News
The Natural Heritage Plan 2009 Update is now available
Our program is required, each biennium, to develop a plan that identifies 1) Priority species and ecosystems to be considered in the selection of potential natural areas, and 2) The criteria and process by which natural areas are selected. The 2009 Update is a supplement to the 2007 plan.
Projects
Important Bird Areas Program
Our program is partnering with Audubon Washington to identify objective criteria by which Important Bird Areas (IBAs) will be identified, to manage data relevant to the selection of potential IBAs, and to create a process by which sites will be presented to the Natural Heritage Advisory Council for approval.
LandScope America
Our program is partnering with four other state heritage programs, NatureServe, and National Geographic to create an online encyclopedia of America's natural places. This project will involve networking with state and federal agencies, land trusts, and other conservation organizations to create a website where people can learn about conservation actions and conservation opportunities within their particular area of interest.
Northwest ReGAP
Our program is partnering with the heritage programs in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to map the range, distribution, and habitat of vertebrate species, using a combination of deductive and inductive modeling. Species experts will identify environmental features that most affect habitat quality for each species, and these features will be used to attribute mapped distributions in terms of especially high- or low-quality habitat.
Shrub-Steppe Inventory
Our program is continuing to inventory shrub-steppe species and ecosystems on Department of Natural Resources (DNR) lands, and will be expanding the inventory to non-DNR lands. Our efforts will result in an improved assessment of conservation priorities throughout the shrub-steppe.
National Park Service Vegetation Classification
Our program ecologists are assisting the National Park Service (NPS) in the development of a vegetation classification for the state's national parks, national recreation areas, and other NPS-administered lands. The vegetation classification will, in turn, be used to create maps of the parks' vegetation. These maps will be useful for the NPS in a variety of land-management planning and decision-making efforts.
Striped Whipsnake
Our program's herpetologist is working to determine the current status of this species (Masticophis taeniatus) in the state, and continues to monitor the known populations.
Rare Plant Inventory
Our program's rare plant botanist is conducting inventories for rare plants in several ecosystems around the state, often as part of projects funded under the Endangered Species Act. Inventories include Kincaid’s lupine and Bradshaw’s lomatium in remnant south Puget Trough prairies, showy stickseed and Wenatchee Mountain checkermallow in the Wenatchee Mountains, and Ute lady’s-tresses in the Columbia River riparian areas.
Note: Links beginning http://www1. take you to DNR Web pages that may not appear in our standard format.