Director of Conservation at California Botanic Garden and Associate Professor at Claremont Graduate University. I study the biodiversity extinction crisis, flora of Western North America, alkali wetlands, rare plants, #monkeyflowers.https://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3mk7jupf3ys2oIt is an honor to be featured in the latest California Native Plant Society magazine Flora! CNPS has been hugely important through various stages of my career development and I am grateful for their continued support. 💚 https://www.cnps.org/flora-magazine/naomi-fraga-interview-native-plant-conservation-4565824 Apr 2026 02:59 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk7jupf3ys2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3mj2xltgbr22xThe @biologicaldiversity.org appealed a federal court ruling that upheld approvals for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Mine in NV. Lets be clear, the mine would doom Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction, industrializing this rare plant's habitat. https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/appeal-seeks-to-overturn-court-ruling-upholding-nevada-lithium-mine-2026-04-08/09 Apr 2026 13:56 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj2xltgbr22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3miuwa5fiss2rI have been hiding in the desert, clamoring on rocks while taking tips from lizards on the best way to collect seeds from the Death Valley Sage. @npr.org came along for the ride and it was amazing. https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5749446/botanist-search-seeds-rare-death-valley-sage07 Apr 2026 04:16 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3miuwa5fiss2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3mdl43n5emk2uThe Eureka Dunes are home to several rare plants some of which occur no where else in the world. Park biologists documented damage to five rare plants including the federally listed Eurkea Valley Dune Grass (Swallenia alexandrae) listed due to impacts from OHV. [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jan 2026 15:28 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdl43n5emk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3mdkwgw2ewc24Wildflower watch 2026 continues and all eyes on Death Valley, world renowned wildflower hotspot 👀. It was a pleasure to speak w/ @alanhalaly.bsky.social as I conducted reconnaissance w/ the supreme defender of wildflowers 💚 @bitterwaterblue.bsky.social. https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/environment/death-valley-could-be-weeks-away-from-a-wildflower-bloom-heres-what-to-know-3612944/29 Jan 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdkwgw2ewc24https://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3mcjb67ngh222We just had the warmest November and December on record and simultaneously experienced a series of drought quenching storms, but everyone still wants to know, will California have another super bloom? https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2026-01-15/la-this-hot-dry-weather-could-spell-doom-for-2026-superbloom16 Jan 2026 04:29 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcjb67ngh222https://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3ma2xyasdsk2qThis Agave ‘blue flame’ bloomed in my yard last year, but I have been remiss to remove the decaying plant. The stalk is still technically green so it’s not actually dead right? I think the bird agrees.16 Dec 2025 01:17 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma2xyasdsk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3m7kznwnhuk2fWe are hiring at California Botanic Garden! The Restoration Intern will have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects involving out-planting, seed collection, plant propagation and monitoring. This is a full time temp position (6 months) that can be extended. Please share! lnkd.in/gaNuNGxA09 Dec 2025 17:04 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7kznwnhuk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3m7gy72crkk2qJoin me Fri Dec 12 @ 2pm PT for a for a presentation with Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West. I'll be discussing how "Mining for the Renewable Energy Transition Threatens Endemic Plant Diversity". Zoom info in the link dornsife.usc.edu/icw/upcoming/08 Dec 2025 02:27 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7gy72crkk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3m7d43qyack2kA beautiful documentary on the work of @criordor.bsky.social on a mission to document the microbes in salt flats of the Atacama Desert, Chile. Life invisible, but essential to a hauntingly beautiful ecosystem under threat from the worlds demand for lithium. https://www.grainmedia.co.uk/work/life-invisible06 Dec 2025 13:26 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7d43qyack2khttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3m5s6v3fjw22jIt’s hard to believe, it's already been three weeks since I married my love and #Teambuckwheat co-conspirator @bitterwaterblue.bsky.social in a beautiful ceremony in the Amargosa River Basin. 💕17 Nov 2025 02:36 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5s6v3fjw22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lzk47yxvcs25The more I hike this road the more and more I want to proselytize for chaparral love ❤️ I am pretty sure this California towhee sitting on a San Gabriel scrub oak is feeling it with me.23 Sep 2025 23:46 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzk47yxvcs25https://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lzhtvfv42c2rI overheard someone say the thing they didn’t like about living in CA was the lack of “seasons”. I didn’t want to be rude, but I wanted to say that maybe haven’t been paying close enough attention. Go outside, touch some grass & maybe a buckwheat. I’ll forgive you if you don’t touch the poison oak.🍂23 Sep 2025 02:12 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lzhtvfv42c2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lvjgweh32c2iIn a time where a new crisis seems to drop every min due to the current political regime, two crises remain at center of all life on earth: biodiversity & climate. Our inability to plan, prioritize & rein in consumption leads us to a false choice between the existence of a whole species and a mine. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-07-31/a-climate-saving-lithium-mine-could-doom-an-endangered-desert-flower03 Aug 2025 19:44 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvjgweh32c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lvhapedji22eThis story is not new but a presentation at #Botany2025 raised awareness on the impact of avocado production on biodiversity. U.S. demand is driving deforestation in rich Mexican cloud forests which also support monarch butterflies. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/28/us/mexico-avocado-deforestation.html?rsrc=ss&unlocked_article_code=1.bE8.WzWt.BfSmh3Stcvsd&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare02 Aug 2025 22:48 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvhapedji22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lvdoj65ruk2iThe story of our fight to save Tiehm’s buckwheat continues. “There’s a real tension there, where we need to avert the worst of the climate crisis. But in doing so, we can cause real harm to ecosystems,”story by @sammyroth.bsky.social @latimes.com https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2025-07-31/a-climate-saving-lithium-mine-could-doom-an-endangered-desert-flower01 Aug 2025 12:44 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvdoj65ruk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/naomibot.bsky.social/post/3lv7bnsptwk22My talk is today Aug 30 at 3pm in Conservation Biology III in Smoketree C. [contains quote post or other embedded content]30 Jul 2025 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:fyyyi5glev5ddtzb57phxcaf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lv7bnsptwk22