This pilot implementation of a Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) national data portal serves as an access point to U.S. species occurrence data contributed to GBIF. Users can access millions of primary records of plant and animal species found in the United States and Canada. The information system builds on citizen science as well as professional science activities.

Users can query species by name, range, state, county, or data record provider. GBIF displays search results in lists and in interactive map formats, and each species occurrence point can be clicked to find more information about who provided or collected the data. Users can also draw a boundary around an area of interest, down to small areas such as parks, and find the species occurences that have been reported in that area. For instance, New York City's Central Park has more than 100,000 "species occurrences" recorded in GBIF, with each species noted in detail. Other GBIF search options include querying the species by scientific or common name, year range, state, county, basis of record, or provider institution. The Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON) project provided the foundation for the current implementation of GBIF-US.