Habitat Conservation
Credit: USFWS
Habitat is a
combination of environmental factors that provides food, water, cover and space
that a living thing needs to survive and reproduce. Habitat types include: coastal and estuarine,
rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, wetlands, riparian areas, deserts,
grasslands/prairie, forests, coral reefs, marine, perennial snow and ice, and
urban.
Destruction, degradation,
and fragmentation of habitat is the driving force behind today's decline in
species and biodiversity. Impacts to habitat can be caused directly by such
activities as the clearing of forests to grow crops or build homes, or
indirectly, for example, by the introduction of invasive species or increased
pollution run-off from yards and fields. It is the mission of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish,
wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the
American people.
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