Washington Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus washingtoni) Linkage Zones, Columbia Plateau Ecoregion

Jul 13, 2012 (Last modified Jul 19, 2012)
Uploaded by Jen Watkins
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This GIS dataset is part of a suite of wildlife habitat connectivity data produced by the Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG). The WHCWG is a voluntary public-private partnership between state and federal agencies, universities, tribes, and non-governmental organizations. The WHCWG is co-led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT). This dataset quantifies current wildlife habitat connectivity patterns for the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Available WHCWG raster data include model base layers, resistance, habitat, cost-weighted distance, and landscape integrity. Grid cell size is 90 m x 90 m. Habitat concentration areas, core areas, and linkage maps reside in raster and vector format. 
Data Provided By:
Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG)
Content date:
not specified
Citation:
Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) 2012. Washington Connected Landscapes Project: Analysis of the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion. Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA.
Report document available online at: http://www.waconnected.org
Contact Organization:
Spatial Data Management Unit, Wildlife Program, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
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Use Constraints:
The Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) makes no guarantee concerning the content, accuracy, completeness, or the results obtained from queries or use of WHCWG data, other than those for which the data was developed and its intended use. The WHCWG shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. DATA BACKGROUND: The Washington Wildlife Habitat Connectivity Working Group (WHCWG) produced these data which represent a regional analysis that portrays conditions at a regional scale. Applying these data at finer, more local scales is likely to increase uncertainty in terms of accuracy and applicability for local land use decisions. However, for the scale at which they were developed, these products are state-of-the-art, peer-reviewed representations of landscape variables and connected habitat networks. The WHCWG expended great effort to compile the best GIS data within constraints imposed by data development costs, available compilation sources, and available staff resources. Inherent in any dataset used to develop graphical representations, are limitations of accuracy as determined by, among others, the source, scale and resolution of the data. The products and data from this analysis convey a wealth of information relevant to conservation of Washington's wildlife and though they represent the state of the art, they rely on imperfect data, knowledge, and assumptions. We strongly suggest that readers thoroughly understand our methods and the limitations of those methods prior to applying our results. The data user should note Chapter 2 and appendices in the WHCWG Columbia Plateau report. See metadata Credits for the report. SOURCE DATA YEAR: The GIS base layers input to linkage modeling were developed from a wide variety of sources compiled over the years generally from 1999 to 2010. We would like to specify a GIS base layer compilation year for users of the connectivity data; however, the wide range of base layer compilation dates complicates such a specification. For example, land cover / land use, a major base layer, was mapped from Landsat imagery acquired from 1999 to 2003. This layer was subsequently modified by the WHCWG Columbia Plateau Ecoregion project using land cover / land use sources as recent as 2010. Likewise, transportation data were primarily obtained from the 2010 Census TIGER roads and housing density data were generated from the 2000 Census dataset. The data user should be aware that some areas experiencing rapid change over the last decade may not be captured in the modeling effort. APPROPRIATE SCALE OF USE: The raw GIS data obtained by the WHCWG Columbia Plateau project were compiled from a wide range of compilation source scales. The GIS data were post-processed at a 30 m x 30 m cell size (except housing density which had a native cell size of 100 m x 100 m). These data were compiled to 90 m x 90 m cell size prior to connectivity modeling. Given the wide ranging source scales and post-processing we do not recommend application of linkage data at scales larger than 1:100,000.
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Tags:
focal species, usa, cost-weighted distance, core area, least-cost corridor, washington, idaho, oregon, stick map, wildlife habitat connectivity, least-cost path, resistance, columbia plateau ecoregion, pacific northwest, habitat concentration area
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About the Uploader

Jen Watkins
Conservation Associate with Conservation Northwest

I began working with Conservation Northwest in 2001 as part of the outreach team for The Cascades Conservation Partnership focused on purchasing and protecting the checkerboard lands of Washington's Central Cascades to maintain connectivity between the North and South Cascades. I have continued to...