Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Landscape Context, Raster Data

This zip file contains 21 raster layers representing data from a variety of landscape metrics used to analyze the landscape context of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (BICA). Their names, descriptions and categorization are as follows:

Housing
This raster dataset contains sixteen layers named in the format "bhc1950us," with the name of each layer containing a year representing the decades from 1950 through 2100 (ex. bh1960us, bhc1970us, bhc1980us, etc.). The layers depict housing density classes for the area around the 30 km buffer around and including BICA’s managed lands for each decade. These housing density estimates come from a Spatially Explicit Regional Growth Model (SERGoM, Theobald 2005) based on U.S. Census data from 2010 and depict the location and density of private land housing unit classes around BICA. SERGoM methods combined housing data with information on land ownership and density of major roads (interstates, state highways, and county roads) to provide a more accurate allocation of the location of housing units over the landscape. Details on how SERGoM was used for NPS data can be found in the NPScape Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Housing Measure at https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2221576

The SERGoM used historical and current housing density patterns as data inputs to develop a simulation model to forecast future housing density patterns based on county-level population projections. Further details about the methodology of SERGoM can be found at https://www.jstor.org/stable/26267722?seq=2

SERGoM_bhc_metrics:

Value	CLASSNAME
0	Private undeveloped
1	< 1.5 units / square km
2	1.5 - 3 units / square km
3	4 - 6 units / square km
4	7 - 12 units / square km
5	13 - 24 units / square km
6	25 - 49 units / square km
7	50 - 145 units / square km
8	146 - 494 units / square km
9	495 - 1,234 units / square km
10	1,235 - 2,470 units / square km
11	> 2,470 units / square km
12	Commercial/industrial


Land Cover
This raster dataset depicts land cover and contains four layers from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). The names and descriptions of each layer are as follows:

- NLCD2001. The National Land Cover Database 2001 land cover layer for mapping was produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium. This is a single layer for 2001 landcover data at all levels. Level 2 data for 2001 can be derived from this layer by collapsing level 1 features into level 2 categories. This level 1 layer contains seventeen classes:

Value Land Cover
0 Unknown
11 Open Water
12 Perennial Snow/Ice
21 Developed, Open Space
22 Developed, Low Intensity
23 Developed, Medium Intensity
24 Developed, High Intensity
31 Barren Land
41 Deciduous Forest
42 Evergreen Forest
43 Mixed Forest
52 Shrub/Scrub
71 Herbaceous
81 Hay/Pasture
82 Cultivated Crops
90 Woody Wetlands
95 Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands

NLCD2001 land cover class descriptions:
Open Water - All areas of open water, generally with less than 25% cover or vegetation or soil.
Perennial Ice/Snow - All areas characterized by a perennial cover of ice and/or snow, generally greater than 25% of total cover.
Developed, Open Space - Includes areas with a mixture of some constructed materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn grasses. Impervious surfaces account for less than 20 percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include large-lot single-family housing units, parks, golf courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings for recreation, erosion control, or aesthetic purposes.
Developed, Low Intensity - Includes areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 20-49 percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing units.
Developed, Medium Intensity - Includes areas with a mixture of constructed materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 50-79 percent of the total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing units.
Developed, High Intensity - Includes highly developed areas where people reside or work in high numbers. Examples include apartment complexes, row houses and commercial/industrial. Impervious surfaces account for 80 to100 percent of the total cover.
Barren Land - Rock/Sand/Clay; Barren areas of bedrock, desert pavement, scarps, talus, slides, volcanic material, glacial debris, sand dunes, strip mines, gravel pits and other accumulations of earthen material. Generally, vegetation accounts for less than 15% of total cover.
Deciduous Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75 percent of the tree species shed foliage simultaneously in response to seasonal change.
Evergreen Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. More than 75 percent of the tree species maintain their leaves all year. Canopy is never without green foliage.
Mixed Forest - Areas dominated by trees generally greater than 5 meters tall, and greater than 20% of total vegetation cover. Neither deciduous nor evergreen species are greater than 75 percent of total tree cover.
Shrub/Scrub - Areas dominated by shrubs; less than 5 meters tall with shrub canopy typically greater than 20% of total vegetation. This class includes true shrubs, young trees in an early successional stage or trees stunted from environmental conditions.
Herbaceous - Areas dominated by graminoid or herbaceous vegetation, generally greater than 80% of total vegetation. These areas are not subject to intensive management such as tilling but can be utilized for grazing.
Hay/Pasture - Areas of grasses, legumes, or grass-legume mixtures planted for livestock grazing or the production of seed or hay crops, typically on a perennial cycle. Pasture/hay vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of total vegetation.
Cultivated Crops - Areas used for the production of annual crops, such as corn, soybeans, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton, and also perennial woody crops such as orchards and vineyards. Crop vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of total vegetation. This class also includes all land being actively tilled.
Woody Wetlands - Areas where forest or shrub land vegetation accounts for greater than 20 percent of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.
Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands - Areas where perennial herbaceous vegetation accounts for greater than 80 percent of vegetative cover and the soil or substrate is periodically saturated with or covered with water.


- Landcover_NaturalConverted_NLCD2011. This layer depicts natural vs. converted land cover circa 2011 and was extracted from the map package NLCD2011_LNC.mpk. This layer contains two classes:

Value Class Name
1 Converted
2 Natural

Natural vs. Converted class descriptions:
Converted - Developed areas, cultivated crops, and hay/pasture lands.
Natural - All other major cover types.


- Landcover_Level1_NLCD2011. This layer was extracted from the map package NLCD2011_Level1.mpk and contains nine classes:

Value Class Name
1 Open Water
2 Developed
3 Barren/Quarries/Transitional
4 Forest
5 Scrubs/Shrub
6 Perennial Ice/Snow
7 Grassland/Herbaceous
8 Agriculture
9 Wetlands


- Landcover_Level2_NLCD2011. This layer was extracted from the map package NLCD2011_Level2.mpk and contains fifteen classes:

Value Class Name
11 Open Water
12 Perennial Ice/Snow
21 Developed, Open Space
22 Developed, Low Intensity
23 Developed, Medium Intensity
24 Developed, High Intensity
31 Barren Land
41 Deciduous Forest
42 Evergreen Forest
43 Mixed Forest
52 Shrub/Scrub
71 Herbaceous
81 Hay/Pasture
82 Cultivated Crops
90 Woody Wetlands
95 Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands


Road Density
- Road_Density. This raster layer depicts road density (km/km2) calculated for all roads in and around the study area (30 km buffer around BICA) as of 2005. This layer was extracted from the map package AllRoads_rdd.mpk.



The map packages mentioned above can be found in the DataStore reference:
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Landscape Context, Map Packages. National Park Service.
https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2306146>https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2306146

Tags: census, land-cover, montana, roads, wyoming
Organization: Department of the Interior