This dataset is an extraction from PAD-US 1.1 (CBI Edition), by the USDA
Forest Service. This includes both land owned and managed by the USDA
Forest Service. 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.