Home > About CWCS

The Virginia Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) project began in January of 2004 in response to a federal requirement that all states receiving funding from the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program (WCRP) and the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) submit a comprehensive strategy by October of 2005. Virginia has embraced this opportunity to develop a common vision for wildlife conservation in the Commonwealth. While the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) is the lead agency in this effort, the Strategy will include input from many partners. A core working group within VDGIF is doing the work on the project, and an internal steering committee made up of VDGIF managers and administrators is providing guidance on behalf of the Agency.

The goals of this project is to identify species and habitats in Virginia that are most in need of conservation and to identify strategies for managing and protecting them. Virginia is greatly in need of such a plan-strategy because of its high biodiversity and large number of threatened, endangered, and special concern species and a great variety of habitats.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has issued guidance in the form of the “Eight Required Elements” document. This document spells out what the strategy must include in order for it to be accepted by USFWS. The strategy must include:

• distribution and abundance of wildlife;
• locations and relative condition of key habitats;
• problems that may adversely affect species and habitats;
• conservation actions and priorities;
• plans for monitoring species and habitats and adapting conservation actions accordingly;
• plans to review the strategy every 10 years or less;
• plans for coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies and Indian tribes that manage land and water or administer programs affecting wildlife; and
• broad public participation in its development and implementation.

These elements are all necessary to document the state of wildlife and their habitats in Virginia, develop conservation goals, determine what actions are needed to meet our conservation goals, and finally, to determine whether we are being successful or not. This project is particularly significant because it marks the first time that all states have developed a strategy for wildlife conservation at the same time. It is hoped that these plan/strategies will provide a national picture of the status of wildlife and their habitats across the United States, and show the need for additional funding for conservation.

The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) has also provided guidance for their member states in the form of the “Guiding Principles”. This document provides recommendations for how the planning process should be organized and partnerships developed, what the focus and scope should be, what the content and format should be, and how it should be completed and made available