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Gallery: NatureScape Design Maps

Map shows integration of key aquatic connectivity areas with terrestrial significant habitats throughout the Appalachians to guide conservation planning and decision making.

Depiction of conservation design for the Appalachian LCC with all five of the design elements - regional cores, local cores, regional linkages, valley and ridge linkages, and local build outs - combined.

Broad areas of regional significance that have high internal landscape connectivity. Five cores were identified and mapped:
1) Shawnee-Peabody-Land between the Lakes;
2) Southern Blue Ride-Upper Tennessee River Basin;
3) Central Appalachian-Allegheny;
4) Heart's Content-Northwest Pennsylvania;
5) Delaware Water Gap-Catskills

Areas that are locally significant due to irreplaceability and have high internal local connectivity. Eight areas were identified and mapped:
1) Cumberland Plateau-Chattanooga;
2) Daniel Boone;
3) Nashville Basin;
4) Hoosier-Interior Low Plateau;
5) Mammoth Cave-Campbellsville-Chickamauga;
6) Cumberland Gap-Big South Fork;
7) Southern Finger Lakes-Allegheny Plateau;
8) Lower Tennessee-Bankhead-Wheeler

Regional-scale corridors that connect large cores. Three were identified and mapped:
1) Northern Cumberland-Blue Ridge (connects South Blue Ridge to Central Appalachian core to the north);
2) Southern Cumberland-Blue Ridge (connects Southern Blue Ridge to Central Appalachian Core to south);
3) Northern Sandstone Ridges (connect Central Appalachian-Allegheny Regional core to Delaware Water Gap-Catskills)

Bridging valley and ridge topography and connecting mountainous regions with low plateaus in an east-west orientation. Four linkages were identified and mapped:
1) Big South Fork-Cumberland River;
2) Cumberland-Interior Low Plateau;
3) Ohio River;
4) Flint Creek-Plateau Escarpment

Smaller, isolated areas that are locally significant. They were identified in two primary ways: (1) buffers around existing protected areas suggesting that many conservation values around the protected area are not fully protected; and (2) small areas that had unique conservation value regionally but are under no current protection. Thirty-six of these areas were identified.

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