Mapping eligible wilderness in Alaska National Park units
Southwould A, Lindholm A, Reed K, Landres N. 2016. Mapping eligible wilderness in Alaska National Park units. Natural Resource Report. NPS/AKRO/NRR—2016/1318. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
The basis for much of Alaska’s wilderness eligibility comes from regulations and definitions from the 1980s. The eligibility determinations made in Alaska at that time create challenges for managers today because many things have changed over the last 30 years, including: • Wilderness eligibility review content included in General Management Plans (GMPs) from the 1980s was non-digital. These maps provide insufficient detail due to both scale and technical accuracy. Improvements in geospatial software for mapping and spatial analysis have significantly improved the accuracy of locating features and extent on the ground. • In some locations, the wilderness eligibility determinations are no longer representative of current boundary or land status conditions. Since the 1980s, park and wilderness boundaries have changed due to changes in land ownership or use. In response, the Wilderness Eligibility Mapping project was initiated to increase the accuracy of wilderness information by developing digital representations of NPS Alaska wilderness areas. Through this effort, the spatial extent of Congressionally designated wilderness and eligible wilderness areas are accurately mapped in a manner that reflects the original intent of the GMP wilderness review, but within current land status and management conditions. Likewise, some areas are now ineligible for wilderness based on previous inaccuracies in the data or changes in land status. These changes are reflected in the updated maps. One of the tools to update the acreages is the Wilderness Model, an automated GIS model that uses a controlled set of inputs, structured data queries, and geoprocessing tools executed in a set order to accomplish specific tasks for NPS Alaska wilderness mapping. This process does not constitute as a wilderness reassessment. The updated wilderness data facilitates wilderness preservation and management, and creates a more accurate accounting of Alaska’s wilderness areas. The final eligibility map for each park addresses land status considerations (including navigable waters, federal 17b easements, and land selections made under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) and park management considerations (such as direction in a park’s GMP for areas that were not of adequate size to be represented in the original maps).
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Southwould, Angie; Lindholm, Adrienne; Reed, Kristen; Landres, Nyssa
- Date of Issue
- 2016-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- AKRO , ANIA , BELA , CAKR , DENA , GAAR , GLBA , KATM , KEFJ , KOVA , LACL , NOAT , NRSS , WRST , YUCH
- Keywords
- Alagnak Wild River, Alaska, Aniakchak National Monument, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Denali National Park and Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Wilderness, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Yukon-Charley National Preserve
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Human Use | Visitor and Recreation Use | Visitor Use