Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
The Department of Conservation and Recreation's Division of Natural Heritage (DCR) is responsible for the identification, protection, and stewardship of Virginia's natural heritage resources.Natural heritage resources(NHRs) are defined as the habitat of rare, threatened, or endangered plant and animal species, rare or state significant natural communities or geologic sites, and similar features of scientific interest. DCR maintains Biotics 5, a data system that is the most comprehensive and up-to-date repository of natural heritage resource information available. Information on potential impacts to natural heritage resources is crucial to a comprehensive environmental assessment of proposed developments or activities. DCR is committed to providing its clients - including public agencies, private institutions and individuals - the best available natural heritage resource data consistent with protection and security of these resources.
Our information products range from lists of rare plants, animals and communities in Virginia, online GIS applications and a statewide GIS coverage of natural heritage conservation sites.
Publicly Available Natural Heritage Resource Information
(You'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print (PDF) files.)
To help prioritize conservation efforts, DCR-DNH maintains Natural Heritage Resource lists of rare plants and animals and natural communities. The Staff Zoologist and Staff Botanist update the rare animal (vertebrate and invertebrate) and rare plant (including vascular and nonvascular plants and lichens) species lists four times a year. In addition to the species tracked, the documents include species on the watchlist and under review. The reports are available as a pdf download and contain global and state rarity ranks and federal and state legal status listings. The natural communities document contains the complete state classification in hierarchical format, with all ecological community groups, tracked community types, United States National Vegetation Classification(USNVC) crosswalks, global and state ranks. Staff Ecologists update this document as needed based on data-informed changes in community classifications.
The Natural Communities of Virginia, 3rd Approximation (Version 3.3) is available as an online interactive tool providing comprehensive information on exemplary natural communities in Virginia. This web version is richly illustrated with photographs of natural communities and includes hyperlinks to the USNVC and to photographs of many plant and animal species mentioned in the text.
Our database is continually growing and you can help contribute to the knowledge of rare species in the Commonwealth by providing observation data to us via our online rare species sighting form. Please include a photograph(s) whenever possible to help in confirmation of the observation. Please contact an appropriate staff biologist if you have questions or concerns on species identification, breeding status or distribution/range in Virginia prior to submission. Thank you for your efforts to increase the knowledge of Virginia's biodiversity.
Internet Database Searches of Natural Heritage Resources
Nearly 10,000 occurrences of over 1900 natural heritage resource elements are documented in Virginia. A searchable database allows users to identify what kinds of resources occur in specific counties, watersheds or physiographic regions. A variety of geographic and taxonomic criteria are available to customize your search. Information about specific natural heritage resources include scientific and common names, rarity ranks, and federal and state protected status information. These tabular reports are not site specific and are NOT to be substituted for a project review or for on-site surveys required for environmental assessments of specific project areas.
Conservation Lands data can be downloaded from the DCR-Natural Heritage Conservation Lands database website. And, anyone can access all mapped Virginia Conservation Lands and associated information in the interactive map viewer on Virginia Natural Heritage Data Explorer (NHDE). This tool also allows query of the Conservation Lands Database and map making with this and many other reference layers (boundaries, aerial photography, streams, etc.). The Virginia NHDE also provides interactive mapping access to Virginia Conservation Vision, a suite of Green Infrastructure models used for conservation planning through Virginia.
Natural Heritage Resource Subscription Services
Some of our information services require signing a license agreement and an annual subscription for access to the data. Click below
to see the range of services available with a subscription and costs.
Conservation sites in digital format can be very useful when incorporated into a geographic information system (GIS) with other spatial information for display and analysis. DCR can provide locations of natural heritage resource conservation sites digitally for comprehensive planning, to assist with planning for a specific project or as a general screening tool for identifying potential problems. The expectation is that more specific projects and data needs will be referred back to the Division of Natural Heritage for further analysis and recommendations.
DCR Digital Data Conservation Sites Subscription Service(license agreement required)
This service offers the following features:
Predicted Suitable Habitat (PSH) layers and Predicted Suitable Habitat Summary (PSHS) Subscription Services (license agreement required)
Area |
PSH1 |
PSHS2 |
DDS3 |
Bundle4 |
| 1 County or up to 12 quads | n/a |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,500 |
| 13 - 100 quads | n/a |
$3,500 |
$3,500 |
$5,250 |
| State | $500/ea. |
$6,000 |
$6,000 |
$9,000 |
For additional subscription information about the predicted suitable habitat models and summary, please visit https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/sdm or contact Joe.weber@dcr.virginia.gov
This application and the data layers it contains are designed for:
Individuals cannot subscribe directly to Virginia NHDE, but subscription is available to organizations (agencies, companies, and non-profits).
Annual Subscription ChargeTier I (unlimited access per subscription year, digital license agreement is required)........$1000/yr.
Tier II (unlimited access per subscription year, digital license agreement is required).........$2000/yr.
Tier II Plus (unlimited access per subscription year, digital license agreement is required).........$3000/yr.
License for Use of Digital Conservation Sites Data and/or NHDEAll use of digital conservation sites data provided by DCR, whether by public agencies or private parties, is governed by the DCR-DNH License for Use of Digital NHR Data, which dictates conditions for use, requires periodic update, and proscribes distribution of data to third parties.
The DCR License must be signed before any use of natural heritage data in digital form, whether those data were provided digitally directly by DCR, via access to the NHDE online application or transformed by the client into digital form from paper reports, tables, or maps provided by DCR.
Project Review Services and Costs
Project review assesses the potential impacts of a specified project on natural heritage resources. DCR research will identify all documented occurrences of natural heritage resources from the project area (including an appropriate buffer based on the scope of the project),and may also identify potential species occurrences. If potential impacts are identified, the response will list key natural heritage resources with scientific and common names, Natural Heritage Program rarity ranks, federal and state protected status information, with recommendations for resource protection.
Most natural areas in Virginia have not been thoroughly surveyed, and new occurrences of plant and animal species continue to be discovered. For this reason, DCR's response or data cannot be considered a definitive statement on the presence, absence or condition of biological elements on a particular site. Heritage reports summarize the existing information known to DCR at the time of the request and should not be substituted for on-site surveys required for environmental assessments.
Project Review Report
Project Review with Accompanying Map$250 per site;
Project Review with Accompanying ArcGIS shapefile
Separate sites are considered separate requests even if submitted under the same cover letter.
Data requests are usually filled within 30 calendar days of receipt.
Priority responses can usually be completed within 5 business days for a surcharge of $500, or within 15 calendar days for a surcharge of $300.
Custom Distribution Maps and Reports
Custom maps or reports for any area of interest can be produced with GIS. Call to negotiate specifics (804) 371-2708.
Karst Related ServicesKarst-related services may be contracted through DCR-DNH, including
Field services for karst work are $800 per day for subterranean investigation and $500 for surface, including travel and fringe.
Office services are at hourly rate of $50.
Analytical fees and subcontractor services (dye tracing analysis, taxonomic determinations) are additional and will vary depending on the project.
Individual contracts will specify terms on a case specific basis.
Please contact the DCR Karst Program Wil.Orndorff@dcr.virgina.gov for scope of work and costs.
