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Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife |
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Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife |
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The Delaware Natural Heritage Programis part of theAssociation for Biodiversity Information |
Natureserve - Encyclopedia of Life
InfoNatura - Birds and Mammals of Latin America
Natural Heritage Program Staff
Available Lists, Reports and Forms for Native and Non-native Plants and Animals
The Flora of Delaware Checklist Order Form - (Provided in Adobe Format)
The Delaware Natural Heritage Program conducts systematic biological surveys throughout the State of Delaware for the purpose of locating populations of rare or unique plant and animal species, and to identify and describe significant natural communities. These data are then used for a variety of purposes including: to inform land-use planning efforts, to prioritize sites for conservation and protection, to assist land managers, and to provide environmental review services.
The Delaware Natural Heritage Program is part of an international network including state natural heritage programs and conservation data centers, all building on the same data collection methodology. The Database is updated continuously and is used to set state, national, and global priorities for the preservation of natural diversity.
The DNHP was created in 1987 as a joint effort between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and The Nature Conservancy, a private non-profit conservation organization. The program is within the Wildlife Section of the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Our office is located near Smyrna, at the Aquatic Resources and Education Center on Route 9.
The Natural Heritage Database is a continuously updated inventory of rare plant and animal species and natural communities in Delaware. It is the state's most comprehensive, centralized source of information on rare plants, animals, and natural communities. The Database is a compilation of information from a wide range of sources including publications, museum and herbarium collections, and fieldwork. The database is updated and improved as new data are obtained. The DNHP uses the database to assist individuals, corporations, agencies, and organizations in planning for the protection of habitat for rare species and natural communities.
Requests for information should be submitted on letterhead, and should include a full description of the proposed project (if any) and a copy of a map, preferably a U.S.G.S. topographic map, delineating the boundaries of the area of interest. In order to recover the costs of performing the data search, you will be charged $29.50 per hour (one hour minimum). In your letter, please state that you are aware of our fee schedule.
In addition, our staff try to be available to perform on-site inventories at a charge of $29.50 per hour plus travel costs.
All information requests should be addressed to:
PROGRAM MANAGER I: Ms. Karen Bennett
karen.bennett@state.de.us
COMMUNITY ECOLOGIST: Peter Bowman
peter.bowman@state.de.us
ZOOLOGIST: Christopher Heckscher
christopher.heckscher@state.de.us
BOTANIST: William McAvoy
william.mcavoy@state.de.us
ASSISTANT ZOOLOGIST: Kevin Kalasz
kevin.kalasz@state.de.us
The Delaware Natural Heritage Program is staffed by a community ecologist, a zoologist, a botanist, an associate biologist, an information manager, and a program coordinator. Together, the program has over fifteen years of graduate experience, including four (4) scientists on staff, and over thirty years of professional experience in conservation science.
ZoologistKitt's responsibilities focus on planning and conducting inventories for rare vertebrate and invertebrate animal species in the State of Delaware. Recent and ongoing work includes surveys for freshwater mussel species in Delaware's streams and rivers, and censusing forest-dependent songbirds in Delaware's Great Cypress Swamp. Kitt came to the DNHP in 1993. Prior to employment in Delaware, Kitt worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service in California on a forest bird monitoring project, and worked as a preserve manager for The Nature Conservancy in Wyoming. Kitt received his B.S in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University and is currently working on his Master of Science at the University of Delaware where he is studying nest site selection of the Veery (Cathares fuscesens) .
BotanistBill takes primary responsibility for planning, coordinating, and conducting inventories for rare plant species in Delaware. He specializes in coastal plain flora with a particular interest in phytogeography. Bill joined the DNHP in 1990.
Community
EcologistPete conducts vegetation surveys, coordinates with regional and state plant ecologists to develop the natural community classification for Delaware, and represents the program on other matters pertaining to community ecology. Prior to joining the DNHP in 1999, Pete worked as a research technician at the Joseph Jones Ecological Research Center in Newton, Georgia. He holds a B.S. in environmental science from Cook College, Rutgers University and a Master of Forestry from the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University for which he studied the herbaceous communities of longleaf and slash pine forests in northern Florida.
Program
Manager IKaren is responsible for maintaining computer hardware and software programs, assisting other staff members in the use of these programs and in compiling, analyzing and presenting natural heritage data. She also assists in field work, including surveys for freshwater mussels and monitoring a population of a globally rare species of grass, Hirst’s panic grass (Panicum hirstii). Before joining the DNHP in May 1997, Karen worked for the Nongame and Endangered Species Program/Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, Denver Wildlife Research Center/USDA, Rutgers University and The Nature Conservancy’s New Jersey field office. Karen earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and is currently completing her master’s thesis, which discusses bird hazards at airports, to fulfill the requirements for an M.S. in Ecology from Rutgers University.
Kevin Kalasz
Assistant ZoologistI
Kevin conducts inventories for rare animal species in Delaware with emphasis on marsh-nesting songbirds and rails, grassland birds, nongame freshwater fish, and freshwater mussels. He came to DNHP in 2001 to conduct inventory work on the Coastal Plain Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana nigrescens), forest-birds, and freshwater mussels. Kevin has a B.A. from Albion College in Albion, Michigan and is currently finishing his thesis on bird community dynamics at local and landscape scales for his Master of Science in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology from Frostburg State University.
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