California Native Plant Society

The goals of the CNPS Rare Plant Program (The Program) are to develop current, accurate information on the distribution, ecology, and conservation status of California's rare and endangered plants, and to use this information to promote science-based plant conservation in California. The Program, since its inception in 1968, has developed a reputation for scientific accuracy and integrity. The Program’s data are widely accepted as the standard for information on the rarity and endangerment status of the California flora. For this reason, The Program’s primary responsibility is the maintenance of the CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants of California (the CNPS Inventory), which tracks the conservation status of hundreds of plant species.

The mission of the Gardening Program is to promote, support and encourage the appropriate use of California Native plants in public and private gardens and landscapes. One of the goals of the Gardening program is to provide technical information and resources to homeowners, landscape designers, and nursery owners on the care and maintenance of native plants so that natives are routinely incorporated into public and private landscape designs.

The CNPS Education and Outreach Program coordinates educational resources and programs, workshops, and conservation projects for all ages, levels of knowledge, and enthusiasm. We nurture, train, and support the upcoming generations of botanists and conservationists through the Plant Science Training Program, CNPS Conferences and Symposiums, Rare Plant Treasure Hunt trainings, and Educational Grants Program.
CNPS also develops educational materials that will help children fall in love with the natural world including the CNPS Curriculum, Opening the World through Nature Journaling, which meets State of California education standards for grades 3-7.
Within this section of our website, Californians will find resources, curricula, volunteer opportunities, student research support, and cool projects for teachers, naturalists, scouting groups, and students of all ages.

The mission of the conservation program is to preserve native plant species and their habitats on public and private lands in California by advocating for the maximum protection of native plants and promoting science-based and ecologically-sound land management practices.

The Conservation Program staff and volunteers serve as advocates for science-based land management practices to conserve native plant species and their habitats on public and private lands in California. There are laws, regulations, and ordinances -- at all levels of government -- that are intended to protect plants. Some accomplish this goal, and we try to ensure they are used as intended. Others are less useful and we work with the appropriate jurisdiction or agency to re-examine and modify sections pertaining to plant issues. To achieve this mission, CNPS conservation work is primarily focused on:

Regional Conservation Planning (e.g., Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), Natural Community Conservation Plans (NCCP), General Plans for cities and counties, Forest plans for lands managed by the US Forest Service, Conservation area plans for lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management)
Native Plant Conservation in Forest Environments
Control of Invasive and Exotic Plants
Policies and Regulations Supporting Native Plant Conservation
Chapter Based Conservation Issues