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County lists will include all species and community types that are in the source databases of NY Nature Explorer, including rare species, common birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Watershed lists, however, will include only those rare species, and all natural communities, tracked in the NY Natural Heritage database.

Town lists and user-defined area lists will only include non-restricted rare species, and all natural communities, tracked in the NY Natural Heritage database.

* Restricted species (sensitive species and/or animals listed by NYS as Endangered or Threatened) are included only in county and watershed lists, but not in town and user-defined area lists.
** Nature Explorer will not provide a list of species, but will indicate whether there are any restricted species in the target town(s).
*** Atlas species, i.e., those birds, reptiles, and amphibians whose information comes from the second NYS Breeding Bird Atlas or the NYS Herp Atlas, are included only in county lists, but not in watershed, town and user-defined area lists.

For a given non-restricted species, information on watersheds and/or towns may not be available for every county in which that species is reported.

Details about individual occurrences in a given county/watershed/town are provided only for non-restricted rare species and for natural communities. Even for non-restricted species, there may not be occurrence details available for every county/watershed/town.

SEARCH BY LOCATION: COUNTY, WATERSHED, TOWN

1. Click the Search by Location tab; then the County, Town, or Watershed tab.
2. Select your county/watershed/town by clicking on its name in the list and/or by clicking it on the map.
3. Click the Submit button. A results page will appear that lists the species and communities documented from that county/watershed/town. Note: Restricted species will not be displayed in town lists.

Details and Tips

Select from the List: As you click on names, the locations you've selected will be highlighted on the map. Select more than one name by holding the [Ctrl] key on your keyboard while clicking on each additional name. Clicking on a name that is already selected while holding the [Ctrl] key will unselect the name, and leave all other selected names selected. (Clicking on a name that is already selected without holding the [Ctrl] key will select only that name, and unselect all other selected names.) If you click on the list and then type in a letter using your keyboard, you will be taken to the section of the list starting with that letter.

SEARCH BY LOCATION: USER-DEFINED AREA

SEARCH BY SPECIES OR COMMUNITY

1. Click the Search by Species tab, then the By Name or By Group tab.
2. By Name: Type a name or part of a name. Click the Search button. A list of matching names opens. Click on a name.
   By Group: Select your species or community types, or groups of them, from the lists. Click the Search button.
3. For both methods: A results page appears that displays the Counties in which the species or community has been documented. In the window at the top of the results page labeled "Display Species Locations by", you can choose to instead display Towns or Watersheds. Note: Towns will not be displayed for restricted species.

Details and Tips

By Name

To select a species or community type by typing its name, or part of its name, use the BY NAME tab. Pick either common name or scientific name using the button below the window, then type the name or part of the name in the window, and click the Search button or hit Enter on your keyboard. A window will pop up with all species and communities whose name includes a match to your typed entry.
Note: If you are searching for scientific names, the window will also list species that have a synonym (alternate scientific name) that matches your typed entry; the synonym will not be displayed, just the primary scientific name.

When typing names, do not use plurals; e.g., type "goldenrod", not "goldenrods".

If you type more than one word, it is treated as one "string" of text. Only names that include a match to the entire "string" will be listed. For example, typing "green snake" will result only in names containing "green snake", but not names containing only "green" or only "snake". For this reason, do not use commas, and search for only one animal, plant, or community at a time. (Use By Group, below, to search for more than one species or community at a time.)

From this list of matches, click the name you want. A results page appears that displays the counties in which the species or community has been documented. To display towns or watersheds instead, use the window at the top of the results page labeled "Display Species Locations by". Note: Towns will not be displayed for restricted species.

Click the Refine Search button to select another match to your typed entry. You will be returned to the window listing all the matches to your typed entry, from which you can click another name. To start an entirely new search, click the By Name or By Group tab in the bar at the top of the page.

By Group

To enter a group of species or natural communities, or to search for a species or natural community based on its taxonomic group or system, use the BY GROUP tab. First select Animal, Plant, or Natural Community. When you click on Animal or Plant, a list of Animal Groups or Plant Groups will open. Clicking on a Group will open a list of all the Subgroups contained in that Group. To submit a search for all the members of a Group, leave the Group name selected and don't click on any Subgroups or species.

Clicking a Subgroup will open a list of all the species contained in that Subgroup (you can display the species names by either common name or scientific name by picking one of the buttons below the species list). To submit a search for all the members of a Subgroup, leave the Subgroup name selected and don't click on any species. To select particular species within a Subgroup, click on those species from within the species list.

