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Over One-third of Biodiversity in the United States is at Risk of Disappearing

Leveraging nearly 50 years of intensive data collection by NatureServe and the NatureServe Network, Biodiversity in Focus: United States Edition reveals an alarming conclusion: 34% of plants and 40% of animals are at risk of extinction, and 41% of ecosystems are at risk of range-wide collapse. The analyses presented in the report inform how to effectively and efficiently use our financial resources to make the best conservation decisions.

Scope of NatureServe Data

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NatureServe provides authoritative, decision-quality information on the locations of at-risk species across the U.S. and Canada. You can use NatureServe Explorer Pro to view public, generalized data (generalization or “fuzzing” levels are set by our state and provincial partners), or, when authorized, to access more precise location data under license. Licensed data can also be delivered directly to you in a variety of spatial formats for use in your GIS and workflows.​

NatureServe Policy for Network Data

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NatureServe Policy for Acceptable Uses of Network Data

The following section defines the ways NatureServe staff can use Network Program data (including, but not limited to, use of Element Occurrences (EOs), Source Features, and Observations) shared with NatureServe, as well as products derived from Network Program data (including, but

United States Updates National Standard for Ecosystem Classification

NatureServe, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and federal partners at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) today announced the release of Version 3.0 of the U.S. National Vegetation Classification (USNVC), the official standard for classifying and mapping terrestrial ecosystems across the United States.

Adopt the Mountain Avens

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Mountain avens are a common sight in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where they grow abundantly. However, their only other known location is in Novia Scotia, making them endemic to the Mideastern corner of North America. NatureServe ranks mountain avens as globally imperiled (G2), due in part to their restricted geographic range and in part to threats from road maintenance, land development, and habitat degradation by humans and other encroaching species.