Interest in rare species has increased substantially
over the past 40 years, and currently there is broad
support for the conservation of rare plants and animals
in North America. Natural resource managers, policy
makers, and the public require an understanding
of the identity, distribution, and abundance of rare
species in order to develop effective conservation
strategies. Such information is especially vital to
management plans that strive to integrate the
conservation of rare species with development of natural
resources.
This publication provides the most complete
information available on the status of rare vertebrate
species and vascular plant species in Wyoming. It
updates and replaces previous lists (Fertig and
Beauvais 1999, Fertig and Heidel 2002), and
documents 473 plants and 125 vertebrates of
conservation and management concern in Wyoming.
For each species, a summary of factors used in
weighing species’ status including distribution,
abundance, trends, and intrinsic vulnerability, is also
provided.
The Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD)
at the University of Wyoming serves as the information
clearinghouse on species of concern in Wyoming.
Professional biologists at WYNDD conduct primary field
research, literature reviews, and information summaries
to maintain a comprehensive database of information on
rare plants and animals. Readers are encouraged to
help in this effort and improve this list by submitting
data on rare species to WYNDD. Rare species
observation forms are included in this publication, and
are also posted at [www.uwyo.edu/wyndd].
