NatureServe’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index is a popular tool for helping states address climate change in their State Wildlife Action Plans. NatureServe has teamed with the U.S. Geologic Survey's Climate Adaptation Science Centers to advance the science behind the tool and put it online by mid-2024, making it more accessible and effective for decision-makers.

NatureServe has been collaborating with the National Parks Conservation Association to quantify the importance of park landscapes across the continental U.S. and Alaska. This collaboration completed a pilot project in the Southern Appalachians, indicating areas of the highest conservation value within the landscape and providing analyses to determine their protection and management status.

The NatureServe botany team has completed the ranking of 87 plants found on U.S. Forest Service lands. Included in this work was Clinopodium talladeganum, an Imperiled (G2) species endemic to Alabama that was first described in 2020 by Brian Keener and Aaron Floden.

2022 was a big year for the iMapInvasives Network! Over 98,000 invasive species observations were submitted across North America by natural resource professionals and community scientists working to protect natural resources and biodiversity from the negative impacts of invasive species.

A new series exploring the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and biodiversity conservation is now available online. AI for Biodiversity, a Discovery Series launched by NatureServe in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union, Convention on Biological Diversity and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute of Colombia, features expert speakers from around the globe.

Click the link below to view the recordings and register for upcoming webinars.

Lori Scott, Chief Information Officer and VP for Technology and Partnerships at NatureServe, talks about the history and future of NatureServe's technology program.

Gio Rapacciuolo, NatureServe's Director of Applied Data Science, presented at a Southeast Conservation Adaptation Strategy web forum on the topic of “Advancing the Southeast Conservation Blueprint through analysis and integration of high-resolution distribution data for diverse imperiled species."

Since 2011, the Virginia Natural Heritage Program has partnered with Virginia State Parks to inventory vegetation communities across 23 state parks. This collaboration has allowed Heritage ecologists to identify or update 80+ natural community occurrences and refine the state vegetation classification while providing Virginia State Parks with high-quality vegetation maps, detailed ecological descriptions, and management recommendations. This partnership exemplifies how natural heritage data can be utilized for active biodiversity conservation across a state.

The Connecticut Natural Diversity Data Base has launched a new web application built on NatureServe's environmental review tool framework. Users can submit site assessment requests or file projects for full environmental review, which are then automatically expedited by the tool using standard best practices or passed on to staff in more complex cases.

The Colorado Natural Heritage Program developed species distribution models for 81 rare plants identified in the Colorado State Wildlife Action Plan. The program added these new distribution models to their conservation data sharing platform, the Colorado Conservation Data Explorer, to help conserve and protect these plants of greatest conservation need through environmental review and conservation planning.

The Tennessee Division of Natural Areas released its 2022 In Review StoryMap, highlighting some of their successful conservation stories from 2022. 

Sam Brinker from the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre partnered with the Natural History Museum in Oslo to describe a new species of Rhizoplaca lichen.

The California Natural Diversity Database shared a summary of their work and accomplishments from 2022 and goals for 2023 in this blog post.

Make 2023 the year you create your legacy by including NatureServe in your will or making us a beneficiary of your retirement, bank, or life insurance accounts. Support our mission for decades to come and make a lasting impact that will not cost you anything today!

Questions? Contact: Karen Smith Fernandez, Director of Major Gifts, at karen_fernandez@natureserve.org or 703-908-1883