This map package contains data from the USGS Protected Area Database (PAD-US) version 1.2. The original shapefile was clipped to the boundary of the Southern Rockies LCC. The data are displayed in two layers: one shows the owner name of the protected areas and the other shows the GAP status code (level of the protection) of the protected areas. To preview the data or view them without ArcMAP, there are two downloadable jpeg image files, showing screenshots of this map package with the owner name and status layers displayed. The data can also be viewed on the USGS Protected Areas Viewer.
The Excel file "PAD-US Analysis" shows the composition of the SRLCC by owner and GAP status (% area of the SRLCC for each owner category and status code). The spreadsheet also shows the percent of each SRLCC Level III Ecoregion that has protected status.
From attached metadata: "The Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is a geodatabase that illustrates and describes public land ownership, management and conservation lands nationally, including voluntarily provided privately protected areas. The lands included in PAD-US are assigned conservation measures that qualify their intent to manage lands for the preservation of biological diversity and to other natural, recreational and cultural uses; managed for these purposes through legal or other effective means. The geodatabase includes: 1) Geographic boundaries of public land ownership and voluntarily provided private conservation lands (e.g., Nature Conservancy Preserves); 2) The combination land owner, land manager, management designation or type, parcel name, GIS Acres and source of geographic information of each mapped land unit 3) GAP Status Code conservation measure of each parcel based on USGS National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) protection level categories which provide a measurement of management intent for long-term biodiversity conservation 4) IUCN category for a protected area's inclusion into UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre's World Database for Protected Areas. IUCN protected areas are defined as, "A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values" and are categorized following a classification scheme available through USGS GAP; 5) World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA) Site Codes linking the multiple parcels of a single protected area in PAD-US and connecting them to the Global Community.
PAD-US version 1.2 updates include: 1) National Park Service (NPS) boundaries and GAP Status Code review in cooperation with NPScape and NPS Lands. 2) Department of Defense (DOD) boundaries in cooperation with DOD Partners in Flight 3) Official (member and eligible only) Marine Protected Areas as aggregated and accepted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 4)The Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) authoritative boundaries in cooperation with NLCS policy representitives and the Lands Division. Note: NLCS National Trails and Wild and Scenic Rivers were not updated as they are managed as Line files; however, PADUS already contained many of these protected areas. 5) Modified or newly created Wilderness Area boundaries created by The Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009 in cooperation with Wilderness.net. 6) Protected areas in The US Virgin Islands 7) Protected areas in the Pacific Islands (Micronesia) 8) Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife protected areas."
