A species-by-species approach to conservation is not often possible due to the overwhelming complexity of life on Earth. Even in the United States we often lack the resources, or at least the will to muster them, to enact conservation strategies individually tailored for many of our threatened and endangered species, much less for species we wish to prevent from becoming endangered. A more pragmatic and efficient approach to conservation focuses on managing groups of species by ensuring an adequate supply of the key resources or habitat elements on which all members of the group depend. This section adopts this approach and provides management recommendations, when possible, for groups of species that share a particular habitat or niche. Atlas results for each of the groups considered in this section are presented in the summary chapter.
