Sludge Hub Biodiversity Mapping

Ecological Monitoring Across West Virginia

This project visualizes iNaturalist observations across five West Virginia ecological regions relevant to mine land restoration and pollinator conservation. By comparing biodiversity patterns across different landscapes, we aim to support ecological monitoring and community science efforts throughout the state.

Explore the Maps

Statewide Overview

All observations across West Virginia, showing the geographic spread of documented biodiversity within each study region.

Potomac Highlands

Mineral, Grant, and Hampshire counties. Appalachian ridges, agricultural valleys, and post-mining landscapes in the eastern mountains.

Monongahela Valley

Monongalia, Preston, and Marion counties. The north-central corridor, including university research areas and river valley ecosystems.

Kanawha Valley

Kanawha, Putnam, and Fayette counties. The state's urban-rural gradient, from the Charleston metro area to the New River Gorge.

Greenbrier / New River

Greenbrier, Monroe, and Summers counties. Rich biodiversity around New River Gorge National Park and the Greenbrier Valley.

Eastern Panhandle

Jefferson, Berkeley, and Morgan counties. The Shenandoah watershed and lower Potomac region with high observation density.

Map Legend

On regional maps, observations are colored by taxonomic group:

Insects (pollinators) Plants Birds Mammals Fungi Other

Concentric circles on each regional map show 5, 10, and 15 mile radii from the regional reference point.

Last Data Update: February 28, 2026

Observation data is pulled from the iNaturalist API and refreshed periodically. Both Sludge Hub project observations and broader community observations within each study region are included.

Background

The Sludge Hub works to reimagine ways to restore mine lands, streams, and degraded environments across West Virginia. As part of these broader efforts, this project focuses on documenting biodiversity patterns across the state, with particular attention to pollinator conservation in post-coal landscapes.

iNaturalist serves as a powerful community science platform for this effort. This project combines observations submitted through the Sludge Hub iNaturalist project with broader community observations to create a regional comparison of biodiversity across the state.

This project and its data collection are supported by The Sludge Hub & Company, the West Virginia Beekeeping Association, and GROW Externships.

Methodology

Observation data is sourced from the iNaturalist API. The dataset combines project-specific observations with all community observations within the bounding boxes of each study region. Casual-grade observations are excluded; research-grade and needs-identification observations are retained.

Each study region is defined by a multi-county bounding box. Buffer zones are calculated using standard geospatial libraries (Shapely, GeoPandas) around regional reference points to provide spatial context. Maps are generated using Folium and display the Web Mercator projection (EPSG:3857).

The project code is designed to be reusable. It can be adapted for other iNaturalist projects and geographic areas by modifying the configuration file. See the GitHub repository for full source code and documentation.

Contact

For questions about the data or maps, please open an issue on GitHub. For direct inquiries, contact Olivia Gonzalez via LinkedIn.