TMN Tuesday: State Wildlife Action Plan: How You Can Shape Wildlife and Habitat Conservation in Texas

Kelly Simon – TPWD Conservation Strategy Coordinator

Texas Parks & Wildlife has launched a fully online State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) app that helps turn complex species and habitat data into clear next steps for research and on-the-ground implementation. Key features of the app are the Species Explorer, Knowledge Gap Analysis (KGA) Conservation Opportunity Area (COA) geospatial model, and the SWAP Workbench.

The KGA sorts Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) into two practical buckets: Conservation Focus (good candidates for implementation) and Research Focus (species where specific information gaps need to be filled) based on the number and severity of gaps in critical conservation knowledge. The Species Explorer lets you find species based on criteria you select. The COA maps and highlights places where multiple rare species overlap and where study or conservation work can be most beneficial, and the SWAP Workbench gives valued partners and staff the ability to fill in data gaps and update existing information.

In this demo, we’ll walk through the app’s species pages, KGA summaries, linked threat and action pairs, and maps to see how they work together to: 1) surface strong project ideas, 2) strengthen proposals for State Wildlife Grants and other nongame/rare-species funding, and 3) contribute directly in the app to ensure our information is complete and updated. Whether you’re designing a study, planning implementation, or want to contribute information, the SWAP app offers a straightforward way to match your work with Texas’ highest conservation priorities.