The Role of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI)

Preserving the natural biodiversity is one of the highest callings we can strive toward.

Thicket of Diversity is a project undertaken by the Big Thicket Association in cooperation with the National Park Service to identify every species of plant and animal living in Big Thicket National Preserve.
- This effort is one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by the Preserve in its history.
- Information gathered from this project will help park managers make decisions necessary to protect critical natural resources from a growing list of threats.
- Your donation to the Thicket of Diversity project not only helps complete this important work in the Preserve, but adds to the scientific knowledge of the region.
Big Thicket Association’s Thicket of Diversity project is educating students and the public about biodiversity.
- By working with students and volunteers, the Thicket of Diversity project fosters a knowledge of science and the natural world that strengthens the individual’s resolve to protect our environment.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

Click photo to enlarge.

The Thicket of Diversity Project in Big Thicket National Preserve is the first comprehensive biological inventory to be undertaken within the region.
- Big Thicket National Preserve is the ideal site for the inventory because it is comprised of almost 100,000 acres of land spread throughout seven counties which serve as a home to a diverse abundance of plants and animals.
- The National Parks Conservation Association listed Big Thicket National Preserve as one of the ten most threatened parks in the nation.
- Big Thicket faces increasing threats from development, oil and gas extraction, and exotic species.
- The Thicket of Diversity ATBI needs to be completed to preserve the greatest number of species “for future generations,” as mandated by the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916.