CHAPTER 1I: APPROACH AND METHODS 26
PRIORITIZATION OF MISSISSIPPI’S
SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED
A four-tiered prioritization of species was developed by the CWCS Technical Committee to determine
where Mississippi’s SGCN rank within the list and aid in evaluating the relative conservation priority of
each species at the current time. This prioritization was also designed to aid in determining the most
critical habitats in Mississippi and to assist in prioritizing conservation approaches in the future. Because
there is no nationally standardized method for states to follow in ranking the conservation need of
species, the Technical Committee developed a system of criteria that can be applied objectively across
the entire range of animal taxa included in this report (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
crustaceans and mussels).
Many criteria used by other states, agencies and conservation organizations were considered; however,
scarcity of data on the status of many species, difficulty in applying criteria to all taxonomic groups, and
the subjective nature of some criteria would have made them difficult to use for the purposes of
MCWCS. Thus, the Technical Committee elected to evaluate species based on seven relatively
objective criteria that can be broadly applied. The ranking system described below is a matrix of seven
evaluation criteria under which each species would receive a score between one (1) and three (3) for the
all criteria except the third and fifth, and a score of one (1) to four (4) for the third and zero (0) or
one (1) for the fifth criterion. The advantage of scoring variables on a three or four point spread is that it
lessens the degree of subjectivity.
DESCRIPTION OF EACH EVALUATION
CRITERION USED TO PRIORITIZE SGCN
A) Nationwide Conservation Priority Rank (www.natureserve.org) 1 – 3 points
The network of State Natural Heritage Inventory Programs ranks all species on a scale of G1
through G5 with G1 species being the most imperiled and G5 species being the most secure. The
Heritage Ranking incorporates several aspects of a species’ status including the number of known
populations, the degree of threats to the species, the species’ population trend and the degree of
uncertainty regarding the species' status. Each species’ NHP Global Rank (GRANK) is identical
across its range in the United States and can be obtained from the NatureServe Website -
http://www.natureserve.org.
3 points - Species has a Global Heritage Rank of G1 or G2
2 points - Species has a Global Heritage Rank of G3 or G4
1 point - Species has a Global Heritage Rank of G5B) Eligibility of Species to Receive Other Sources of Federal Aid Funding 1 – 3 points
One of the selling points used to develop support for the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) program in