state wildlife action plans

About

State Wildlife Action Plans serve as the nation's blueprints for proactively conserving fish and wildlife to prevent species from becoming endangered. In 2005, each state, territory, and the District of Columbia submitted its first State Wildlife Action Plan for approval to the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a condition for receiving federal funding through the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program. The Plans identified over 12,000 Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), which includes federal and state threatened and endangered species and other rare or declining species. The Plans describe the habitats important to SGCN, key threats, needed conservation actions, and research and monitoring plans. Agencies are required to coordinate with state, federal, tribal, and local agencies and provide opportunities for public input. The Plans are developed in collaboration with leading scientists, conservation organizations, private landowners, and interested members of the public. Each Plan must address 8 Required Elements to be approved and must undergo a major review and revision at least once every ten years. Most agencies will complete their second major review and revision in 2025.

Completion of the Plans was historic and marked the first time in U.S. history for coast-to-coast comprehensive planning for fish and wildlife. On average, agencies receive less than $1 million annually to implement the Plans. A survey by Southwick and Associates in 2015, estimated that $1.3 billion in federal funding is needed annually for implementation. The Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America's Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources recommended that Congress invest $1.3 billion annually to implement the Plans using existing royalties and fees from the development of energy and mineral resources on federal lands and water. This led to the introduction of the Recovering America's Wildlife Act in the U.S. Congress in 2016 and in Congress since then.

Links to State Wildlife Action Plans: | Alabama | Alaska | American Samoa | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | District of Columbia | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Guam | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa| Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | Northern Mariana Islands | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Puerto Rico | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Virgin Islands Link 1 & Link 2 | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming |