Pseudobahia Habitat Study And Status SurveysÂ
VNLC was awarded a USFWS grant to conduct updated status surveys of two federal and State listed species: Hartweg’s golden sunburst (Pseudobahia bahiifolia) and San Joaquin adobe sunburst (Pseudobahia peirsonii). Both species are local soil endemics restricted to annual grassland habitats along the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley. The status surveys updated an original status survey conducted in 1990 by Dr. John Stebbins. As part of the project, we obtained and reviewed all available information on documented extant and extirpated occurrences, gained landowner access and visited nearly all known occurrences and surveyed several thousand acres of additional suitable habitat, and collected in-depth field data on microhabitat characteristics, population, land use and threat characteristics. The surveys documented more than 20 new occurrences of the two species. Upon completion of the field surveys, we prepared a comprehensive report with supporting GIS-based maps. The report included a discussion of the taxomony, evolution and preferred microhabitat characteristics of the two species as well as individual accounts and maps of each documented occurrence. The report is being used as the primary data source by USFWS and California Department of Fish and Game for the long-term management and recovery of the species.
See Project Map