“This authoritative report is what both the public and policymakers most need. Factual, comprehensive, balanced, and written in minimally technical language, it documents point by point what is known about America’s ecosystems, what is not yet known (but should be), and the many reasons why the information is important to the nation’s environmental future.”

—Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University

“Reliable, high-quality information about the state of our environment forms a foundation for our ability to make sound public policy, and for Americans to assess our progress and chart our course of action in the years ahead. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems is an outstanding contribution to this effort, providing valuable information for both policymakers and concerned citizens who want to know what we’ve accomplished and what we still need to do.”

—James L. Connaughton, Chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality

“Simply put, if we are to succeed in creating sustainable societies, we need to understand how the natural ecosystems on which they depend are faring. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems is an excellent model for identifying what decision makers and the public need to know about the condition of ecosystems and their benefits to society. This book takes a clear-eyed approach to evaluating whether that information is available, and, in doing so, highlights what we know and what we don't know. This report is required reading for business, environmental, and policy leaders. Regular updates are a must.”

—Timothy Wirth, President, The United Nations Foundation, former U.S. Senator and former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs

“Americans of all political stripes overwhelmingly support laws and policies that protect our environment. Yet, inexplicably, we don't now have a regular, credible means of assessing our progress. Are our lakes and rivers cleaner? Are native wildlife disappearing? Are wildfires consuming more of our forests and grasslands? The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems meets this need by taking the pulse of our nation’s environment. It provides policymakers and citizens with a set of unbiased indicators on the condition of nature and the resources we are working hard to protect.”

—William K. Reilly, President and CEO of Aqua International Partners, Chairman of the Board and former President of World Wildlife Fund, and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

“Solid data on environmental trends are surprisingly scarce, and The Heinz Center deserves everyone’s gratitude for its serious and systematic effort to discover what we know and don’t know about the condition of U.S. ecosystems. The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems won’t end every argument, and will probably start some new ones, but it will be an important baseline to consult as we decide where to go from here.”

—Steven Hayward, F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow, American Enterprise Institute