Protected Areas - California, symbolized for the Wind, Wings and Wilderness Study

This dataset is an extraction from PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition), by state.

The PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition) data set portrays the nation's protected

areas with a standardized spatial geometry and numerous valuable

attributes on land ownership, management designations, and conservation

status (using national GAP and international IUCN coding systems). The

PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition) defines protected areas to include all lands

dedicated to the preservation of biological diversity and to other

natural, recreation and cultural uses, and managed for these purposes

through legal or other effective means (adapted from IUCN definition).

The database represents the full range of conservation designations that

preserve these natural resources in the United States.





Protected areas are cornerstones of national and international

conservation strategies. By way of these designations, lands and waters

are set-aside in-perpetuity to preserve functioning natural ecosystems,

act as refuges for species, and maintain ecological processes.

Complementary conservation strategies preserve land for the sustainable

use of natural resources, or for the protection of significant geologic

and cultural features or open space. PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition) attempts

to include all available spatial data on these places. It is our goal to

publish the most comprehensive geospatial data set of U. S. protected

areas to date.