A Decision Support Framework for Conservation Introductions

Climate change is rapidly altering ecosystems. Plants and animals vary in their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change , with many already facing increased risk of extinction as ecosystem change outpaces species’ ability to adapt. 

Climate change can also amplify threats to wildlife and ecosystems by exacerbating habitat loss, disease prevalence, and the spread of invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species . In the face of these impacts, the conservation community faces increasingly challenging conservation decisions to preserve biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.

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While there are many tools available for conservation practitioners to use in their work, conservation introduction is one that can be controversial. Conservation introduction is the intentional movement and release or outplanting of a species outside its indigenous range for the purpose of conservation. It is one strategy that can be used when conservation practitioners are working to:

1. Prevent extinction of a species or extirpation of a population or populations
2. Re-establish an ecological function lost through extinction, or
3. Direct ecological change toward a state that better supports conservation goals in an ecosystem undergoing transformation.

The decision whether or not to pursue conservation introduction is a complex process. Pacific Region U.S Fish and Wildlife staff expressed a need for clear guidance on how to evaluate its use as a management tool and under what circumstances it should be employed. 

Conservation Introduction Question and Answer

In response, the USFWS developed the Decision Support Framework for Conservation Introductions (framework). The framework is a tool to help conservation practitioners make inclusive, transparent, and defensible decisions about when to use conservation introductions as a strategy to achieve conservation goals.

This non-regulatory framework was developed with input from a wide range of partners and USFWS personnel across the Pacific Islands and Pacific Northwest. The framework was specifically developed for use by the USFWS in the Pacific Region. However, others, such as states, territories, or Tribes considering a conservation introduction, are welcome to use this framework to aid their conservation decisions, whether or not the USFWS is involved.