New York DEC finalizes latest State Wildlife Action Plan

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Amanda Lefton today announced that the New York State Wildlife Action Plan for 2025–2035 is now finalized.

The State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) guides conservation and management actions for New York’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and is a requirement for New York to participate in the federally funded State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program.

To remain eligible for federal funding, Congress requires states and territories to develop a SWAP and update it every 10 years.

SGCN are species native to and extant in New York that are currently experiencing threats likely to result in further decline of their populations in the state if conservation actions are not implemented within the next 10 years.

States may only spend grant funds on SGCN identified in their SWAP.

“The State Wildlife Action Plan serves as DEC’s guiding document for managing and conserving species and habitats before they become too rare or costly to restore,” said Commissioner Amanda Lefton.

“This action plan reflects more than two years of review and coordination between DEC, partners, and stakeholders to identify our state’s species in greatest need of protection and develop strategies and actions to address threats and promote healthy populations.”

In revising the SWAP, 920 wildlife species were assessed, including all SGCN from the 2015 SWAP and 441 additional species. Important habitats, population trends, and the presence of threats were identified for each species. These assessments resulted in designating a total of 570 wildlife species as SGCN, 147 of which are considered High-Priority SGCN. New for this revision, the SWAP also identifies 269 plants as SGCN.

The final, approved 2025 SWAP, updated SGCN list, and Species Status Assessments are available to download from DEC’s website.

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