Department of Environmental Protection

Office of Natural Lands Management

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Requesting Heritage Data

The Natural Heritage Program can provide users with comprehensive information about the rare species and ecological communities located at specific sites.

Information can be requested by completing a Natural Heritage Data Request form.

These custom reports are intended to enable users to make the most informed decisions when it comes to land-use planning. Information from the Biotics Database can be used to:

  • Prepare environmental impact assessments.
  • Identify the highest quality areas for natural diversity and those areas in most need of protection.
  • Supplement field surveys conducted to assess project impacts on natural diversity.
  • Plan government, commercial, and residential development.
  • Foresee potential problems related to development in specific areas before commitments are made by planners, developers, and government.
  • Minimize adverse impacts on the environment.
  • Avoid unnecessary conflicts and costs.

Data about rare animal species is provided by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program and is based on Landscape Project mapping and additional data sources.

Get Data Online
If data is not needed for project review or a land use permit, you may find what you need online at the following sites:

The Natural Heritage Priority Sites coverage was created to identify critically important areas to conserve New Jersey's biological diversity, with particular emphasis on rare plant species and ecological communities. Natural Heritage Priority Sites are based on analysis of information in the New Jersey Natural Heritage Biotics Database. These 343 sites represent some of the best remaining habitat for rare plant species and ecological communities in the state.

The Natural Heritage Priority Sites coverage is a valuable tool which can be used by individuals and agencies concerned with the protection and management of land. However, these sites do not cover all the known habitat for endangered and threatened plant species in New Jersey and are not a substitute for the on-site surveys and Natural Heritage Database searches required by regulatory agencies. If information is needed on whether or not endangered or rare species have been documented from a particular piece of land, a Natural Heritage Biotics Database report can be requested.

GIS data may be downloaded directly using the web site below. To view the Priority Sites coverage (and other data) online, click on the NJ-GeoWeb link located below.

GIS software is not required to view the Natural Heritage Priority Sites coverage (and other GIS data) online. The DEP – Bureau of GIS makes this, and many other GIS coverages, available online for viewing and analysis.