State Wildlife Action Plan

California's distinctive topography and climate have given rise to a remarkable diversity of habitats that support a multitude of plant and animal species. In fact, California has more species than any other state in the U.S. and has the greatest number of species that occur nowhere else in the world. Many of the places where wildlife thrive are the same as those valued for recreation and other human activities. To ensure a sustainable future for wildlife - and the enjoyment of wildlife by generations to come - there is a need for a collaborative approach to conservation.

California's State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP 2025) examines the health of wildlife and prescribes actions to conserve wildlife and vital habitat before they become more rare and more costly to protect. The SWAP promotes wildlife conservation while addressing the needs of a growing human population. SWAP is a guide for collaborative conservation that benefits all Californians.

SWAP 2025 Information and Resources

California's update to the SWAP was released on October 1, 2025. SWAP 2025 was developed with guidance from 100's of subject matter experts within CDFW and input from conservation partners, Tribes, and the members of the public. SWAP updates are required every 10 years to remain eligible for federal State Wildlife Grant funding. The last revision to the SWAP was in 2015 (see Archive page). To make the SWAP content easier to navigate and the information more accessible, CDFW has migrated the content on to its own website, the SWAP Hub.

• NEW SWAP Hub
• SWAP 2025 (PDF)
• SWAP Companion Plans
• SWAP Factsheet(PDF)

Species of Greatest Conservation Need

The Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) criteria, SGCN lists, cross reference tables to SWAP conservation targets are provided in SWAP 2025 Chapter 2 and Appendix C. Searchable and sortable tables of SGCN information can be found on the SWAP Hub. Additional information, including available range maps, can be viewed in SWAP Data Explorer. The SGCN list can be printed from these platforms. Updates to the SGCN will be published annually and summarized in a blog post.

State Wildlife Grant Program

CDFW uses U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's State Wildlife Grant (SWG) funds to develop and implement its SWAP and support wildlife conservation projects around the State. Projects funded with SWG funds must connect to the SWAP, whether it's to benefit a species or to implement a SWAP goal, conservation target, or conservation strategy.

To learn more, visit the CDFW SWG webpage and the SWAP Hub. To explore several SWG-funded projects that implement the SWAP, visit the SWAP Conservation Success Stories (a StoryMap).