Vegetatation Sampling, Classification, and Mapping of Selected Park Service Lands in New York

Johnson, Elizabeth

Cooperative Agreement Between the United States Department of the Interior National Park Servic and The Nature Conservancy - New York Natural Heritage Program. Determine and map the plant communities within selected lands administered by the National Park Service in New York to enable and enhance future inventories, monitoring, and management of the natural resources found within these areas. The Nature Conservancy-New York Natural Heritage Program will utilize recent aerial photos and digital imagery to locate, identify, and map the plant communities of these areas, gather and analyze plant community data to develop a community classification for each of these areas, create maps of the plant communities present, provide attribute data (including plant species, cover, soil types, etc.) of the plant communities present, and assess the accuracy of the original mapping using Accuracy Assessment Protocols and refining the maps as necessary. The following National Park Service sites will be assessed through this project: Gateway National Recreation Area; Sagamore Hill National Historic Site; Vanderbilt Mansion, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Sites; and Saratoga National Historical Park. In order for the National Park Service (Service) to manage, conserve, and monitor the species and communities within its properties, Service personnel must know which communities are present and their locations. This information will help direct resources for the inventory, protection, restoration, and management of the species and communities most in need. Service personnel must be able to make informed management decisions based on the status and trends of these communities using baseline data collected through inventory and continued through monitoring. To be used effectively, these data should be brought together in easily used maps and in databases that can be readily applied to analysis and interpretation. The National Vegetation Classification — a system developed by The Nature Conservancy, NatureServe, and Natural Heritage Programs throughout the United States — is the mapping standard selected by the Service. The Nature Conservancy-New York Natural Heritage Program will follow sampling methods and mapping standards consistent with guidelines developed by The Nature Conservancy for the USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. Any variation from guidelines due to time, budget, or other constraints will be documented. The Service (Chris Lea, pers. comm.) has identified the following National Park Service properties as requiring vegetation mapping: Gateway National Recreation Area; Sagamore Hill National Historic Site; Vanderbilt Mansion, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Sites; and Saratoga National Historical Park. The sizes of these properties range from 26,610 acres at the Gateway National Recreation Area (20,444 acres federal, 6,166 acres non-federal) in both New York and New Jersey, to 83 acres (all federal) at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.