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.

We developed 75 map classes (including map-class phases) to map the SLBE and environs. Of these 75 map classes, 67 represent natural/semi-natural vegetation types within the NVCS, four represent cultural vegetation types (agriculture and developed) within the NVCS, and four represent non-vegetation features (open water, barren land). To assign meaningful information to each polygon (e.g., map-class names, physiognomic definitions, links to NVCS types), we produced a feature-class table, along with other supportive tables, and subsequently related them together via an ArcGIS Geodatabase. This geodatabase also links the map to other feature-class layers produced from this project, including vegetation sample plots, accuracy assessment (AA) sites, aerial photo locations, and project boundary extent. A geodatabase provides access to a variety of interlocking data sets, is expandable, and equips resource managers and researchers with a powerful GIS tool.