Biodiversity Information

One of the greatest obstacles to the conservation of biodiversity is the lack of easily accessible information about the overall distribution and condition of the plants, animals, and ecosystems that sustain them. The problem is twofold - huge data gaps and poorly organized, inconsistent, and often unintelligible information that isn't useful to policy makers or the public.

There have been many attempts to organize biological information to make it more widely available and useful. MORAP is the Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership, a collaborative effort to develop and maintain GIS data for regional planning.

NatureServe is a non-profit conservation organization that provides the scientific information and tools needed to help guide effective conservation action. NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs are the leading source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems.

Gap Analysis Programs in each state have created GIS data bases on vegetation, species, land ownership and management.

We tend to measure what we care about. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a metric well known to economists and the public. But we have failed to develop the environmental equivalent -- a scorecard to help people understand how biodiversity is faring.

The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a broad, collaborative program providing increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. NBII provides a variety of information about biodiversity in the the United States, organized by region. Click here to view website.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is an international work program designed to meet the needs of decision makers and the public for scientific information concerning the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and options for responding to those changes. The assessment was released in 2005, and contains a summary of the state of biodiversity and human health worldwide. Click here to view website.

Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy. In order to ensure that states are making strategic investment decisions and working effectively to prevent additional species from becoming endangered, Congress has mandated that each state prepare a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy by October, 2005. The strategies have eight elements which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use to determine if a state's plan satisfies the legal requirements. One of the elements is a monitoring plan that will assess the success of the conservation actions.

To assist with these efforts, Defenders of Wildlife asked Peter Schoonmaker, Ph.D. and Wayne Luscombe, Ph.D. to prepare a report called Habitat Monitoring: An Approach for Reporting Status and Trends for State Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategies. This paper provides a framework for a habitat-based monitoring program for assessing overall impacts of state-based conservation efforts, as well as background and guidance for data collection and analysis. Click here to read the report.

Several efforts are underway to report the status of natural resources through indicators. The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment has developed a set of national environmental indicators described in a report called The State of the Nation's Ecosystems. Many states and towns have developed indicators too.

Private groups like the Institute for Environmental Research and Education are working with landowners to measure habitat values on private lands.

Involving citizens in the collection, interpretation, and application of information about biodiversity is both a good way to educate people about the effects of human activities on the environment (positive and negative) and to utilize additional resources for data collection. Some common citizen-involved activities include: NatureMapping , bioblitzes (see below), invasive species control and eradication, bird counts, and stream monitoring. Chicago Wilderness is a biodiversity program that involves citizens in collecting data.

Bioblitz: Biodiversity Blitz, or BioBlitz, is a rapid assessment of what lives in a particular area at a given point in time. Biodiversity, the variety of living things, is often discussed in terms of the rain forest or the ocean, not somewhere familiar or local. A BioBlitz gets people involved in their own communities and promotes a positive awareness of resources and local conservation. The data collected through the BioBlitz is the first step toward monitoring change to the region over time. Once scientists know what is there, they have a baseline to measure the impact of the conservation action that is taken as part of the region's environmental management plan. There may be a Bioblitz program in your area! Go to Google and do a search on "bioblitz." Click here for more information.

The Birds of North America Online. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's online companion to the eighteen-volume reference features updates, new information, contributions from researchers, citizen scientists, and designated reviewers and editors. View demos or subscribe to get the full benefit of this site.

Frogwatch USA is a long-term frog and toad monitoring program managed by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with the United States Geological Survey. Their goals are to:

• Collect information about frog and toad populations in the U.S.
  
  
• Promote an appreciation for the diversity of frog and toad species.
  
  
• Foster an understanding of the importance of protecting wetland habitats.
  
  
• Provide an opportunity to learn about and establish a closer relationship with the natural environment.

View Frogwatch USA website and learn about frogs and frog data collection efforts in your state.

Updated 7-15-05