Almost all animals in America can be searched by USGS

A Web-based map with search functionality that contains more than 100 million recorded observations of animal species across the country released by The US Geological Survey (USGS) is a new tool named by Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) for conservationists and anyone that with a passing interest in America’s animal populations.

Observations of Nearly every living species nationwide are included in the tool by professional scientists and amateur naturalists.

BISON’s search functionality allows users to enter in a particular species by its common name("cat") or scientific name ("felis catus"), and if the animal is in the database, the map will display each recorded observation of that animal as a point in the location where it occurred. There are over 10,000 points in Central Park alone, for instance. Clicking on a point pulls up additional information, Such as who made the sighting and the date. Another tab offers a list view of observations, which come from nearly 300 universities, web portals and scientific surveys going back decades. Users can also select additional data layers, including a heat map of species occurrences by county or by state (with more occurrences indicated by darker colors). And views of ecosystems, temperature and soil composition.)

The goal in creating BISON is to further conservation efforts and eco-friendly land-use by the government and citizens.