Based mainly on discussion here, but see also this and this.
It would be helpful to have the ecoregions of the US added to iNat’s Places. They are available as shapefiles here, but are way too large for any normal user to add. Would it be feasible for staff to add these?
I like this idea, but something to consider is that these are changing. The timescale may not be important for the purposes of iNat, but it is something to keep in mind when looking at current ecoregions and ecosystems, especially in times of rapid environmental change such as we are experiencing right now.
I would assume that the EPA would update the shapefiles in response to significant changes, and that iNaturalist would follow suite.
Cool idea. I add the Level III/IV Ecoregion as an Observation Field. In case anyone is wondering where to find USEPA Ecoregions: Ecoregions
+1 (I assume you mean standard places)
As cool as this would be, we won’t be adding these regions as they would also be too taxing on our infrastructure.