Powdery Mildew Research Activities Involving California State-Listed Plants

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a scientific permit to Ryan C. Donnelly under the California Endangered Species Act and Native Plant Protection Act for research on powdery mildew fungi associated with state-listed rare, endangered, threatened, or candidate plant species. The project permits the limited collection of dried plant material from these protected plants in California, with strict guidelines: only a single whole plant may be taken from small annual species if population size allows, while for larger perennials, only small tissue or stem samples may be collected to avoid population harm. All collected material must be pressed and dried using a plant press and shipped to North Carolina State University for fungal analysis, taxonomic evaluation, and long-term archival storage. No additional preservation methods, packaging standards, or labeling requirements are specified beyond the drying and pressing process. The permit, numbered 2081(a)-25-014-RP, was signed on October 23, 2025, and the activity is categorically exempt from environmental review under CEQA Section 15306, Class 6, due to its low-impact nature as basic data collection. There is no financial value assigned, no competitive solicitation process, and no federal acquisition regulations apply; this is a state-issued research permit, not a procurement contract. The project is overseen by the Habitat Conservation Planning Branch in Sacramento, with Joanne Heraty as the primary point of contact, and no contracting officer, COR, or COTR is formally designated. The scope is strictly limited to scientific investigation of fungal relationships, with all activities constrained by conservation imperatives and compliance with California’s environmental statutes.