisition, and management in California and is considered the authoritative source for rare plant information and is used every day by agencies, consultants, and conservationists to determine the potential for rare plant resource conflicts, develop project-specific lists of rare plants to target during botanical surveys, and help prepare and review environmental documents and public testimony to influence decision-makers.

This launch is a very exciting accomplishment for the Rincon team and our project partners. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with CNPS into the future.

CNPS received funding for this project from the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC), state funding, California Plant Rescue, as well as the US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region.