What is it?
The Oregon Biodiversity map viewer provides data on species occurrences and/or modeled distributions for Oregon’s important forest species and habitats. The data is aggregated and available for download at the 6th field watershed scale. The data can be accessed through the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Oregon Biodiversity Map Viewer.
Why?
To provide convenient public access to information about Oregon’s important forest species and vegetative habitats based on spatial geographic information systems (GIS) data compiled by The Nature Conservancy – for Oregon’s Statewide Forest Assessment and Resource Strategy. The data serves as an authoritative database on the distribution of threatened, endangered, sensitive, rare and other important species as well as forest vegetative habitats of high conservation value.
Access to the Data
Launch the Oregon Biodiversity Map Viewer for direct access to the data.
Use of the Data
The data is designed to give forest landowners the opportunity to achieve forest certification and state and federal natural resource agency requirements for considering important forest species and habitats in their forest management plans consistent with their goals, objectives and regulatory obligations.
Being assembled by 6th field watersheds, the data is at a geographic scale (10,000 – 30,000 acres) that is proximately meaningful to small forest ownerships. The Relative Abundance attribute for each species or habitat present in a watershed provides a measure of the watershed’s relative importance to the overall distribution of the species or habitat in Oregon. Important forest species that are threatened or endangered, rare, sensitive or otherwise unique with respect to conservation priority are identified based on well accepted classifications. The data is designed to get private forest landowners to think about what could be on their property – either the possibility that an important forest species or habitat is present and they should look for it; or the possibility they could manage habitat in the hopes that the species can be supported.
The idea is, by knowing what is in the 6th field forest watershed(s) that contains their land – landowners can investigate further the habitat needs/requirements of the species and see if there is a fit with their property consistent with their management goals and objectives.
Limitations
Presence of an important forest species or habitat in the 6th field watershed(s) containing a forest property does not mean the important forest species or habitat is actually located on the property. Further, the data is only available for those watersheds that contain at least 40% forest cover. Data is provided only for informational purposes.
Where to Get Help
For information about the Oregon Latitude and Longitude Locator, LocatOR – contact GISonline@Oregon.Gov.
To Learn More about Important Forest Species in Your Watershed:
- Identifying Priority Plants & Animals and Their Habitats – A Guidebook for Forest Landowners – A publication of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.
- Csuti, Blair; A. Jon Kimerling, Thomas A. O’Neil, Margaret M. Shaughnessy, Eleanor P. Gaines, Manuela M. P. Huso. Atlas of Oregon Wildlife – Distribution, Habitat, and Natural History. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University Press. 492 pp.
- Woodland Fish & Wildlife Publications Page – Publications on managing your woodlands for specific wildlife species.
