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Layer: Natural Heritage Areas (ID: 0)

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Name: Natural Heritage Areas

Display Field: site_name

Type: Feature Layer

Geometry Type: esriGeometryPolygon

Description: <span style>The Natural Heritage Area Public Data feature service is a product of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP). PNHP collects information on the location and status of important ecological resources in the state, which includes tracking the plants, plant communities, vertebrates, and select invertebrates of concern across Pennsylvania. PNHP does not regularly monitor the population of every species in Pennsylvania, but focuses their efforts on rare species and communities. Most of the Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) have been created or updated as a part of the PNHP County Natural Heritage Inventory (CNHI) effort. To learn more about the County Natural Heritage Inventory and view CNHI reports, </span><a href="https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/inventories.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a><span style>. </span><div style><br /></div><div style><b>What is a Natural Heritage Area?</b></div><div style>A Natural Heritage Area (NHA) is a specific geographic area containing one or more of the tracked species or natural communities of conservation concern in Pennsylvania. NHAs simplify biodiversity information, by grouping mapped species’ occurrences into units that can be more easily used for conservation planning purposes. The geographic extent of an NHA consists of the essential habitat area which hosts the species or communities of concern and can absorb very little activity or disturbance without substantial impact to the natural features. The geographic area of the NHA depends on a variety of factors, like the distribution of the population or species of concern, the amount of land required to meet their biological needs, current patterns of land use, suitable habitat extent, and species sensitivity to human activities. PNHP biologists determine the size and shape of these habitat areas, based on these factors, for each known species and community occurrence in Pennsylvania.</div><div style><br /></div><div style><b>Interpreting Natural Heritage Area Data</b></div><div style>Accompanying most NHAs is a descriptive site account that includes a species list, site description, threats and recommendations summary, and specific threats and recommendations bullet points. These site accounts are compiled and written by PNHP biologists to make biodiversity data more accessible and immediately useful for planners, managers, educators, and the general public. If available, the site account information can be accessed for individual NHAs through the Site Account PDF URL in the attribute table of the Natural Heritage Areas feature layer. In addition to the Site Account PDF, the attribute table of the Natural Heritage Area feature layer includes several key columns which are likely to be useful when using these data for projects.</div><div style><ul><li>The <b>Site Type</b> field describes the type of NHA. <b>NHA - Current</b> are those NHAs that include one or more extant tracked species or natural communities of conservation concern. <b>NHA - Historic</b> are those NHAs that may have once included extant tracked species or natural communities or were once areas of biodiversity interest that qualified as an NHA. Although these historic NHAs may no longer have extant tracked species or natural communities of conservation concern, they may include locally valuable sites or nice examples of more common plant communities and we include them for legacy purposes. <b>Species of Unusual Spatial Need (SUSNs)</b> include broader range maps for tracked species of concern that have sensitivity concerns or spatial needs that disallow their inclusion in the mapped boundaries of individual NHAs. In the place of site information, SUSNs include a description summary and conservation threats and recommendations specific to the species that can be applied for known locations of the species.</li><li>The <b>Significance Rank</b> field describes the conservation importance of each individual NHA, based on the numbers and identities of species and communities present there, as well as the quality of these occurrences. Sites of <b>Local </b>importance generally contain species or communities which have importance to biological diversity at the county scale, but may not be, as yet, known to contain species of concern or state-significant natural communities. These sites are often recognized because of their relative size, undisturbed character, or proximity to areas of known significance, and may be revisited in the future for further biodiversity surveys. <b>State </b>sites are important for the biological diversity and ecological integrity at the state scale. <b>Regional </b>sites are important for maintaining representation of species or communities of concern in the greater Northeast/mid-Atlantic region. Sites in this category generally contain one or more occurrences of species of global concern, or higher concentrations of species of lower significance. <b>Global </b>sites have global importance for biological diversity, and Pennsylvania has a primary role to maintain these elements (e.g. most of the known occurrences are within Pennsylvania). Sites in this category generally contain one or more occurrences of species of global concern or larger concentrations of species of lower significance.</li><li>The <b>Brief Description</b> field provides a short summary of the habitat and species or communities which occur in the NHA.</li><li>The <b>Site Account PDF</b> field contains a link to the full NHA Site Account PDF (if available). For NHAs that do not have an available Site Account PDF, please refer to the <a href="https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/inventories.aspx." target="_blank">County Natural Heritage Inventory Report (CNHI)</a> report for conservation information and recommendations for the county of interest.</li></ul><div><div style="font-family:"Avenir Next W01", "Avenir Next W00", "Avenir Next", Avenir, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size:16px;"><b>Disclaimers and Limitations of Use</b></div><div style="font-family:"Avenir Next W01", "Avenir Next W00", "Avenir Next", Avenir, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size:16px;"><ol><li>PNHP maintains a site-specific information system that describes significant natural resources of Pennsylvania. This system includes data that are descriptive of plant and animal species of special concern, exemplary natural communities, and unique geological features. PNHP is a partnership of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.</li><li><b>IMPORTANT</b>: Natural Heritage Area data are being provided for conservation and project pre-planning, and are not a substitute for conducting any PNDI searches that may be required as part of a permit application.</li><li>PNHP biologists and conservation planners continually update biodiversity information across Pennsylvania, but some counties have not had NHA boundaries revisited for many years. An absence of recorded information does not necessarily imply actual conditions on-site. A field survey of any site may reveal previously unreported populations.</li><li>Publication, display or presentation of any product derived from Natural Heritage Area data provided by PNHP should contain an acknowledgment of PNHP as the data source. The data should be cited as requested in the credits.</li></ol><div><b>WPC Terms of Use</b></div></div><div style="font-family:"Avenir Next W01", "Avenir Next W00", "Avenir Next", Avenir, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size:16px;"><div>The following General Terms and Conditions of Agreement shall be applicable to all data products of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (”WPC”) which are licensed to end users ("Customers") of the data products and shall govern the use of all products or works derived therefrom.</div><div><ol><li>Any person, entity or organization incorporating any Western Pennsylvania Conservancy GIS data into their product must place a statement citing the original source on the face of any derived document, map or other product created.</li><li>The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy GIS data is prohibited from being sold, reproduced, duplicated or shared with any other person or entity, and it is intended to be used for internal business activities only. Those who receive the data shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as the Customer. Furthermore, use of the GIS data shall be for the sole purpose of providing services necessary for the operations of the Customer.</li><li>The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy hereby disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any damage, injury, loss, claim or lawsuit arising from any error inaccuracy or other problem with the data. The Customer hereby releases the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy from all liability, damage, claims, injuries, or suits arising from any such error, inaccuracy or problem. Furthermore, the Customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and its officials and employees from any and all claims, liability, damages, injuries, and suits, including court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees, arising from the use of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Data by the Customer, Customer’s employees or assignees, or customers of it.</li><li>The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy GIS data provided hereunder is provided "as is" and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy expressly disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties as to the accuracy of the data and merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and further expressly disclaims responsibility for all incidental, consequential or special damages arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the data. The Customer acknowledges such disclaimers of warranty and expressly waiver all warranties express or implied and waives any right of claim for damages incidental, consequential or special, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the data.</li><li><b>Special Terms & Conditions</b>: please advise WPC of any products, maps, or analysis you complete with this data.</li></ol></div></div></div></div>

Service Item Id: 1f139e196ae145f4a96fd1b2ccf65d70

Copyright Text: Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. 2025. County Natural Heritage Area Core Habitats. Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Pittsburgh PA and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Harrisburg, PA. Exported DATE OF DATA ACCESS.

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