These data comply to standards of the Gap Analysis Program. These data are intended to aid in state level assessment of natural resources and are not intended for use at a scale finer than 1:100,000.
A goal of the GAP project is to identify gaps in the conservation management of land units containing high biodiversity. This land stewardship map contains boundaries for federal, state, some municipal, and private properties. This map can be compared with known and predicted areas of biodiversity. A significant gap would be any area containing high biodiversity that is not currently being managed for biodiversity conservation. The lands are classified into four conservation categories, as defined by the Gap Analysis Program.
This map of land stewardship was unioned with the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) 1:100,000 lakes and reservoirs to identify conservation lands that are lakes and reservoirs. These were tagged as "water" but left in the dataset. Therefore, analysis determining the land area of status 1, 2, 3, 4 must first remove these "water" polygons.
*********** The following dichotomous key (from the GAP handbook) was used by gap staff and /or provided to land managers for categorization of biodiversity management status of land units. In using the terms "permanent" and "legally enforceable" GAP recognizes that all conditions are subject to change, even in wilderness and national parks, but the intent is for the condition to be of very long term. A-1: If the management intent can be determined through agency or institutional documentation GO TO A-2, if not, GO TO A-5 A-2: If the land unit is subject to statutory or legally enforceable protection from conversion to anthropogenic use of all or selected biological features by state or federal legislation, regulation, private deed restriction, or conservation easement intended for permanent status, GO TO B-1; if not, GO TO A-3 A-3: If ecological protection is not legally enforceable, temporary, or lacking but managed by a plan intended for permanent status, GO TO A-4; if not, GO TO A-5 A-4: Management to benefit biological diversity is provided by a written plan in place or in process under an institutional policy requiring such management - Status 3 A-5: Not subject to an adopted management plan or regulation that promotes biological diversity, or management intent is unknown - Status 4 B-1: If the total system in the land unit is conserved for natural ecological function with no more than 5% of the land unit in anthropogenic use, GO TO B-4; if conservation provisions apply only to selected features or species, GO TO B-2 B-2: If management emphasizes natural processes including allowing or mimicking natural ecological disturbance events, but also allows low anthropogenic disturbance, renewable resource use, or high levels of human visitation on more than 5% of the land unit - Status 2; if not, GO TO B-3 B-3: Management allows intensive, anthropogenic disturbance such as resource extraction, military exercises, or developed or motorized recreation on more than 5% of the land unit, but includes ecological management for select features - Status 3 B-4: If management strives for natural processes including allowing or mimicking natural ecological disturbance events - Status 1; if not, GO TO B-5 B-5: Managed for natural processes, but some or all disturbance events are suppressed or modified - Status 2
See Gap Handbook for a graphic flow-chart format.
The above key was not used in the same strict terms as a scientific key in that you will rarely know enough about a land unit to categorize it absolutely. It was intended as an aid to make a subjective process less so. *****************************'