Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2019 - 56

Act for Pennsylvania's Imperiled Species

photo-Tom Diez

photo- Doug Fischer

photo-JacobDingel, PGC

by Diana Day

Cathy Haffner

Across Pennsylvania, there is incredible interest to conserve
and sustainably manage the Commonwealth's diverse natural
resources. Yet, with many different types of wildlife and
habitats, it can sometimes be difficult to know what actions
to take. The Conservation Opportunity Area (COA) Tool,
introduced earlier this year, may be able to help. Developed
using information in the 2015-2025 Pennsylvania Wildlife
Action Plan, the COA Tool is publicly available and uses a
web-based mapping system to provide information on Species
of Greatest Conservation Need and their habitats, conservation
actions to support species, as well as research and survey needs.
The 2015-2025 Pennsylvania Wildlife Action Plan is
Pennsylvania's blueprint for proactively conserving and
managing imperiled and declining species (i.e. Species of
Greatest Conservation Need). Each state and United States
territory has a Wildlife Action Plan aimed at keeping species
from becoming federally listed as threatened or endangered.
The Pennsylvania COA Tool transforms information
from a static, complex document format to a dynamic,
interactive web-accessible tool available to the public to
support specific planning or management purposes, or to
satisfy curiosity about Pennsylvania's Species of Greatest
Conservation Need and habitats. The Pennsylvania Wildlife
Action Plan is non-regulatory. Thus, the COA Tool does
not satisfy or supplant regulatory review requirements and
is not for Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI)
project screening.
To get started using the tool, new users must first register for
a free account, which will allow creating and saving projects,
and generating reports. After registering and accepting terms
and conditions, users can just dive-in or, if more information

is desired, Quick
https://wildlifeactionmap.pa.gov
Start Instructions
provide steps for
basic tool navigation. The Help section has detailed instructions
for specific tool functions.

PFBC Division of Environmental Services
Conservation Coordinator

PGC Wildlife Diversity
Conservation Planning Coordinator

Key features

The COA Tool has many features that can be used by novices
and experts alike. Highlighted here are two major functions,
along with examples of use, for Map and Statewide Search.

Scenario 1

A landowner would like to develop a wildlife management
plan and wants to know which Species of Greatest
Conservation Need are on their property.

How the tool can help

The Map function allows the landowner to draw an Area
of Interest, in this case, the landowner's property boundary
(up to 5,500 acres). The output is a detailed report, which
includes location information, a list of the Species of Greatest
Conservation Need and specific habitat requirements,
conservation actions for the species, a habitat map, and
research and survey needs. Threatened, endangered or
otherwise sensitive species are masked in the report for the
species' protection. Consultation with a wildlife professional
is encouraged.

Scenario 2

An interested citizen would like to know if a Species of
Greatest Conservation Need occurs in their county or
major watershed.

How the tool can help

The Statewide Search function allows users to select the
county or major watershed of interest and generate a county or
watershed-wide list of species. Alternatively, for an individual
species, the user can select from a list of species and obtain a

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - September/October 2019

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