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2015 - 2025 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan

Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan 


In the end, the 2015-2025 State Wildlife Action Plan is a declaration -- an affirmation that each of these wild creatures is an important part of a vivid, vibrant Penn's Woods, and the birthright of every Pennsylvanian.
- Scott Weidensaul, Wildlife Action Plan Foreword

 


Check out the Conservation Opportunity Area Tool!

Conservation Opportunity Area Tool Fact Sheet

Thank you for wanting to help fish and wildlife! The Conservation Opportunity Area Tool is an interactive, web-based tool to support conservation planning and implementation for at-risk species. Users can find information on Species of Greatest Conservation Need, habitats, conservation actions, and more. Use this tool to explore statewide features or seek information in an area of interest you draw. Registration is free! Check-out the Quick Start Instructions, or simply dive-in!

What is the State Wildlife Action Plan?  
Updated from the first version published in 2005, the 2015 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan is a non-regulatory, proactive conservation blueprint to prevent Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) from requiring federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. This approach helps reduce the costs of fish and wildlife managementSpecies of greatest conservation need by the numbersby decreasing expensive recoveries of species in need of critical care. Pennsylvania's natural resources are the foundation of our state's beauty and cultural heritage, and the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan provides the framework to secure these resources for future generations.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-approved Wildlife Action Plan maintains Pennsylvania's eligibility for federal State & Tribal Wildlife Grants funding - the nation's core program to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. These funds help implement conservation actions recommended in the Plan.

What is in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan?

Pennyslvania Wildlife Action Plan
  • List of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Appendix 1.3)
  • Extent and condition of habitats where these species are found (Chapter 2 & Appendix 2.1)
  • Environmental threats to these species (Chapter 1, Appendix 1.1, Appendix 1.4; Chapter 3)
  • Conservation actions needed recover and protect these species (Chapter 1, Appendix 1.4; Chapter 4)
  • Monitoring needed for species, habitats, and conservation actions (Appendix 1.4; Chapter 5 & Appendix 5.1)
  • Plans to revise the Plan by 2025 (Chapter 6)
  • Partner and public participation in Plan development and implementation (Chapters 7 & 8)

Who should use the State Wildlife Action Plan?  
Everyone! Explore the Wildlife Action Plan and interactive, web-based Conservation Opportunity Area Tool to visualize species distributions statewide or select specific areas of interest to obtain a list of species and conservation actions for an area you identify. Also, get involved by participating in conservation actions found in Chapter 4, Get Involved! Take Action! Don’t wait! Pennsylvania’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need are looking to you for help.

Thank you for your interest in the Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan! Please provide your contact information to receive an email notification when a section of the plan has been updated. Registration Form

All links below are PDFs.

Topic (Chapter) Updates Contents
Executive SummaryOverview of the 2015 Plan
Introduction03.15.16Table of Contents, Acknowledgments, Executive Summary, Foreword, Agency Authorities, Review of 2005 Plan
Species (1)03.15.16Species of Greatest Conservation Need selection, prioritization, threats and conservation action summary
Appendices 1.1 & 1.203.15.16Species conservation status assessment reports; flowchart and guidance
Appendix 1.303.18.16Species of Greatest Conservation Need list and prioritization
Appendix 1.4Species Accounts - detailed summaries of species' status, threats, actions, surveys, monitoring and research
 
Species AccountsSpecies AccountsSpecies Accounts
Birds Amphibians Fishes
Mammals Reptiles Mussels (Federal or state listed only)
 
Topic (Chapter) Updates Contents
HABITATS (2)Habitat extent and condition
Appendices 2.1 & 2.2Habitat descriptions and condition, species associations, relationships between 2015 and 2005 habitat types
THREATS (3)03.15.16Environmental threats to species and habitats
CONSERVATION ACTIONS (4)Conservation actions for addressing threats
MONITORING (5)03.15.16Approaches for monitoring species, habitats, and Plan implementation
REVISION (6)Process for review and revision of the Plan in the next 10 years
PARTNERSHIPS (7)03.15.16Agencies and organizations involved in Plan revision
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (8)Review of public involvement in Plan revision and implementation
LITERATURE CITED (9)03.25.16Referenced literature

Questions? Contact the PGC Wildlife Diversity Conservation Planning Coordinator, PGCSWAP@pa.gov.

Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Wildlife Action Plan website