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This is a Non-Federal dataset covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov.

Black Rail Range - CWHR B143 [ds595]

Metadata Updated: November 23, 2025

CWHR species range datasets represent the maximum current geographic extent of each species within California. Ranges were originally delineated at a scale of 1:5,000,000 by species-level experts more than 30 years ago and have gradually been revised at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Species occurrence data are used in defining species ranges, but range polygons may extend beyond the limits of extant occurrence data for a particular species. When drawing range boundaries, CDFW seeks to err on the side of commission rather than omission. This means that CDFW may include areas within a range based on expert knowledge or other available information, despite an absence of confirmed occurrences, which may be due to a lack of survey effort. The degree to which a range polygon is extended beyond occurrence data will vary among species, depending upon each species’ vagility, dispersal patterns, and other ecological and life history factors. The boundary line of a range polygon is drawn with consideration of these factors and is aligned with standardized boundaries including watersheds (NHD), ecoregions (USDA), or other ecologically meaningful delineations such as elevation contour lines. While CWHR ranges are meant to represent the current range, once an area has been designated as part of a species’ range in CWHR, it will remain part of the range even if there have been no documented occurrences within recent decades. An area is not removed from the range polygon unless experts indicate that it has not been occupied for a number of years after repeated surveys or is deemed no longer suitable and unlikely to be recolonized. It is important to note that range polygons typically contain areas in which a species is not expected to be found due to the patchy configuration of suitable habitat within a species’ range. In this regard, range polygons are coarse generalizations of where a species may be found. This data is available for download from the CDFW website: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CWHR. The following data sources were collated for the purposes of range mapping and species habitat modeling by RADMAP. Each focal taxon’s location data was extracted (when applicable) from the following list of sources. BIOS datasets are bracketed with their “ds” numbers and can be located on CDFW’s BIOS viewer: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Data/BIOS. California Natural Diversity Database, Terrestrial Species Monitoring [ds2826], North American Bat Monitoring Data Portal, VertNet, Breeding Bird Survey, Wildlife Insights, eBird, iNaturalist, other available CDFW or partner data.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. Non-Federal: This dataset is covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov. License: See this page for license information.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date July 23, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 23, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from State of California

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date July 23, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 23, 2025
Publisher California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Maintainer
Identifier 16a1d38a-71f0-40d2-afaa-c526177f388c
Data First Published 2023-11-01T21:45:07.000Z
Data Last Modified 2025-10-27T20:03:31.191Z
Category Natural Resources
Public Access Level public
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 067efa77-6bbb-4291-b13c-41ea77a533a0
Harvest Source Id 3ba8a0c1-5dc2-4897-940f-81922d3cf8bc
Harvest Source Title State of California
License http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash e3d086c6eafa3434f73510e2703c0b72bdd53f2da21ecbc60d65e5b9ef08fbcb
Source Schema Version 1.1

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