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Data & Tools

Access datasets

See all of the data that is available to download, both as individual files and bundled packages.

Identify priorities

Open the interactive Prioritization Tool to identify habitats in the northeast for conservation and restoration

See the big picture

Check out the entire Nature’s Network gallery on the Northeast Conservation Planning Atlas to see shared priorities across the region.

Nature’s Network Conservation Design

Nature’s Network Conservation Design depicts an interconnected network of lands and waters that, if protected, will support a diversity of fish, wildlife, and natural resources that the people of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region depend upon. This map serves as the “cover page” for the Nature’s Network suite of products: it outlines some of the most important natural areas in the region and provides an entry point to learn more about the information used to identify them.

Imperiled species

Providing focus on imperiled species tracked by NatureServe, including the most important habitats for 600 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) identified by states, Endangered Species, and many species proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Terrestrial and Wetland Core-Connector Network

Connected network of intact and diverse terrestrial, wetland, and coastal systems that provide habitat for wildlife, and benefits for people, such as access to intact forests and sources of clean water.

Aquatic Core Networks

Connected network of intact and diverse aquatic systems that provide habitat for resident and anadromous fish, as well as other organisms, and benefits for people such as recreation and clean water.

Regional Connectivity and Marsh Migration

Best opportunities to maintain regional connections and connect tidal marshes to adjacent uplands.

Prioritization Tool

Interactive planning for conservation and restoration.

The data and tools from Nature’s Network are intended to complement information and expertise developed by state agencies, federal programs, and partner organizations by providing regional context, and can be adapted to reflect individual objectives. As with any project carried out across such a large area, the project is subject to limitations.

Users should be aware that the results do not incorporate important social, economic, or feasibility factors. Users are also cautioned against using the data on too small an area (for example, a small parcel of land), as the data may not be sufficiently accurate at that level of resolution. The results by themselves are not a prescription for on-the-ground action; users are encouraged to verify, with field visits and site-specific knowledge, the value of any areas identified in the project.

Photos courtesy: USFWS, Nicholas A. Tonelli

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Welcome to the Nature's Network Prioritization Tool

Using this tool, you can create custom models based on a catalog of over 400 metrics that will help address particular conservation and restoration questions. Some key features:

  • Quickly create custom prioritization maps
  • PDF and CSV outputs
  • Over 400 metrics

Metric description

Name:

Description:

Unit:

Full documentation link:

How does this work?

Load a model

What do these weights mean?

Each weight is a multiplier

When deciding how to assign weights, it is important to understand that each weight is a multiplier for its coresponding metric. After the tool standardizes the raw units of a metric to a quantile scale (0-1), it then multiplies that new value by the given weight. Any negative weight is flipped to a positive number and multiplied by the inverse of the metric's quantile score (this is to ensure a positive weighted score that is more intuitive for comparison). For more information, click "How does this work?" in the first panel above.

Caution

Use this control with a single map

This control limits the display of both the left and right maps. However, because the maps share the same legend, it can be difficult to distinguish them when parts of each are transparent. To avoid confusion, we recommend that this subset control be used when displaying a single map.

May not be useful for datasets with a small range or limited sample size

Each rank represents the percent of planning units less than or equal to this rank. As a result, for datasets with very small range (e.g. count of restoration practices in a single year) or limited sample size, there may be many planning units that share the same value (e.g., 0). In some of those cases, the minimum percentile rank could be relatively high and the subset controls may not seem to have an effect. If this appears to be happening, try clicking on a planning unit with a low score color to see what its percentile rank is.

Metric list