Impactful conservation is equal parts broad strategy and targeted implementation—it’s a coordinated effort so we can reverse the trend on species declines and extinctions before it’s too late. The connection between national strategy and local implementation is critical, yet coordination is exceedingly rare in the world of environmental conservation.

At ARC, we translate our global priorities into action at a local level. By focusing on Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas (PARCAs), we can align ourselves with a larger strategy and ensure that none of our on-the-ground conservation is done in vain.

PARCAs or Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas are the most important areas to amphibian and reptile conservation in the United States. ARC is dedicated to this place-based approach, which maximizes our conservation impact for not only amphibians and reptiles, but also other biodiversity and ecosystem functions. By focusing on PARCAs, we can create concrete plans in alignment with other conservation efforts and begin rebuilding ecosystems one species at a time.

We focus on three main aspects of on-the-ground species conservation:

1. 1. Population discovery, inventory and monitoring.
      It’s hard to believe that in our era of digital maps, there’s very little knowledge of exactly where to find even the most common species. Our work often begins with identifying exactly where a rare species is on the landscape and how many individuals and populations there are in an area.
   2. Research and investigation.
      Why is a species rare? Why is it declining? These are fundamental questions that must be answered before we can make an impact. ARC’s scientific expertise plays an important role in evaluating what’s going wrong.
   3. Active conservation.
      Once we identify our challenges and what needs to be done, we roll up our sleeves to begin restoring habitats, ecosystems, and populations through a number of impactful actions.