NatureServe

NatureServe is a United States-based nonprofit organization specializing in biodiversity information, conservation science, and decision-support services. Headquartered in Arlington County, Virginia, it works with government agencies, private organizations, conservation groups, researchers, and the public. Its role is to turn biological and ecological observations into standardized information that can guide land-use decisions, species protection, habitat management, and broader conservation planning. The organization grew out of The Nature Conservancy's natural heritage program network. That network began in 1974 with the South Carolina Heritage Trust, created to identify species, ecological communities, and sites that merited conservation attention. Similar programs followed in other U.S. states, and by the early 1990s the network covered all fifty states. Canadian programs began in 1988 and subsequently expanded across the provinces and Yukon Territory, while related programs were also developed in Latin America. NatureServe reports that it was established in 1994 as the Association for Biodiversity Information, a membership organization intended to coordinate information products and services across the natural heritage network. The Nature Conservancy and the Association for Biodiversity Information formally joined forces in 1999, with the Conservancy transferring databases, staff, scientific standards, and methodologies to the independent organization. In 2000, The Nature Conservancy spun off its network of approximately 85 natural heritage centers into the new independent body. The organization adopted the NatureServe name in 2001 while retaining its status as a U.S. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit. NatureServe's work is organized around documenting the distribution and conservation status of species and ecosystems; producing analyses for conservation planning; developing software and online tools; and supporting natural heritage programs and conservation data centers. Its information can be used at global, national, state, provincial, and local levels. A core feature of its methodology is the assessment of biological elements according to their relative conservation status, allowing users to identify imperiled species, ecological communities, and areas of high conservation importance. NatureServe Explorer provides public-facing access to selected information on species and ecosystems in the United States and Canada, including conservation-status assessments and distribution information for plants, animals, fungi, and ecological communities. NatureServe also contributes data and coordination to assessments associated with the IUCN Red List, the widely used global framework for evaluating extinction risk. Its classification work includes the U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard and the International Classification of Ecological Communities, with the latter focused primarily on the Western Hemisphere. An earlier service, InfoNatura, supplied comparable information on wildlife and ecosystems in Latin America. The organization operates through a wider network of regional and jurisdictional partners rather than as a conventional consumer brand. Its offerings include proprietary datasets, scientific assessments, conservation software, mapping and analytical services, technical assistance, and public information resources. NatureServe has reported a headquarters in Arlington, regional offices in four U.S. locations, and an office presence in Canada. It remains an active nonprofit whose work sits at the intersection of environmental information services, ecological science, and conservation policy.

NatureServe's history is rooted in the natural heritage program model developed in the United States during the 1970s. In 1974, the South Carolina Heritage Trust was established with support associated with The Nature Conservancy. Its purpose was to assemble biological information that could help identify lands and natural features requiring protection. Rather than focusing only on existing protected areas, the program emphasized species and natural communities as identifiable elements of biodiversity and used their locations and conditions to inform conservation priorities. Programs in West Virginia, Mississippi, and Oregon followed in 1975. The Nature Conservancy then developed a repeatable expansion model: it would help states recruit and train biologists, establish an operating center, and later transfer responsibility for the program to the state. This approach allowed a network of locally based programs to develop while maintaining common scientific methods and data standards. By 1993, organizations associated with the natural heritage network operated in all fifty U.S. states. The model also spread beyond the United States. Natural heritage programs began appearing in Latin America in 1982. Canadian programs were first established in 1988 and eventually expanded to all Canadian provinces and the Yukon Territory. As the number of programs grew, their directors sought ways to produce information products that were consistent across jurisdictions. A network-wide organization was needed to coordinate data, methods, and services while allowing the individual programs to retain regional expertise. That effort led to the incorporation of the Association for Biodiversity Information in 1994. The association was designed as an independent membership organization supporting shared products and coordination across the heritage network. It received U.S. federal tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization in July 1995. NatureServe's own organizational materials also describe the nonprofit as having been incorporated in 1999 as a Washington, DC nonprofit corporation. In 1999, The Nature Conservancy and the Association for Biodiversity Information formally joined their operations. The Conservancy transferred databases, professional personnel, scientific standards, and established methodologies to the independent organization. In 2000, The Nature Conservancy spun off its natural heritage network, then comprising roughly 85 centers, into the independent organization. In 2001, the organization adopted the NatureServe name. This transition established the structure through which NatureServe continues to coordinate a network of conservation-data programs and provide information products to government, nonprofit, commercial, and public users. Over time, NatureServe expanded from network coordination into a broad environmental information and professional-services organization. Its activities include species and ecosystem inventories, conservation-status ranking, geographic data management, ecological classification, mapping, modeling, and conservation planning. Its data and assessments have also supported collaboration with the IUCN Red List, including coordination and contributions to global conservation assessments. NatureServe Explorer became an important public access point for information on U.S. and Canadian species and ecosystems. The organization also developed or maintained classification systems such as the U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard and the International Classification of Ecological Communities. InfoNatura served as a related information resource for Latin American wildlife and ecosystems, although it is described in historical material as a prior or discontinued service. NatureServe's present identity is therefore best understood as a nonprofit scientific network rather than a consumer-facing commercial brand. It combines proprietary and publicly accessible data, a distributed network of conservation programs, ecological standards, online information tools, and contracted or grant-supported analytical services. Its work supports decisions about protected areas, development impacts, species recovery, habitat management, and the allocation of conservation resources.

