Natural Heritage Environmental Review
The project review section reviews over 200 projects a month identifying potential impacts to natural heritage resources (rare animals, rare plants, exemplary natural communities and significant geologic features). These projects are submitted by localities and state and federal regulatory agencies as well as by private consultants seeking information to meet local, state and federal regulatory needs. In order to be able to review submitted projects, the following three items are needed: project description, USGS topographic map with project boundaries clearly delineated and a completed information services order form.
A non-fillable PDF information services order form is available.
Other information services provided by the project review section are DCR Digital Data Conservation Sites Subscription Service, custom maps and occurrence reports and Natural Heritage Data Explorer Subscription Service. This section also fills requests for fact sheets from teachers and students, naturalists, and other interested citizens in relation to natural heritage resources, native plants and invasive species.
An outreach component of this section is the Locality Liaison program. Through this program the DCR-DNH works with local and regional planners and other conservation partners to assist them in fully utilizing natural heritage resource information as well as the consultative services we provide to ensure protection of natural heritage resources. The Locality Liaison program seeks to establish natural heritage resource information as part of fundamental locality decision-making criteria through tools such as project review, comprehensive planning, project sitings, zoning amendments, and open space planning.
Click to see the staff of the Natural Heritage Environmental Review section.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
