About WYNDD

Mission     History     Funding     Data Sources     Advisory Committee     Clients

Botany    Ecology    Zoology

WYNDD banner photo by Kenneth L. Driese

Mission

The Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD) is a service and research unit of the University of Wyoming that maintains a comprehensive database on the distribution and ecology of rare plants, rare animals, and important plant communities in Wyoming. WYNDD distributes this information upon request under the philosophy that the best decisions regarding natural resources will be made only when everyone has access to complete and current scientific data.

WYNDD data, analyses, and staff expertise contribute to effective strategies of natural resource management and more efficient compliance with environmental regulations. WYNDD field research is a critical source of new data on Wyoming's rare and vulnerable species and exemplary plant communities.

WYNDD is a member of a network of similar programs established throughout North America. Each program in the network uses the same database methodology and software, and receives technical support from a coordinating organization known as NatureServe. Together, NatureServe and its network of natural heritage programs are the most complete source of information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems. (back to top)

History

In the 1970s, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) began to build a state-by-state network of programs (generically referred to as "state natural heritage programs") dedicated to developing credible, objective information on vegetation types and rare species in North America. Each program was to employ professional biologists familiar with the biota of their state, and was to use a common methodology to evaluate, store, and disseminate biological data. Once a program became well established, TNC would turn over direction of the program to the state government.

The Wyoming program, known originally as the "Wyoming Natural Heritage Program", was established in 1979 and was housed in the offices of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The program was later renamed the "Wyoming Natural Diversity Database" and relocated to the Botany Department at the University of Wyoming, but it remained under the direction of TNC.

Through legislative action, WYNDD became a research and service unit of the University of Wyoming, under the direction of the Vice President for Research, on 1 July 1998.

To ensure that it remains part of a coordinated network of state programs, WYNDD stays in constant communication and consultation with similar programs in other states and regions. (back to top)

Funding

About 25% of the cost of maintaining and developing the central databases at WYNDD is provided by the state of Wyoming via the biennial block grant to the University of Wyoming. WYNDD covers the remaining costs through data request fees, contracts, and cost-share projects with outside agencies. (back to top)

Data Sources

A major advantage provided to Wyoming by WYNDD is the centralization of Wyoming-specific information from disparate sources into one complete and easily accessible database. WYNDD collects data on the distribution and biology of vegetation, plants, and animals in Wyoming from a wide variety of reliable sources. These include herbaria (e.g., Rocky Mountain Herbarium, New York Botanical Garden), museums (e.g., University of Kansas Vertebrate Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science), agency reports and databases (e.g., Wyoming Game and Fish Department Wildlife Observation System, Yellowstone National Park Rare Animal Database), published and unpublished scientific literature, consultant datasets and reports, observations by agency and academic biologists, and field surveys performed by WYNDD biologists.

Most of WYNDD's records of locations of rare species and vegetation communities come from other biologists working in the field, and typically reside in various publicly accessible sources. These are supplemented by records from field surveys and inventories performed by WYNDD staff that specifically address questions of distribution, abundance, and status of high-priority species. (back to top)

Advisory Committee

In 1999 WYNDD established a 14-member Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of the mineral and utility industries, agriculture, state and county governments, federal land management agencies, private environmental consultants, TNC, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Committee members provide advice and guidance to WYNDD, and serve as ambassadors between WYNDD and the members' industries and clients. WYNDD meets formally with the Committee annually, and is in monthly contact with individual members. (back to top)

Clients

Clients include over 150 private consulting companies, non-profit organizations, private landowners, independent and academic researchers, and various agencies including:

University of Wyoming
USDA Forest Service
USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
USDI Bureau of Land Management
USDI Bureau of Reclamation
USDI Fish and Wildlife Service
USDI Geological Survey
USDI National Park Service
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Wind River Indian Reservation
Wyoming Conservation Districts
Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service
Wyoming Counties
Wyoming Department of Transportation
Wyoming Game and Fish Department
Wyoming State Legislature
Wyoming Stockgrowers Association

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