• Gap Analysis is a scientific means for assessing to what extent native animal and plant species are being protected. It can be done at a state, local, regional, or national level.
• The goal of Gap Analysis is to keep common species common by identifying those species and plant communities that are not adequately represented on existing conservation lands. Common species are those not threatened with extinction. By identifying their habitats, Gap Analysis gives land managers, planners, scientists, and policy makers the information they need to make better-informed decisions when identifying priority areas for conservation
• Gap Analysis came out of the realization that a species-by-species approach to conservation is not effective because it does not address the continual loss and fragmentation of natural landscapes. Only by protecting regions already rich in habitat can we adequately protect the animal species that inhabit them.

For more information on GAP and how it accomplishes its goals, you can read:

• Fact Sheet: GAPServe Empowers GAP Users
• Fact Sheet: Gap Analysis Program Data Help Address State Conservation Priorities
• Fact Sheet: GAP data use in State Wildlife Action Plans
• the Applications of Gap Analysis page
• Landscape Ecology's special edition on GAP

To learn  more visit our Bulletins

The mission of the Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is to provide regional assessments of the conservation status of native vertebrate species and natural land cover types and to facilitate the application of this information to land management activities. This is accomplished through the following five objectives:

1. map the land cover of the United States
2. map predicted distributions of vertebrate species for the U.S.
3. document the representation of vertebrate species and land cover types in areas managed for the long-term maintenance of biodiversity
4. provide this information to the public and those entities charged with land use research, policy, planning, and management
5. build institutional cooperation in the application of this information to state and regional management activities.

GAP is conducted as regional- and state-level projects and is coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Discipline (BRD). It is a cooperative effort among regional, state, and federal agencies, and private groups as well as the BRD functions of inventory, monitoring, research, and information transfer.