Much of California has never been surveyed for plant and animal species and this is especially true of the Central Valley, which spans 40-60 miles wide and 450 miles north to south; an 18,000 square mile area largely dominated by agriculture. The active Central Valley segment of the California High Speed Rail project spans approximately 119-miles from Madera to just north of Bakersfield and thousands of surveys and hundreds of trap nights have been conducted in this span, yielding a few surprises! Swainson’s hawks (Buteo swainsoni) were expected to occur in this area, but the location, size, and variety of nest trees selected was surprising! Similarly, California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) were also expected to occur, but were found in some unexpected locations! Hairy Orcutt grass (Orcuttia pilosa) is endemic to the Central Valley, found in association with vernal pools – one lucky biologist spotted this rare grass during pre-activity surveys in an area where it was not previously known to occur. These surprises underscore the reason for the CNDDB disclaimer, “For any given location in California, a lack of species occurrences or records in no way indicates or implies that the species do not occur there.”