The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) this week released their 2001 Candidate Notice of Review, listing plants and animals that may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Notice, which was last revised two years ago, is comprised of 252 species, 26 of which are new. The Notice also lists the 35 domestic animals and plants proposed to add to the list of endangered and...

From Conservation International, this Biodiversity Hotspots site (first reported on in the October 18, 2002 NSDL Scout Report for Life Sciences) "was re-launched in 2005 with completely updated information as presented in the new book _Hotspots Revisited_." The updated Hotspots website features profiles of more than 30 ecologically important areas of the world. Hotspots are categorized under five...

The US Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species Program web pages are highlighted by a list of endangered species in the US. This list is available by state and type of animal or plant. There is also a foreign species index. Links from selected species lead to more information about those species, including photos or reports. The site also contains a copy of the Endangered Species Act of...

NatureServe Explorer is "a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals, and ecological communities of the United States and Canada." NatureServe Explorer offers a quick and convenient way to get detailed information on the conservation status, geographic distribution, taxonomy, and natural history for species of interest. NatureServe Explorer, a combined...

Associated with the state of Oklahoma and the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma, this Web site provides a wealth of information on the flora, fauna, and ecological communities found throughout the state. The site offers a variety of databases and literature collections on a variety of subjects including rare species, woody plants, breeding birds, and much more. The site is...

Because of its large number of endemic species and rapid rate of habitat destruction, the Republic of Georgia is a biodiversity hot spot. In collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Institute of Botany and the Botanical Garden of the Georgian Academy of Sciences has compiled this list of 1200 at-risk species, arranged alphabetically by family. Information on habitat and geographic...

The staff of the Wisconsin State Herbarium have created this excellent online resource for exploring the world of vascular plants in Wisconsin, complete with several helpful finding aids to navigate the collection. Based on decades of research (including the ground breaking work of John Curtis), visitors can search for plants by name, habitat, status, and county. Also, visitors to the site can...