Conserving biodiversity is essential for the health of Michigan's ecosystems, species populations, and individual plants and animals. It allows them to more easily adapt to changes in their environment, such as changes in climate, loss of habitat, or new diseases.

The DNR has several strategies for conserving biodiversity. The primary strategy at the ecosystem level is contained in the Biodiversity Conservation Planning Process (BCPP) which strives to establish a statewide network of Biodiversity Stewardship Areas (BSAs) that will contain examples of high quality, representative natural communities (or groups of natural communities).

The DNR is in the process of implementing the BCPP on a regional basis. An implementation plan summary and an implementation diagram have been developed to illustrate the process. At the heart of the process is a Core Design Team for each of four ecoregions. These will be collaborative teams composed of DNR staff, and other governmental and public representatives. They are responsible for seeking public input and additional information regarding potential BSAs and then recommending a set of BSAs for their ecoregion that will best achieve the BCPP goal for biodiversity conservation.

Core Design Teams will have many tools and resources available to help them with their deliberations. A preliminary analysis for each ecoregion will be completed that provides a potential set of BSAs for consideration. Community Summary documents for each of the 76 natural communities of Michigan have also been developed for use by Core Design Teams. Additionally, a series of public information gathering workshops have been scheduled in each ecoregion for the purpose of seeking recommendations for specific sites to be considered for inclusion in the network.