This is truly a cooperative effort which will involve hundreds of scientists in universities and museums across the country. The system will save dollars for the taxpayers by providing a standard reference for the government, for the scientific community, and for the interested public to share in and use. It will be like the famous Rosetta Stone, providing an accurate standard or reference for translation of scientific names of organisms. Taxonomy is the science of classifying or grouping related organisms to show the evolutionary relationships among them. Knowledge of these relationships is at the core of all other biological and ecological research.
Taxonomy thus provides a common language for all scientists working in the discipline of biology.
The six initial cooperating agencies include the NBS, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agricultural Research Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Smithsonian Institution is also cooperating in the development of the ITIS database. Each of these agencies has a continuing need to use scientifically accurate information about the taxonomy of species they study or manage. By cooperating to develop and serve this standardized database, they will save money, increase the sharing of data between agencies, and provide a valuable source of information for state resource agencies, museums, private groups, and the interested public. Several other federal agencies have also expressed their interest in cooperating in the program.