EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
wildlife, fisheries and museum biologists, an Expert Team of 46 biologists from around the state and
region, a Steering Committee of MDWFP management and a large working stakeholder group called
the Advisory Committee which included 179 active members. This document was strengthened greatly
by the input, participation and feedback of stakeholders across the state.
- Information on the distribution and abundance of species of wildlife, including low and
declining populations as the State fish and wildlife agency deems appropriate, that are
indicative of the diversity and health of the State's wildlife.
Mississippi's Natural Heritage Program (NHP) at the MMNS is
one of the oldest in the country. They maintain a database of
approximately 1,500 species of animals and house a significant
amount of long-term data on many tracked species. NHP's list
of Animals of Special Concern was used as the foundation for
developing the Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)
for Mississippi's CWCS which includes 18 amphibians, 70
birds, 34 crustaceans, 74 fish, 17 mammals, 49 mussels and 35
reptiles for a total of 297 SGCN. The Expert Team of scientists
with knowledge of these declining species were also enlisted via an evaluation survey to help identify
these species, their habitat preferences, the greatest problems facing these species and potential
conservation actions needed to abate those problems or "threats." SGCN were also assigned a Tier
ranking (I - IV) based on their degree of imperilment. Some animal groups were not included in this first
CWCS version such as gastropods, insects, marine fish and marine invertebrates which were deemed
insufficiently well-known to warrant a status evaluation comparable to that of the other species groups.
But their exclusion does not indicate the absence of conservation concern, and plans have been made to
identify species of concern from these groups and to include them in future iterations. Further survey
work will be needed to accomplish this.
2) Descriptions of locations and relative condition of key habitats and community types essential
to conservation of SGCN.The Expert Team, the Technical and Advisory Committees also identified and prioritized the habitats
and ecological communities for SGCN using a survey instrument. Associating SGCN to their habitats
and communities guided the process of prioritizing conservation actions to be taken on a landscape level
for an assemblage of species versus single species. The NHP's Ecological Community List was
simplified and used to expedite the process of associating SGCN with their habitats and communities.
For the purposes of this CWCS, the current list of 159 ecological communities was combined into 17
broad habitat types and 64 subtypes generally organized on the basis of land type, vegetation and the
availability of moisture. Within the 17 habitat types, 64 subtypes were further defined by factors