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The Official Website of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (MassWildlife)

Natural Heritage and Endangered Species

Living Waters Methodology & Results

Core Habitats

  • Core Habitats represent the lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams that provide habitat for rare freshwater species, or that are known to be exemplary aquatic habitats in Massachusetts.
  • Natural Heritage biologists delineated Core Habitats from over 600 observations of rare freshwater species.
  • Core Habitat extents were derived from species life histories, habitat preferences, barriers to movement, and inferred changes in habitat type. Simulated Living Waters Core Habitat Delineation
  • Natural Heritage biologists also delineated Core Habitats for some of our best freshwater habitats identified from existing data sets on fish, aquatic insects, and aquatic plant communities in Massachusetts.

Critical Supporting Watersheds

  • The Critical Supporting Watershed identifies the more immediate portion of a Core Habitat's watershed where conservation efforts should be targeted.
  • Critical Supporting Watersheds were delineated using a GIS model developed in conjunction with researchers at the University of Massachusetts
Critical Supporting Watershed
Core Habitats Critical Supporting Watershed
A Core Habitat lies within the physical setting of its entire watershed (left). Within this watershed, those lands nearest to the Core Habitat have the most influence on its biodiversity, as shown by the graded colors (right). The boundary of the Critical Supporting Watershed (yellow line) represents the area within which conservation actions, such as improved land management, decreased water use, and land protection, are likely to make the greatest contribution toward protecting the freshwater species living in the Core Habitat.

 

Statewide Results

Living Waters Core Habitat:

  • 429 critical sites for:
    • 58 rare aquatic plants and animals
      • 23 aquatic plant species
      • 24 invertebrate species
      • 11 fish species
    • Exemplary habitats in lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams
  • 1000 miles of rivers and streams and 247 lakes and ponds
  • 24% of riparian land adjacent to Core Habitats is protected

Critical Supporting Watershed:

  • 1,380,000 acres of undeveloped and developed land

Results by Watershed:

Results by Watershed
Riparian Areas Adjacent to Living Waters Core Habitats


Potential Threats to Core Habitats
Potential Threats to Core Habitats
A relative comparison of six potential threats to Core Habitats across the 11 watershed groups. Red flags indicate the watershed groups that ranked the highest for a given threat. The relative ranks are derived from a GIS-modeled threat assessment that weighted potential threats in the Critical Supporting Watershed based on their proximity to Core Habitat. The threat of invasive, non-native species was not ranked because of the difficulty in quantifying this potential threat.