United States Biosphere Network

Connecting people and nature to inspire a positive future

Usbn Logo Logomark ColorThe US Biosphere Network (USBN) is made up of 28 internationally recognized places across the continental United States, the US Caribbean, Alaska, and Hawai’i called biosphere regions.

Communities and organizations work together in biosphere regions to connect people and nature, from deserts to forests, grasslands to rivers, and mountains to oceans and coasts. Our vision is a healthy global environment where people and communities prosper through shared knowledge and stewardship of the benefits and beauty of nature.

 
Working Together to Improve Livelihoods and Sustain Nature

Rocky Mountain Biosphere Region Colorado Our environment is undergoing rapid change. The natural world and local economies can thrive if we work together to sustain them. Biosphere regions are designed for people and organizations to work at regional scales to enhance the well-being of people and the environment. 

Our quality of life, cultural heritage, and unique communities depend on the essential services that nature provides. Productive soils for farming, clean water for drinking and fisheries, public lands for outdoor recreation and wildlife, natural floodplains for flood control and carbon sequestration—all of these benefits derive from healthy lands, air, and water. Biosphere regions offer ways for people and organizations to maintain these vital environmental and economic benefits.

Biosphere regions are voluntary and nonregulatory in their approach. Although they include state and national parks, national forests, national marine sanctuaries, and other conservation areas, they also focus on partnerships with private landowners and local communities where people live and work.

Together these special places provide tremendous biodiversity and economic values to communities and the nation.


USBN 2024 Year In Review

USBN 2024 Year in Review

“Your collective efforts exemplify the profound potential of biosphere regions where nature, culture, and community converge. In 2024, the USBN advanced its mission through a series of impactful initiatives, from expanding participatory governance models to integrating cutting-edge science in ecosystem management. Together, we are addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time—biodiversity loss and fragmentation, climate change, and equitable and just access and management at the landscape level.” Read the Year in Review report


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USBN Workshop SeriesWorkshop Series

The USBN Workshop Series, Designing Our Next Decade, kicks off on September 26, 2024. The series will aim to empower leaders to drive collaborative conservation efforts while enhancing socioeconomic well-being in biosphere regions. Learn more & register


Usbn Biosphere BitesBiosphere Bites

The US Biosphere Network hosts virtual, 30-minute “Biosphere Bites” talks every other week on ZOOM to give biosphere regions and anyone interested in collaborative conservation an opportunity to share knowledge, ideas, and resources across our national and international networks. Learn more


US Biosphere Region Map 2022
Click to view map and list of US Biosphere Regions.

Support the USBN

In 2022, the US Biosphere Network became a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, expanding the Network’s capacity to achieve its mission to foster local, national and international connections within and among biosphere regions, to facilitate their sharing of best practices, and to support the network partners’ efforts to connect people with nature, conserve biodiversity and natural systems, encourage sustainable economies, and include diverse regional cultures and identities.

You can play an important role in this effort by making a donation to the Center and designating your gift to the US Biosphere Network.

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Watch more videos about US Biosphere regions here!

Photos, top to bottom: Banner – Denali National Park/Biosphere Region – NPS/Jacob W. Frank; Rocky Mountain Biosphere Region, Colorado – NPS Photo.

 

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