The northeast fish and wildlife diversity technical committee of the northeast association of fish and wildlife agencies is charged by the directors and administrators of the 14 northeast…

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a $193,547.65 Project Grant under the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (CFDA 15.628) to the Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Inc. (NEAFWA). The purpose of this one-year grant, with a project period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025, is to upgrade NEAFWA's Northeast Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need database. This will modernize the existing database platform and data structure, increasing efficiency and utility for collaboration across the 14 Northeast state fish and wildlife agencies and their conservation partners. The project will connect the enhanced database to NEAFWA's website, providing state agency staff and the public with accessible web portals. As a sub-award, the Wildlife Management Institute, Inc. will provide professional services to NEAFWA to administer this grant.

The northeast fish and wildlife diversity technical committee of the northeast association of fish and wildlife agencies is charged by the directors and administrators of the 14 northeast association of fish and wildlife agency jurisdictions in the united states with developing and maintaining a list of northeast regional species of greatest conservation need (rsgcn) that identifies shared species of conservation concern at the regional level. That process and the regional northeast database (here after referred to as the database) that contains all the rsgcn data has evolved to include baseline information on nearly 18,000 species of fish, wildlife, and plants extant in the northeast. The database of scientific information on those 18,000 species also includes their habitats, threats, management needs, and research and monitoring needs. The data are currently stored in a microsoft access database that has reached its capacity and functionality. The purpose of this project will be to upgrade the database, including 250 eligible regional species of greatest conservation need species with current enhanced data and baseline information on 426 birds, 183 mammals, and 1,025 fish species known to be present in the northeast into an enhanced platform to increase efficiency and utility. Specifically, we will modernize the current database platform and data structure by building a new database with the future capability to connect IT to the northeast fish and wildlife diversity technical committee website with accessible web portals for state agency staff. The upgraded database will facilitate cross-jurisdictional conservation for all northeast association of fish and wildlife agency members, and all associated conservation partners and the public. This project will create an enhanced database that has increased capacity for collaboration across the northeast, which will facilitate planned 5-year update cycles allowing better landscape integration of regional species of greatest conservation need and all other priority taxa in the northeast, including pittman-robertson and dingell-johnson eligible species, and by providing priorities for the northeast regional conservation needs grant program, other landscape level conservation planning, and supporting overall fish and wildlife management and conservation across the northeast region.