Ch. 9— Maintaining Biological Diversity in the United States • 225 



Table 9-2.— Examples of Federal Ecosystem Conservation Programs 



NOTE: When more than one agency has responsibility for an area, acreage has been divided equally and each agency receives credit for an area. 



^Because biosphere reserves are managed by several agencies simultaneously, the total number (53) in the table exceeds the actual number of reserves (43). 



SOURCE: Adapted from W.D. Crumpacker, "Status and Trends of US Natural Ecosystems," OTA commissioned paper, 1985; M. Bean, "Federal Laws and Policies 

 Pertaining to the Maintenance of Biological Diversity on Federal and Private Lands," OTA commissioned paper, 1985. 



search Natural Area Program. Other programs 

 are under the jurisdiction of just one agency, 

 such as the National Forest System. 



Few programs are designed specifically to 

 maintain biological diversity, even though some 

 programs may indirectly have this as one of 

 their objectives. One exception is the Man and 

 the Biosphere Program, coordinated through 



the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 

 Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which con- 

 siders the onsite maintenance of biological 

 diversity a major goal (17). The U.S. network 

 of 43 biosphere reserves provides a framework 

 for linking complementary protected areas in 

 particular biogeographical regions and for con- 

 ducting research on strategies for managing 

 ecosystems to conserve diversity (22). The U.S. 



