The Mid-Atlantic Information Node (MAIN) is intended to be a regional data node encompassing the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington DC. MAIN is housed and maintained by the Conservation Management Institute of Virginia Tech.

The scientific and management community in the region has done a tremendous amount of work resulting in an astounding number and variety of data sets that are typically computerized, but not coordinated in such a way to allow easy integration into the public decision-making process. The mission of the MAIN is to encourage accessibility and appropriate use of such biological resource information throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The MAIN philosophy for addressing the problem focuses heavily upon coordination, cooperation, and communication among the community of professionals that deal with data collection and management in the region. Each data manager has a vested interest in making data as valuable and useful as possible, and the best way to do that is to insure that it can be used by the greatest number of people through adherence to standards that facilitate data sharing and the publications of the information through a widely available, low-cost mechanism such as the world-wide-web.

The major goals of MAIN in its first year will be to