New York State Wildlife Action Plan

A wildlife action plan serves as a state's guiding document for managing and conserving species and habitats before they become too rare or costly to restore. Congress charged states and territories to develop a State Wildlife Action Plan in 2002, and the New York Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy was completed in 2005. These wildlife plans are updated every 10 years, and the 2015 update is the State Wildlife Action Plan.

Collectively, these plans assess the health of a state's wildlife and habitats, identify the problems they face and outline the actions that are needed to conserve them over the long term. For the 2015 update, DEC staff and conservation partners have completed assessments for 597 species, consolidating information on life history, conservation status, population trends, and threats to these species. This information was used to revise the Species of Greatest Conservation Need list. The New York SWAP, SGCN list, and technical details on species and habitats are available on this page.