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The Official Website of the Department of Fish and Game (DFG)

 
Natural Heritage and Endangered Species

NHESP Core Habitat Maps and Reports

Natural Heritage LogoIn December 2004, the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program sent town-specific reports, along with a large color town map, to Conservation Commissions, Planning Boards, Community Preservation Act committees, Community Development Plan committees, and town-based land trusts. Core Habitat maps and reports have been produced for the 336 Commonwealth towns that contain Core Habitat.

Core Habitats have been identified as sites critical for the long-term survival of the Commonwealth's biodiversity in the BioMap (2001) and Living Waters (2003) reports produced by the Natural Heritage Program. The BioMap project identified sites critical for terrestrial and wetland biodiversity, the subsequent Living Waters project mapped key sites for freshwater biodiversity. These two conservation plans, based on 25 years of Natural Heritage data, were supported by special bond funding provided by the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and by State Wildlife Grants from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The town maps and reports synthesize the information from both of these reports with the addition on the maps of undeveloped riparian areas adjacent to Living Waters Core Habitat.

Sample Town Map - Click for a larger version
Click the town map above for a larger image

Town Core Habitat Maps

Order a large color Core Habitat Map for your town.

BioMap and Living Waters Core Habitats and their associated identification numbers can be viewed for free through an interative web viewer.

Core Habitats and their associated identification numbers can also be viewed for free by downloading the GIS shapefiles from MassGIS, see GIS Resources.

 

Town Core Habitat Reports

The town Core Habitat reports provide a summary of the rare species, natural communities, and freshwater habitats found in the Core Habitats identified in 336 of the Commonwealth's 351 towns. Town Core Habitat Reports can be viewed and printed with Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software.

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