NatureServe Enhances LandScope Chesapeake Conservation Tool with New Data and Content
Photo by Chesapeake Bay Program
LandScope is a conservation tool promoted by the Chesapeake Conservation Partnership (the Partnership), a regional coalition of 50 plus partners among the six states of the watershed and DC. The Partnership has long-term goals for the Chesapeake Bay to encourage a vibrant economy, strong communities, healthy people, working farms and forests, vital habitat for native wildlife, clean water, our shared heritage, recreation, and quality of life.
LandScope Chesapeake offers GIS and multimedia content as well as communications and training tools that can be used to set priorities for strategic conservation. In this NALCC funded project, NatureServe added or updated over 60 map layers including national, regional and state extent maps that overlap the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. NALCC is leading the habitat goal map development. Feedback from partners will result in a published set of priority goal maps. Accompanying the priority goal maps will be dashboard-style landing pages for each goal that will track partnership needs and accomplishments in each of these categories. During this project phase, NatureServe added 17 featured places in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in cooperation with local organizations. NatureServe also worked to promote the LandScope tool throughout the region, and engaged in multiple discussions with technical partners about advancing interoperability among shared services and tools.
The accomplishments under this grant benefitted from a concurrent cooperative agreement between NatureServe and the National Park Service. Through the two grant agreements, NatureServe supported the Partnership objectives of developing and sharing content to inform coordinated, collaborative conservation activities throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
