NVC Vegetation Classification for Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge

James W. Sewall Company used its standard photointerpretation and ortho-mapping workflow and was assisted by NatureServe in crosswalking to NVC vegetation and wetlands mapping on approximately 115,926 acres across New England. Refuges include: Nulhegan NWR (VT), Pondicherry NWR (NH), Eastern Mass NWR (MA), Parker River NWR (MA), Rachel Carson NWR (ME), Sunkhaze Meadows NWR (ME), Moosehorn NWR (ME), Aroostook NWR (ME) and several island refuges in Massachusetts. Aerial photography using color infrared (CIR) film was acquired during the spring and early summer at a scale of 1"=1000' (1:12,000). Sewall's photointerpreter conducted fieldwork in conjunction with NatureServe and FWS staff to identify signature and establish what would be classified. Fieldwork was limited due to budgetary constraints, but all but the island refuges were visited - four by Sewall with NatureServe and/or USFW staff accompanying, and the remainder by NatureServe and USFW staff only, who provided detailed feedback to Sewall in the form of annotated maps and GIS data. For the island refuges, NatureServe and USFW staff provided data and suggested NVC classes. This shapefile contains the interpeted attributes and has been "crosswalked" with NVC codes (up to 3 per polygon).