The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Division of Natural Heritage (DCR) is responsible for the identification, protection, and stewardship of Virginia's natural heritage resources. Natural heritage resources(NHRs) are defined as the habitat of rare, threatened, or endangered plant and animal species, rare or state significant natural communities or geologic sites, and similar features of scientific interest. DCR maintains Biotics 4, a data system that is the most comprehensive and up-to-date repository of natural heritage resource information available. Information on potential impacts to natural heritage resources is crucial to a comprehensive environmental assessment of proposed developments or activities. DCR is committed to providing its clients - including public agencies, private institutions and individuals - the best available natural heritage resource data consistent with protection and security of these resources.
Our information products range from lists of rare plants, animals and communities in Virginia, online GIS applications and a statewide GIS coverage of natural heritage conservation sites. Many of these services are available to the public free of charge, while some require signing a license agreement and an annual subscription for access to the data.PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE NATURAL HERITAGE RESOURCE INFORMATION
(You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print (PDF) files.)
Rare Species Lists and Natural Community Information
Hardcopy lists of plants and animals that are ranked as rare by the Natural Heritage Program are available as PDF documents for download. These lists contain global and state rarity ranks and Federal and State legal status listings.
The Natural Communities of Virginia, 2nd Approximation (Version 2.2) is available as an online interactive tool providing comprehensive information on exemplary natural communities in Virginia. This web version is richly illustrated with photographs of natural communities and includes hyperlinks to the National Vegetation Classification and to photographs of many plant and animal species mentioned in the text.
Internet Database Searches of Natural Heritage Resources
Nearly 10,000 occurrences of over 1600 natural heritage resource elements are documented in Virginia. A searchable database on the Internet allows users to identify what kinds of resources occur in specific counties, watersheds or physiographic regions. A variety of geographic and taxonomic criteria are available to customize your search. Information about specific natural heritage resources include scientific and common names, rarity ranks, and federal and state protected status information. These reports are not site specific and are NOT to be substituted for a project review or for on-site surveys required for environmental assessments of specific project areas.
Our database is continually growing and you can help contribute to the knowledge of rare species in the Commonwealth by providing observation data to us via a rare species sighting form. Please include a photograph(s) whenever possible to help in confirmation of the observation. Please contact an appropriate staff biologist if you have questions or concerns on species identification, breeding status or distribution/range in Virginia prior to submission. Thank you for your efforts to increase the knowledge of Virginia's biodiversity.
Land Conservation Data Explorer (LCDE)
NATURAL HERITAGE RESOURCE DATA AVAILABLE BY SUBSCRIPTION
Digital Natural Heritage Conservation Sites Data: In order to protect sensitive natural heritage resources, precise locations are not released in the products identified below. Conservation sites are tools for representing key areas of the landscape that warrant further review for possible conservation action because of the natural heritage resources and habitat they support. Conservation site areas are polygons built around one or more rare plant, animal, natural community or geologic features, designed to include the element and, where possible, its associated habitat and buffer or other adjacent land thought necessary for the element’s conservation. Conservation Sites are given biodiversity significance ranks based on the rarity, quality, and number of element occurrences they contain. Conservation sites should act as caution flags to identify potentially sensitive areas during planning efforts. Center points should not be interpreted as precise natural heritage resource locations, nor should sites be considered buffer zones for natural heritage resources contained within them.
Conservation sites in digital format can be very useful when incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) with other spatial information for display and analysis. DCR can provide locations of natural heritage resource conservation sites digitally for comprehensive planning, to assist with planning for a specific project or as a general screening tool for identifying potential problems. The expectation is that more specific projects and data needs will be referred back to the Division of Natural Heritage for further analysis and recommendations.
DCR Digital Data Conservation Sites Subscription Service.
This service offers the following features:
Annual Subscription Charge
for limited areas (county-sized or less, or involving 12 or fewer USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles)..........$1000/year
for regional areas (involving 13-100 quadrangles).………$3500/year
for statewide coverage………$6000/year
Natural Heritage Data Explorer (NHDE)
NHDE is a new website application that features powerful GIS capabilities including:
This application and the data layers it contains is designed to be a useful tool for the following land management activities:
Annual Subscription Charge:
Unlimited access (by subscription only, must complete a license agreement) ………$1000/year
License for Use of Digital Conservation Sites Data and/or NHDE.
All use of digital conservation sites data provided by DCR, whether by public agencies or private parties, is governed by the DCR-DNH License for Use of Digital NHR Data, which dictates conditions for use, requires periodic update, and proscribes distribution of data to third parties.
The DCR License must be signed before any use of natural heritage data in digital form, whether those data were provided digitally directly by DCR, via access to the NHDE online application or transformed by the client into digital form from paper reports, tables, or maps provided by DCR.
Project review assesses the potential impacts of a specified project on natural heritage resources. DCR research will identify all documented occurrences of natural heritage resources from the project area (including an appropriate buffer based on the scope of the project),and may also identify potential species occurrences. If potential impacts are identified, the response will list key natural heritage resources with scientific and common names, Natural Heritage Program rarity ranks, federal and state protected status information, with recommendations for resource protection.
Most natural areas in Virginia have not been thoroughly surveyed, and new occurrences of plant and animal species continue to be discovered. For this reason, DCR's response or data cannot be considered a definitive statement on the presence, absence or condition of biological elements on a particular site. Heritage reports summarize the existing information known to DCR at the time of the request and should not be substituted for on-site surveys required for environmental assessments.
Available Services & CostsProject Review:
$90/site; if natural heritage resources are identified
an additional charge will be assessed of $35 for 1-5 occurrences and $60 for 6 or more occurrences. Multi-quad project area $90 per quad.
Project Review with Accompanying Map $250 per site; for projects with potential impact to Natural Heritage
Resources, written comments with 8.5 X 11 map displaying Natural Heritage Screening Coverage
Separate sites are considered separate requests even if submitted under the same cover letter.
Data requests are usually filled within 30 calendar days of receipt.
Priority responses can usually be completed within 5 business days for a surcharge of $500.
Custom Distribution Maps:
Custom maps for any area of interest can be produced with
GIS. Call to negotiate specifics (804) 371-2708.
Charge..........$80/hour.
Priority On-site Surveys:
DCR biologists may be available to perform site-specific surveys for natural heritage resources.
Please contact the Natural Heritage Program Inventory Manager at (804) 371-6206 for more information, including costs.
Technical Assistance:
DCR biologists may be available to provide technical advice
and assistance to landowners and managers for the conservation and stewardship of natural heritage resources.
Contact the Natural Heritage Stewardship Manager at (804) 371-6204 for more information, including costs.
Information Services Order Form (updated 1/09)
