Landscape assessment of the degree of protection of Alaska's terrestrial biodiversity

We assessed the degree to which Alaskan lands reflect the state's biodivers ity by dividing the entire state into four categories of land protection ra nging from highly protected to minimally protected in terms of potential fo r future development. We then compared the percentage of each ecoregion and plant-cover type in each land protection class. We assumed that 12% protec tion represents an acceptable minimum and examined the percentage of site r ecords of rare plants in protected and unprotected areas. Of 28 ecoregions in Alaska, 15 (63.4%) have <12% of their area in highly protected areas. Si milarly, 11 of 21 vegetation-cover types (43.7%) have <12% protection. For 32 rare vascular plants, an average of 27% of records occur on highly prote cted lands. Seventy-five percent of the rare plants had <50% of their recor ds from highly protected lands. Less than 1% of Alaska has been permanently altered by human activity. In contrast to the lower 48 states, times remai ns to plan development that preserves biodiversity while permitting an econ omically sustainable economy-if the effort is made now.