Snowy Plovers of the subspecies Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus nest on sandy coastal beaches, around salt evaporation and agricultural drainage ponds, and on the barren margins of interior alkaline and saline lakes in western North America.
Human encroachment has caused nesting birds to disappear from many coastal breeding locations in California (Page and Stenzel 1981). Because of the continued threat of encroachment and the species' overall scarcity, the California Department of Fish and Game has categorized the Snowy Plover as a species of special concern.