Inventory and Monitoring at Point Reyes National Seashore

Chimney Rock overlook at Point Reyes National Seashore

NPS / Sarah Wakamiya

Point Reyes National Seashore, the only national seashore on the west coast, contains a wide range of habitats from coastal sand dunes to Douglas fir forests. While much of the park is managed as wilderness, one third of the park is also a working landscape - where historic ranches have been in operation since the 1850s.

The close proximity of Point Reyes to the San Francisco metropolitan areas makes it one of the most accessible wilderness areas in the United States. Conservation of threatened and endangered species, climate change, visitor use impacts, invasive species encroachment, and protection of marine mammals are all natural resource concerns for the park.

Monitored Here

Harbor and Elephant Seals
Invasive Plants
Landbirds
Northern Spotted Owls
Plant Communities
Rocky Intertidal
Salmonids
Streamflow
Water Quality
Western Snowy Plovers

Inventory and Monitoring Documents

Resource Briefs

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1902. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Protocols

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1901. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Annual Reports

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1899. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Synthesis/Trend Reports

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1903. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Inventory Reports

Source: Data Store Saved Search 1900. To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Species Lists

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

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Point Reyes National Seashore

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Species attribute definitions

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Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.

Additional Links

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