WHAT IS "WILDLIFE DIVERSITY?"

When wildlife specialists talk about diversity, they generally refer to one of two things: wildlife species diversity; that is, the number of different kinds of wildlife found in a particular area, or diversity as it pertains to wildlife habitat.

In Idaho, the Department of Fish and Game works to protect, perpetuate and preserve over 10,000 species of fish and wildlife resources, including nongame species that comprise about 98% of Idaho’s biodiversity. From songbirds, raptors, bats, squirrels, frogs, and lizards, to thousands of insects and other invertebrates, as well as Idaho’s native plants, wildlife diversity programs strive to maintain viable, self-sustaining populations of all native wildlife and plants.