Geospatial data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Devils Tower National Monument

The files linked to this reference are the geospatial data created as part of the completion of the baseline vegetation inventory project for the NPS park unit. Current format is ArcGIS file geodatabase but older formats may exist as shapefiles.

In late May and June of 1997, after a preliminary vegetation map had been prepared by the photointerpreter, a map validation step was performed in which further data were collected to obtain more information on the vegetation types and to better correlate the vegetation with the signatures on the aerial photographs. With the exception of two communities, every polygon within the Monument boundaries that had not been sampled the previous year was visited. This resulted in the collection of thirty-eight observation points. At each point, the dominant species in each vegetation stratum were recorded with an estimated cover class. These extra points gave a better understanding of the variation within vegetation types and allowed sampling of three types that had not been found the previous field season.