According to a NatureServe report in 2023, 40% of animals and 34% of plants in the United States are at risk of extinction, while 41% of ecosystems are facing collapse. The report analyzed data collected from a network of 1,000 scientists. Loss of habitat, invasive species, and climate change continue to threaten native plants across the country, including Oregon.
Since the enactment of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, professional botanists, federal agencies, state and local governments, conservation organizations, and private citizens have been surveying and monitoring rare plant populations. However, there is not sufficient prioritization or staff to monitor the many rare species. As a result, some plant records have become “historic,” meaning no one has observed these populations in more than 20 years.
The Adopt a Rare Plant Project strives to meet conservation challenges by engaging volunteers as community scientists to revisit known rare plant populations in southern Oregon. They collect population data, and report observed threats.
Joining the Exchange is Tuula Rebhahn, a Rare Plant Monitoring Network Coordinator with the Understory Initiative.
The Adopt A Rare Plant Project initiative was developed by the Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon (NPSO), partnering with the Rare Plant Monitoring Network of Southwest Oregon, a program of The Understory Initiative (TUI).
