Geospatial data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Gila Cliffs Dwellings 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.

Gila Cliff Dwellings NM covers 213 hectares (527 ac) and consists of two separate units: the main unit (196 ha/485 ac) and the TJ unit (71 ha/42 ac), separated by two kilometers of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands. To provide more useful mapping products, an additional 833 hectares (2,060 ac) of USFS land, as well as the state-administered Heart Bar Wildlife Area, were included in this mapping project. To accurately assess, classify, and describe the monument’s previously undescribed vegetation communities, it was necessary to sample the larger watershed area. This helped ensure we captured the variation within each community and were sampling at the community level, rather than just individual stands. The project area covers a complex landscape of topography, geology, and hydrologic influence. It was also greatly affected by the 2011 Miller Fire and subsequent flooding. A total of 16 distinct communities were described and mapped at Gila Cliff Dwellings NM.