The Biological Status and Trends program provides information on the status and trends of our Nation's flora, fauna, and ecosystems. Nomenclature provides the standard biological language for the exchange of information on natural resources. Inventory includes the collection, synthesis, and presentation of biological data and information. It includes the preparation of catalogs of biological information, species inventories, and ecosystem mapping.
Monitoring requires the repeated collection of data over time according to a prescribed protocol.
Monitoring is useful in determining trends in the status or distribution of a biota or of change in ecological conditions. Analysis involves the statistical interpretation of inventory and monitoring data to facilitate discovery and detection of important biological phenomena, to determine causes and effects of biological and associated phenomena, and to improve predictive capabilities from the landscape to the genetic level and from the national to the local scale. Goals Initiate a systematic process for working with resource managers and other partners to identify critical data gaps in the current knowledge of biological resource status and trends. Develop partnerships at all levels with Federal, state, university, museum and other cooperators to conduct surveys and monitoring programs at multiple scales applicable to important management and conservation objectives. Develop, evaluate, and disseminate new methods and technical capabilities for assessing status and trends of biological resources of concern to the Department of the Interior an cooperators.