Similarly, selecting Natural Community will open a list of Systems; selecting a System will open a list of Subsystems; and selecting a Subsystem will open a list of community types.

Press [Ctrl] key to select and unselect multiple Groups/Systems, Subgroups/Subsystems, and species/community types.
Note: If one or more Subgroups/Subsystems are selected, only species/community types contained in those Subgroups/Subsystems will be included in the search results, no matter what other Groups/Systems are also selected. Likewise, if one or more species or community types are selected, only those species/community types will be included in the search results, no matter what other Subgroups/Subsystems are selected.

Click the Reset button to clear all currently selected items and start a new selection.

Once the Groups/Systems, Subgroups/Subsystems, or species/community types you want are selected, click the Search button. A results page appears, in which the categories or individual species you selected are listed in the area below the map labeled "Criteria". The results page also displays the counties in which each species or community has been documented. To display towns or watersheds instead, use the window at the top of the results page labeled "Display Species Locations by". Note: Towns will not be displayed for restricted species.

Click the Refine Search button to remove some of the species or communities from your search, or to add new ones to your search. You will be returned to the By Group search page, with your selected species or communities still selected. To return to the search page with no species or communities selected and start a new search, click the By Name or By Group tab in the bar at the top of the page.

When searching on multiple species or community types, including on whole groups or subgroups, you may get so many species and communities listed that it impacts the performance of the application. Try entering one or a few species or community types at a time, and generate a series of results lists.

Report in .pdf format

Click the Create PDF Report button at the top of the results list. A report in .pdf format will be generated with the same map and list as on your results page (except for icons and occurrence details). You can choose to open this file, or to save it.

Personalized report in .pdf format

• Click the Report tab at the top of the results page. A series of boxes will appear with fields which will allow you to personalize your report.
• Fill in any of the fields with any information you wish.
• Click Create PDF Report. A report in .pdf format will be generated with the same map and list as on your results page (except for icons and occurrence details). Any of the personalized fields in which you entered information will be at the top of the report. You can choose to open this file, or to save it.

Spreadsheet in .csv format

Click the Export Results button at the top of the results list. A .csv file, which can be directly opened in MS Excel and other spreadsheet applications, will be generated. You can choose to open this file, or to save it.

Map Navigation: Search by County, Town, or Watershed

You can zoom in and out and pan around the map using the buttons on the map itself, or by using your mouse and keyboard. The table below describes the different ways of navigating the map:

Action	Result
Navigate Using the Map Tools
Click + icon on map	Zoom in
Click - icon on map	Zoom out
Click and drag the zoom slider	Zoom in (if dragged upward) or zoom out (if dragged downward) - be sure to click on the bar itself, not on the tick marks
Click arrow buttons located along sides of map	Pan map in direction of the arrow
Click "Zoom To Full Extent" button on map	Zoom out to the full extent of the map (all of New York State)
Navigate Using Your Mouse and Keyboard
Scroll mouse wheel forward	Zoom in
Scroll mouse wheel backwards	Zoom out
Click and drag mouse	Pan map in direction mouse is dragged
Press SHIFT and click and drag mouse	Zoom in to area selected by the mouse
Press SHIFT and CTRL and click and drag mouse	Zoom out of area selected by the mouse
Press SHIFT and click mouse	Re-center map at the point clicked
Press SHIFT and double click mouse	Re-center map and zoom in at the point clicked

Identify Features

The "Identify" tool is located in the upper-right corner of the County, Town, and Watershed search maps and is the bottom-most tool on the left of the map in the User-Defined Area search. You can use this tool to identify counties, towns, watersheds, and some waterbodies on the map. Click on the "Identify" button to activate the tool. You'll notice the mouse pointer change from a regular arrow to an arrow with a question mark. Click on the location you want to identify. A blue "X" will be placed o n the location and a new window will open that identifies the features at that location. If you scroll over a feature listed in the Identify window, the full extent of that feature will be highlighted on the map. Click on "Focus" below the feature name to zoom-in and re-center the map on that feature.

If you click on a feature listed in the Identify window, you can see a list of the feature's attributes. After viewing the attributes, click on the small arrow located on the left of the Identify window to be taken back to the list of features (see image below).

If you want to identify additional features, just click on another location on the map. When you are done identifying features, close the Identify window by clicking the "x" in the upper right corner of the window. Then, click on the Identify tool icon to de-activate the tool. You'll notice the mouse pointer changes back to a regular arrow.

