Protected Areas Database of the United States SCTDD

Lands in PAD-US are mainly open space/resource lands owned in fee by agencies and nonprofits. Conservation easements suitable for distribution in the public domain are also included. The current data set includes the “GAP Status Codes” of these lands, indicating how they are being managed for conservation purposes. A measure of public access for recreation is also included. PAD-US includes all Federal and most State and local lands. Why are protected areas data important? Detailed information about the conservation status of our country’s protected areas is crucial to improving our understanding of how well we are protecting the animals and plants that inhabit those areas. Natural resources decision-makers, planners, researchers, private interests and others also use this information in many other ways from locating and siting public resources such as recreation areas and energy facilities, to planning for and mitigating the impacts of climate change. The most recent version of PAD-US is version 4. Learn more about this update >> View metadata for PAD-US >> Connect to PAD-US WMS >> Download report outlining the PAD-US vision >> Learn more about easement data maintained in the National Conservation Easement Database (NCED – goes to external website) >> How GAP protected areas data can be used Information about the conservation status of common species – a primary purpose of protected area analyses — is important for decision makers, planners, researchers, private interests, and others: Biodiversity: Protected areas (parks, preserves, etc.) have often been set aside without full understanding of their value to species conservation. As a result, many protected areas have little significance in terms of biodiversity, while many biodiversity-rich areas lack protection. Information provided by the PAD-US can help land conservation decision makers better match biodiversity goals to land protection programs and activities. Habitat Loss: Human population in the U.S. is predicted to grow by 25% in the next 50 years. This population increase, coupled with our land consumption patterns, means that there will be significant decreases in habitat for other species. Efforts to target the most effective lands for biodiversity conservation can offset some or many of the effects of habitat loss. Climate: Accelerating climate change is elevating the importance of effectively targeted species protection efforts. For many species, warming climates could push them to the brink of extinction unless habitat migration corridors can be set aside. Protected Areas analysis is critical to understanding where to focus such corridor planning. Energy Siting: Traditional and renewable energy projects such as oil, natural gas, solar and wind are planned and built across the U.S., often aided by governmental incentives. Protected area analysis can inform this planning and siting work, helping energy projects to find the best balance between habitat conservation and much-needed energy production. Management: Agencies and nonprofits that manage protected areas often lack good information about the full range of species that might be present or could be encouraged on their lands. The Gap Analysis Project can provide tools to improve land management practices that support continued biodiversity. Public Access: There is increasing interest and research on the benefits of publicly accessible open space. In the current version of PAD-US, access is fully attributed but primarily assigned categorically instead of through individual unit review. However, this data can be used to view lands open for public recreation, incorporated into web or mobile based recreation apps, and utilized in other analyses on public access. Now with a more complete inventory of city and county data in PAD-US, it may also be useful for local or regional recreation and open space planning. GAP Status Code: Status 1: An area having permanent protection from conversion of natural land cover and a mandated management plan in operation to maintain a natural state within which disturbance events (of natural type, frequency, intensity, and legacy) are allowed to proceed without interference or are mimicked through management. Examples of Status 1: Wilderness Areas, Several National Parks Status 2: An area having permanent protection from conversion of natural land cover and a mandated management plan in operation to maintain a primarily natural state, but which may receive uses or management practices that degrade the quality of existing natural communities, including suppression of natural disturbance. Examples of Status 2: National Wildlife Refuges, Conservation Areas, The Nature Conservancy Preserves Status 3: An area having permanent protection from conversion of natural land cover for the majority of the area, but subject to extractive uses of either a broad, low-intensity type (e.g., logging, Off Highway Vehicle recreation) or localized intense type (e.g., mining). It also confers protection to federally listed endangered and threatened species throughout the area. Examples of Status 3: National Forests, BLM Lands, State Forests, some State Parks Status 4: There are no known public or private institutional mandates or legally recognized easements or deed restrictions held by the managing entity to prevent conversion of natural habitat types to anthropogenic habitat types. The area generally allows conversion to unnatural land cover throughout or management intent is unknown. Examples of Status 4: Unknown areas, private lands, developed or agriculture areas How these data were aggregated: Boundaries, and their descriptors, available in spatial databases (i.e. shapefiles or geodatabase feature classes) from land management agencies are the desired and primary data sources in PAD-US. If these authoritative sources are unavailable, or the agency recommends another source, data may be incorporated by other aggregators such as non-governmental organizations. Data sources are tracked for each record in the PAD-US geodatabase (see below). 'Aggregator Source' describes the Aggregator (Organization) credited with data aggregation, version of PAD-US when the update occurred, feature class the data reside in (unless mixed), reference to the original source data file, and a reference to describe the State location to manage boundary inconsistencies between agency datasets (from State data-steward submissions only). 'Aggregator Source' is attributed in the format 'organization name_PADUSversion+featureclass_filename.filetype' (e.g. TNC_PADUS1_4_SecuredAreas2008.shp). State aggregations also include a reference to the State in the format 'organization name_PADUSversion_filename.filetype_StateUSPS'. Aggregators may not always be able to define the geodatabase feature class as data may be mixed (e.g. MNDNR_PADUS2_0_MN2015_PADUS_MN_1.gdb_MN, NJOGIS_PADUS2_0Fee_OSPRI_August2017_NJ). Organization acronyms are used and underscore replaces spaces. A data aggregator submits data in the PAD-US format or includes nonprofit aggregators managing regional or national datasets with required fields for PAD-US translation. USGS is identified as aggregator when data translation is required (e.g. USGS_PADUS2_0Fee_BLM_SMA_ADMU_Union). Information about PAD-US Data Stewards and the Source Data they provide can be found at https://www.protectedlands.net/data-stewards/. This information will be made available on the USGS PAD-US web pages soon. The 'GIS Source' field in the PAD-US geodatabase identifies the source of spatial data the aggregator obtained (e.g. WYGF_whmas08.shp) for each record. Files names match original source data provided by managing agencies to increase update efficiency and data transparency. This field is in a state of transition to fully meet standards as the original 'GIS Source' is not always provided in aggregated datasets. The 'GIS Source Date' describes the date (yyyy/mm/dd) GIS data was obtained by the data source for aggregation. This date represents the best available data the GIS source has at the time. Source: https://www.usgs.gov/programs/gap-analysis-project/science/pad-us-data-overview PAD-US 4.1 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP), 2024, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.1: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P96WBCHS.