Most Recent Updates
List of Endangered and Threatened Species in Illinois by County
List of Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) Sites by County
List of INPC Protected Lands by County
A comprehensive source of information on:
- Illinois’ Endangered and Threatened Plant and Animal species
- Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI) sites
- Lands with Illinois Nature Preserves Commission Protection
- High Quality Natural Communities
- Exceptional Biological and Geological Features
The Natural Heritage Database Program uses Biotics, a powerful Oracle database with Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, to track tabular and spatial information about significant natural features in Illinois.
Beginning in 1986, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Division of Natural Heritage, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, established the Illinois Natural Heritage Database to be a central location of information on significant natural features within the state. The database contains the information gathered during the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory conducted in 1976-1978 as well as recent information.
Accurate, Up-to-Date, Centralized, Comprehensive Data
The database has compiled information from a broad range of sources, including museum and herbarium collection records, publications, and experts throughout the state. Guided by this information, the Division of Natural Heritage participates in considerable field surveys every year to build the database and keep it current.
Staff members, contractors and volunteers perform field surveys to find and verify specific locations of the features of highest priority and to collect accurate information on the condition, quality and management needs of these features. This process of compiling and verifying data is ongoing, thus continuously updating and improving the database.
Information is easily accessible in manual, map and computer files that are cross-referenced to provide a flexible data management system. Data can be retrieved from these files in a variety of formats tailored to the needs of different users.
Report Endangered and Threatened species observations.