In 2005, as mandated by Congress, states and U.S. territories drafted State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Listed and described in those plans were species most in need of conservation action according to the evidence and priorities of that state or territory. In collaboration with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was asked to perform the taxonomic alignment of the state lists to bring them together into a national list. That work led to a nationally comprehensive list of species that states and territories designated as being most in need of conservation action. Comprehensive reviews of the SWAPs take place every 10 years to qualify for grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As the 2015 SWAPs and associated species of greatest conservation need lists were completed, USGS compiled the lists into a 2015 national list together with the 2005 national list. USGS assessed these lists not only for taxonomic alignment with two internationally recognized taxonomic authorities, the Integrated Taxonomic Information System and the World Register of Marine Species, but also for conservation status or listing with the Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Conservation Online System and with the NatureServe Explorer.
Results/Conclusions
After running the USGS processing scripts, approximately 17,000 species are included in the Species of Greatest Conservation Need national list. Of those species, over 3,500 species have at least some action on the part of Fish and Wildlife Service ranging from being federally listed to simply Federal Register documents being filed. All of these data are publicly accessible through an application programming interface and an online tool (https://www1.usgs.gov/csas/swap/). Combining these lists into a national scale product allows for assessments across state boundaries and provides insight into state and territory ecological priorities. Overall, the number of species of greatest conservation need has not changed much between 2005 and 2015. Although some species have been removed from the list, others have been added, so states can monitor and address key threats proactively to help ensure the sustainability of all species for future generations.