Wildlife Action Plans

Blueprints for Preventing Wildlife from Becoming Endangered

Wildlife action plans are comprehensive plans developed by state wildlife agencies to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. The action plans were mandated by Congress in 2000 as a requirement for states to receive funding from the federal State Wildlife Grants program and the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.  

But the wildlife action plans are so much more than “plans.” By assessing what needs to be done to conserve fish, wildlife and habitat in every state, they lay out a bold vision for conservation, guiding the work of the state wildlife agencies and providing a platform for collaboration with other conservation partners. Taken as a whole, they provide a blueprint for recovering and conserving America’s wildlife.

Wildlife action plans are required to include eight core elements that collectively lay out a science-based blueprint for conservation:

  • Status of wildlife and identification of species of greatest conservation need (SGCN).
  •  Location and condition of habitats essential to species.
  • Threats and the research needs or data gaps.
  • Conservation actions to conserve species and habitats
  • Plans for monitoring and evaluation.
  • All of these scientific planning elements are required to be grounded in robust public participation, stakeholder engagement, and coordination with other state, federal, and tribal agencies.

Key Resources & Fact Sheets

Links to Every Wildlife Action Plan (via AFWA)
NWF Recovering America's Wildlife Act Toolkit
Elements for Great Wildlife Action Plans

The most effective wildlife action plans contain the following as part of their approach to the eight required plan elements. The 2025 revision of the wildlife action plan is a great opportunity to make sure that your state wildlife action plan contain these key elements:

❑ Comprehensive Representation of Biological Diversity – The Species of Greatest Conservation Need addressed by the wildlife action plan should include plants and insects.

❑ Inclusion of Climate Change – The wildlife action plan should assess the impact of climate change/extreme weather and include actions aimed at mitigation and/or resilience as well as addressing data gaps.

❑ Urban/Suburban Conservation Programs – The conservation actions should include activities in urban and suburban areas, like pollinator gardens, stream restoration, and habitat in developed areas.

❑ Education and Recreation Actions – Including education programs and recreation management alongside traditional conservation strategies can help broaden engagement and public support.

❑ Prioritization of Conservation Actions – the wildlife action plan should provide a meaningful guidance on the importance and urgency of specific conservation actions rather than just a list of everything possible.

❑ Inclusive Public Involvement – Public participation efforts should go beyond standard administrative procedures. Agencies should reach out to diverse user groups and interests and reach out to people and communities that have historically been marginalized by state conservation agencies.

❑ Consultation with Tribes – In developing the wildlife action plan, the state agency should engage with tribal nations (as sovereign governments with natural resource management authority, not just as another stakeholder.)

❑ Implementation Cost Projections/Budget – the agency should project the cost of implementing priority conservation actions to support funding proposals.

❑ Regional Collaboration – The wildlife action plan should include linkages to regional planning efforts and collaboration with neighboring states.