Managed Areas

The Natural Heritage Program maintains GIS data on conservation lands throughout North Carolina. These “Managed Areas” are a diverse collection of properties and easements where conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem function are among the goals of the land management programs.

This collection of conservation areas will inform a variety of users – from the general public to professional land managers – when making decisions about conservation, land management, land use planning, and recreation.

• Visit our Data Download page for a shapefile of Managed Areas.
• Use our Data Explorer to view Managed Areas on-line.

Protected Areas Database of the United States

The Natural Heritage Program serves as the state steward for the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) and provides data on North Carolina’s protected lands to the U.S. Geological Survey Gap Analysis Program (USGS GAP).

PAD-US is a national geodatabase that represents public land ownership and conservation lands, including privately owned areas, for the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Pacific and US Virgin Islands.