Vegetation Inventory Project John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (JODA) encompasses approximately 14,014 acres (5,697 ha) in three management units containing eight parcels located in the John Day River Valley of southeastern Oregon. The Sheep Rock Unit (six parcels totaling 8,916 acres) is located six miles west of Dayville, OR. The Clarno Unit (1,969 acres) is located 20 miles west of Fossil, OR, and the Painted Hills Unit (3,129 acres) is located nine miles northwest of Mitchell, OR. Collectively, these units managed by the National Park Service (NPS) include dramatic volcanic and sedimentary rock formations containing widespread fossil beds that are aged from 54 million to 6 million years ago (mya). On and around these exposed sedimentary and volcanic landscapes are 243 species of vascular plants including a mix of native and non-native plant communities common to badlands, basins, slopes, volcanic exposures, alluvial deposits, and riparian sites. To better understand the plant community distribution at JODA, the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program (NVIP) funded an effort, beginning in 2008, to inventory and document (map) the vegetation. The Upper Columbia Basin Inventory and Monitoring Network (UCBN) coordinated the JODA vegetation inventory effort as part of a network-wide project. A three-year, four-phase program was initiated to complete the tasks of sampling, classifying, and mapping the vegetation types within JODA. Phase-one, directed by UCBN staff in conjunction with Northwest Management Incorporated (NMI) and the Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center (ORNHIC) resulted in the plant association and alliance classification using the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS). Classification was based on new, 2008 sampling efforts resulting in 361 representative classification plots located within the three JODA units. Analysis of the classification plot data by ORNHIC ecologists occurred in late 2008. Through this process 52 distinct plant associations and 23 vegetation alliances were identified. Vegetation descriptions and a field key for each association are included as appendices to this report. Phase-two, directed by NMI and Cogan Technology, Inc. (CTI) resulted in the digital vegetation map and geodatabase. Mapping was conducted primarily on 2009 National Aerial Imagery Program (NAIP) products supplemented by 2005 NAIP imagery. Interpreting the vegetation-specific signatures from the new imagery, CTI reliably discerned 41 vegetation, 21 land use/land cover, and four geology map units. The mapping process used primarily manual digitizing of the homogenous photo-signatures supported by on-site verification. All interpreted data were converted to Geographic Information System (GIS) databases using ArcGIS© software. The final map layer contains vegetation, land-use, and geologic exposure polygons with corresponding map class, NVC, and modifier attributes. Draft maps were printed, field tested during April 2009, reviewed, and revised. Following verification by JODA staff, edits were applied to create the final vegetation map product for accuracy assessment (AA). In Phase-three the AA was conducted by NMI ecologists in 2010 by placing 407 random point locations throughout the study area based on frequency and abundance of the vegetation map units. AA locations were accessed by NMI field crews, the vegetation at the targets was keyed to the proper association, and representative photographs of each location were acquired. The field data were compared to the electronic vegetation map and following the final assessment revealed an overall thematic accuracy of 87%.

Vegetation Inventory Project John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

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