Outdoor Life · Natural areas & habitats
Natural Areas & Habitats of Schuylkill County
Schuylkill County's natural areas and habitats — the ridgetop forests, wetlands, vernal pools, and stream corridors that hold its rare species and exemplary natural communities — are inventoried by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. This is a guide to what has been documented and where to read the authoritative data, not a live rare-species map.
What this page is
A plain-language guide to the natural-area and habitat inventory sources for Schuylkill County — what the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program records, what the county's 2003 Natural Areas Inventory covered, and where the current data lives.
What it is not
It is not a current rare-species map, a field or collecting guide, or a complete live habitat database. Exact locations of rare, threatened, and endangered species are deliberately restricted to protect them — for the official current record, use PNHP's Conservation Explorer.
How natural areas are inventoried
The authoritative inventory of Pennsylvania's natural areas is maintained by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) — a partnership of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Fish & Boat Commission, the Game Commission, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, and a member of NatureServe. PNHP identifies Natural Heritage Areas: places that support rare, threatened, or endangered species, exemplary natural communities, or exceptional native biodiversity. For each county it compiles a County Natural Heritage Inventory describing those areas, the natural communities and habitats they contain, and how to conserve them.
Schuylkill County's 2003 natural areas inventory
Schuylkill County's inventory — A Natural Areas Inventory of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania — was prepared in 2003 by the Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy (a PNHP partner) for the Schuylkill County Conservation District, funded in part by the DCNR Wild Resource Conservation Fund. It identified natural areas of statewide and local significance across the county's ridges, valleys, and wetlands, mapped at township scale, each with management recommendations.
Read it as a historical baseline, not current status. The 2003 inventory is the most recent edition, but it has not been updated since — the report itself called for review within five years. The maintained record now lives in PNHP's Conservation Explorer. We don't reproduce the 2003 report's site list, significance ranks, or species locations here: some of that detail is sensitive, and all of it is best read from the source and checked against current PNHP data.
The habitats found across the county
Schuylkill County sits in the Ridge-and-Valley country of the anthracite region, and its significant habitats follow that landscape: scrub-oak and heath “dwarf-tree” forests along the dry quartzite ridgecrests; vernal pools and forested seeps that fill seasonally; peatland and shrub wetlands in the valleys; and the floodplains and stream corridors of the Schuylkill River, Swatara Creek, and the county's many runs. The wild plants and animals recorded in those habitats are cataloged, with sources, in our county references — see Wildlife and Plants, fungi & lichens — and the public lands where you can walk them are across Outdoor Life.
Where to go next
- Read the historical 2003 inventory (PDF) · PNHP
The full Natural Areas Inventory of Schuylkill County, as published. - Check current PNHP data on the Conservation Explorer
The maintained map of Natural Heritage Areas and their site descriptions — the present-day source. - Explore the county's wildlife
Mammals, birds, fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, by county-level records. - Explore plants, fungi & lichens
Trees, wildflowers, ferns, grasses and sedges, plus fungi and lichens. - Browse outdoor locations
Every state park, forest, game land, lake, and trail in the county, in one list.
Frequently asked questions
What are the natural areas of Schuylkill County?
Schuylkill County's natural areas are the places that hold its rare species and best-quality habitats — ridgetop dwarf-tree forests, vernal pools and forested seeps, peatland and stream-corridor wetlands. They are inventoried by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP); the county's 2003 Natural Areas Inventory identified areas of statewide and local significance across its ridges, valleys, and wetlands. For the current official record, use PNHP's Conservation Explorer.
Is the 2003 Schuylkill County Natural Areas Inventory still current?
It is the most recent county inventory, but it has not been updated since 2003 — the report itself called for review within five years — so treat it as a historical baseline, not a current status report. The maintained data now lives in PNHP's Conservation Explorer.
What habitats are found in Schuylkill County?
The county sits in the Ridge-and-Valley region, so its habitats follow that landscape: scrub-oak and heath “dwarf-tree” forests on the dry quartzite ridgecrests, seasonal vernal pools and forested seeps, peatland and shrub wetlands in the valleys, and the floodplains and stream corridors of the Schuylkill River, Swatara Creek, and the county's runs. The wild plants and animals recorded in them are cataloged, with sources, in our wildlife and plants references.
Where do I find the rare-species and natural-community data?
From PNHP directly — the Conservation Explorer map for public site descriptions, and a formal data request for sensitive or spatial data. We summarize and link out; we do not republish rare-species locations, because those are deliberately restricted to protect the species from disturbance and collection.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP)
The state's authoritative inventory of natural heritage areas, rare species, and natural communities — a partnership of DCNR, the Fish & Boat Commission, the Game Commission, and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
Source type: government - PNHP Conservation Explorer — current natural-heritage data
The maintained public map of Natural Heritage Areas and their site descriptions. The current source — use this rather than the 2003 report for present-day status.
Source type: government - A Natural Areas Inventory of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania (2003) (2003)
Prepared by the Pennsylvania Science Office of The Nature Conservancy for the Schuylkill County Conservation District. The most recent county inventory — a historical baseline, not current status.
Source type: government - PA DCNR — Wild Resource Conservation Program
The state program that funded the county inventory in part, through the Wild Resource Conservation Fund.
Source type: government