How does the ACT Government use your data

Following the recent moderators/superusers workshop Alannah Freeman of the ACT Government put this list of current ACT Government use of Canberra Nature Map data

• Point locations are used to model species distribution, e.g. CNM records of Greater Gliders has been used to complement presence data collected by the Conservation Research team in informing a habitat suitability model that will be used to identify new areas in Namadgi to target surveys.

• Threatened fauna/rare species are monitored by Conservation Research. Some of these have triggered research and monitoring programs. Records of new populations/locations for threatened species also enable us to protect them.

• Records of Purple Copper Butterflies were used to identify areas to prioritise surveys.

• CNM data is used to assess the impacts of developments. E.g. To identify where rare plants have been recorded to ensure they are not at risk from development proposals.

• CNM is used to summarise the biodiversity of an area when writing up Environment Significance Opinions. CNM enables us to get a general snapshot of recorded number of species.

• Significant Weeds are monitored by the Invasive Plants team, and management activities are informed by sighting records.

• Reports of swift parrots led to linkages with regional researchers.

• Threatened and rare species sightings have been used alongside potential habitat models to identify current known and high value habitat, to inform conservation planning and ecological advice for proposed development.

• Influx of significant and important records in Bluett’s block enabled our ecologists to identify ecological values in the area and present recommendations to protect them from development pressures.

• CNM data directly informs prescribed burning operations plans. Sighting records inform where and when hazard reduction burns are done and what protections are in place where there are fire sensitive species.

• Point locations for particular species (e.g. frogs, crayfish, threatened species) have informed metrics that contribute to ecosystem condition assessments (part of the Conservation Effectiveness Monitoring Program). 

• ​Aquatic ecologists monitor crayfish and fish sightings to inform their work and data analyses. They also use CNM to inform people on suitable species for backyard ponds.