NHI Portal for External Users

The mission of the Department of Natural Resources includes protecting Wisconsin's ecosystems that sustain all life. It is from the perspective of protecting biodiversity that users should approach accessing the Natural Heritage Inventory (NHI) Portal.

NHI data are site-specific information on rare species and natural communities that occur in Wisconsin. The NHI Portal allows you to search the NHI database in 3 ways: search by specific, user-defined geographic area (the most common method), search by individual species, or search by more generalized geographic areas (e.g., section, publicly-owned lands, etc). To use the NHI data appropriately, the user must understand and be able to interpret the data returned in both graphic and tabular report format as a result of inputting the user-defined search criteria. All users should familiarize themselves with the NHI Portal Tutorials as well as the Biodiversity Resources and NHI Data Information topics in the sidebar before using the NHI Portal.

NHI Portal access is available to AUTHORIZED USERS ONLY.

Generalized NHI data are available for free to the public via the NHI County Data and the NHI County Maps. Both are intended for general information and planning purposes only.

If you are an Authorized User, or need to register for a WAMS ID, please be sure to read the Terms and Conditions of Use for the NHI Portal before logging into the application.

If you are interested in obtaining access to the NHI Portal, there are a number of steps you must follow:

1. To initiate a request for access to detailed NHI Data, please contact Emily Groh in the Endangered Resources Review Program explaining the purpose of your request and the data you are interested in receiving. You may also send a letter with the same information to:
   
   WDNR – Endangered Resources Program
   ATTN: Emily Groh
   P.O. Box 7921
   Madison, WI 53707-7921
2. You must request access to the data in writing and demonstrate that your request has a conservation purpose
3. You must sign an NHI License Agreement and in some cases develop and sign a Security Protocol
4. You must pay a fee for the data as outlined in NR 29.04
5. You must complete the NHI Screening and Methodology Training online.

The NHI Portal is supported by the Endangered Resources Fund and by funding from other DNR Programs. The NHI Portal was originally made possible through funding from the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management under the Coastal Zone Management Act, Grant #NA03NOS4190106, a grant from the Natural Resources Foundation, and the Endangered Resources Fund.