The Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GPLCC, https://www.fws.gov/science/catalog) is a partnership that provides applied science and decision support tools to assist natural resource managers conserve plants, fish and wildlife in the mid- and short-grass prairie of the southern Great Plains. It is part of a national network of public-private partnerships — known as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs, http://www.fws.gov/science/shc/lcc.html) — that work collaboratively across jurisdictions and political boundaries to leverage resources and share science capacity. The Great Plains LCC identifies science priorities for the region and helps foster science that addresses these priorities to support wildlife conservation throughout the Great Plains region. It also assists partners in building their own capacity to address scientific challenges associated with our rapidly changing environment.These data were compiled because the information did not previously exist as a single resource for the GPLCC area. They are intended to inform local and regional conservation and management strategies with a complete regional perspective. Abstract provided by original data sources: "This data layer depicts playas as identified through a compilation of six data sources: SSURGO soils data, National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) data, National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), analysis of Landsat TM imagery, analysis of National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery, and hand-delineation on aerial maps of select lands managed by The Nature Conservancy. Data source varies across the layer's extent so please refer to the [Source] field in the attribute table to identify the source of any individual playa or refer to the Supplemental Information section below for a summary of sources by state. The following data characteristics vary by source: data quality, attribute information, dates of acquisition and publication, and minimum mapping units (MMU). Please read the DATA SOURCES section below for details. **IMPORTANT NOTES: The number of features in this dataset (n=89,798) is does NOT represent the number of playas, rather the number of polygons representing playas, whole or partial. This occurs because NWI coverage often maps a single playa as multiple adjacent or nested polygons (e.g., a PEMC polygon exists within a PEMA polygon -- 2 polygons representing one playa). The [PPv4_ID] field contains unique identifiers for adjacent/nested polygons that represent a playa (e.g., nested polygons). In other words, the nested polygons have the same [PPV4_ID] value because they clearly represent a single playa. HOWEVER, if a playa is bisected by a road and is mapped as two or more separate, non-adjacent polygons, the [PPv4_ID] values are different for the polygons. Please explore NWI playas in this dataset to view examples of NWI playa delineation.***Please see SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION for critical information on how to use/interpret these data."Data were the best available at the time of compilation (2011) with current information represented by a combination of national-scale datasets and state or other regional data (e.g. soils) that could be reasonably aggregated.
