Geospatial data for the Vegetation Mapping Inventory Project of Glacier National Park

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.

We converted the photointerpreted data into a GIS-usable format employing three fundamental processes; (1) orthorectify, (2) digitize, and (3) database enhancement. All digital map automation was projected in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, Zone 12, using North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). To produce a polygon vector coverage for use in GIS, we converted each raster-based image mosaic of orthorectified overlays containing the photointerpreted data into a grid format using ArcInfo (Version 8.0.2, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Redlands, California). In ArcTools, we used the ArcScan utility to trace the polygon data and produce ArcInfo vector-based coverages. We digitally assigned map attribute codes (both map class codes and physiognomic modifier codes) to the polygons, and checked the digital data against the photointerpreted overlays for line and attribute consistency. Ultimately, we merged the 78 individual coverages into a seamless map coverage of GNP and immediate environs. We synchronized polygons and attributes along the boundary between the GNP and WLNP map coverages. Although GNP and WLNP are two separate map coverages, they are seamless in the sense they edge tie perfectly in both polygon location and map attribute.