Use our web-based make a natural heritage area map application to make a custom map of the following natural heritage areas in Ontario:

  • provincial parks
  • conservation reserves
  • areas of natural and scientific interest
  • wetlands
  • woodlands
  • natural heritage systems associated with the Niagara Escarpment, Oak Ridges Moraine, Greenbelt and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe plans
  • Natural Heritage Information Centre data

The tool also shows topographic information such as roads, rivers and municipal boundaries.

Using the tool

You can save and print a map by clicking on the Mark-up and Printing tab — there are also tools that let you customize your map (e.g. adding text).

To download data displayed in this application, search for it at Ontario GeoHub. You cannot download directly from this web map.

Notes

  • if you have GIS capabilities, information included in this application is available digitally from Ontario GeoHub; data sharing agreements may be required to obtain the data
  • air photos haven’t been collected for all areas of the province — they will be added as they become available (there is complete satellite imagery coverage across the province)
  • some buildings may be missing from the map as the ministry no longer maintains provincial building data — turn on imagery under the Map Layers tab to see more buildings

Additional resources

  • Property owners can go to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation website and use the AboutMyProperty™ application to find information about their property, including the Assessment Roll Number.
  • Other organizations such as conservation authorities and municipalities also have natural heritage information that may complement these maps.

Areas of natural and scientific interest

This application displays provincially and regionally significant Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs). 

The ANSI data layer is updated when existing boundaries are revised, and when new ANSIs are established.

Wetlands

This map application displays wetlands that have been evaluated using the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System as provincially significant or non-provincially significant. The application also displays wetlands that have not been evaluated, but have been mapped using other procedures.

The wetland data layer is updated whenever existing wetlands are revised and when new wetlands are added throughout the province.

Woodlands

This mapping application does not identify if a woodland is “significant” (e.g. for municipal planning purposes). The woodlands displayed in this application may be considered a starting point for municipalities to help assess and determine significant woodlands within their jurisdictions.

Woodlands are identified based on the “wooded area” data held by Land Information Ontario. There is no set schedule for updating the wooded area layer.

Natural heritage systems

Natural heritage systems displayed in this application are based on the Niagara Escarpment Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, the Greenbelt Plan and the A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Natural heritage systems include natural heritage areas and restored and working lands that allow plants and animals to move from one area to the next.

The natural heritage system area layer is updated when natural heritage system boundaries are updated or when new information is added.

There may be some local refinement to the boundary of the natural heritage system displayed in the Oak Ridges Moraine, Greenbelt and Growth plans. This occurs when municipalities incorporate policies and mapping into their official plans.

Natural Heritage Information Centre data

Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) data includes:

  • Ontario’s rare species
  • plant communities
  • wildlife concentration areas
  • natural heritage areas

You can use these data values in this map tool as a screening tool for planning or research. NHIC has generalized all location information to a 1-kilometre grid resolution.

Information is restricted for some commercially exploitable species and species with sensitive life cycles. For these species, names and statuses are not displayed. Each 1-kilometre square record displays only publicly available information.

If there is no information for a specific location, it means that on the date we created the dataset there was no information for that location. It does not mean there are no natural heritage areas, species of conservation concern, plant communities or wildlife concentration areas at that location. These data are not a substitute for site visits.

Topographic map base

The topographic map base of the natural heritage map application is based on our topographic maps application.

Updates within the tool

Each data layer used to create the topographic map base has different maintenance cycles and is updated at different times. The topographic base is scheduled to be updated annually.

The other layers, such as wetlands and woodlands, are updated on a regular basis as new information is available. As a result, there may be differences between the natural heritage areas displayed in the additional layers and the topographic base.

Contact us

Forward questions or identify problems with the application (include a screen capture showing the issue) to Natural Heritage.