Overview of the Heritage Hub

MassWildlife's Heritage Hub is a reporting and filing system supporting the NHESP's core functions. The system allows citizen scientists, consultants, and researchers to report rare species, vernal pools, natural communities or survey efforts. Coming soon: The system will also provide an avenue to request species information or apply for MESA project reviews associated with development projects. 

Register for an account

First time users will need to create an account to use the system. From the Heritage Hub homepage, click on the LOGIN/REGISTER button.

You will need to create a Username and Password, you will also need to provide your name and an email address. Former VPRS users will need to create a new account to access the Heritage Hub.

Organizations can create accounts and invite their employees to join for a more collaborative experience. For more information on how to create an Organization Account, please see our Heritage Hub Help Documentation. 

Additional Resources

Heritage Hub Help Documentation

Observation Reporting

The Heritage Hub allows you to:

• Submit plant and animal observations
• Submit a vernal pool certification application
• Submit Natural Community observations

Additional Resources

Species Information and Conservation

List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern species

Bulk Upload Observations

The Heritage Hub application allows you to bulk create Plant, Animal, or Natural Community observation forms. The system will soon support a Vernal Pool bulk upload option as well. To successfully upload your observation reports, you must use one of the preformatted template spreadsheets.

For more information on bulk upload see our Heritage Hub Help Documentation.

Additional Resources

Animal Observation Bulk Upload Template

Plant Observation Bulk Upload Template

Natural Community Observation Bulk Upload Template

Heritage Hub Help Documentation

MESA Filings

Coming Fall 2021: The Heritage Hub will allow you to:

• Request rare species information
• Apply for a MESA project review
• Apply for a Conservation & Management Permit
• Apply for a Commercial Scientific Collection Permit 

Additional Resources

MA Endangered Species Act (MESA) Regulatory Review

MA Endangered Species Act (MESA) Overview