The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles.

Vegetation mapping for BADL falls under the USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program’s general task of completing all the National Parks within the Great Plains Ecosystem. Other Parks in this region that have been mapped or are currently in progress include: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Jewel Cave National Monument, Devil’s Tower National Monument, Scott’s Bluff National Monument, and Fort Laramie National Historic Site.

Thirty-three map classes or units were recognized and used for BADL (Table 4). These were divided into 23 vegetation units and ten Anderson Level II (Anderson et al. 1976) land use classes. Map units were developed through a combination of fieldwork, preliminary photo-interpretation, and the NVCS for BADL. Deviations from the NVCS occurred when distinct photo signatures could not be discerned from aerial photography, such as some of the grassland and badlands types. Also, some map units did not directly correspond to the USGS-NPS vegetation-mapping program but were included to aid with BADL’s management needs.