In 1973 Professor Albion R. Hodgdon published a short article in Forest Notes that included a short list of vascular plants he considered to be endangered in the state of New Hampshire. When Garrett Crow arrived at UNH in 1975 the work on endangered species was continued by Crow and his graduate student, Irene Storks. The research resulted in the first comprehensive account of the rare flora of New Hampshire-those in need of conservation (Storks and Crow, 1978). The study was also carried out in a coordinated effort with botanists representing each of the six New England states to better understand the rarer elements of our botanical resources (RI--Church and Champlin;, 1978; MA--Coddington and Field, 1978; VT--Countryman, 1978; ME--Eastman, 1978; CT--Mehrhoff, 1978; NH--Storks and Crow, 1978). Our comprehensive Rare and Endangered Vascular Plant Species in New Hampshire documented 398 plant species which were regarded as sufficiently rare in the state to warrant their protection through habitat preservation (Storks and Crow, 1978). A phytogeographic analysis revealed that of the approximately 1500 native vascular plants of the state, 36% of the rare flora (9% of the total native flora) were considered "endangered", 29% (8% of native) were "threatened", 32% (8% of native) were "rare", and 3% (1% of native) probably extinct (Crow and Storks, 1980). Field work on the orchids of New Hampshire by graduate student F. E. Brackley (1979, 1981, 1985) resulted in the rediscovery of one plant listed as "extinct", Cypripedium reginae (Showy Lady's Slipper), which had not been seen in the state since 1891. Field work in 1977-1981 concentrated on rare and endangered plants of the White Mountain National Forest under a cooperative agreement with the USFS (Storks and Crow, 1979). Data obtained contributed significantly to the listing process by the Office of Endangered Species, USFWS for the now federally listed ("endangered") Potentilla robbinsiana (Robbins' Cinquefoil). Further attention was focused on Potentilla robbinsiana in an effort to obtain baseline information to aid in the formulation of a recovery program for the USFS (Crow and Graber, 1981, 1981a; Graber and Crow, 1982). Other field work contributed to the ultimate federal listing of another plant, the orchid Isotria medeoloides (Small Whorled Pogonia), as "endangered" (Brackley, 1981; Crow 1982; Federal Register, 1982). New Hampshire has more sites of this extremely rare orchid than any other state. In an effort to better understand the ecological requirements of this orchid, Molly Sperduto (1993) prepared a GIS-based predition model for potential habitat in New Hampshire and Maine. Osgood (1995) then conducted field work to test the model. Field work in 1982 focused on the rare flora of the coastal zone of New Hampshire through a cooperative agreement with the NH Office of State Planning (Dunlop and Crow, 1983, 1985). Particular attention was focused on the last remnant of a coastal dune ecosystem in the state (Dunlop, Crow and Bertrand, 1983; Dunlop and Crow, 1985), giving the state and the Town of Seabrook the necessary documentation to begin a concerted effort to protect this valuable site from further development. A regional effort to address the problems of rare and endangered species was coordinated by Crow in a cooperative project of the New England Botanical Club's Endangered Species Committee and the Office of Endangered Species, USFWS. In 1979 a two-day symposium was organized to address issues concerning 1) biology of endangered species, 2) plant conservation in New England, and 3) mechanisms for conserving rare plants and their habitats. The proceedings were published in the journal Rhodora (1980). In April 1981 the NEBC Committee on Endangered Species published a list of 479 plant taxa rare to the entire New England region (Crow et al., 1981). Crow (1982) published New England's Rare, Threatened and Endangered Plants, a detailed account of New England's "nationally significant" rare species, providing information on distinguishing features, habitat requirements, endangerment, and recommendations, accompanied by scientific illustrations and distribution maps. An update on contributions of the last ten years of endangered species research in New Hampshire was presented at a regional conference on Plant Conservation at Harvard in 1988 (Brackley and Crow, 1989). Crow has continued to contribute to the regional effort to protect rare plants through participation on the New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP/ coordinated by the New England Wildflower Society), as a member of the New Hampshire Task Force and as a member of the NEPCoP Executive Committee.   