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Exploring America's Natural Places

Each year millions of acres are developed across the United States, leading to the conversion and loss of both natural lands and farmlands. There is tremendous urgency to direct significant financial resources to land conservation, at a scale well beyond current spending levels—and to ensure that those investments are guided towards the most precious and vulnerable remaining lands. Americans are uniting around collaborative efforts to save our nation’s most important remaining open spaces and natural ecosystems.

In response to this need, NatureServe and the National Geographic Society, in partnership with a team of nationally-recognized experts from collaborating organizations, will develop a new online resource for the land protection community.

The project aims to increase the pace and effectiveness of land protection investments in the United States by inspiring and informing place-based, collaborative conservation efforts in every state. Harnessing the best available conservation science and information technology, the partners will create an interactive online "encyclopedia" with a state-of-the-art map viewer that integrates detailed maps, text, photos, statistics, audio, and video about America’s natural places.

The website will be a valuable resource for anyone carrying out land protection—including land trusts, state and local governments and natural resource agencies, and private landowners. Specific goals include:

• enabling multi-media exploration of America’s natural places and open spaces;
• integrating, mapping, and viewing conservation priorities identified through multiple initiatives, at local, regional, and national scales;
• providing a set of useful online tools for conservation planning and priority-setting.

The project will unite the complementary skills of two premier non-profit organizations—NatureServe, a leader in conservation science, and National Geographic, a leader in scientific research, education, and media. In addition to the website, the project will include a printed wall map about natural lands and open space in America. A number of conservation organizations and state agencies will be partners in the initiative. The website and other products will be rolled out by the end of 2008.

What if just by zooming into an interactive map, or searching by place name or zip code you could learn more about natural places and open spaces near you through photos, video, audio, stories and statistics?

What if you could have free access to the best available conservation science and environmental data and view conservation priorities at local, regional and national scales?

What if you could read case studies about conservation practices that work and, if you are directly involved with land protection, produce cool maps and reports about your project area?

Nationally recognized leaders in science, academia, and conservation have come together to help ensure that the website materials and tools meet the highest scientific and conservation standards. Advisory Council members include:

• Dr. Michael P. Dombeck, Pioneer Professor of Global Environmental Management, University of Wisconsin System
• The Honorable James Geringer, former governor of Wyoming and Director of Policy and Public Sector Strategies for ESRI
• Carl W. Knobloch, Jr., Chairman, West Hill Foundation for Nature
• Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, and Chairman of National Geographic’s Conservation Trust
• Dr. Walter V. Reid, Director, Conservation and Science Program, David and Lucile Packard Foundation
• Christopher Sawyer, President, West Hill Foundation for Nature
• Dr. Mark Shaffer, Program Director for the Environment, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
• Dr. James Gustave Speth, Dean, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
• John F. Turner, former Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of State for Oceans, International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
• Rand Wentworth, President, Land Trust Alliance
• Dr. Edward O. Wilson, Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

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