News
New Map Layer: Wildlife Action Plans
July 18, 2009 - Posted by
The Conservation Registry incorporated a national State Wildlife Action Plan layer into its Mapping Tool. The map layer is featured as part of the suite of Registry Overlay tools accessible by a dropdown menu.
Twenty states completed strategic mapping components for their State Wildlife Action Plans, and this map layer reflects each state's unique methodology, ecological targets, species, and goals. Although many states did not create maps by the program deadline in 2005, some are now beginning to complete spatially explicit conservation action plans, and that data may be added to this map layer as time goes on.
How was the layer created?: Defenders of Wildlife and NatureServe prepared this layer by compiling the data from the states and merging it into a single layer. The Other Firm incorporated the map and determined how it should be displayed. The large file size required staff to find a balance between performance and usability.
About the State Wildlife Action Plans: Congress charged each state and territory with developing a statewide wildlife action plan. These plans, also known as "comprehensive wildlife conservation strategies," will help conserve wildlife and vital natural areas before they become more rare and more costly to protect. The wildlife action plans are all required to assess the condition of each state's wildlife and habitats, identify the problems they face, and outline the actions that are needed to conserve them over the long term. Read more.
What does this map mean?: Each state had a lot of freedom to develop the plan and map that best suited their needs. In some states, the mapped priority areas represent the best opportunities to conserve wildlife and habitat, while in other states they represent the areas of highest biodiversity or the most serious threats. In most states, the priority areas are by no means the only places that work needs to be done! Landscape outside the focal areas may provide valuable linkages and corridors for species to move between conservation areas.
A vision for conservation success: In order to be effective, land conservation must be strategic. While we may not be able to protect and restore land everywhere, each state has made strategic decisions about where to make the strongest investment in conservation goals. Please take a look at each State Wildlife Action Plan to learn more about the planning process, goals, and what each particular map represents.
For more information, contact data collector and map steward, Katie Theoharides of Defenders of Wildlife.