Over 170 different Geographic Information System (GIS) data layers or themes were compiled or created in support of the ICBEMP Assessment and the development of the Eastside and Upper Columbia River Basin Environmental Impact Statements. The themes were derived from source maps, photos, or transfer media ranging from 1:12,000 to 1:4,000,000 in scale. Some GIS themes mapped features continuously across the entire project area while others covered discrete areas only (e.g. subsample watershed areas). Major data providers included individual administrative units of the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of Mines, Bonneville Power Administration, universities, state agencies, American Indian tribes, and non-governmental organizations.
For this project, themes were organized into more generalized categories called theme groups. This system guided data storage protocols in the GIS corporate database. A brief description of each theme group follows.
Theme Group DescriptionsThis theme group contains data relating to the aquatic environment such as stream inventory information and aquatic invertebrate and mollusk occurrence. The stream inventory information was compiled from a variety of agencies and reformatted for use in the GIS. The aquatic species occurrence information was compiled from reports. The aquatic information was essential for describing and characterizing the historic and current aquatic communities.
This theme group contains data sets relating to the physical characteristics of the atmosphere and includes data such as air quality, precipitation, yearly temperature, average dew point, solar radiation, air pollution sources, and airsheds. Climatic information allowed analysts to classify and model biophysical environments.
ATTRIBUTE FILES (May be Linked to Subbasins, Subwatersheds, or Counties)
This theme group has been removed. All datasets from this theme group have been relocated into other theme groups. The Attribute Theme Group page provides links to the new locations.
Data sets that describe features constructed or influenced by humans such as airports, railroads, dams, and roads, are included in the cultural theme group. These themes were derived from a variety of existing sources such as the Census Bureau files (streets), ArcUSA, Digital Chart of the World (DCW), and United Parcel Service, or they were generated by the project as a result of analysis (predicted road density) or attribution of physiographic features (sense of place). The cultural themes were valuable to the Social, Economic, and other teams because they defined developed or socially valued areas within the project area.
This theme group has been removed. All datasets from this theme group have been relocated into other theme groups. The Databases Theme Group page provides links to the new locations.
This theme group contains data sets describing the human population of the Basin by geographical units such as counties, towns (named places), U.S. Census Bureau defined blockgroups, tracts, and places. Data consisted of demographic statistics from the 1990 U.S. Census, and other social, economic and lifestyle data. Census geographies and 1990 U.S. census information were extracted from Wessex Corporation, "Profiler" and 1992 Census datasets. The census data provided information regarding population, gender balance, age, racial composition, employment, income, poverty level, and education level. Lifestyle information was contained in the PRIZM dataset purchased from Claritas Corporation. This dataset provided proportions of households within each census tract belonging to each of 62 lifestyle clusters. The clusters were determined by cluster analysis of standard demographic information plus a wealth of consumer behavior data. These demographic datasets were valuable to the social scientists for describing the human population of the Basin.
Disturbance related information such as wildfire locations, historical and current fire regimes, and rural population wildland interface fire risk areas are included in this theme group. This information was useful in describing historical and current landscape disturbances and areas at possible risk of disturbance.
EIS DIRECTION & OUTCOMES GROUP
This theme group contains data sets that were developed to illustrate the management direction or project outcomes and environmental consequences of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) alternatives. These data sets were used to create maps for the EIS of potential land use allocations or to display the effects of proposed management direction.
Databases relating to fish and fish habitat are included in this theme group. The presence of key fish species for subwatersheds was determined through the fish distribution data systems acquired from each state coordinating agencies participating in the Northwest Environmental Database. The database includes the Oregon River Information System, the Washington River Information System, the Idaho River Information System and the Montana River Information System. Hatchery locations diversions, and dams were also included in this theme group. Information describing the fisheries environment was essential in determining the historic and current status of key salmonids and other fish of interest within the Basin.
The Hydrology theme group includes delineations of the Columbia River Basin, subbasins, watersheds, and subwatersheds across the area. Water bodies including rivers, lakes, and oceans captured at various scales were also in this theme group. Other data closely related to water features and various designated watersheds, such as Key Watersheds (FEMAT), high priority watersheds and other watersheds, were in this group. Hydrologic information often provided the spatial foundation for our analysis work.
LANDSCAPE CHARACTERIZATION (May be Linked to Subbasins or Subwatersheds)
The landscape characterization theme group was developed to organize landscape data resulting from analysis of key base data at a subbasin or subwatershed level. These files are attribute files (tabular summary files that relate to GIS themes) that have been used to characterize status, risk and opportunities for key landscape components in the Basin. These files differ from attribute file theme group in that they are the subbasin or subwatershed product of science analyses and characterization rather than a summary of parent data to a watershed or county.
