• The Washington Invasive Ranking System

 

• Plant species as indicators of ecological condition

 

 

Out of concern for the loss of Washington’s biodiversity, the Legislature passed the Natural Area Preserves Act in 1972. The Act created the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP) to (1) identify which species and ecosystems in the state are rare; (2) maintain a database of their locations; (3) make this information available for conservation, management, and land use decision makers and selection of natural areas; and (4) develop and maintain a statewide register of natural areas which protects representative examples of Washington’s biodiversity. Although housed within DNR, the WNHP is a statewide resource, working across all ownerships. Local, state, and federal agencies use Natural Heritage data to inform policy decisions, regulatory permitting, and federal listings of threatened and endangered species. In addition to DNR natural area preserves and natural resource conservation areas, the state register of natural areas also includes natural areas managed by other state agencies, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Natural Heritage data is critical for the selection, management, and protection of all natural areas in this network. DNR uses Natural Heritage data to maintain forest certification (e.g., Sustainable Forestry Initiative), implement the Policy for Sustainable Forests, Forest Practice application reviews, and to guide the selection of new natural areas. The State of Washington Natural Heritage Plan, a document compiled by the WNHP every few years, provides more information about WNHP’s work and its critical role in conservation of Washington’s biodiversity.

 

To prioritize the conservation needs of the species and ecosystems of Washington, WNHP uses methods shared by NatureServe and a network of natural heritage programs. Information for priority species and ecosystems comes from a wide variety of sources, including government agencies, conservation organizations, consultants, and extensive fieldwork and research by WNHP staff. Site-specific and species/ecosystem-specific information is maintained in the Natural Heritage Information System, an integrated database that currently contains more than 7,000 records of rare species and rare/high quality ecological communities. This data is available to the public via the WNHP Data Explorer.

 

Washingtonians identify with the natural beauty and biodiversity of our state; recreating and connecting with nature from our coastline and mountains to sagebrush desert and grasslands. By conserving our native species and ecosystems, we can ensure that future generations inherit the Washington that we know today.