Vegetation - Owens Valley and Jawbone [ds2874]

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contracted Aerial Information Systems, Inc. (AIS) to continue vegetation classification development and fine-scale vegetation mapping of 1,016,668 acres over four subareas within Inyo, Kern, and Imperial counties of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) region. The four subareas are designated as Salton Sea South (224,763 acres), Jawbone South (204,133 acres), Owens Valley (392,906 acres), and Picacho (194,866 acres). Work performed is based on the classification and mapping standards as outlined in the Survey of California Vegetation, Classification, and Mapping Standards developed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's (CDFW) Vegetation, Classification, and Mapping Program (VegCAMP) (VegCAMP, 2020). California Native Plant Society (CNPS), as a subcontractor to AIS, conducted any classification development work needed for this project and conducted the accuracy assessment surveys. The subareas included in this map are Jawbone North (151,986 acres), Jawbone South (204,133 acres), and Owens Valley (392,906 acres). BIOS ds735 contains the other areas. The previous mapping for the DRECP region was conducted in two phases from 2011 to 2016 for the California Energy Commission. The maps were primarily produced to support the DRECP by helping planners more accurately identify high quality habitat and rare communities as they consider renewable energy sources and conservation opportunities. In 2011-2012 AIS and VegCAMP created a fine-scale vegetation map covering approximately six million acres of portions of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts in southern California (Menke et al., 2013). In addition, mapping of 95,981 acres within Rice and Vidal Valleys in the Colorado Desert portion of the Sonoran Desert was completed by AIS in 2013-2014 as an extension to the original project. Subsequently, between 2014 and 2016, AIS was tasked to create a fine-scale vegetation map of 2,195,415 acres of desert in Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties in southern California. Areas mapped include the eastern and central portions of the Mojave Desert as well as the Lower Colorado Valley (also referred to as the Colorado Desert), and the Arizona Upland subdivisions of the Sonoran Desert (Menke et al., 2016). The vegetation classification follows Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) and National Vegetation Classification Standards (NVCS). The classification is based on new and previous survey and classification work. The map was produced applying heads-up digitizing techniques using a base of 2016 or 2018 one-meter National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery (true-color and color infrared), in conjunction with ancillary data and imagery sources. Map polygons are assessed for Vegetation Type, Percent Cover, Exotics, Development Disturbance, and other attributes. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) is 10 acres; exceptions are made for wetlands and certain wash types (which were mapped to a 1 or 5 acre MMU, depending on type) and areas characterized as Land Use polygons (which were mapped to a 2.5 acre MMU). In the progression to non-desert areas the MMU transitioned to 1 acre for upland types and 1/4 acre for special types. Field reconnaissance and accuracy assessment enhanced map quality. There were a total of 126 mapping classes. The overall accuracy assessment ratings for the final vegetation map were 86.23 percent for User's Accuracy, and 87.9 for Producer's Accuracy. Accuracy assessment ratings for the subareas included in this map are as follows: Owens Valley: User's Accuracy 83.9, Producer's Accuracy 85.4 Jawbone North: User's Accuracy 86.7, Producer's Accuracy 85.5 Jawbone South: User's Accuracy 82.8, Producer's Accuracy 84.3 For detailed information please refer to the following reports: [Reyes, E., J. Evens, A. Glass, Sikes, K, Keeler-Wolf, T., D. Johnson, S. Winitsky, J. Menke and A. Hepburn. 2020 CALIFORNIA VEGETATION MAP IN SUPPORT OF THE DESERT RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSERVATION PLAN . U.S. Bureau of Land Management; 12/2020.] [Menke, J., E. Reyes, A. Hepburn, D. Johnson and J. Reyes. California Vegetation Map in Support of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (2014-2016 Additions). Aerial Information Systems; 5/2016.] [Menke, J., E. Reyes, A. Glass, D. Johnson and J. Reyes. 2013 California Vegetation Map in Support of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, California Energy Commission; 4/2013.]