Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve - Plants

There are three major vegetation associations within Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve -- the taiga (boreal forest), tundra and shrub thicket. Alpine and moist tundra are the most extensive vegetation types. During the summer of 2002 the Central Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program conducted a vascular plant inventory at Yukon-Charley National Preserve. The goal of the project was to document 90% of the vascular plant species that occur within the boundaries of the preserve. Over the course of the summer 80 sites were visited and approximately 2000 voucher specimens were collected. At this time many of the vouchers have yet to be verified but we estimate that 200 plant species were found during the 2002 summer that had not been previously documented in the preserve. Twenty-three of the plant species found this summer are considered rare (S1-S3) by the Alaska Natural Heritage Program. We are hopeful that the collection will be verified by February 2003.