As noted here, we have continually had to redefine our concept of “local” in order to increase the number of species and populations encountered. Currently, our “potential collecting area” has a radius of 80.5 km (50 mi) and extends into the foothills of the coastal range.

Within our collecting radius, we have identified forty one “collecting areas.” Although we have no formal definition of what constitutes a discreet collecting area, it can be thought of in terms of a collection of more or less contiguous sub-sites that (hopefully) are more or less isolated from all other known collecting areas.

Some of these collecting areas are represented by various established preserves (e.g., Kerman Ecological Reserve, Mendota National Wildlife Refuge), while others are merely a single small area, or as series of small areas, along a roadside.