Newsletter of the Mycological Society of America The Global Fungal Red List Initiative

Fungal conservation is not yet commonly discussed, consid-ered, or acted upon by the mycological community. Not coinci-dently, fungi are rarely included in broader conservation discus-sions, policy decisions, or land management plans. However, species of fungi are not immune to the threats that put species of animals and plants at risk. Fungal species are threated by habitat loss, loss of symbiotic hosts, pollution, over exploitation, and cli-mate change, but the conservation status of the vast majority of fungal species has not been assessed. Over 21,000 animal, fungal, and plant species are globally red-listed (IUCN 2013). However, only one macrofungus and two lichenized fungi are included in that list. This is despite the fact that approximately 5000 macrofungi, 1000 lichenized fungi, and some species of other fungal groups are included in individual country red-lists. In the USA, 4268 species (mostly lichenize