The IUPN became the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1956. Today it has a membership of 1,200 governmental and private organizations and coordinates the work of 10,000 or more pro-bono scientists. Although IUCN has global reach, it is not well known in the United States, because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service performs many of the functions undertaken by IUCN elsewhere.
