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For Immediate Release
12 States Lead Nation in Wildlife Conservation Plans
Defenders of Wildlife Offers Analysis of 54 Plans and Identifies Leaders
Washington, D.C. – The State Wildlife Action Plans produced for the first time by each state and U.S. territory varied widely in their approach to conservation and in their overall quality, with 12 states doing an excellent job assessing threats to wildlife and habitats and developing strategies to address those threats, according to a report released today by Defenders of Wildlife that analyzed all 50 state plans and the 4 territorial plans that were available.
The 12 states with excellent plans include Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia.
"States did a good job and there were a number of excellent models for conservation planning," stated Jeff Lerner, Director of Conservation Planning for Defenders of Wildlife. "Before the state wildlife grants program we had a handful of states doing conservation planning; now we have the whole country moving in the right direction. That’s progress we should all be proud of."
The State Wildlife Grants program was authorized by Congress in 2000 for states to address the broad range of their wildlife and associated habitats in a systematic, comprehensive fashion. It is meant to help conserve wildlife generally, particularly non-game wildlife, and to help prevent the need to list more endangered species. An annual appropriation to support the program in all 50 states and U.S. territories is made by Congress.
Defenders of Wildlife played a leading role in convincing Congress to establish the program. With a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation, Defenders analyzed 54 of the 56 plans and assessed each for its strengths and weaknesses.
According to Defenders’ report, "States did a good job with the assessment portion of their task identifying species of concern, gathering relevant information and documenting problems or threats to species and habitats. Focus going forward should be on strategic aspects of their plans, setting clear and measurable goals, prioritizing actions, identifying focal areas in which to work, coordinating with other agencies or setting up clear monitoring systems for tracking both plan actions and habitat conditions."
The 12 states with model conservation plans set clear goals, prioritized actions and demonstrated a clear commitment to follow through on their new or existing programs and most included maps of focal areas for conservation," said Lerner.
The analysis also found states, regardless of their location, identifying many of the same types of threats. Urban development, habitat destruction, invasive species, fragmentation and pollution were mentioned as the most serious threats to wildlife.
Defenders’ report concludes with recommendations for how future plans can be strengthened including goal setting, focal area mapping, prioritization of actions, and integration with other planning and comprehensive monitoring systems, and establishing implementation committees.
A complete copy of the report can be found on-line here.###
Defenders of Wildlife is recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 490,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues
