You are here

Home › Help ›

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question? Explore these categories:

General Questions

How do I get started?

Go to Where to Begin on the Help page to discover 4 main ways to dive into this information-rich website.

What about using and sharing the photographs on this website?

Many of the photographs were contributed by individuals who are sharing them under Creative Commons licenses. Please pay attention to the caption in Flickr and honor the Creative Commons license they selected. The rest of the photographs are being shared under the Creative Commons license CC BY. Here are the definitions of the Creative Commons licenses:

Attribution
CC BY

 This license lets others use (distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon) the individual's work, even commercially, as long as they credit the individual for the original creation. This is the most accommodating of licenses offered
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Attribution-ShareAlike
CC BY-SA

This license lets others use (remix, tweak, and build upon) the individual's work even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the individual and license their new creations under the identical terms. This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses. All new works based on the individual's will carry the same license, so any derivatives will also allow commercial use. This is the license used by Wikipedia.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Attribution-NoDerivs
CC BY-ND

This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to the individual.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/

Attribution-NonCommercial
CC BY-NC

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon the individual's work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge the individual and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
CC BY-NC-SA

This license lets others use (remix, tweak, and build upon) the individual's work non-commercially, as long as they credit the individual and license their new creations under the identical terms.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND

This license is the most restrictive of the six main licenses, only allowing others to download the individual's works and share them with others as long as they credit the individual, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

back to top

I have a photograph I'd like to offer for use on this website.

Let us know—Contact Us.

back to top

Can I use the website from my mobile device?

Yes! There is even a mobile-friendly version of the interactive Map Viewer.

You can also export a "snapshot" of a map you've customized on your desktop computer's Map Viewer, then upload it to your mobile device. (See Questions about the Map Viewer, below.)

back to top

Natural Communities

I want to see a particular natural community in a park—where should I look?

Go to the park's Map Viewer, and look for Good Places to See Natural Communities. Each of these is represented by a red asterisk with an arrow. (If you don’t see these, click Reset to Default at the top of the Map Features tab.) Hover over an icon to see which natural community is featured there. For more info, click the What’s Here? tool, then click the red asterisk. In the results box, scroll down until you see Good Places to See Natural Communities, then click on that line for a description and directions.

You can also search for either the name of the natural community or the phrase “Good Places” in the search window on the Map Viewer. (Search window not available on mobile devices.)

How can I use the website to figure out what natural community I’m in while visiting a park?

If you have a mobile device, you can see where you are in the park using this website's Map Viewer for that park. Tap your location on the screen to get the name of the natural community, and to drill as deeply as you care to for images and more information.

On a desktop computer, you have a few choices:

  • Look at the park's Map Viewer on this website, and locate where you were or where you're going. Click the What’s Here? tool, then click the spot on the map to find out what natural community is there. (If several natural communities show up, zoom in and try again.)
  • Use the Compare Communities tool. (Check out the Compare Communities tool for Rock Creek Park.) Choose two or more natural communities in a park to compare. Look at the descriptions in the resulting chart to see if you can figure out what natural community you are (were) in.
  • Visit the pages about a specific natural community in a park for a quick "What to Look For" list of typical features. You'll also find seasonal highlights, photos of its characteristic plants and animals, and descriptions about its typical landscape position. There are sometimes tips to distinguish that community from other similar ones.

back to top

Plants and Animals

How can I identify an interesting plant or animal I saw in a park?

This website is not intended to be a guide to identifying individual plants and animals. However, if you're in the park and on a mobile device, go to the Map Viewer and enable Find My Location (lower right corner). Then tap your location on the map to find the natural community you are in. Tap [the "i" symbol] in the results box to view pictures of plants in that natural community and try to find a match.

From elsewhere in ExploreNaturalCommunities, you can look at the park's photo album or its select species list of plants or animals under its Natural History. Better yet, go to the Characteristic Species page of the natural community where you saw the plant or animal, and see whether you can find it there. (Not sure what natural community you were in? Maybe the park's Map Viewer can help you figure out where you were.) There are a couple of ways to look at photos on the Characteristic Species page—

  • Check out the Flickr photo collages in the characteristic species table. If you want to know more about any photo in the collage, click on it to open up a caption.
  • Also in the characteristic species table, click on the names of species marked with a leaf—these pop open a box with a photo, text, and a link to more photos.

I want to see a particular plant or animal in a park—where should I look?

Search for the name of the plant or animal on the website (upper right corner of screen). In the results, look for a natural community it's associated with.

On your desktop computer, you can also search for plant names in the search window on the park's Map Viewer (upper left corner of map); in the results box, click on an item to see where it is located on the map and a description of the place.

back to top

Map Viewer

What is a Map Viewer?

This website's Map Viewer gives you powerful ways to view and make use of the map for each park. (Visit the Rock Creek Park Map Viewer for an example.) Display as much or as little information as you wish by "turning on" or "turning off" detailed layers of the map. For instance, you can overlay trails on a soils map or a natural communities map. Add recreational facilities (picnic areas), historic sites, and so forth.

There are two versions of the Map Viewer—one designed for desktop computers, and one for mobile devices. (Your mobile device will automatically use the mobile-friendly version.)

For information about the map layers available for a park on this website, see About Maps and Trails for that park.

Visit the Map Viewer Tutorial to learn how to unleash the capabilities of each version of the Map Viewer.

How can I view the map on a mobile device?

If you're on a mobile device when using ExploreNaturalCommunities.org, clicking on any link to the Map Viewer will automatically direct you to the mobile-friendly version. (The blue globe icon under Rock Creek Park, for instance, or this map viewer link, will take you to Rock Creek Park's Map Viewer.)

Another option is to export a copy of a map you customized on your desktop version of the Mobile Map Viewer. (See Desktop Map Viewer Tutorial | Export Tool) Then upload the .png file to your mobile device.

How can I see the trails?

Trails are shown in the Map Viewer's Default view. Do this if they've been turned off:

  • On the desktop Map Viewer, in the Map Features tab (right side of screen), click on the Park Amenities title bar, then scroll down to Trails to display or hide them. Or, choose Reset to Default in the menu on top of the Map Features tab. Another option: click on Build a Hike (top of Map Viewer), and all trails will show up in bright pink. See Build a Hike for more tips.
  • On the mobile Map Viewer, go to the menu (right side of screen) and choose Turn Layers On/Off; turn "On" the trails. You can also choose Find a Hike, and turn Hike Visibility "On" to highlight featured hikes in bright pink.

How do I use the Map Viewer to find a place in the park that contains something I’m looking for?

  • Use the desktop Map Viewer's search window (upper left corner). Looking for a restroom? Enter “restroom” in the search box and a whole list appears. Click on one item to find its location and hours. Try searching for “picnic area” or “invasive species” or “American beech” or “tennis” or “jack-in-the-pulpit” or “historic quarry” or “Natural Highlights” or “Basic Mesic Hardwood Forest.” For more tips, visit the Map Viewer Tutorial.
  • The mobile Map Viewer has no search function. However, you can go to the menu (right side of map) to display features that interest you (such as Park Facilities, or Points of Interest).

How can I customize what to display on the Map Viewer?

  • On the desktop Map Viewer, use the Map Features tab (right side of screen) to hide or display things that interest you. The default view displays Natural Communities, Good Places to See Natural Communities, Natural Highlights, Trails, and Visitor/Admin/Police Facilities. To see more choices, click on one of the green title bars—Natural Communities & Ecological Systems, Natural Features, Points of Interest, and Park Amenities. For more tips, visit the Map Viewer Tutorial.
  • Use the mobile Map Viewer's menu (right side of screen) to hide or display features of interest, including suggested hikes.

How do I use the Map Viewer to get information about a particular area in the park?

  • On the desktop Map Viewer, the What’s Here? button (at the top of the map) is your gateway to an amazing amount of information. Click on the What’s Here? button, then click on any point on the map. A results box opens showing lots of information about what you can find at the point—the natural communities, the geology, the soils, points of interest, trails, restrooms, and more. Click on any item in the list for details such as a description, directions, tips, and links. Too many options in the results box? Zoom in on the map and try again—your new results will cover a smaller area. For more tips, visit the Map Viewer Tutorial.
  • On the mobile Map Viewer, just click on any point on the map. In the results box, you can choose to include information about features you don't have displayed (Include Hidden Layers). To narrow down results, zoom in on the map and try again—your new results will cover a smaller area.

How can I print a copy of the map?

You have two options from a desktop computer:
1) Export the map as a .png file that you can print out, or view from your mobile device. See Export.

2) Use the Build a Hike tool or Analyze Area tool to automatically create a report that includes a map. You can print it out, or view it on your mobile device using its unique URL. See Build a Hike or Measure and Analyze.

Find other tips in the Map Viewer Tutorial.

back to top