About the Atlas

The Atlas of NSW Wildlife is the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) database of fauna and flora records. It contains over one million recorded sightings, and covers all areas of NSW. It has existed in various formats since 1980. Data entry, maintenance and distribution are managed by DECC.

Where does the information come from?

Records come from various sources including,

• historical reports,
• DECC staff,
• survey data from major projects,
• consultants (as part of the Scientific Licence procedure), and
• the general public.

What type of information is available from the Atlas?

The Atlas contains sightings of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and endangered invertebrates (such as insects and snails). It does not contain records of fish, or invertebrates unless they are listed under the Threatened Species Conservation Act.

Data in the Atlas, while extensive, is by definition patchy. It will not provide you with the full distribution of a species. Except in areas where comprehensive survey information has been incorporated into the database, the search results for a particular area are based on a mix of reported sightings. For example, sightings often follow patterns of human movement, such as along roads. Similarly, a common species in an area may not be recorded, because no one has thought to do so.

It is also important to realise that the number of recorded sightings for a species does not necessarily correspond in any way to the actual abundance of that species in NSW. Contributors often focus their efforts on recording threatened and endangered species, with the result that rare species may have more recorded sightings in the Atlas than common species.

Data from the Atlas are available from DECC in two formats:

1. As a species list for a chosen area. A species list gives the scientific name, common name, legal status and number of records for each species in the search area. Species lists are available through this web site, and are free of charge.
2. As a full report for a chosen area. Full reports contain more detailed information about individual sightings including geographic coordinates for sightings, and information about the accuracy and reliability of sightings. Full reports are not available on this website. To obtain a full report, a data licence agreement needs to be signed and extraction fees and conditions may apply. Contact the Wildlife Data Unit for more information.

What do I get if I do a search on the Atlas website?

The search form allows you to:

• get recorded sightings for a precise geographic area - such as a single park or reserve, or a local government area, or an area drawn by you using an interactive map
• display and print a list of species recorded over your chosen area
• display and print the recorded sightings for each species on a map
• get more information on some of the threatened species found in your search, using the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change website.

Who uses the information from the Atlas?

The records within the Atlas are used by

• private individuals who may wish to know about species on and around their property
• academics and researchers working in particular areas or species
• students working on school projects
• DECC staff to manage conservation of species, both on and off reserves
• consultants undertaking development applications
• land holders undertaking land clearing applications
• Commonwealth and state government departments for conservation planning and land management
• Local government agencies for Environmental Impact Assessments

How can I contribute to the Atlas?

If you are interested in supplying records to the Atlas, please contact the Wildlife Data Unit. If you want to submit records electronically, you can fill in the Atlas spreadsheet. Completed spreadsheets, or any queries about how to complete the spreadsheet can be forwarded to the Wildlife Data Unit.

Copyright

The DECC is the custodian of the Atlas database and is responsible for its maintenance, updating and the distribution of data. The data and copyright and other intellectual property rights in the data are and shall remain the property of the copyright holder. Copyright in extracts, printouts or online search results from the Atlas database is held by the DECC and protected by the copyright laws of Australia. You can save a local copy of search results from this site on your computer or print it for your own personal use. However, when using the site you agree that:

• if you make a copy of material on the website, you must make sure that the words 'Copyright NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change' are placed in legible text on your copy
• if you copy or print material from the site, you cannot charge other people for access to it
• you cannot modify any material copied from the site without the written permission of the DECC.

© Copyright, NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change