• 2001

  The organization becomes NatureServe

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The Association for Biodiversity Information adopts the NatureServe name and operates in its modern independent form.

• 2000

  The natural heritage network is spun off

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The Nature Conservancy transfers its network of approximately 85 natural heritage centers into the independent organization.

• 1999

  Nature Conservancy and ABI formally join operations

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The Nature Conservancy transfers databases, personnel, standards, and methodologies from its heritage network to the independent organization.

• 1995

  Tax-exempt status is approved

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The organization receives U.S. 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

• 1994

  Association for Biodiversity Information is incorporated

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The Association for Biodiversity Information is formed to coordinate information products and services across the natural heritage network.

• 1993

  The U.S. network reaches all fifty states

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  Organizations connected to the natural heritage network are operating in every U.S. state.

• 1988

  Canadian heritage programs begin

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The first Canadian programs are established, later expanding throughout the provinces and Yukon Territory.

• 1982

  Natural heritage programs expand into Latin America

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  Programs based on the natural heritage approach begin to develop in Latin American countries.

• 1975

  Additional state heritage programs begin

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  Natural heritage programs are established in West Virginia, Mississippi, and Oregon, helping demonstrate a model for a broader state-based network.

• 1974

  South Carolina Heritage Trust is established

  [1]NatureServeen.wikipedia.org

  The first natural heritage program associated with the later NatureServe network is created to assemble biodiversity information for conservation and land-use decisions.

A scientific nonprofit and biodiversity-information network that supplies standardized ecological data and conservation decision tools to public agencies, conservation organizations, researchers, businesses, and the public.

• Biodiversity information database

  NatureServe Explorer

  NatureServe Explorer is a web-based resource providing public access to selected NatureServe information on species and ecosystems in the United States and Canada. Its content includes distribution information and conservation-status assessments for plants, animals, fungi, and ecological communities. The service helps users understand the relative imperilment of biological elements at global, national, state, or comparable jurisdictional levels. It serves researchers, agencies, conservation practitioners, educators, and members of the public seeking standardized biodiversity information.

• Conservation science service

  NatureServe conservation-status assessments

  NatureServe develops and maintains standardized assessments describing the conservation status of species, ecological communities, and ecosystems. These assessments organize information about rarity, distribution, trends, threats, and other factors relevant to conservation priority. The resulting rankings can be used by public agencies and conservation organizations in planning, environmental review, habitat management, and protection strategies. NatureServe also contributes relevant information and coordination to international conservation assessments, including work connected with the IUCN Red List.

• Ecological classification standard

  U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard

  The U.S. National Vegetation Classification Standard provides a structured framework for describing and organizing vegetation communities in the United States. NatureServe maintains or supports this classification work as part of its broader role in ecological information management. A common classification language makes it easier for agencies, scientists, land managers, and conservation groups to compare habitats, map vegetation, evaluate ecological change, and coordinate conservation planning across jurisdictions.

• Ecological classification standard

  International Classification of Ecological Communities

  The International Classification of Ecological Communities organizes ecological communities using a consistent framework, with historical coverage focused on the Western Hemisphere. It supports the description, comparison, mapping, and assessment of ecosystems and natural communities. The classification is part of NatureServe's effort to create interoperable ecological information that can be used in regional inventories, conservation assessments, biodiversity analyses, and land-management decisions.

• Regional biodiversity information service

  InfoNatura

  InfoNatura was a NatureServe information service focused on wildlife and ecosystems in Latin America. It was described as broadly comparable to NatureServe Explorer, providing information intended to support understanding of regional biodiversity and conservation priorities. Available reference material characterizes it as a historical or former service, and does not establish its current operating status.

1. 1NatureServeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2NatureServe official websitenatureserve.org