Enduring features (EFs; geophysical settings) are worthy conservation targets. We assembled data on EFs for the nation and performed an ecoregion-based GAP Analysis on their conservation status. Ecoregions that circumscribe mountains tend to have more EFs, and ecoregions in the west, where public lands make up more of the total land area, have more EFs within conservation lands. The middle of the country is relatively low in EF diversity, but nonetheless the number of EFs in conservation lands is low. Areas of high EF diversity in the Edwards Plateau also contained a diversity of rare species occurrences. We generated a new EF data set for the eastern USA and evaluated the distribution of rare species in terms of EF type. Most rare species tended to occur most often on one or a few EF types. We compared the distribution of EF types to the current network of conservation lands, and identified types that are under-represented in the network but important to rare species. The information generated both nationally and for the eastern USA will be useful to help incorporate EFs as conservation targets in planning, but time and funding did not permit formal conservation planning efforts as a part of this project.
