METHODSAcquiring Endangered Plant Species Data
Spatial data about endangered species is generally considered confidential and public access to such information is restricted by laws. I was able to download public data regarding endangered, threatened, and rare plants in California from The Consortium of California Herbaria website and move the data points into Google Earth Pro.
The Consortium of California Herbaria consolidates plant specimen records (about all species, not just endangered species) from many sources, including University of California and Jepson Herbarium. The specimen collection records are not representative of every location that a specific species exists. The records can be searched by scientific name, collector, collection date, location information and geographic coordinates. All data is freely and readily available to the public, with the occasional exception of sensitive species data, which is determined at the discretion of each institutional curator (Jepson, 2011).
I used the official list of endangered, threatened, and rare plants of California published in January 2012 by the California Department of Fish and Game and cross-referenced it with the available records on the Consortium of California Herbaria website. I only focused on the available records in Los Angeles County. The endangered, threatened and rare plants species list includes both state-listed and federally-listed species.
My method for cross-referencing involved copy and pasting the endangered, threatened, and rare plants list into one column in excel and then copy and pasting the search results from The Consortium of California Herbaria website (search parameters: county=Los Angeles, check box=specimens with coordinates, check box=name list) into the next column in excel. I then highlighted the duplicates (excel ribbon-->conditional formatting-->highlight cell rules-->duplicate values). These duplicate values represent location points for endangered, threatened and rare plants in Los Angeles County. Out of the 286 species on the California list, I was able to find collection records for 31 species in Los Angeles County. There may be more endangered, threatened or rare species in the Los Angeles area that I was unable to find data for.
I then returned to the Consortium of California Herbaria search results and checked the boxes that corresponded to the 31 highlighted plant species in excel. I clicked “map the results using BerkeleyMapper”. I then downloaded the data points as a KML file (BerkeleyMapper-->Options -->Google Earth View (Beta)). I then imported the KML file into Google Earth Pro.
This method is standard and repeatable and can be reapplied to any location in California. The maps can be viewed in the results section.
Acquiring Protected Areas Data
I used data from the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) from the Protected Planet website. The database is the most comprehensive global data set on protected areas in the world. I downloaded protected areas for Southern California in the form of a shapefile. I then overlaid the protected areas onto Google Earth Pro. The maps can be viewed in the results section.
RESULTS
This is an interactive Google Earth Map that shows endangered, threatened and rare plant species in Los Angeles County. Each green thumbtack represents a specimen collected by a scientist from within that last few decades. The specimens are only available under their scientific name. Clicking on a thumbtack will open a "details" link which connects to information about the specimen on The Consortium of California Herbaria webpage.
Endangered, Threatened & Rare Plant Species + Protected Areas in Los Angeles County Map
Protected Areas Map from Protectedplanet.net
Protected Areas Map from Protectedplanet.net
Details on the San Fernando Valley Spine Flower specimen from the prior image
This is an image of Catalina Island. The highlighted protected areas can provide a framework for a location scout to understand what areas to stay clear of. At the very least the highlighted protected areas can spark an investigation to the rules and regulations of the land.DISCUSSION
The information about where species are located is highly sensitive because of looting practices. Since access to the spatial data is highly restricted, the endangered plant species map layer that I created for Google Earth Pro can help with awareness. Once a location scout finds a potential location, they can enter the GPS coordinates or address into the Google Earth Pro search engine and see if there are any endangered plant records in the vicinity. If there are available records of plant species in the area, this knowledge can lead to the right questions being asked of land owners and proper procedures being followed.
The case study of Mission Impossible III highlights this need for information well. In 2005, the production was filming in Ventura County and encountered an unexpected issue with an endangered plant species called the San Fernando Valley Spine Flower (Chorizanthe parryi var. Fernandina). The last minute obstacle ended up costing the production a half million dollars. This happened because of a lack of disclosure by a park ranger to the location manager. All of this could have been prevented with geospatial information systems (GIS) data and proper maps.
One way to gain access to the comprehensive endangered species data is through the California Department of Fish and Game’s BIOS program. BIOS stands for “Biogeographic Information and Observation System” and its purpose is to enable the management, visualization, and analysis of data collected by the Department of Fish and Game and its partner organizations. The system data is consolidated into the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) which inventories the status and locations of rare plants and animals in California. Access to the California Natural Diversity Database is fee based; the initial rate is $600 for 1 year, with annual renewals at $400/year. Processing the acquired data requires GIS knowledge. Information on the locations of these endangered species would be very helpful to film location managers.
After having spoken with several professors and grad students in the UCLA Archaeology Department and the curator of Curator of Archaeology at Fowler Museum at UCLA, I learned that another way to acquire this data is through environmental firms & consultants. There are dozens of environmental firms, big and small. Counties often have preferences based on experience and qualifications regarding which firms are accredited. Some firms include LSA Associates, BonTerra, Statistical Research Inc, AECOM, Cogstone, SWCA, Applied Earthworks, ICF International to name a few that work in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. My recommendation to location managers is to establish a relationship with such firms to facilitate collecting information. A professional archaeologist may needed to obtain data regarding Indian Burial sites and dig locations. Professional archaeologists can be found through the California State Office of Historic Preservation.
