California Environment Information Sources

(California Department of Fish and Game)

(U.S. Bureau of Land Management. California Office) Grouped into amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals and reptiles. For each species presents a short species account, locations where found on BLM lands and BLM efforts to conserve or manage the species.

(UC Berkeley Digital Library Project) Contains over 20,000 images of animals that can be browsed by common or scientific name.

(Thelander) 1994 (Ref QL 84.22 C2 L54 1994) Includes species accounts for 115 threatened and endangered wildlife species. Acccompanying essays discuss the impacts of water resources development and other developments over time on California biodiversity; and the evolution of wildlife conservation law.

(Oakland Museum of California) Features sounds and images of selected common California insects, birds, amphibians and mammals found in California natural communities including the coastline, coastal mountains, central valley, Sierra foothills, Sierra forest communities, Great Basin and desert.

(Naturesway Productions) Collection of over 300 free videos, about the natural world--plants, animals, habitats, and geology--filmed primarily in San Diego and the Southern California region. Videos are generally around 2 to 5 minutes long, though some are much longer based on their subject matter. The movies are organized by geographic habitat zones where the plants, animals, geology or natural features are found.

(NatureServe) Searchable database containing information on 65,000 animals, plants and natural communities of the U.S. and Canada. Emphasis is on rare and endangered species and communities. Users can easily search and create a list of California species, broken down by group and conservation status, view distribution maps for each species, and read extensive information on the life history and conservation needs of each species.

(California Department of Fish and Game) Interactive mapper designed for the management, visualization, and analysis of biogeographic data collected by DFG and other cooperating agencies. In addition to common cultural and physical base layers there are over 300 environmental/biological datasets with a spatial component. See this comparison between BIOS and the California Natural Diversity Database.

(California Department of Fish & Game) A fee-based database that contains location-specific information on California's endangered, threatened, and rare plants, animals, and natural communities. Data can be used to make conservation decisions, aid in better siting of development projects,and provide baseline data helpful in recovering endangered species and for research projects. Information can be retrieved by taxa, county, or USGS 1:24,000 scale topographic quadrangle. Products include text reports, detailed 1:24,000 quad overlays, gis layers, the standalone Rarefind application, and the free California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) Quick Viewer interactive mapper that lists species or natural communities that have been documented to occur within a county or a 1:24,000 topographic quad. The California Natural Diversity Database Special Animals (California Department of Fish and Game. Biogeographic Data Branch ) (print copy available in Cal Docs F 650 N37 S63)

(California Department of Fish and Game) Collection of data sources and tools for examining data that serve the needs of the department and the public.

(California GAP Analysis Project) 1995 (QH 76.5 C2 C34 1995) Provides an assessment of the conservation status of native vertebrate species and natural land cover types in California. Uses medium-scale distribution maps to show 300 dominant plant species, 200 plant communities, predicted distribution of 455 terrestrial wildlife species, 58 wildlife habitat types, and land ownership and management status. Will also display a list of rare or endangered species in a selected 1:24,000 USGS quadrangle. The interactive atlas allows one to make queries, displays, and analysis using ArcView Data Publisher. Data also can be downloaded in Arc/Info export format for use in a local GIS system. Data is available in statewide datasets, in subsets by ecological region, e.g., Jepson Northwest region, or by county. For additional information or to download GIS coverages directly from the Internet see the California GAP Analysis Project Home Page.

(California Department of Fish & Game) Subscription-based information system that contains information on the life history, geographic distribution and habitat use of approximately 700 species of regularly occuring amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals occuring in 59 terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats in California which are described in the Guide to Wildlife Habitats of California. Information can be utilized in geographic information systems. Initial CWHR supporting documents include the following. They each include range maps and general life history characteristics with extensive references to research literature.

(Verner & Boss) 1980 (USFS General Technical Report PSW-37) (Docs A 13.88:PSW37)

(Marcot) 1979 (4 volumes) (QL 84.22 C2 C34 1979 Hum Co Coll; also stacks)

(Airola & Laudenslager) 1980-82 (QL 164 N67) (5 volumes)

Contains species accounts, distribution maps and literature references for all species included in CWHR. Originally published in print as California's Wildlife (Zeiner, Laudenslayer, Mayer and White) 1988-1990 (ref QL 164 C26).