NH State Law Established: The endangered species research carried out through the Herbarium provided the baseline data critical to an effort by the State of New Hampshire to address the problem of conserving the state's plant resources. The NH Office of State Planning initiated a New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory, which subsequently became assigned to the Department of Resources and Economic Development (headed by Frankie Brackley, a former graduate student of Crow). A bill was passed by the 1987 legislature focusing on endangered species in the state, "The New Hampshire Native Plant Protection Act of 1987". The Herbarium has continued to work in cooperation with the Natural Heritage Inventory (NHI), and continues to serve as an important resource in conducting studies through the NHI program. For instance, Ritter (1993) conducted a study of rare populations of Atlantic White Cedar in New Hampshire. Crow (1994) prepared an assessment of the aquatic and wetland vegetation (including rare species) of the Lamprey River for the National Park Service (through the NHI) in the context of a larger study evaluating the river as a potential National Wild and Scenic River. The U.S. Congress conferred "National Wild and Scenic River" status to the portion of the Lamprey River flowing through Lee, Durham, and Newmarket.   The Hodgdon Herbarium functions as a critical specimen resource and as a repository for plant specimens in the documentation of rare plant habitats.   References: Brackley, F. E. 1979. Cypripedium reginae rediscovered in New Hampshire. Rhodora 81: 579-580. Brackley, F. E. 1981. The Orchidaceae of New Hampshire. M.S. Thesis, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. Brackley, F. E. 1985. The orchids of New Hampshire. Rhodora 87: 1-117. Brackley, F. E. and G. E. Crow. 1989. Notes on the rare flora of New Hampshire. Rhodora 91: 103-109. Church, G. L. and R. L. Champlin. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Rhode Island. The New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Region 5, Newton Corner, MA]. Coddington, J. and K. G. Field. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Massachusetts. New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlilfe Service [Region 5, Newton Corner, MA]. Countryman, W. D. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Vermont. The New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Serivce [Region 5, Newton Corner, MA]. Crow, G. E. 1982. New England's rare, threatened, and endangered plants of New England. U. S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington. 129 pp. Crow, G. E. 1994. Lamprey River Vegetation Assessment. Report prepared for The Nature Conservancy/NH Natural Heritage Inventory Program/National Park Service. Hodgdon Herbarium, University of New Hampshire. Durham, NH. Crow, G. E. and I. M. Storks. 1980. Rare and endangered plants of New Hampshire: a phytogeographic viewpoint. Rhodora 82: 173-189. Crow, G. E. and R. E. Graber. 1981a. Robbins' Cinquefoil--can it survive? Appalachia 47(5): 7-8. Crow, G. E. and R. E. Graber. 1981. Survey of hiker activity and mapping of critical habitat of Potentilla robbinsiana. Report prepared for the White Mountain National Forest and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Endangered Species. Dunlop, D. A. and G. E. Crow. 1983. Coastal endangered plant inventory. A report on the rare and endangered plant species of the coastal zone of New Hampshire. Prepared for the NH Office of State Planning, Concord, NH. Dunlop, D. A. and G. E. Crow. 1985. Rare plants of coastal New Hampshire. Rhodora 87: 471-486. Dunlop, D. A. and G. E. Crow. 1985a. The vegetation and flora of the Seabrook Dunes, N. H., with special reference to rare plants. Rhodora 87: 487-501. Dunlop, D. A., G. E. Crow and T. J. Bertrand. 1983. Coastal endangered plant inventory. A report on the Seabrook Dunes, its vegetation and flora. Prepared for the N. H. Office of State Planning, Concord, NH. Eastman, L. M. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plants species in Maine. The New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Graber, R. E. and G. E. Crow. 1982. Hiker traffic on and near the habitat of Robbins Cinquefoil, an endangered plant species. N. H. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 522. Hodgdon, A. R. 1973. Endangered plants of New Hampshire. Forest Notes 114: 2-6. Mehrhoff, L. J. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Connecticut. The New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Region 5, Newton Corner, MA]. Osgood, K. 1995. Predicting potential habitat for the federally endangered orchid Isotria medioloides by use of a Geographic Information System (GIS): field testing the model. Honors-in-Major. Department of Plant Biology, University of New Hampshire. Ritter, N. P. 1993. A study of Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) in New Hampshire. A report prepared for the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Program, Concord, NH. Sperduto, M. B. 1993. Use of a geographic information system (GIS) to predict potential habitat for Isotria medeoloides (Pursh) Raf. in New Hampshire and Maine. M.S. Thesis, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. Storks, I. M. 1979. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in New Hampshire with special reference to the White Mountain National Forest. M. S. Thesis, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH. Storks, I. M. and G. E. Crow. 1978. Rare and endangered vascular plant species in Hew Hampshire. The New England Botanical Club in cooperation with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Region 5, Newton Corner, MA]. Storks, I. M. and G. E. Crow. 1979. Endangered, threatened and rare plants of the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. Report prepared for the White Mountain National Forest, USFS in cooperation with the N. H. Agric. Exp. Sta., Durham, N. H.