OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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One of the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center's tasks is to rank rare species in Oregon according to how at risk they are in Oregon. For endemic species and those for which we have ranking responsibility, we also assess species' status on a global scale. The conservation status ranks for the species on the linked pages below were assigned following NatureServe's protocol on species assessment. An explanation of the methodology, a description of the factors being assessed, and the spreadsheet calculator tool can be viewed and downloaded from NatureServe's Rank Calculator website. The calculator version used for these evaluations is noted in the footer of the document; if there is no footer the version was 2.0. For a brief description of the meaning of the rank codes, see our Rare Species Ranking Definitions page.
Ranks are assigned as a couplet, one for the global level and one for the state/Oregon level. If only the global ranking form is available, then the species is an Oregon endemic and the state rank and information will be the same. If only the state ranking form is available, then the species occurs outside of Oregon as well and Oregon does not have global ranking authority. The global ranks for these species therefore reflect the published values in the current Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon list, and global ranking authority rests with another state or with NatureServe.
Many of the vascular plant species have also been assessed for vulnerability to climate change using NatureServe's Climate Change Vulnerability Index calculator. Where it has been calculated, the score from the CCVI is listed in the "Climate Vulnerability" column of the table. This rank informs the "threats" section of the Element Rank Calculator, and provides a measure of how vulnerable a species is to negative impacts from predicted climate change. See NatureServe's Climate Change Vulnerability Index page for more information or to download a copy of the calculator.
The element ranks assigned to the species under the Survey and Manage Assessment project (completed in 2004) followed a similar protocol as the NatureServe Element Ranking methodology but the calculator tool had not been developed at that time. The ranks in the tables linked above supercede all other previous ranks for a given species.
As time allows more species will have their ranks documented and published in these tables, please check back periodically for updates.