CEUR_HCAs

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Metadata:


Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG)
Publication_Date: 20120531
Title: CEUR_HCAs
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Other_Citation_Details: Greater sage-grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus (CEUR)
Description:
Abstract:
Habitat concentration areas (HCAs) are defined as significant habitat areas that are expected or known to be important for focal species based on survey data or habitat association modeling(WHCWG 2012). HCAs provide locations from which to model linkages.
Purpose:
Habitat concentration area (HCA) polygons are contained in this layer.
Supplemental_Information:
This GIS dataset is part of a suite of wildlife habitat connectivity data produced by the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG). The WHCWG is a voluntary public-private partnership between state and federal agencies, universities, tribes, and non-governmental organizations. The WHCWG is co-led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT). This dataset quantifies current wildlife habitat connectivity patterns for the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Available WHCWG raster data include model base layers, resistance, habitat, cost-weighted distance, and landscape integrity. Grid cell size is 90 m x 90 m. Habitat concentration areas, core areas, and linkage maps reside in raster and vector format. Project background can be found in the report: Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG). 2012. Washington Connected Landscapes Project: Analysis of the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA. Report document available online at: <http://www.waconnected.org>
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -120.443180
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -116.472662
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.001621
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 45.519210
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: wildlife habitat connectivity
Theme_Keyword: focal species
Theme_Keyword: habitat concentration area
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Washington
Place_Keyword: Oregon
Place_Keyword: Idaho
Place_Keyword: Columbia Plateau Ecoregion
Place_Keyword: Pacific Northwest
Place_Keyword: USA
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
DATA BACKGROUND: The Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) produced these data which represent a regional analysis that portrays conditions at a regional scale. Applying these data at finer, more local scales is likely to increase uncertainty in terms of accuracy and applicability for local land use decisions. However, for the scale at which they were developed, these products are state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed representations of landscape variables and connected habitat networks. The WHCWG expended great effort to compile the best GIS data within constraints imposed by data development costs, available compilation sources, and available staff resources. Inherent in any dataset used to develop graphical representations, are limitations of accuracy as determined by, among others, the source, scale and resolution of the data. The products and data from this analysis convey a wealth of information relevant to conservation of Washington's wildlife and though they represent the state of the art, they rely on imperfect data, knowledge, and assumptions. We strongly suggest that readers thoroughly understand our methods and the limitations of those methods prior to applying our results. The data user should note Chapter 2 and appendices in the WHCWG Columbia Plateau report. See metadata Credits for the report.
SOURCE DATA YEAR: The GIS base layers input to linkage modeling were developed from a wide variety of sources compiled over the years generally from 1999 to 2010. We would like to specify a GIS base layer compilation year for users of the connectivity data; however, the wide range of base layer compilation dates complicates such a specification. For example, land cover / land use, a major base layer, was mapped from Landsat imagery acquired from 1999 to 2003. This layer was subsequently modified by the WHCWG Columbia Plateau Ecoregion project using land cover / land use sources as recent as 2010. Likewise, transportation data were primarily obtained from the 2010 Census TIGER roads and housing density data were generated from the 2000 Census dataset. The data user should be aware that some areas experiencing rapid change over the last decade may not be captured in the modeling effort. APPROPRIATE SCALE OF USE: The raw GIS data obtained by the WHCWG Columbia Plateau project were compiled from a wide range of compilation source scales. The GIS data were post-processed at a 30 m x 30 m cell size (except housing density which had a native cell size of 100 m x 100 m). These data were compiled to 90 m x 90 m cell size prior to connectivity modeling. Given the wide ranging source scales and post-processing we do not recommend application of linkage data at scales larger than 1:100,000.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
Spatial Data Management Unit, Wildlife Program, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact_Person: Spatial Data Manager
Contact_Position: Spatial Data Manager
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing
Address: 600 Capitol Way N
City: Olympia
State_or_Province: Washington
Postal_Code: 98501
Country: US
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (360) 902-2515
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (360) 902-2162
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: info@waconnected.org
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wildthing@dfw.wa.gov
Hours_of_Service: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST Weekdays (except Holidays)
Data_Set_Credit:
Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) 2012. Washington Connected Landscapes Project: Analysis of the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA. Report document available online at: <http://www.waconnected.org>
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows Vista Version 6.0 (Build 6002) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcGIS 10.0.3.3600

