Keeping Track of New York’s Rare Plants The New York Natural Heritage Program and Rare Plant Exploration

The New York Natural Heritage Program is in charge of assessing the status of rare species and ecological communities across the state. The botany program tracks 587 plants that have fewer than 30 occurrences in the state and are considered highly vulnerable to extirpation. Since the early 1800s botanists and plant enthusiasts have been collecting specimens and information on the distribution of plants in New York and since the 1840s have been interested in knowing which ones are rare. The Natural Heritage Program botanists continue this work using advanced technology as well as tried-and-true methods to continually update the status of our state's rare plants. Chief botanist Steve Young will discuss the methods of finding information about where our rare plants grow, how they are doing, and how the information is used. Rare plants of the Finger Lakes will be featured throughout the talk.