The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' (NEAFWA) Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee comprises representatives responsible for managing fish and wildlife diversity programs in each of the 13 northeastern U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and has been meeting since 1986. The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is a regional association of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) in the United States and Canada.
The Northeast Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee has been compiling a list of species representing the shared conservation priorities of Northeast states since the 1990s and published its first list in 1999. The Northeast Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) list is updated every five years, with the most recent list update in 2023.
In 2007, Northeast states resolved to pool 4% of their State Wildlife Grant funds to create the Regional Conservation Needs Grant Program, administered by the Wildlife Management Institute. The grant program has funded a wide range of projects, including the first climate vulnerability assessments for the region, habitat classification systems and assessments, conservation plans, best management practices for conservation actions, and regional status assessments for several species and taxonomic groups like dragonflies, wetland butterflies, frogs, tiger beetles, and stoneflies.