USGS-NPS vegetation mapping: Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

Salas, David; Pucherelli, Michael

The 2002 Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site Vegetation Mapping Project was conducted as part of and in accordance with the U.S. Geological Survey/National Park Service (USGS/NPS) Vegetation Mapping Program. This Program is being administered by the Center for Biological Informatics (CBI), Biological Resources Division of the USGS, Denver, Colorado and was initiated as part of the NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program. The primary goal of the Program is to classify, describe, and map vegetation for approximately 270 NPS units. This mapping project was performed by the Remote Sensing and GIS Group (RSGIG), Technical Service Center, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Interior, Denver, Colorado. In addition to the main contractor, NatureServe provided initial descriptions and methodology for the vegetation classification. A total of 17 land cover classes were used for interpretation of approximately 2084 acres encompassing the Park and surrounding environs. Of these land cover classes 12 are native or semi native classes. Vegetation map classes were determined through field reconnaissance and reference to the preliminary list of potential vegetation types provided by NatureServe. The vegetation map was created from photographic interpretation of June 20, 2002, 1:12,000 scale color aerial photographs (0.5 hectare minimum mapping unit). All vegetation and land-use information was then transferred to a GIS database using the latest grayscale USGS digital orthophoto quarter-quads as the base map and using a combination of on-screen digitizing and scanning techniques. Overall thematic map accuracy for the Park is considered 100% as all interpreted polygons received a filed visit for verification. Field work was conducted during the last week in August, 2002.

USGS-NPS vegetation mapping: Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

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