Environment DEC
From the November 2009 issue
DEC Launches New York Nature Explorer
What animals, plants and significant habitats are found in your county, town and neighborhood? What places in New York are home to the American dragonhead, the black-throated blue warbler, Virginia pine or riverside ice meadows?
Anyone with an interest in the natural history of New York State can now find answers to these questions via the New York Nature Explorer, a new online tool launched by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). New York Nature Explorer is an interactive gateway to biodiversity information for everyone interested in researching the natural world.
Find out what animals, plants and significant habitats are located near you. (Photo: Stephen M. Young, NY Natural Heritage Program)
DEC maintains many databases, including documented locations of plants, animals and habitats, and, increasingly, much of this biodiversity information is being made available on DEC's public website. Through New York Nature Explorer, users can learn about birds from the 2nd New York State Breeding Bird Atlas (2000-2005), reptiles and amphibians from the state Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project (1990-1999), and rare animals, rare plants and significant natural communities from the databases of the New York Natural Heritage Program. While not all information on animals and plants is available, DEC plans to add more databases in time.
Users can look up information by choosing a county, town, watershed, a defined area or a particular species. Then, Nature Explorer provides geographic information in both map and list form about the animals, plants and significant natural communities such as wetlands, forests, grasslands, ponds and streams. Other information can also be easily obtained, including links to fact sheets about a particular species and whether it is considered rare, threatened or endangered. For sensitive species, including animals that are state or federally listed as endangered or threatened, location information will show only the counties and watersheds where the plant or animal is found.
New York Nature Explorer was developed in part with funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NYS Biodiversity Research Institute and contributions to Return a Gift to Wildlife (RAGTW). RAGTW was established to help provide additional funds for DEC's fish and wildlife programs. A line for it can be found on the state income tax form, which makes it easy for taxpayers to support fish and wildlife conservation.
