California's Wild Crusade.

The article focuses on the ecological zone called the California Floristic Province, which is mostly California and areas of Oregon and Mexico. Conservation International calls the province a hotspot of biodiversity. It has a Mediterranean climate, flagship species, including the California condor, and more than two thousand endemic plant species. The red-shouldered hawk thrive in public areas and are being tracked in migration study by the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. Snow geese and Ross's geese are seen over the marshes at Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. Santa Cruz Island is protected by the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy. Bristlecones in California's White Mountains are the oldest known living things on Earth. Botanist Steve Junak comments on the candleholder live-forevers on Santa Cruz Island. The carnivorous pitcher plant, cobra lilies, grow in serpentine soil. The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is a sanctuary for waterfowl.