Hey Jesse, this is great news and I'm looking forward to seeing this come to fruition. I'd love to get involved! Some species that come to mind are:
-Texosporium sancti-jacobi (sage-steppe bunchgrasses, threatened by grazing and invasive annual grasses)
-Tholurna dissimilis (high-elevation krummholz, many CNALH observations near trails and ski areas)
-Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides (only 1 CNALH obs., potential new obs. in E Olympics per iNat)
-Pseudocyphellaria hawaiiensis (riparian w/ heavy marine influence, could be sensitive to our recent climate extremes and recreational development)
-Umbilicaria lambii (NW NA endemic, alpine/subalpine, could be affected by increasing trend in casual mountaineering)
-Umbilicaria phaea var. coccinea (NW endemic, potentially underrepresented, seems to be at fairly low elevations in WA which could lead to more impacts)
It's too bad that so many of these rare species haven't been checked on in so long. I wonder if Rarecare would consider adding a rare lichen component to their monitoring program. Maybe that could help establish more consistent check-ins on known populations. Lalita's lichenology students could potentially help with monitoring, especially the more accessible populations.
Thanks for making this one of your priorities in your new position!