GIS & Mapping

WeConservePA researches, analyzes, and publishes geographic information in support of conservation.
We also provide a forum for creators and users of conservation-related spatial data and analysis.

Conserved Land Database

PA’s Official Spatial Database
of Conserved Land

WeConservePA compiles and maintains Pennsylvania’s official spatial database of conserved land, including privately conserved land and properties and those conserved by federal, state, county, and local governments.

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Conserved Lands Summary Metrics

This map provides the user with the number of and acreages of conserved land within the viewing window. It includes multiple filter levels to allow the map customization to depict user-specified land ownership and easement holders along with by county, watershed, and landscape.

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Conservation News Explorer GIS Page

Explore the conserved lands that have been featured in our Conservation News Updates.

Conservation News GIS Map

WeConservePA’s
Census of Land Trust Holdings in Pennsylvania Dashboard

Downloadable Maps

Conserved Lands of Pennsylvania

PA Regional Maps of Conserved Lands & Trails

Northwest | Northcentral | Northeast

Southwest | Southcentral | Southeast

Percent Land by County

Available upon request: Map or shapefiles of 1) Boy/Girl Scout Camps, Golf Courses, Hunting Clubs, and Water Authorities.

Land Conservation Data Contribution

Contribute Data

Have new data to contribute? Spotted something inaccurate?

Whether you have data to add or feedback to share, you can reach out to GIS Analyst Irina Beal at [email protected].

Please submit missing or new acquisitions or easements as a zipped shapefile or geodatabase through email, Dropbox, Google Drive, or WeTransfer.

Below are guidelines for attributes to include in your submitted data:

Fee Lands Fields

Property Name:	\| Full, public-facing name
Access Level:	\| No Public Access / Restricted Access / Open Access.
Owner Name:	\| Fee ownership
Manager Name:	\| If different from owner
Establishment Year:	\| Year the park or management unit was established
Acquisition Year:	\| Year the parcel was purchased (entered in PACL as Year Protected)
Property Website:	\| Website providing information about property

Easement Fields

Easement Name (public):	\| Public-facing name, often generic or numerical
Easement Holder Name:	\| Name of organization holding the easement
Access Level:	\| No Public Access / Restricted Access / Open Access
Easement Type:	\| Open space, forest, farm, historical, etc
Acquisition Date:	\| Date of deed amendment or easement recording
Conservation News:	\| News article celebrating this conservation achievement (optional)
Duration: Restrictions:	\| Length or end date of easement – usually this is “in perpetuity” \| No restrictions (NR) or Withhold from Public (W)

If a survey was completed for the project and the easements has exclusion areas, please include this document.

Delaware River Watershed Conserved Lands

An expansion of PA’s Conserved Land into the Delaware River Watershed, this map depicts lands protected by government and non-government entities through ownership and easements in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. Funding for this project provided by the William Penn Foundation. Select the Dashboard button for an interactive experience.

If you wish to make improvements to the map, use the DRB Editor App or email the GIS Analyst.

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Read the 2024 report here.
Download the 1-page infographic summary here.

Group Service Areas

WeConservePA has mapped the service areas of land trusts, watershed associations, environmental advisory councils, and other organizations. We provide basic, intermediate, and advanced pathways for exploring these organizations.

Basic Exploration

For list view of land trusts, member organizations, watershed associations, trail groups, and environmental advisory councils please visit our Find a Group page.

Updates to Organization Profiles: For updates to your organization’s profile page or to add conserved properties, please contact Irina Beal, GIS Analyst at [email protected].

Intermediate Exploration

Advanced Exploration

To conduct advanced analysis regarding the service areas listed above, go to the District and Group Analyzer.
Find legislative district representatives who work in your area.
Find which land trust, EAC, watershed association, or trail group works in your area.
Return which group service areas overlap.

Legislative Maps in Pennsylvania

PA House District Map | PA Senate District Map | PA US Congressional Map

PA House of Representatives | PA State Senate | US Congressional Representatives

Learn more about redistricting

Explore Near Me

State Conservation Investment
Spatial Database

Mapping & Analysis

Streamside Tree Planting Opportunities and Prioritization for PA

Where is a good place to plant streamside forests to improve water quality? The answer could be “just about anywhere.” But some streamside forests benefit water quality more than others. This project combines high-resolution land cover data with soils, topography, land use, and climate data to evaluate more than 200,000 potential streamside forest planting opportunities across Pennsylvania.

Reports
VanBrakle. 2019. Identifying and Prioritizing Streamside Forest Planting Sites in Pennsylvania Using GIS. PDF

Beal. 2021. Identifying Riparian Zones in Pennsylvania using GIS and Connecting People to Projects. PDF

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In partnership with DCNR

Cell Coverage at Outdoor Recreation Sites in Pennsylvania

Planning a visit to a public park, forest, trail, or nature preserve in Pennsylvania? Curious if you’ll have cell coverage there? The maps show locations of public lands and trails in Pennsylvania, then overlay those places with cell coverage data. Mobile-friendly.

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Outdoor Recreation Access in Pennsylvania

DCNR partnered with WeConservePA and The Trust for Public Land to determine who has access to outdoor recreation within 10 minutes of their home and, more importantly, who does not? The resulting interactive maps help identify gaps in access and opportunities to more equitably provide recreational access to Pennsylvanians.

Learn more

Data Resources

Pennsylvania Resources

Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Resources

The Digital Water Atlas

PA Department of Environmental Protection

The intent of this atlas is to lay out the landscape of Pennsylvania’s water and land resources and how they are managed. It is also intended to help people understand where our water comes from and how it is affected by natural events and human activity, which is the first important step towards water planning.

DEP GIS Mapping Tools

Environmental Justice Areas Viewer | Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping Tools

PA DCNR Open Data

PA DCNR Open Data: This site provides access to all of DCNR’s published GIS data, which includes over 130 datasets relative to state parks, state forests, geology, recreational opportunities and more.