New Web-Based Tool Guides Conservation of At-Risk Wildlife, Fish

The Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) on Tuesday, Aug. 20, announced publication of the new Conservation Opportunity Area Tool. This free, innovative and interactive web-based map puts features of the 2015-2025 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan at your fingertips.

The Wildlife Action Plan is the Commonwealth’s proactive, non-regulatory blueprint for addressing the needs of imperiled and declining species, referred to as Species of Greatest Conservation Need. This tool was designed to support conservation planning and guide implementation of conservation actions to support these at-risk species.

The Conservation Opportunity Area Tool, available at https://wildlifeactionmap.pa.gov is free, though users must first register and accept the terms and conditions. The Conservation Opportunity Area Tool will be helpful for a variety of users wanting to know more about what to do for Species of Greatest Conservation Need on their property, or those just curious about what is in an area.

From rural to urban areas, forests to streams, this tool has information that may be helpful to users with either a specific purpose such as conservation planning, or those interested in learning more about a species, habitat or conservation actions.

The tool has several features including a Map function with which users can draw an area on a map and, with a few simple steps, produce a report with a list of the species and related conservation actions. Users can also produce a list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need in a county or major watershed, or develop a list of counties or watersheds where a species occurs.