NatureServe

NatureServe envisions a world where decisionmakers recognize the value of biodiversity, fully understand the importance of science in identification and protection of species and ecosystems, and invest in science as the basis for their decisions that affect biodiversity.

Informed by sound scientific understanding, those who make decisions that impact the natural world—governments, conservation organizations, corporations, landowners, and the scientific community—will draw upon the resources of the NatureServe network to focus conservation actions. As a result, the sustained health of this natural heritage will support prosperous human and non-human communities for the benefit of current and future generations.

Outcomes and strategies for 2012 through 2016:

1) Collect and use increasingly high-quality and up-to-date scientific knowledge in order to conserve biodiversity
* Update data constantly via a web-enabled, sustainable, and adaptable data-management system
* Better communication of trends and implementation of standards across the network
* Guide network-wide development of knowledge for freshwater and marine biodiversity conservation strategies

2) Enhance network effectiveness for building biodiversity knowledge
* Strengthen intra-network connections
* Meet and exceed institutional/technological standards
* Engage in broader partnerships with like-minded organizations that collect and disseminate biodiversity data and get Eastern Hemisphere organizations to share information

3) Inform key societal challenges through analyses and syntheses
* Illuminate large-scale challenges to biodiversity by integrating with other key information to shape environmental, scientific, economic, and social policy questions and solutions

4) Address clients' specific needs with the use of NatureServe data, tools, and expertise
*Respond quickly to opportunities and partner needs
* Improve NatureServe's use of adaptive management

NatureServe established a Natural Heritage Program network across North America. We currently have 60 programs in the US and Canada that employs 1,000+ scientists to gather data, perform monitoring and generally engage in the science needed to answer three core questions: What is it? Where is it? How is it doing? Deceivingly simple, these core questions, if appropriately answered, allows global decision makers to know how to focus limited resources to protect the most imperiled ecosystems and species. We are expanding our network to include every state in the US over the next 3 years. We have a staff of 63 scientists and technology experts to qualify the data. We have developed several technology platforms to distribute the information and are developing additional platforms to harness the power of technology and science to help stop the 6th mass extinction taking place now.

NatureServe scientists in collaboration with other partners has produced several important publications: The Global Reptile Assessment; The Global Tree Assessment and the Map of Biodiversity along with the Key Biodiversity Areas Map. We will continue to publish critical peer reviewed information and update our data to keep up with a rapidly changing and extremely impacted world. Guiding conservation decisions by on the ground federal, state, local, private and public organizations is essential to giving species and ecosystems disappearing from the planet the best chance of survival.
We intend to expand our network having established 60 Natural Heritage Programs to date.

We are upgrading our data set (Biotics 5) to include input from citizen scientists and updated conservation status rankings - also essential to making good decisions.

We are building out our multiple software platforms with the intention of making more information available for free by any user.