93o45'W 93o30'W 93o15'W 93o0'W 92o45'W 92o30'W 92o15'W 92o0'W 91o45'W 91o30'W 91o15'W 91o0'W 90o45'W 90o30'W 90o15'W 90o0'W

49o0'N 48o45'N 48o30'N 48o15'N 48o0'N 47o45'N 47o30'N

93o45'W 93o30'W 93o15'W 93o0'W 92o45'W 92o30'W 92o15'W 92o0'W 91o45'W 91o30'W 91o15'W 91o0'W 90o45'W 90o30'W 90o15'W

49o0'N 48o45'N 48o30'N 48o15'N 48o0'N 47o45'N 47o30'N

BORDER LAKES REGION 

Land-Cover Classification

Mixed Coniferous/Deciduous

Red/White Pine

Jack Pine

Spruce/Fir

Cedar

Tamarack

Mixed/Other Conifers

Aspen/Birch

Lowland Hardwoods

Water

Wetland

Shrubland

Grassland

Urban/Developed or Bare Soil

Northern Boreal Hardwood Mix

Projection: Transverse Mercator

(UTM NAD83 Zone 15N)

Scale: 1:378,000

Map Description

The land-cover classification of approximately 5.1 million acres (2.1 million hectares) of land

bordering Minnesota, U.S.A., and Ontario, Canada (Border Lakes Region) was created by the

University of Minnesota, Geospatial Analysis Laboratory under grant by the U.S. Forest Service

Northern Research Station acting as a representative for the Border Lakes Partnership. The classification

focused on the separation and identification of specific forest-cover types. Some separation of the nonforest

classes also was performed. The classification was derived from multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM+ imagery

(collected from the years 1999-2001) using eCognition segmentation software to identify stands and the kNN algorithm

to perform the spectral classification. Reference data sites were obtained for Minnesota from the Minnesota Department

of Natural Resources Forest Inventory and Monitoring program dataset and for Canada from the Forest Resource

Inventory program. This dataset was created to be used as an input layer in the LANDIS-II forest landscape model for

simulation of future forest disturbance and compositional change over the Border Lakes landscape.

Land-cover classification produced by the University of Minnesota in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service Northern

Research Station and The Nature Conservancy. Cartographer: Casey Souder, August 2009.

Suggested Citatiton

Bauer, M; Loeffelholz, B; Shinneman, D. 2009. Border Lakes land-cover classification. RMAP NRS-1. USDA Forest Service,

Northern Research Station. 

Disclaimer

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service has developed this information for the guidance of its employees, its

contractors, and its cooperating Federal, State and other agencies. It is not responsible for the interpretation or use of this

information by anyone except its own employees. The use of trade, firm, corporation, or association names in this publication

is for the information and convenience of the reader and does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of any product

or service. This product is reproduced from geospatial information prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest

Service. Geographic Information System (GIS) data and product accuracy may vary. They may be developed from sources of

differing accuracy, accurate only at certain scales, based on modeling or interpretation, or incomplete while being created or

revised. Using GIS products for purposes other than those or for which they were created may yield inaccurate or misleading

results. This information was released on the indicated date. The Forest Service reserves the right to correct, update, modify,

or replace GIS products without notification.

Miles

0 5 10 20 30 40

0 5 10 20 30 40

Kilometers

Canada

U.S.A

Quetico

Provincial 

Park Voyageurs

National Park

Minnesota

Ontario

Lake Superior

Manitoba

Boundary Waters Canoe

Area Wilderness

Source: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Marvin Bauer, Brian Loeffelholz, Doug Shinneman