The Natural Areas Conservancy in New York City has created a unique tool called the “Forest Identification and Restoration Selection Tool” (FIRST) that combines both plant communities data from New York City and the USFS Climate Atlas species with potential suitable habitat. Even though this tool was developed for New York City, it is applicable to Westchester County.
Title: Forest Identification and Restoration Selection Tool
Sponsor Organization: Natural Areas Conservancy
Description: This tool was developed as part of a larger project to create climate-adaptive planting palettes for urban forest restoration projects in the New York City Metropolitan Region. Use the links to identify a forest community while you are standing in it, or get a list of species to plant that is both resilient to future climate change and appropriate to your location.