This theme group contains all data sets relating to mining and mineral processing, mineral resources, mineral potential, or geology. All of these data sets were provided by the USGS or the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The mineral information was used to provide the locations of known or probable surface disturbing activities such as mine locations. The information provided a foundation for characterization of the physical properties of the Basin.
MODELS AND RELATED MODEL FILES
Computer application models were developed to simulate various changes that could occur through time based on different land management actions in the ICBEMP area. An example is the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool, a model that allows for non-spatial examination of the role that management activities (such as timber harvest, livestock grazing, prescribed fire) and landscape disturbance (such as insect and disease infestation, wildfire) have on vegetation succession. These models helped analysts formulate predictions concerning the possible short- and long-term effects of management alternatives upon vegetation.
The physiographic group contains data sets describing the physical geography of the project area by characteristics such as landform, climate, elevation, and soils. These themes were particularly important for classifying the biophysical environment. There are data sets from previously compiled ecoregion and biophysical classifications including Bailey and Omernik. Sources for the physiographic data sets included the Forest Service, Nature Conservancy, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The physiographic data sets were crucial for characterizing and describing the biophysical environment within the Basin.
GIS GRAPHICS FILES AND HARDCOPY PLOTS
Many plots have been generated in support of the ICBEMP. The Assessment and Draft EIS documents contain the major plot products that have been developed. Several of these GIS products have been made available as either an Arc/Info graphic file or as hardcopy plots. Hardcopy plots have been essential for displaying the biophysical, aquatic, social, economic and biological conditions of the Basin.
Data containing features that were political designations or were human-created delineations were put in the political theme group. Examples include land management boundaries (such as the Northwest Forest Plan area, ownership delineations, and management area classes), state and county boundaries, and ICBEMP study areas and both EIS boundary delineations. This information was used to describe the impact of current management and provided a means for summarizing information for all the SIT analyses.
This theme group depicts the range of occurrence of terrestrial species such as birds, mammals, invertebrates, plants, reptiles, and amphibians within the Basin. This information was derived from expert knowledge, field guides, and other sources. The information was used for describing the known ranges of key species and probable suitable habitats within the Basin.
The subsample theme group contains data sets that were compiled by sampling conditions for a subset of subwatersheds within the Basin. Terrestrial and hydrologic criteria were used to stratify watersheds for sampling and characterization. Data was collected for the subsample areas for vegetation (historic and current), valley bottom settings and roads. These themes are not continuous in extent but were collected for representative areas. Sources for the subsample data sets were from the field units or were completed by contract. Much of the data came from aerial interpretation of historic and current photos. The subsample data sets were crucial for characterizing and describing the mid-scale vegetation, biophysical environment and extrapolation of this information to unsampled areas across the Basin.
This theme group has been removed. All datasets from this theme group have been relocated into other theme groups. The Terrestrial Theme Group page provides links to the new locations.
Vegetative information collected included current vegetation, historical vegetation, potential natural vegetation, and lifeform. Vegetation information was collected at the broad-scale (1kilometer (km)) and for subsample areas at the midscale (1:24,000). Current broad-scale vegetation cover and structure types were classified from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite imagery (1 km) dataset. Historic cover type and structure for the broad-scale were compiled from numerous records such as early U.S. Government land surveys descriptions. Potential vegetation types were determined by subdividing the Basin into warm/dry to cool/moist environments and associating the potential vegetation types and groups with them.
VEGETATION AND DISTURBANCE CRBSUM GROUP
This theme group contains Columbia River Basin Successional Model (CRBSUM) related data such as Potential Vegetation Types, Vegetation Cover Types, and Vegetation Structural Stages. Most data in this group are input into or output from the model. The CRBSUM related themes were useful in characterizing the broad-scale vegetative conditions and disturbance patterns for the historical and current situation and predicted management futures.
This is not a theme group. This is a storage area for released datasets that were created for the scientific assessment portion of the ICBEMP but have since been replaced by new datasets created for EIS processes. These older assessment data are maintained for release because they match the analysis published in the scientific assessment documents. These datasets should be considered out of date and should only be used if attempting to match the information in the scientific assessment! These datasets are still tracked via their original theme groups but have been removed from the theme group pages. They are only available via the Old Assessment Data page.
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