Find "Hot Spots" for Invasive Plant Management

A Need for the Big Picture

 

A priority areas for invasive plant management map was developed by finding where ecologically important areas overlap with places that invasive species are most likely to spread from. The dark places on this map are “hot spots” for invasive plant management. These “hot spots” are both a good place to start looking for invasive plants and for determining where to start getting projects on the ground.

 

 

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A Customized Strategy for Your Community

 

Customized invasive plant control strategies have been developed for every community in New Hampshire. These simple two-pagers contain a map showing priority areas for invasive plant management along with a list of plant species that are just coming into an area. Focusing on management of “early detection” species may prevent them becoming fully established in a landscape and also stop their spread to neighboring communities. Looking out for early detection species is particularly important in the face of climate change as alterations in species ranges are likely.

 

• Find the strategy for your community

 

Make Your Own Maps

 

• Online Interactive Mapping Tool

 

This tool allows you to view the Priority Areas for Invasive Plant Management Map in any location at any scale. You can add roads, conservation lands, or other features that may be of interest to you. In the “Map Layers” dialogue box simply click the “Environmental Data” layer and the “Invasive Plant Management Priority Areas” map appears. You can bring in customized GPS data and use the “Drawing Tools” menu to add your own features. A really good approach is to add invasive plant mapping information you have collected yourself and use this to put together a plan of action using the approaches in the “Plan your projects strategically” section of this website.

GIS Users

 

If you have access to Geographic Information System software, you can download the Priority Areas for Invasive Plant Management Map data using the search term “invasive”. The statewide prioritization map, along with each of its three composite layers, can be downloaded. All data sets are distributed as “ASCII” files that can be converted to raster format using standard ArcMap tools.