Gap Analysis: A Geographic Approach to Planning for Biological Diversity


by
J. Michael Scott
Edward T. LaRoe
Michael D. Jennings
National Biological Service
The Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is an approach to protecting the nation's biological diversity based on a collaborative effort among citizens, businesses, nonprofit groups, universities, and local, state, and federal agencies. More than anything, GAP is a method of developing information about biological diversity that will enable individuals, planners, managers, and policy makers to make informed decisions. Species and habitats not adequately represented within conservation areas constitute gaps in programs meant to prevent species from becoming extinct. By providing information before extinction crises, GAP seeks proactive rather than reactive solutions.
The questions that GAP asks are: How can we prevent the components of biological diversity from becoming endangered with extinction before they reach social and economic crises? What is the present conservation status of all species and their habitats, not just those currently endangered?
To answer these questions on a state-by-state basis, people with expertise in geography, sociology, economics, zoology, botany, statistics, and ecology cooperate in mapping the distributions of dominant natural vegetation (as habitat types), and the distributions of each vertebrate species. Nationwide standards are used so that the maps of one state will fit with the maps of adjacent states. Because these maps are standardized across the United States, yet based on state and local information, they provide a critical framework for ecosystem management that is integrated across the private and public sectors. For example, these maps help define areas with the highest species diversity as well as how these areas match up with present conservation areas.
In the process of mapping land cover, GAP provides most states not only with computerized maps of existing conditions throughout the state (most for the first time ever), but also with maps of these same conditions across contiguous states, thereby providing context for what occurs within the state. The GAP is not a substitute for detailed studies of any particular site; instead it provides information, focus, and direction for management decisions at the ecosystem level. GAP is now under way in 33 states and consists of more than 200 cooperating organizations nationwide. It is coordinated by the National Biological Service.
For further information:
Gap Analysis Program
National Biological Service
Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife
Research Unit
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83843