Threats to At-Risk Species in America’s Private Forests: A Forests on the Edge Report

Highlights/Summary/Key Findings

• Over 4,600 native plant and animal species associated with private forests in the United States are at risk of decline or extinction. Private forests provide habitat for 60% of all at-risk species in the United States.
• Watersheds where increased housing density in rural private forests is likely to contribute to the continued decline of the largest numbers of forest-associated at-risk species are located primarily in the East but also in parts of the West and Southwest.
• Watersheds in which forest habitats for the greatest variety of at-risk species are likely to be affected by wildfire are found in the Southeast, much of the Southwest, and along California’s Sierra Nevada range.
• Watersheds where private forests providing habitat for the greatest variety of at-risk species are most threatened by insects and disease are located throughout the East and also in the Southwest and in northern California.
• Conservation actions can reduce impacts on wildlife and plant species already at risk, while supporting compatible development of housing. A few examples include:
• Wildlife tunnels under highways allowing safe passage;
• Increased awareness about negative impacts of free-ranging cats and other pets; and
• Clustered housing developments that incorporate environmental considerations and help maintain open space.
• This report updates methodology and findings of a previous Forests on the Edge study of development impacts on at-risk species habitats.

You can view the report here.