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

Downloadable Maps

Conserved Lands of Pennsylvania

PA Regional Maps of Conserved Lands & Trails:

Northwest | Northcentral | Northeast

Southwest | Southcentral | Southeast

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 anonymized
Easement Holder Name:	\| Name of agency that holds the easement
Access Level:	\| No Public Access / Restricted Access / Open Access
Easement Type:	\| Open space, forest, farm, historical, etc
Acquisition Date:	\| Year the easement was acquired
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.

30×30 Toolkit Courtesy of GreenInfo Network

Learn more about the GreenInfo Network

Your Contribution

GAP Code 4 is currently a mix of lands that are not protected for biodiversity AND areas we do not have data for yet. Data submitted by a group that owns/manages land will replace current data within Pennsylvania’s Conserved Land database.

If your land should not be ranked GAP 4, please contact the GIS Analyst with properties assigned to the correct GAP codes.

GAP Codes

USGS GAP Status Code Assignment Document (2021, pdf)

GAP codes represent one of the few broadly accepted and applied measures of biodiversity protection. The codes, which include four classifications, were developed as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gap Analysis Project (GAP). The GAP code system is used in the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), published by USGS GAP, and as such it represents a de facto standard and has broad coverage on federal and state lands.

GAP codes were not developed with the direct intention of being a hierarchy, but the numeric scale provides a meaningful way to resolve areas with multiple GAP codes assigned – selecting only the most protected.

It is important to recognize that GAP Codes are a measure of biodiversity protection — how the natural habitats on a piece of land are managed (are biodiversity and natural processes the priority?) and how durable those protections are (will they stay in place in the future?). GAP Codes are not a measure of actual species diversity or richness, nor are they a measure of a land’s ecological importance.

The USGS defines “natural land cover” as areas not maintained in a human-induced, unnatural state. In such unnatural states, the plant communities are either missing or cultivated exotic-dominated. Natural land covers allow for the succession of plant communities, without arresting that natural progression. While it is key that a natural land cover is not being intentionally altered by human activities, it is allowed for past alterations to be evident.

USGS GAP Analysis Project

https://www.usgs.gov/programs/gap-analysis-project

USGS PAD-US GAP Status Assignment Tool

https://maps.usgs.gov/surveys/gap_status_assignment_tool/index.html

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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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 WeConservePA’s Advanced Query app.

Legislative Maps in Pennsylvania (redistricted)

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

House webpage | Senate webpage | Congressional webpage: last-name.house.gov

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. View the 2019 report here.

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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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In partnership with DCNR

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

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.