Data_Quality_Information:
Completeness_Report: The feature class contains all HCAs for the focal species.
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Source: Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) 2012. For most species, the steps we followed to delineate HCAs were similar to those used in the statewide analysis, with some modifications. Most importantly, here we used focal species habitat models, rather than resistance surfaces, to identify areas with enough high-quality habitat to warrant potential inclusion in an HCA. These habitat layers formed the basis of HCA modeling, which proceeded as follows: 1) For each species, we used a circular moving window with the area equal to an average home-range size to mask out portions of the landscape where the average habitat value within the home range was below a given threshold. Average habitat threshold values were initially set at 0.75, but were then modified as appropriate for individual species based on the expert opinion of the focal species lead scientists and their supporting teams. 2) After grid cells falling below the moving window threshold were masked out, we converted the remaining grid cells to a binary habitat/non-habitat map. We started with binary habitat threshold values of 0.75, modifying these as focal species leads deemed appropriate. 3) Remaining habitat cells were joined if they were within a home-range movement distance (measured in cost-weighted distance units) from one another. This was done in the same way as in the statewide analysis, using the resistance model and expanding designated habitat cells outwards up to a total cost-weighted distance equal to the species’ home-range movement radius. This has the effect of joining nearby habitat cells together if the intervening landscape supports movements within home-range-scale distances. 4) Habitat concentration areas smaller than a specified threshold were then removed. Species were assigned one of three minimum HCA thresholds: 50 km2 (large herbivores—mule deer); 25 km2 (small herbivores—jackrabbits, grouse, and beaver); 12.5 km2 (small rodents, reptiles, and amphibians—chipmunk, ground squirrels, rattlesnake, and tiger salamander). We applied these rules to map HCAs using the HCA Toolkit (Shirk 2011). Home range areas and other parameters for each species were derived from literature review, occurrence data, and expert opinion, and are summarized in Table 2.2.
For Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse, sufficient information on current distributions allowed us to delineate HCAs more directly. For each of these species, we started with known lek locations and resistance rasters. We then grew HCAs out from lek locations using increasing values of cost-weighted distance, until they encompassed 95% of known nest locations of current populations (See Appendices A.1 and A.2).

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 115

Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Map_Projection:
Map_Projection_Name: HabConnectProjectArea North America Albers Equal Area Conic
Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:
Standard_Parallel: 43.0
Standard_Parallel: 48.0
Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -120.0
Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 41.0
False_Easting: 700000.0
False_Northing: 0.0
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 0.0001
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.0001
Planar_Distance_Units: Meter
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: D North American 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: GRS 1980
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222101

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: AMTI_HCAs
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: OBJECTID
Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: HCA_ID
Attribute_Definition: Habitat concentration area ID
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape_Length
Attribute_Definition: Length of feature in internal units.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape_Area
Attribute_Definition: Area of feature in internal units squared.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: hectare
Attribute_Definition: Number of hectares in HCA polygon

Distribution_Information:
Resource_Description: Downloadable data
Distribution_Liability:
The Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) makes no guarantee concerning the content, accuracy, completeness, or the results obtained from queries or use of WHCWG data, other than those for which the data was developed and its intended use. The WHCWG shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein.

Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20120701
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
Spatial Data Management Unit, Wildlife Program, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
Contact_Person: Spatial Data Manager
Contact_Position: Spatial Data Manager
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing
Address: 600 Capitol Way N
City: Olympia
State_or_Province: Washington
Postal_Code: 98501
Country: US
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (360) 902-2515
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (360) 902-2162
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wildthing@dfw.wa.gov
Hours_of_Service: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM PST Weekdays (except Holidays)
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time

Generated by mp version 2.9.6 on Thu Jul 05 10:55:14 2012