Protecting Wildlife Diversity

LDWF’s Wildlife Diversity Program is responsible for conserving:

• Louisiana's rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species and nongame birds
• Louisiana's natural communities

Program staff conduct, guide, fund, and facilitate research, monitoring, and inventory of Species of Greatest Conservation Need and their associated habitats as identified in LDWF's State Wildlife Action Plan (PDF).

The Wildlife Diversity Program maintains a geospatial database of these species and habitats. These data are vital for reviewing proposed construction projects to determine potential adverse impacts to the environment and providing guidance to prevent, minimize, or mitigate such impacts. Researchers and other conservation professionals also request data from the program to inform scientific studies or restoration projects.

• Request an LDWF wildlife diversity project review or digital data

Program staff continuously update this database with both new occurrences and new information on existing records. So far, program staff have compiled more than 10,000 occurrence records of rare, threatened, and endangered species, unique natural communities, and other distinct elements of natural diversity and identified more than 350 ecologically significant sites statewide. Although the database is extensive, many natural areas in the state have not been surveyed, and we welcome insight from the public on previously unknown natural areas or elements.

• Learn more about Louisiana's rare, threatened, and endangered species  and its natural communities
• Report a rare species or natural community (PDF)

The Wildlife Diversity Program also helps landowners identify, restore, and protect unique natural elements on their properties through the Natural Areas Registry.

Contact Us

To most efficiently address Louisiana’s diverse conservation challenges, the Wildlife Diversity Program employs taxonomic experts from several fields - botany, mammology, herpetology, ornithology, and others - as well as experts in data management. These staff members use their extensive knowledge to determine and prioritize beneficial management actions and regularly inform state, regional, and national conservation planning efforts.

LDWF’s Wildlife Diversity Program is a proud collaborator with NatureServe, which compiles, synthesizes, and disseminates standardized, detailed information on biological diversity across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.