One of CNHP's core research activities is managing a statewide database that details the locations of rare and imperiled species and natural plant communities in Colorado. We gather data from CNHP surveys and monitoring projects, as well as from partners and other trusted sources like herbariums. All of our data are compiled and managed in the Biodiversity Information Management System (Biotics), a web-enabled database platform hosted by NatureServe. The species and natural plant communities we track are assigned global and state imperilment ranks based on rarity, threats, and trends, and their locations are mapped as element occurrences. Element occurrences include spatial data as well as details on condition, size, and landscape context. This information allows us to track both overall distribution and site-specific details describing how well elements are thriving at each location. We use element occurrences to delineate Potential Conservation Areas that represent the primary area needed to support the element occurrences, and often include additional suitable habitat or buffers from disturbance. Please visit the CNHP website for more definitions and details related to CNHP data in CODEX.

CODEX Report Definitions

CNHP Biodiversity Rank – The significance of a potential conservation area in terms of its biological diversity ranging from B1 (Outstanding Biodiversity significance meaning protection of this potential conservation area can prevent a species from going extinct) to B5 (General interest or open space for more globally secure species).

CNHP Edit Date – The date the CNHP potential conservation area record was last updated.

CNHP Identifier – A unique identifier for each CNHP data type, applicable only to CNHP data records.

CO Status – State status per Colorado Parks & Wildlife: Endangered (SE), Threatened (ST), or State Special Concern (SC).

Common Name – The common name of the species or plant community.

Critical Habitat Status – Critical habitat status for federally listed species under the Endangered Species Act.
                Proposed – Proposed critical habitat
                Final – Final critical habitat

Critical Habitat Federal Register - The volume number and first page of the federal register publication describing the critical habitat.

Critical Habitat Publication Date - Federal Register publication date.

Data Source – The agency and date of the data provided.

Data Type –
               CNHP EO – A location in which an element is, or was, present.
               CNHP General EO – An element occurrence with imprecise directions; broadly mapped and typically historical or extirpated.
               CNHP Observation –  Sightings of species on CNHP's watchlist or sightings of tracked elements that do not meet the minimum criteria necessary to make an occurrence.
               CNHP PCA – Areas in the state contributing to Colorado’s biological diversity.
               CNHP Model – Modeled presumed presence or habitat for a particular species.
               CNHP PCA (Important Plant Area) – B1 or B2 CNHP potential conservation area supporting globally rare plants.
               CNHP Range Map – Overall range for a particular species by HUC 10 and HUC 12 for aquatics.
               Important Bird Area – The most important places for birds as identified by the National Audubon Society.
               State Natural Area - Areas that contain at least one uniqu​e or high-quality natural featu​​​​re of statewide significance as designated by the Colorado Natural Areas Program.
               CPW <description> - CPW data with a long list of data types: observations, nest sites, leks, etc.

Easement Holder – Organization or agency holding an easement (if present).

ESA Status – Federal status under the Endangered Species Act: Endangered (E), Threatened (T), or Federal Candidate (C) with qualifiers for Partial Status (PS) and experimental populations (XN).

Global Rarity – The rarity rank used by CNHP and The Natural Heritage Network to track how rare a species or plant community is globally, ranging from G1 (rarest) to G5 (most common).

Last Observation – The most recent field observation.

Major group – The major group in which the element falls: Amphibians, Birds, Crayfish, Fish, Insects, Mammals, Mollusks, Natural Communities, Nonvascular Plants, Reptiles, and Vascular Plants.

Managed Areas Name – Name of the managed area.

Manager – The general land Manager.

Management Description - The general category of how the feature is managed.

Other Species of Concern – Other globally rare species and plant communities, BLM or USFS sensitive species, state listed species, or Tier 1 and Tier 2 priority species from Colorado’s State Wildlife Action Plan, and species of economic and recreational value.

Other Status – Other status such as BLM sensitive species (BLM), U.S Forest Service sensitive species (USFS), and Tier 1 and Tier 2 priority species from Colorado’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP Tier 1, SWAP Tier 2).

Owner – The general land owner.

Public Access – Level of public access to the feature.

Project Report – Provides detailed conservation data in PDF and CSV format. Information includes: known occurrences and potential occurrences for regulatory and other species of concern from CNHP, CPW, and our partners, protected lands and land management status from COMaP, special areas information, wetlands data, maps and more for an area of interest.

Protection Mechanism – Any mechanism of protection assigned to the managed area.

Regulatory Species – Species with federal protection under the Endangered Species Act or Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act along with FWS designated critical habitat.

Return on Investment Report – Provides maps and the estimated annual benefit in dollars of conserved ecosystem services by ecosystem type within the project area in PDF format. Ecosystem types are derived from the 2016 National Land Cover Database (NLCD).

Scientific Name – The scientific name of the species or plant community

Special Areas and Land Status – CNHP Potential Conservation Areas (PCA), State Designated Natural Areas, Important Bird Areas, and managed lands from the Colorado Ownership, Management and Protection database (COMaP),SB181 High Priority Habitat

Special Areas Name – The name of the special area.

State Rarity - The rarity rank used by CNHP and The Natural Heritage Network to track how rare a species or plant community is in Colorado, ranging from S1 (rarest) to S5 (most common).

Viability Rank – The estimated viability of the species or ecological integrity of the natural community based on condition, size, and landscape context, ranging from A (excellent) to D (poor).

Water and Wetlands – Wetland types from the National Wetland Inventory database.
  

Class - The general appearance of the habitat in terms of either the dominant life form of the vegetation, or the physiography and composition of the substrate.

Modifier - Modifier assigned to further describe wetlands and deepwater habitats within the classification hierarchy based on water chemistry or ph, wetland or deepwater alteration, or soil type.

NWI Code – An alpha-numeric code corresponding to the classification nomenclature that best describes a particular wetland habitat. For more information on NWI data values, visit https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/data/wetland-codes.html

System – A complex of wetlands and deepwater habitats that share the influence of similar hydrologic, geomorphologic, chemical or biological factors.

Water Regime - Description of water duration within a wetland habitat.

Wetland Total Acres - Total acres of the wetland type in the project area.

Wetland Type – The generalized Cowardin wetland type.