The Forest Service and NatureServe, a nonprofit conservation group, signed an agreement Dec. 12 to work together to conserve national forests and grasslands.

“The Forest Service relies daily on the scientific data, information management tools and conservation services provided by NatureServe and its affiliated state natural heritage programs,” said Dale Bosworth, chief of the Forest Service. “Partnerships with organizations such as NatureServe allow the Forest Service to do more of the important conservation work that benefits the public.”

NatureServe has developed a nationally consistent vegetation classification that is used by the Forest Service to assist resource management at a number of national forests. The two organizations are currently working to link this classification with the Forest Service's forest inventory and analysis program to help provide a better understanding of the changing nature of the nation's forest ecosystems, according to the USDA.

The Forest Service has helped support the development of the NatureServe Explorer Web site www.natureserve.org/explorer, an online database with detailed conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communities. The site is a tool to manage wildlife resources, and is widely used by government agencies, conservationist and students.