Vegetation Mapping for the National Park Service

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Since the mid-1990s, the USGS UMESC has worked closely with ecologists from the National Park Service (NPS) and NatureServe to produce detailed vegetation datasets and mapping products for the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program. The NPS uses these data to address a wide variety of resource assessment, management, and conservation needs. The NPS projects that the UMESC worked on for 2012 and 2013 include the following:

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio:  Completed a spatial vegetation database for the 33,000-acre park, using the National Vegetation Classification Standard.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail: A detailed vegetation map is in progress for the entire 2,184-mile length of the trail using 12-inch per pixel, 4-band digital imagery collected in the fall seasons of 2009, 2010, and 2011. Draft versions of spatial vegetation databases are complete for the three southern ecoregions of the Appalachian Trail; a draft version of the final northern ecoregion will be completed in fiscal year 2014.

Natchez Trace Parkway: Color infrared aerial photography was processed and mosaicked for the 444-mile long Natchez Trace Parkway using 12-inch per pixel, 4-band digital imagery collected in fall 2011.

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnesota: Color infrared aerial photography at 6-inch per pixel and true-color aerial photography at 18-inches per pixel was collected for the 72-mile long Mississippi River and Recreation Area located near Minnesota’s Twin Cities.  Lidar is being used to create the orthophotos and stereo models.

Yellowstone National Park: Preliminary flight planning for the 2.2-million acre Yellowstone National Park is underway.  Tentative specifications call for collection of 12-inch per pixel, 4-band digital imagery in fall 2015.

http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/mapping/nps_vip.html

Author Name
Jennifer Dieck
Author Email
jdieck@usgs.gov