James P. Vanderhorst USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics 20091230 vector digital data http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/gari/garigeodata.zip http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/?p=default&b=base1&q=http%3A%2F%2Fgis1.usgs.gov%2Farcgis%2Frest%2Fservices%2Fnvcp%2FGauley_River_NRA%2FMapServer&x=-9017162.62655&y=4606646.296949998&l=12&sc=0&v= http://gis1.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/nvcp/Gauley_River_NRA/MapServer Vanderhorst, J. P., B. P. Streets, Z. Acharo, and S. C. Gawler. 201011 Final technical report describing methods and results of the vegetation classification and mapping project Philadelphia, PA National Park Service http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/gari.html doi:10.5066/F7VQ30MT This data represents a vegetation map for Gauley River National Recreation Area. It contains nonoverlapping polygons which represent vegetation classes, aquatic features, and cultural features. Vegetation types were classified based on statistical analysis of plot data collected on the ground from 1995 through 2009. Polygons were delineated based on interpretation of digital and hard copy aerial photography flown in 2003. This data set was created by clipping the GARIvegetation feature class by the boundary of Gauley River National Recreation Area. Multipart polygons created by the clip operation were converted to single part polygons. Hectares and acres were calculated for each polygon using XTools. The purpose of this data is to serve as a tool for conservation and management of natural resources in Gauley River National Recreation Area. The shapefile was imported into a geodatabase by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics 20030327 ground condition Complete As needed Gauley River National Recreation Area and environs -81.122764 -80.882325 38.245740 38.139062 none vegetation vegetation map vegetation classification natural communities ecological communities community ecology landscape ecology plant communities aquatic features cultural features National Park Service Theme Category Thesaurus Vegetation ISO 19115 Topic Category biota National Park System Unit Name Thesaurus Gauley River National Recreation Area National Park System Unit Code Thesaurus GARI none Gauley River West Virginia Fayette County Nicholas County Meadow River None Standardized National Vegetation Classification System vegetation classification alliance community association Kingdom Plantae none none James P. Vanderhorst West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Vegetation Ecologist mailing and physical address

