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Bees in a pollinator garden in the city

Urban Wildlife

The U.S. Forest Service is working across boundaries to deliver science that supports native wildlife habitat and healthy wildlife populations in urban areas.

Urban Wildlife

Worldwide – on land, air, and water – species are in a state of perilous decline. Changes caused by human activity, including urbanization, climate change, and the conversion of forests to cropland, mean there are fewer habitats to support plants and animals. Creating and supporting native habitats in urban areas – in public spaces and your own yard – is essential to combatting biodiversity loss. 

Humans are profoundly reliant on healthy plant and animal populations for our own wellbeing – though we may not even be aware of the many ways this is so. Healthy native plant populations support native pollinators that are critical to sustaining the multi-billion dollar agriculture industry in the United States, including the food you eat. Other flora and fauna help purify air and water, regulate climate, control the spread of pests and diseases, sustain human health and wellbeing, and provide humans with a sense of connection, beauty, and purpose. 

The USDA Forest Service is working across boundaries to deliver science that supports native habitats and wildlife populations in cities and suburbs. Our nation’s forests and grasslands, as well as parks and preserves, are known for sustaining habitats to support healthy plant and wildlife populations. But those spaces and the connectivity among them is limited. Urban and suburban spaces provide habitat and support migratory pathways and stopovers that link populations and places. Landscape connectivity is also critically important as species struggle to adapt to climate change and, in some cases, migrate to more suitable habitats. Our science demonstrates the many ways that urban and suburban areas – including even the simple choices that we make about what to plant and how often to mow our own yards – are critically important to combatting species and biodiversity loss while enhancing people’s quality of life.

Tools for Habitat Suitability

Related Research Projects Across the Forest Service

Managing Urban Greenspaces

Effective management and planning in urban and suburban areas can be complex due to social, economic, cultural, regulatory, and many other factors. While big cities like New York and Chicago may not have many homes with yards, most cities and suburbs actually have a huge amount of land in the form of private property, such as people’s lawns, gardens, and yards. The cumulative impact of what people chose to do on these parcels has huge implications – either positive or negative – for biodiversity. Common yard and turf management practices, like maintaining grass lawns and using pesticides and herbicides, create anemic habitats and greatly reduce biodiversity. On the other hand, planting native trees and plants, converting turf grass to native habitat, and re-examining traditional lawn care approaches, can all support improvements in biodiversity and wildlife population sizes. 

For example, our research has demonstrated that less-frequent mowing (every two weeks) resulted in more lawn flowers and more bees.. Mowing less frequently is a time and cost savings for residents, can help negate habitat loss for pollinators, and reduces carbon emissions compared to weekly mowing.

Last updated January 12, 2024