Rare Plant Program

Rare Plant Treasure Hunt

You are invited to go eco-caching for conservation!

The Rare Plant Treasure Hunt is a new statewide effort, initiated by the Rare Plant and Education Programs, to update data on rare plants and their associated habitats. We will team experienced botanists with amateurs to conduct searches for new and historic rare plant populations. Participants can survey for rare plants in areas with little history of botanical exploration, relocate historic (not documented in over 20 years) rare plant occurrences, and/or update known occurrences of high-priority rare plants.

Up-to-date information on rare plants and their habitats are needed to inform conservation actions and to aid planning efforts. Currently, the current status of many rare plant occurrences is unknown, and thousands have not been documented for decades.

This spring CNPS Rare Plant and Education programs successfully worked with interested local chapters, organizations, and volunteers to identify potential projects, train leaders and provide plant identification materials, team coordination, and maps to be used in treasure hunting. But there is still much too do, we need your help!

Prizes will be awarded this fall for individuals and/or teams that update the greatest number of occurrences and document the greatest number of new occurrences at the state and CNPS chapter levels. Prizes include gift certificates to REI, one year free CNPS membership, free attendance to valuable education workshops, and botanical books and posters. Become the top team and score one for your chapter too! Get out now and update often.

This project began in February 2010 and will continue through the fall and into next year! Chapters and teams will be awarded the first prizes in the fall of 2010.

Want to get involved, or just find out more information. Learn more below: