State Park's Extraordinary Biodiversity
September 7 – 15, 2024
This year marks the sixth annual celebration of California Biodiversity Day since it was first established in 2018 by Governor Brown, along with the Biodiversity Initiative. Since then, several Executive Orders and other actions by the Newsom administration — such as the 30 x 30 Conservation Strategy — have built on this foundation to understand and protect our state’s unique and precious natural resources.
This year, over 100 state parks events will be included in the California Biodiversity Day celebrations all over the state: from Prairie Creek Redwoods in the north to Torrey Pines in the south. You can find all the wonderful events offered statewide by State Parks and other hosts on the new California Biodiversity Day website. Attend an event or go out on your own and record species you observe with the iNaturalist app! Join the "Find 30 Species Challenge" to record biodiversity information anywhere in the state! https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/ca-biodiversity-week-challenge-2024-find-30-species.
Join us in exploring and appreciating the amazing biodiversity in California's state parks!
2024 Biodiversity Day Events
STATE PARKS PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S EXTRAORDINARY BIODIVERSITY
WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
The term biodiversity (from “biological diversity”) refers to the variety of life in a particular place. Though often measured as the number of species, it can be applied to all scales of living things, from genes up to ecosystems. 
California has 52 species of conIfers. Growing from sea level up to treeline, the long list includes our coast redwoods – the world’s tallet trees- and giant sequoias – the most massive trees. No other state or comparably sized region in the world contains more conifers. Jack London State Historic Park.Just think of our varied iconic landscapes - from deserts to high mountains to coastal bluffs and redwood forests - and the multiple ecosystems withineach type. Then imagine all the plants and animals that each ecosystem supports, with each population containing a diverse gene pool. That’s biodiversity!
CALIFORNIA’S AMAZING BIODIVERSITY
DID YOU KNOW that California is home to more species of plants and animals than any other state in the country? In fact, over 30% of all plant and vertebrate species in the U.S. occur in California! We have over 6,500 types of native plants – that’s some of the highest plant diversity in the world! And over 1/3 of those plants are endemic, meaning they only grow here. Our state is recognized as one of theworld’s 36 Global Biodiversity “Hot Spots”, places with the highest biological diversity along with the greatest threats.
But biodiversity is not only the number of life forms in a given area. It also refers to the variety of ecosystems that those species comprise. Again, California ‘s range of geography, geology, elevation, soils, and a Mediterranean-type climate have produced incredible diversity at the ecosystem and landscape levels. From the rugged coast to the high sierra and from the arid deserts to the North Coast temperate rain forests, we can explore most of the world’s ecosystems and habitat types within relatively short distances.
STATE PARKS PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S EXTRAORDINARY BIODIVERSITY
With a mission that includes the mandate to help preserve biological diversity, California’s State Parks System encompasses nearly 1.5 million acres in 280 park units and provides reserves 
Among our state’s gorgeous variety of wildflower are more than 45 species in the genus Calochortus, best known as mariposa lilies. Growing from an undergound bulb to evade summer drought, many are widespread while some are “narrow endemics”, occuring in specific small areas.for the protection of our rich treasure of native flora and fauna in natural landscapes. The State Park System is itself diverse, protecting large areas in all the state’s ecological regions with some of the best remaining examples of natural California.
CALIFORNIA BIODIVERSITY BY THE NUMBERS
>6,500 species of plants, with >2,000 only in California (endemic)
>1,000 species of vertebrates; 65% only in California (endemic)
- 650 birds; 220 mammals; 100 reptiles; 75 amphibians; 70 freshwater fish; 100 marine fish and mammals
~30,000 species of insects with over 1,600 native bees
California’s amazing biodiversity took millions of years to evolve, but its future is uncertain. The pressures of our growing population, habitat loss, invasive species, catastrophic wildfires, and climate change are among today’s serious threats to biodiversity.
Cactus, succulents, and annual wildflowers burst into bloom at Anza Borrego Desert State Park,
the largest unit in the State Parks System and an excellent example of our desert ecosystem.
THE CALIFORNIA BIODIVERSITY INITIATIVE
In 2018, Governor Brown launched California’s Biodiversity Initiative with the goal of securing the future of California’s biodiversity and integrating biodiversity protection into the state’s environmental and economic goals and efforts. He also created California Biodiversity Day to be celebrated annually on Sept. 7. Let us all celebrate, appreciate, and protect our amazing biodiversity!