Biodiversity Stewardship

Sonoma County is a global "hotspot" for biodiversity. Our parklands support an array of ecosystems and native species, including many that are considered threatened or endangered. We maintain ongoing programs and partner with a variety of local, state and federal conservation organizations to help ensure diversity of species and create long-term conservation and restoration strategies.  

California is recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, and Sonoma County is an important part of this. Our region is home to more than 2,200 native plant species, including 22 endangered ones - some of which are endemic and found nowhere else in the world. Regional Parks takes special care to locate, protect and restore intact native plant habitat and populations of rare species to ensure that these plants can continue to thrive and maintain ecological balance.  

Regional Parks works to enhance local biodiversity through ongoing native seed banking efforts. These seeds or seedlings are then planted in active restoration areas to help restore habitats. Learn more about current habitat restoration projects.

Invasive plant species pose a significant challenge to  ecosystems world-wide. There are at least 195 known invasive plant varieties in Sonoma County that account for approximately 8% of the total vegetative cover. These non-native species often displace native plants, reduce available food and shelter for wildlife, alter natural fire patterns and can negatively impact agricultural systems. Common invasive plants like acacia, eucalyptus, Scotch broom and European dune grass can dominate habitats quickly, while aquatic species such as azolla and water primrose can overtake lakes and streams, threatening aquatic biodiversity.

Regional Parks utilizes an Integrated Pest Managment program to address invasive species on parklands that combinestargeted grazing, prescribed burning, manual treatmentsand, in rare cases, the careful use of non-accumulating, non-carcinogenic herbicides. Since 2019, Regional Parks has maintained a systematic Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) program to address emergent weeds. EDRR is a strategic approach to locating and removing new weed infestations before they become too large, too established and too costly to effectively manage. By quickly responding to new infestations of high-priority weed species, Regional Parks can better control weed populations at scale and prevent further spread. This approach also lowers costs and severely reduces the use of chemical herbicides. To broaden the impacts of invasive plant management across the North Bay Area (and beyond), Regional Parks share information and resources with local agency and non-profit partners.  

Additionally, Regional Parks’ Natural Resources staff works with organizations such as the California Native Plant Society Milo Baker Chapter, individual volunteers, community volunteer groups and other partners to control invasive plants through manual removal. Collaborations such as these have successfully restored lands that were once heavily impacted by invasive species.

For more information:

We encourage park visitors to post their observations to Sonoma County Regional Park’s Biodiversity Project on  iNaturalist and help increase our knowledge base and become more invested in the health of our ecosystem.

We also invite the public to help map invasive plants through CalFlora Weed Manager.

For volunteers interested in supporting invasive plant removal efforts, please contact our Volunteer coordinator for more information.