PO Box 67, Ward Road

Elkins WV 26241 USA 304-637-0245 James.P.Vanderhorst@wv.gov http://www1.usgs.gov/vip/gari/garivegmap.pdf Vegetation map; low resolution for web browsing. PDF Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3000 Contains non-overlapping polygons. Polygons were delineated based on interpretation of digital and hard copy aerial photography flown in 2003. Map covers entire area within the NPS GIS park boundary. Delineation of vegetation map classes was based on interpretation of digital aerial imagery utilizing additional digital and non-digital data sources. The primary imagery used as base layers for mapping were the digital orthophoto mosaics of leaf-off color infrared aerial photography flown for this project in March 2003. Additional digital aerial imagery sets which were used included leaf-off color infra-red digital orthophoto quarter quads flown in spring 1996 (USGS 1995) and true color leaf-off orthophoto quarter quads flown in spring 2003 (WVSAMB 2005). Transparencies of leaf-on color infra-red aerial photography flown for this project in October 2003 were examined on a light table to help distinguish signatures which are not apparent on leaf-off imagery. Original transparencies used to produce the leaf-off orthophoto mosaic were also examined on a light table to distinguish problematic signatures. Utilization of these multiple sets often helped to overcome deficiencies (e.g. shading) of the primary orthophoto mosaics. Ancillary GIS layers used to assist photointerpretation included digital rastor graphs of USGS topographic maps and the landform and Ecological Land Unit models developed for this project. Aerial imagery interpretation was initiated by examining signatures throughout the park in relation to GIS-mapped plot locations. Selection of map classes was driven by the imagery. When individual associations could be reliably mapped, these were chosen as map classes. Composite map classes were used when individual associations could not be distinguished due to tight zonation or patchiness. Map classes were also developed for aquatic, cultural, and disturbed areas and features. The stated minimum mapping unit for this project was 0.5 ha (1.23 ac), but smaller polygons were sometimes delineated for small patch or linear types with distinct signatures. Small creeks were mapped to the extent that their courses were visible on photography, with only short gaps estimated. Polygons were drawn using the ArcGIS editing tools with the screen set at various scales, commonly 1:3,000, depending on the vegetation patch size and distinctiveness of boundaries. Polygons were attributed with the name of the map class and, sometimes, comments related to the vegetation or its photo signature. After a relatively complete list of map classes was established, a domain was created to limit map class names to this list. The domain was altered as a few additional map classes were identified. Topology was established to enforce rules for no gaps or overlaps. All areas within the park boundary were mapped and mapping was usually extended somewhat beyond the boundary to insure complete coverage. A few changes were made to the vegetation map after results of thematic accuracy assessment were received from North Carolina State University. Aerial photo signatures of all misclassified accuracy assessment points were reviewed and polygons in the vegetation feature class were edited when appropriate. Most edits involved splitting polygons and reattributing the parts of the original polygon according to the correct classification determined by the accuracy assessment point. In a few cases the entire original polygon was reattributed or comments were added to indicate gradation or inclusions within the polygon. Comments were added to all edited polygons to indicate they were edited post accuracy assessment. The GARIvegetation feature class was clipped by the boundary for Gauley River National Recreation Area then all multipart polygons were converted to single part polygons. Kilometers and acres were calculated using XTools. 20091230 The shapefile was imported into a geodatabase by the USGS/CSS/BIP/Center for Biological Informatics. 201103 Metadata imported. 201103 Vector G-polygon 2205 Universal Transverse Mercator 17 0.999600 -81.000000 0.000000 500000.000000 0.000000 coordinate pair 0.000100 0.000100 meters North American Datum of 1983 Geodetic Reference System 80 6378137.000000 298.257222 GARI_VegPolys Feature class attribute table National Park Service OBJECTID Internal feature number. ESRI Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Shape Feature geometry. ESRI Coordinates defining the features. Poly_ID Unique identifier for each polygon NPS Unique plot code. MapUnit_ID Code used to represent the Map Unit NPS Map unit code. MapUnit_Name Full Map Unit name NPS Map unit association common name. X_Centroid X Coordinate (UTM Easting) of the centroid of the polygon NPS Easting coordinate. Y_Centroid Y Coordinate (UTM Northing) of the centroid of the polygon NPS Northing coordinate. Acres Area (unknown units) ESRI Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Hectares Perimeter (unknown units) ESRI Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Shape_Length Length of feature in internal units. ESRI Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. Shape_Area Area of feature in internal units squared. ESRI Positive real numbers that are automatically generated. rc_VegPolys_tVegMapInfo Defines relationship between Veg polygons and basic vegetation attributes National Park Service USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinator mailing and physical address

Denver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302

Denver Colorado 80225 (303) 202-4220 303-202-4219 gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov Downloadable Data The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. These data and related graphics (if available) are not legal documents and are not intended to be used as such. The information contained in these data is dynamic and may change over time. The data are not better than the original sources from which they were derived. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data appropriately and consistent within the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Any related graphics (if available) are intended to aid the data user in acquiring relevant data; it is not approriate to use the related graphics as data. The U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. It is strongly recommended that these data are directly acquired from an U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service servers and not indirectly through other sources which may have changed the data in some way. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This disclaimer applies both to individual use of the data and aggregate use with other data. It is also strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this metadata report does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey and National Park Service. HTML http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/vip/parks/gari.html Internet Access None 20110126 20110401 USGS/CSS/Core Science Analytics and Synthesis USGS-NPS Vegetation Characterization Program Coordinator mailing and physical address

Denver Federal Center, Building 810, MS 302

Denver Colorado 80225 (303) 202-4220 303-202-4219 gs-b-npsveg@usgs.gov FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001.1-1999 http://www.usgs.gov/core_science_systems/csas/metadata/index.html