NatureServe

^{NatureServe is a non-profit conservation organization whose mission is to provide the scientific basis for effective conservation action.}

• ^{NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs are the leading source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems in the Americas.}

• ^{NatureServe represents an international network of biological inventories—known as natural heritage programs or conservation data centers—operating in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.}
• ^{NatureServe collects and manages detailed local information on plants, animals, and ecosystems.}
• ^{It also develops information products, data management tools, and conservation services to help meet local, national, and global conservation needs. The information about species and ecosystems developed by NatureServe is used by many sectors of society—conservation groups, government agencies, corporations, academia, and the public—to make informed decisions about managing our natural resources.}

^{NatureServe is an IUCN Red List partner[1] and, along with its member programs and collaborators, use a suite of factors to assess the conservation status of plant, animal, and fungal species, as well as ecological communities and systems.}

• ^{These assessments lead to the designation of a NatureServe conservation status rank.}
•  ^{These ranks are a valuable resource for government agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and others responsible for administration of state and provincial species conservation laws[.}

^{NatureServe Explorer is an online database that is a source for information on more than 70,000 plants, animals, and ecosystems of the United States and Canada.[2] NatureServe Explorer includes particularly in-depth coverage for rare and endangered species.
In the United States, NatureServe maintains the National Vegetation Classification Standard for the United States as well as the International Classification of Ecological Communities, currently focused on the Western Hemisphere.}