Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts

This data set contains boundary layers for the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts.

National Wildlife Refuges are federal lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The primary source for boundary information is the USFWS Realty program (status maps, legal surveys). An effort by the USFWS Region 5 (northeast states - ME,NH,VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, PA, NJ, MD, DE, WV, VA) Realty Division,
Cartography and Spatial Data Services Branch has resulted in digital refuge boundaries for all refuges in the northeast at a scale of 1:24,000.

The purpose of this data is to serve as a spatial reference of refuge boundaries for other data layers in GIS and mapping applications. It is specifically not intended to be used as a land survey or representation of land for conveyance or tax purposes. For Survey
data, please contact USFWS, Region 5, Realty Office, Surveys Branch.

Status maps were registered to geographic coordinates, boundaries were digitized and labeled. Digital files were updated using survey and collateral data, then stepped through 3 levels of quality-control
review for spatial and thematic accuracy.

Data was recompiled on May 25, 2000: 0.5 meter resolution b/w orthophotos, flown April 24, 1994, between 10 am and 2 pm were used as base map. The line which defines a portion of the north and west side
(main island tract) is determined by the latitude and longitude coordinates of the "area of taking" described in the 1944 memo. The east side of the refuge boundary was determined by compiling a line which delimits the apparent vegetation line on the orthophotos
(considered to be the mean high water line), then offset by 100 rods [considered to be the extent of ownership; "the (Massachusetts) landowner holds property to the extreme low water or to 100 rods from
mean high water", Region 5 Solicitor, 2/24/1992]. The southern boundary line is determined as the line between the southwest lat/lon point and the "southernmost point". Other boundary lines are
determined by the best recompilation of existing survey or previous map data.

Refuge boundaries define areas that are approved by U.S. Congress for acquisition into the National Wildlife Refuge System, or are currently
owned by USFWS. Arcs are coded with an item "boundary" with the type of boundary line; polygons are coded with an item "status" that describes their ownership status.

[Summary provided by U.S Fish & Wildlife Service]