Of the over 1400 vascular plants known to occur in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 40 have been identified as ‘sensitive’. The term sensitive is applied generally here to include those species that are state or federally listed, are rare or endemic in California, are at the limit of their range, or have a limited distribution. Little is known about the status and habitat requirements of most sensitive species within the two parks. What we do know about sensitive plants is largely derived from a single systematic survey conducted during the early 1980s (Norris and Brennan 1982), and more localized surveys carried out in conjunction with construction and development projects. Additional information on the distribution of sensitive plants is compiled from other, unrelated surveys that encounter sensitive species serendipitously. Comprehensive lists of the sensitive plants either known or suspected to occur within Kings Canyon, Sequoia, or Yosemite National Parks and Devils Postpile National Monument are currently being developed. These lists will allow us to develop more effective survey strategies for detecting and describing the distribution of sensitive plants within the parks. Of specific interest are those that may be effected by disturbances such as fire suppression, prescribed burning, construction or road building, or long-term climate change