Natural Resource Inventory and SWAP

Use this map to help identify the different types of habitat that can be found in your area. 21 habitats were mapped statewide using GIS and are available for use in any GIS program. Wildlife habitat land cover maps can be found on the GRANIT website (NH GRANIT (unh.edu)) by searching “Wildlife Action Plan” on the New Hampshire Geodata Portal, and on GRANITView (GRANITView (unh.edu)) under the “Environment and Conservation”, “Wildlife”, and “Wildlife Action Plan” layers. For more information, visit the habitat mapping page

Here is a Wildlife Habitat Land Cover Map for the town of Barrington. The more common habitat types are Appalachian Oak Pine in brown, Hemlock Harwood Pine in green, and Grassland in orange. These maps were created using statewide data, so to get habitat land cover data on a more finite scale, such as a town forest or your backyard, you should do an on-the-ground search.

This statewide map helps to identify where on the landscape a particular patch of habitat has good biological diversity (particularly in terms of rare species), is connected to other similar patches in the landscape, and is not highly impacted by humans. The highest ranked habitat in NH, highest ranked habitat in biological region, and supporting landscape are mapped in GIS. This data can be used to help identify potential areas for conservation. The data can be re-ranked to better reflect a smaller area, such as your town and the surrounding towns. Looking at the natural resources beyond your boundary is critical to protecting those within it. Highest ranked wildlife habitat maps can be found on the GRANIT website by searching “Wildlife Action Plan” on the New Hampshire Geodata Portal, and on GRANITView (GRANITView (unh.edu)) under the “Environment and Conservation”, “Wildlife”, and “Wildlife Action Plan” layers. For more information on this map, visit the habitat condition page.

Here is a Highest Ranked Wildlife Habitat by Ecological Condition Map for the town of Gorham. The pink is the highest ranked habitat in the state and the green is the highest ranked habitat in the biological region. This map can help prioritize potential areas for conservation.

Use this appendix to cross reference what species could be found in each habitat or which habitats could support one of the species. Remember that latitude, size of parcel, time of year, and other factors play an important role in whether or not a species will be found in a particular habitat. You can look at the distribution maps to see if a particular species might be in your area. Note that it might not be recorded from your town, but if it is in towns in your region, it could be in yours also. The 2015 SWAP only includes the 123 species of greatest conservation concern and therefore common species are not included in this crosswalk tool.

You can to use the profiles to identify potential species on lands that have not had a detailed wildlife inventory. If you have done more detailed inventories, and have identified one of the 169 species of greatest conservation need from the SWAP, you can include information from the profiles to indicate what your community could do to help that species. You can also reference the profile and/or copy it into an appendix into your NRI document. Make sure to report your findings to the Wildlife Sightings Database  so your data can be incorporated in the next version of SWAP maps as rare species information influences the Highest Ranked Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Focus Area Maps.

Use these profiles to better understand the habitats that occur in your town. You can identify some of the most significant habitat types and recommend management or protection strategies in your conservation plan. These can also be incorporated directly into your NRI.

Most NRIs include suggestions for protecting the identified natural resources. Incorporate the wildlife risk summaries outlined in Chapter 4 and conservation strategies outlined in Chapter 5 into your NRI.