Under a ten-year mandated revision from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) is revising their federal State Wildlife Action Plan, along with other states across the country. State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) outline strategic conservation approaches for wildlife and wildlife habitats in each of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories.
Maryland’s first plan (known as the 2005 Wildlife Diversity Conservation Plan) was completed in 2005. Collaborative efforts between state, federal, tribal, and local conservation partners identified Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), conservation priorities, threats, and conservation actions for wildlife species and their habitats. Species of greatest conservation need are those animals, both aquatic and terrestrial, that are at risk or are declining in Maryland. They include threatened and endangered species, as well as many other species whose populations are of concern in our state. Current wildlife program funding comes from a variety of sources.
Photo of Red Knot, courtesy of Greg Breeze, USFWS
The revision of Maryland’s SWAP is a condition for the continuation of State Wildlife Grant funding. The goal of the State Wildlife Grant Program is to prevent species from becoming listed as endangered; in other words, keep common species common.
State Wildlife Grants allow for the continuation and improvement of the protection and management of Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats. (For more information on wildlife program funding, click here.) Revisions must be completed by October 2015.