NatureServe is the hub of a large, impactful and consequential Network of over 100 governmental and non-governmental programs located in the United States and Canada. Each day, Network Programs and their staff are working tirelessly to protect and conserve the plants, animals, and ecosystems in their jurisdictions.
The Power of a Network
Expertise
- Over 1,000 conservation professionals with a wide-array of expertise, including ecologists, zoologists, botanists, data specialists, and much more.
- Expertise in acquiring, managing and sharing knowledge; assessing status, risk and condition; planning, and measuring results.
Data Collection
- Scientists from Network Programs are in the field assessing and collecting data on rare species and ecosystems.
- Data collected through the Network is of the highest quality because the Network is trained using NatureServe’s rigorous core standards and methodologies.
- Using NatureServe’s data management tool, Biotics, data that is collected throughout the Network is aggregated and compiled.
- Data is managed and analyzed by NatureServe and shared throughout the Network and incorporated into products and services through easy-to-use tools and visualized.
Geographic Reach
- Over 60 Network Programs located in the United States and Canada.
- Vast geographic reach offers both local, regional, and global information.
- Work within the Network is applied throughout the world to address global challenges.
- Conservation projects or needs that cross jurisdictional lines or involve large landscapes can easily be covered by the Network.
- Specific local needs can be met by individual Network Programs.
- NatureServe can accommodate any project with our access to on-the-ground experts throughout the Network.
NatureServe Network Membership
Membership in NatureServe enhances local organizational effectiveness by:
Engaging with a community
Participating in our network offers multiple opportunities to engage with ecologists, botanists and zoologists, and other conservation scientists that share your passion for gathering information and sharing knowledge about our natural world.
Contributing and gaining access to innovations
Because we share a common purpose, members of the NatureServe Network can collaborate on finding innovative solutions to complex problems.
Increasing organizational reach and influence
As a member of NatureServe, your work contributes to solving conservation challenges at national, regional and international scales. NatureServe works to highlight and promote the work of its members through a variety of media.
Increasing efficiency
Members share the costs and benefits of developing standards, methods, and computer systems to support our work.
There are three levels of membership, representing different levels of engagement, privileges and responsibilities.
Constituent Membership
Any organization that is dedicated to developing, promoting, and using standard methodologies to manage high quality biodiversity information in a consistent manner; approves of the objectives of the NatureServe Network, including the goal of data sharing; and supports the role of using science to inform conservation action shall be eligible to apply as a Constituent Member of the NatureServe Network.
Founding Constituent Members. These are the members of NatureServe at the time of its founding in 2000. The list of those entities eligible to be founding Constituent Members appears in Appendix A of the NatureServe Bylaws. Contact NatureServe's Director of Network Relations (703-908-1828; Allison_Gratz@natureserve.org), if you are unclear whether you are a Founding Constituent Member.
Subnational Constituent Members. Any organization that operates at the principal subnational level of a country, including states, provinces, departments, or territories, is eligible to be a Constituent Member of NatureServe. There can only be one Constituent Member per subnational jurisdiction. Subnational Constituent Members of NatureServe Canada (a.k.a., the Canadian Section of NatureServe) will be granted constituent membership in NatureServe, subject to ratification by the NatureServe Board of Directors.
Other Established Constituent Members. Organizations that historically have operated as a part of the NatureServe network, specifically the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Navajo Nation, the Cauca Valley Corporation, and the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre, are eligible to be Constituent Members of NatureServe.
Associate Membership
Any organization that supports the objectives of the NatureServe Network, is not a Constituent Member, and that manages data or is active in promoting science-based conservation action important to the NatureServe Network shall be eligible to apply as an Associate Member of the NatureServe Network.'
An organization eligible to join as a Constituent or Associate Member as set out in Section 1.01, above, must comply with the following:
- have the endorsement of a senior executive within its host institution
- have the endorsement of the Section Council(s) their geographic scope of work is concurrent with or contained within
- apply for membership by addressing a letter requesting membership to the Board’s Membership Committee. The membership request must:
- demonstrate institutional history of relevance of its activities to the mission of the NatureServe Network;
- the intention and capability to perform the functions and meet the standards of membership as determined by the Board;
- state its commitment to sharing data or expertise with NatureServe; and
- pay the established fees and dues.
If you are interested in becoming a member of NatureServe, please contact Allison_gratz@natureserve.org.
Global Partners
NatureServe works with a wide array of partners to accomplish our goal of providing the scientific basis for effective conservation. As a non-partisan, non-advocacy organization, we use a cooperative and collaborative approach to conservation. NatureServe’s focus on connecting science with conservation depends on partnerships across all sectors of society, from scientific research institutions and government agencies to non-profit organizations and private industry. We’ve listed a few of our partners below.
Agencies
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Army Environmental Command
- Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. National Park Service
- Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
- State of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
- National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
- Parks Canada
- Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
- Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments
- Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico
- Western Governors’ Association
Corporations
- American Express
- ChevronTexaco
- Duke Energy Corporation
- ExxonMobil
- The Fred Ezra Company
- FESTF | FIFRA Endangered Species Task Force
- Goldman Sachs & Co.
- The Hershey Company
- Inter-American Development Bank
- Johnson & Johnson
- Macy’s
- Mary Kay Inc.
- Microsoft Corporation
- Poorperson’s Enterprises
- Andrew Rich, Vintner
- Rite in the Rain
- SSI Consulting
- Woolpert, Inc.
Foundations & Nonprofits
- American Express Foundation
- The Bobolink Foundation
- Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
- Margaret A. Cargill Foundation
- California Native Plant Society
- Sarah K. DeCoizart Perpetual Charitable Trust
- Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
- Ecological Society of America
- Environmental Defense Fund
- The Holliswood School
- International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Leibniz Institut fur Gewasserokologie und Binnenfischerei
- John P. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Marine Affairs Research and Education
- National Council for Air & Stream Improvement, Inc.
- National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
- National Parks Conservation Association
- NatureServe Canada
- National Science Foundation
- The Nature Conservancy
- Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters
- Oregon State University
- Organization of American States
- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
- Provita
- Toledo Community Foundation, Inc.
- The Trust for Public Land
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Rhode Island
- University of Sheffield
- U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
- The Wilderness Society
- Wildlife Management Institute
- Yale University