Devils Tower National Monument Spatial Vegetation Data:Cover Type/Association Level of the National Vegetation Classification System

The National Park Service (NPS), in conjunction with the Biological Resources
Division BRD) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), has implemented a program
to "develop a uniform hierarchical vegetation methodology" at a national level.
The program will also create a geographic information system (GIS) database for
the parks under its management. The purpose of the data is to document the
state of vegetation within the NPS service area during the 1990's, thereby
providing a baseline study for further analysis at the Regional or Service-wide
level. The vegetation at Devils Tower National Monument was mapped using
1:16,000 scale U.S. Forest Service Color Aerial Photography acquired July 29,
1993. The mapping classification used two separate classification systems. All
natural vegetation used the National Vegetation Classification System (NVCS) as
a base. The vegetation classification was created after extensive on site
sampling and numerical analysis. The vegetation map units were derived from the
vegetation classification. Other non-natural or cultural mapping units used the
Anderson Level II classification system. The mapped area includes a buffer
around the Monument boundary.

This mapping effort originates from a long-term vegetation monitoring program
that is part of a larger Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) program started by the
National Park Service (NPS). I&M goals are, among others, to map the
vegetation of all national parks and monuments and provide a baseline inventory
of vegetation. The I&M program currently works in close cooperation with the
Biological Resources Division (BRD) of the United States Geological Survey
(USGS). The USGS/BRD continues overall management and oversight of all ongoing
mapping efforts in close cooperation with the NPS.

The purposes of the mapping effort are varied and include the following:
Provides support for NPS Resources Management. Promotes vegetation-related
research for both NPS and USGS/BRD. Provides support for NPS Planning and
Compliance. Adds to the information base for NPS Interpretation. Assists in NPS
Operations.

The geographic extent of the data set is Devils Tower National Monument and
about a 2 mile environs around Monument Boundaries - Black Hills, Wyoming, USA.

Information was obtained from
"http://biology.usgs.gov/npsveg/deto/metadetospatial.html" and converted to
NASA Directory Interchange Format.