N.H. Wildlife Action Plan and Habitat Maps:
Conservation Tools for Your Community

The Wildlife Action Plan includes several tools to assist communities with integrating wildlife habitat conservation into decisions about land use. These tools include detailed descriptions about wildlife species at risk and the habitats they depend on, dynamic and adaptable Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data, and maps that depict the different habitats throughout the state, habitat quality and conservation focus area maps.

The following information was developed to help provide an orientation to the Wildlife Action Plan mapping process, summarize the mapping tools, and provide some examples of how this information can be used. We are planning a series of regional WAP presentations and technical workshops to help planners, conservation commission members, land trusts, watershed alliances and interested citizens understand and use the data.

Contents:

• Statewide habitat map (this page)
• Habitat types (descriptions and images of different NH habitat types)
• Highest ranked habitat condition maps
• Conservation focus area maps

Statewide habitat map
An important first step in planning for statewide wildlife protection is mapping the distribution of habitats across the state. The map at right shows New Hampshire's array of habitat types. Click here for a description and photos of the habitat types.

Each habitat is mapped with with a different color. The large-scale forest types, such as Hemlock-Hardwood-Pine – shown in medium green and covering about 50% of the state – show major forests. Smaller-scale forest stands or more defined natural communities, such as sugar maple-beech-birch forest or red maple swamp, may occur within a large-scale forest, but are not shown on the habitat maps. Therefore, large-scale forests can be thought of as mosaics of different stands that are dominated by key species. Other habitats are very unique and provide conditions for wildlife that are very different from typical forest conditions. These habitats include pine barrens, grasslands, and wetlands and are each shown in a different color.

Maps at a local scale show more detail. The map at left shows an area dominated by Hemlock-Hardwood-Pine but has Lowland Spruce-Fir (dark green) and Northern Hardwood-Pine (orange) forest as well. It also has floodplain forests (yellow), marsh and shrub wetlands (aqua), peatlands (navy blue) and grasslands (sand). If you are looking for a particular habitat you would start here. Using GIS you could just show the habitats you are interested in, and add data such as roads, protected lands, wellheads or whatever else fits with the information you are trying to discover. The habitats have a minimum size of ¼ acre, so may not be as useful for specific parcels.

Because habitat data aren’t available for every spot in the state, we used computer models to predict where we could find certain habitats. These models evaluated a large amount of scientific data and generated maps that tell us where we would expect a species or their habitat to be.

To make these models and the habitat maps for New Hampshire, our scientists used existing GIS data such as the statewide land cover maps. This data shows where developed areas, forests, wetlands and other features are found and was created by GIS professionals examining satellite photographs from 2001. Other data that were used includes the national wetlands inventory, soils, natural communities (plant communities from NH Natural Heritage Bureau) and other data specific to certain habitat types.

NOTE: A more detailed description of the methods to make these models and maps is available in the technical documentation that comes with the GIS data. Additional information can be found under each habitat profile in Appendix B of the Wildlife Action Plan.

As with most models, the resulting maps and data are limited by the information used to create them. Some areas had a lot of data available while information for others was limited or unavailable. As a result, it is possible that the maps and models may incorrectly predict where a habitat may be found. In addition, human impacts may change a habitat from what it would naturally be to something else. For instance, pine barrens must be burned to stay as pine barrens, and we normally put out wildfires instead of letting them burn out naturally. Recognizing this, the models and maps will be updated regularly as new information and data become available.

Wildlife Habitat Land Cover Data for Planning and Research The four examples shown here are designed to help Wildlife Action Plan map users understand some different applications for the maps in research and planning. These smaller-scale detail maps with specific habitat types were created using different habitat layers from Wildlife Action Plan GIS data (Note: Detail maps in multiple formats are on the WAP map CD. CDs are available through the NH Wildlife Action Plan: Mapping habitats for Conservation Planning workshops - click here to find out when the next one is scheduled).
	EXAMPLE 1: Habitat for grassland birds A community organization conserves grassland birds in New Hampshire. A potential donor has approached them and indicated he would be interested in supporting the organization if he could be assured that his contributions would protect habitat near his home. Using the species profiles and the habitat layers the organization would be able to identify grassland areas near the donor’s home and determine which conservation actions have been identified as a priority for this habitat type. This would be followed up by visits to the actual sites to determine which would be the most productive for the birds.
	EXAMPLE 2: Acid Rain and High-Elevation Spruce Fir A researcher interested in studying the impact of acid rain deposition on natural community composition over time would like to establish long-term study plots within key communities known to be vulnerable to acid rain deposition. High Elevation Spruce-Fir is known to be affected by acid rain (see Appendix B of the Wildlife Action Plan). The GIS data layer of High Elevation Spruce Fir could be combined with data such as distance to roads, access by trails, land management status, aspect, or other components to choose plots that are accessible and where permission to set them up is likely.
	EXAMPLE 3: Restoring natural flood control areas A group of towns is interested in minimizing flood damage due to heavy rains, as was seen in the fall of 2005. In the map at left, the floodplain forests, wetlands and peatlands layers show where these important natural flood control areas occur. Looking at these in relation to the stream areas that seem most prone to flooding, town planners could decide how to target areas for habitat restoration and protection. They could also add roads and dams to the map to see what other actions, such as replacing culverts with larger ones, might provide the most wildlife benefit.
	EXAMPLE 4: Ecosystems and plant communities A professor is discussing ecosystems and vegetation communities of New Hampshire, and would like to schedule field visits to nearby sites to provide students with a hands-on perspective of the different plant communities. By looking at the bright green salt marshes, aqua freshwater marshes, navy peatlands and yellow floodplain forests in the habitat map at left, she could plan a route for a field trip that would involve the least travel time. For comparisons of forests, she would look to the upper left corner where the medium green Hemlock-hardwood-pine forest is near the tan Appalachian oak-pine forest. In addition, this map shows how these habitats are distributed across the landscape - showing how floodplain forests lie along river corridors and salt marshes at the edge of an estuary.