1992 National Land Cover Data (NLCD) for Montana
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| Data Provider
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U.S. Geological Survey
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| Date
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05/26/1985 - 06/19/1995
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| Content Type
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Downloadable Data
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| Abstract
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This is the 1992 National Land Cover Data Set for Montana, projected to Montana State Plane Coordinates and converted to TIFF format.The National Land Cover Data Set was produced as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to produce a consistent, land cover data layer for the conterminous U.S. based on 30-meter Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data. National Land Cover Data (NLCD) was developed from TM data acquired by the Multi-resoultion Land Characterization (MRLC) Consortium. The MRLC Consortium is a partnership of federal agencies that produce or use land cover data. Partners include the USGS (National Mapping, Biological Resources, and Water Resources Divisions), USEPA, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.The Montana NLCD set was produced as part of a project area encompassing portions of Federal Regions 8 and 10. This data set was produced under the direction of the MRLC Regional Land Cover Characterization Project of the USGS EROS Data Center (EDC), Sioux Falls, SD. Questions about the data set can be directed to the MRLC Regional Team at (605) 594-6114 or mrlc@edcmail.cr.usgs.gov.This data set was extracted from the larger regional data set. State boundaries from the USGS 1:100,000 Digital Line Graph (DLG) series were used as the basis for extracting the state data. In many instances, the precision of the boundaries in the 1:100,000 DLG data does not match the spatial precision of the Landsat TM data. To overcome the possibility of data being lost in the extraction process, a 300 meter (10 pixel) buffer was added to the state boundary used to extract the state data.The base data set for this project was leaves-off Landsat TM data, nominal-1992 acquisitions. Other ancillary data layers included leaves-on TM, USGS 3-arc second Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) and derived slope, aspect and shaded relief, Bureau of the Census population and housing density data, USGS land use and land cover (LUDA), and National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) data if available.Caveats and Concerns:
Both irrigated and dryland agriculture are practiced in this region.In the dryland areas small grains predominate; fields are classified as fallow when there is no evidence of visible vegetation indicating a prescribed alternation between cropping and tillage. Crop types in the irrigated areas were difficult to reliably distinguish; row crops are likely to be under represented where no field observations or other ancillary information was incorporated.
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| Purpose
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Many federal agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, state goverments, and various environmental groups need up-to-date intermediate scale land cover data.
The most recent intermediate scale land cover data set generated for the conterminous United States was developed by the USGS in the 1970's.
Although this data set is probably still adequate for some applications, many land cover changes have occurred since the data set was compiled. The main objective of this project is to generate a relatively current, consistent, seamless, and accurate land cover data set for the conterminous United States.
Potential uses of land cover data are many and varied, and include assessing ecosystem status and health, modeling nutrient and pesticide runoff, understanding spatial patterns of biodiversity, land use planning, deriving landscape pattern metrics, and developing land management policy.
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| Supplemental Information
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The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
The user must have a firm understanding of how the datasets were compiled and the resulting limitations of these data. The National Land Cover Dataset was compiled from Landsat satellite TM imagery (circa 1992) with a spatial resolution of 30 meters and supplemented by various ancillary data (where available). The analysis and interpretation of the satellite imagery was conducted using very large, sometimes multi-state image mosaics (i.e. up to 18 Landsat scenes). Using a relatively small number of aerial photographs for 'ground truth', the thematic interpretations were necessarily conducted from a spatially-broad perspective. Thus, the reliability of the data is greatest at the state or multi-state level.
Important Caution Advisory
With this in mind, users are cautioned to carefully scrutinize the data to see if they are of sufficient reliability before attempting to use the dataset for larger-scale or local analyses. This evaluation must be made remembering that the NLCD represents conditions in the early 1990s.
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| Distributor
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Montana State Library
PO Box 201800
Helena,
MT
59620-1800
Telephone:
406-444-5354
TDD/TTY:
Montana Relay 711
Fax:
406-444-0266
Email:
geoinfo@mt.gov
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| Distribution liability
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The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
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