Map Navigation: Search by User-defined Area

In addition to the map navigation tools also present on the other Search by Location maps, the User-defined Area Search has drawing tools that allow you to select a specific location in which you want to search. These tools are located to the left of the map. As you scroll over each tool, a message will be displayed briefly describing how to use it.

• The "Zoom" tab allows you to zoom to a specific location by entering an address, coordinates, or place name.
• The "Layers" tab contains the list of available map layers. Use the checkboxes to select which layers you want to display.
• The "Legend" tab shows the symbols used for the different map layers.

Zoom to Your Search Area using the "Zoom" Tab

There are three different ways to zoom to an area using the "Zoom" tab:

1. Zoom to an Address
   To zoom to a specific address, select "Address" from the drop-down menu on the "Zoom" tab. Enter the street address, city, and zip code, and then click the "Zoom" button. The map will re-center and zoom in to that address. If you do not provide enough address information, you may receive a message that says, "No address candidates were found with a match score greater than 75". If you have the full address, try to complete all three address fields. If not, you can locate the area you are looking for using another method. You could try panning and zooming to the area of interest using the map tools, or zooming to a Place Name instead.
2. Zoom to a Coordinate
   To zoom to a specific map coordinate, select "Coordinate" from the drop-down menu on the "Zoom" tab. Select a coordinate system (Latitude/Longitude, UTM Zone 18 Extended, or State Plane) from the next drop-down menu. If you are entering coordinates in the State Plane system, also select Central, East, Long Island, or West from the additional drop-down menu.
   • If you select Lat/Long, enter the latitude and longitude in decimal degrees, making sure to place a "-" sign in front of the longitude.
   • If you select UTM Zone 18 Extended or State Plane, enter the coordinates in meters.
   After entering the coordinates, press the "Zoom To" button. A point will be placed on the map at the coordinates you entered and the map will zoom in and re-center on that location.
3. Zoom by Place Name
   To search for a place based on its name, select "Place Name" from the drop-down menu on the "Zoom" tab. Enter the name (or part of the name) of the location that you are looking for and then click the "Find Place" button. You can enter the name of a municipality, lake, river, school, park, and many other types of places and features. A list of places containing the name you've entered will be displayed, along with the county in which they are located. If you get many results, you can sort the list by clicking on the "Name" and "County" headings. Use the arrows or chapter numbers to move through the list to find your place of interest. When you see the place you are looking for, click on the name in the list. The map will zoom in and re-center on that location.

Define Your Search Area

There are several different tools, described below, that you can use to define your search area. If you've placed a point or drawn a shape in the wrong location, or if you want to change your selection for any reason, click the "Erase" tool in the toolbar or click on the "Reset" button to remove all of your drawings from the map.

	Search by Point To search for the plants, animals, and natural communities occurring in the vicinity of a particular point, use the "Search by Point" tool. Click on the tool's icon activate it, and then click on the map at the desired location. A red "+" symbol will be placed on the map at that point. Click "Search" to get the results for that location.
	Search by Radius The "Search by Radius" tool allows you to place a point on the map and search for plants, animals, and natural communities occurring in the vicinity of a certain radius of that point. Click on the tool's icon to activate it. Enter your desired buffer distance in the box above the map and select the radius units. Click on the map to at the desired location. The point and radius will be drawn on the map. To change the radius size, use the Erase tool or the "Reset" button to clear the existing radius and then use the radius tool once again to place your new point. After drawing the radius on the map, click "Search" to get your search results for that area.
	Search by Polygon The "Search by Polygon" tool allows you to draw a polygon on the map and search for plants, animals, and natural communities occurring within and in the vicinity of that area. Click on the tool to activate it. Click on the map to place a vertex. Drag the mouse and click again to place another vertex. Drag the mouse and click to add additional vertices. Each time you place a vertex, the polygon will be automatically closed. Add as many vertices as necessary to draw the shape you want. Double-click when you've placed the last vertex. Click "Search" when you are done to get your search results for that area.
	Search by Rectangle The "Search by Rectangle" tool allows you to draw a rectangle on the map and search for plants, animals, and natural communities occurring within and in the vicinity of that area. Click on the "Search by Rectangle" tool to activate it. Click and drag the mouse on the map to draw a rectangle. Click "Search" to get your search results for that area.
	Erase The "Erase" tool clears the map of any graphics (points, polygons, etc.) you've drawn.
	Identify The "Identify" tool is used to identify features on the map.