The RASCals project is a partnership between the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and the La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science at UCLA. Southern California is home to 22.5 million people and has experienced dramatic urbanization and habitat modification. Observations will allow us to test how the ranges of various species have responded to these changes. So we care about observations from less urbanized places and also observations from heavily urbanized places such as downtowns, schools, neighborhoods, and backyards.

The biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles from the Baja California peninsula and its associated islands in the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California. Record your observations of frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, and turtles to help scientists better understand their distribution across this rugged landscape. Like Southern California, the Baja California peninsula is quickly urbanizing, especially around coastal communities and agricultural regions. In addition, Baja California contains numerous islands in both the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez, where evolution has shaped unique species. Your observations will allow us to study the effects of human impacts on the region's amphibian and reptile populations, from urban sprawl to climate change.

While our website allows you to upload and view your photos, you'll need to visit iNaturalist.org to manage your observations. A full array of features are available at iNaturalist.org, so we encourage you to visit there often. The Atlas staff are all members and actively use iNaturalist to confirm posts, suggest identifications, and manage our own photo observations.