Our Llvini^ Rt'sources — liitriiduiti(m 



coiilinuing its own contributions, and when nec- 

 essary, supplementing the current array of activ- 

 ities. 



Organization of This Report 



In addition to this overview, the report intro- 

 duction includes articles on the importance ot 

 biodiversity and a historical look at biological 

 study in the federal government. 



The articles that follow, contributed by a 

 variety of authors and agencies, represent the 

 first effort to pull together information on the 

 status and trends of different groups of biota, 

 ecosystems, and ecoregions as well as related 

 issues. Individual articles in each section are 

 most often arranged from the most general or 

 large scale, to the most specific or small scale. 

 The organization is somewhat arbitrary in that 

 many articles could appear with equally valid 

 justifications in several different locations. 



Animals and Plants 



Not all groups have received equal treat- 

 ment, in large part because our current knowl- 

 edge is not equal among all groups, and inven- 

 tory and monitoring are focused on compara- 

 tively few species. Scientific studies have been 

 greatly assisted in some areas by the work of 

 natural historians and public volunteers. Bird 

 watchers, butterfly collectors, and shell collec- 

 tors, for example, have provided invaluable sci- 

 entific infonnation about the geographic ranges 

 of groups in which they are interested. Some of 

 the professional societies today owe their ori- 

 gins to the efforts of amateurs to organize and 

 improve their understanding of biota. 



Many of the less visible or charismatic taxa 

 lack the scientific effort or information, much 

 less the volunteer amateur support, to discuss 

 trends in their abundance or distribution. The 

 very title "Animals and Plants" could be viewed 

 as biased by some biologists: although most of 

 the public views mushrooms and other fungi as 

 plants, specialists consider them a separate 

 kingdom, equal both taxonomically as well as 

 in ecological significance to both plants and 

 animals. Despite their significance, plants are 

 simply underrepresented in this report because 

 the data are lacking. 



The report begins with birds, the single 

 group for which we have the most data at 

 national and large-scale levels. Because of the 

 significance of birds as important migratory 

 species, there has been a strong role for federal 

 research scientists as well as scientists from 

 state agencies and from Canada and Mexico. 

 Some of the best long-term scientific informa- 

 tion on status and trends comes from the 

 Breeding Bird Survey and the Christmas Bird 

 Count. 



Tahle, Selecled examples of existing ccolcigical inventory and monitoring programs. 



Subject 



Institution 



Migratory bird surveys 



Breeding birds 

 Winlering birds 

 Waterfowl surveys 



National Biological Service (NBS) 

 The Audubon Society 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USI=WS), NBS, and states, with inter- 

 national participation 



Rare and threatened species 



Listed endangered and threatened species 



Stale Heritage Programs 

 Endangered manne species 



Slates. US, federal land managers (e.g., National Park Service. 



Bureau of Land Management (BLM). U.S. Forest Sen/ice (USPS)), 



USFWS. NBS 



State agencies and The Nature Consen/ancy 



National t^arine Fishenes Service (NMFS) 



Resident gaine species 



(eg, deer, turkey furbearers) 



State fish and wildlife conservation agencies 



Habitats and biological communities 



National Wetlands Inventory 



Gap Analysis Program 



Environmental Ivlonitoring and Assessment Program 



Resources Conservation Act, inventory of wildlife 



and habitat conditions of farmlands 



USFWS 



NBS in partnership with states and private sector 



U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 



U S Soil Conservation Sereice (now Natural Resources Conservation 



Sen/ice) 



Wildlife and habitat on public lands 



Resources Planning Act assessment of USPS 



USPS lands 



Federal Land Policy and Management Act BLIVI 



assessment ol BLIVI lands 



Contaminants 



Aquatic and terrestrial (Biomoniforing of Environmental 

 Status & Trends National Water Quality Assessment) 

 Marine and coastal 



NBS with USFWS; U.S. Geological Sun/ey 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NMFS 



Ecosystems and Ecoregions 



We have also included information on 

 ecosystems and ecoregions. Ecosystems are 

 groups of plants and animals and their nonliving 

 environment such as air and water. For example, 

 one can speak of a coastal wetland ecosystem, 

 whether in North Carolina or Florida, and 

 understand that it includes several specific fea- 

 tures or processes shared by all coastal wetland 

 ecosystems. 



Ecoregions are geographically defined eco- 

 logical units, often containing several types of 

 ecosystems, that share common topographic, 

 climatic, and biotic characteristics. Each ecore- 

 gion, such as Alaska or Hawaii, can be defined 

 as a single, individual unit on a map, while 

 ecosystems, if mapped, would be scattered 

 about as separate units. 



Special Issues 



After the status and trends of animals and 

 plants, ecosystems, and ecoregions are present- 

 ed, a section on related issues follows: global 

 climate change, human influences, non-native 

 species, and methods of habitat assessinent. The 

 proliferation of introduced species, both plant 

 and animal, has had a profound influence on the 

 native biota of this country. Many human activ- 

 ities, such as pollution and urbanization, both 

 directly and indirectly affect the health of our 

 living resources. The possibilities of global cli- 

 mate change are examined, followed by a brief 



