Wetlands Mapping Standard

Federal Wetlands Mapping Standard Approved Contact: Vanessa Kauffman – FWS News Release – August 18, 2009 Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today the adoption of a Wetlands Mapping Standard that provides minimum requirements and guidelines for wetlands mapping efforts. The new standard is designed to guide current and future wetlands digital mapping projects and enhance the overall quality and consistency of wetlands data. Quality data on wetlands are considered critical for planning effective conservation strategies to benefit fish and wildlife resources now and in the future. Wetlands are among the Nation’s most biologically productive and economically important habitat types. Major emerging conservation issues, such as changing temperatures, sea-level rise, increasing storm severity, drought, energy development, and species declines are making the need for contemporary geospatial resource information even more important. “There is no doubt the negative impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife will be significant. A major conservation challenge is predicting the level of those impacts and determining what management actions can be taken to help species adapt. And open access to accurate, up-to-date geospatial wetlands information is critical to meeting this challenge,” said Salazar. “We need to know what kinds of wetlands are out there, where they are, and where they might be in the future. The adoption of a new standard with mapping guidelines will enable partners from all levels of government, academia and the private sector to work together to produce a wealth of updated and accurate wetlands information.”  For more information on the wetland mapping subcommittee, visit: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/wetlandslayer/wetlandssubcommittee.html  For a direct link to the federal wetland mapping standard, go to: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/_documents/gNSDI/FGDCWetlandsMappingStandard.pdf

FGDC-Endorsed Wetlands Mapping Standard – July 2009 The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Wetlands Mapping Standard is designed to direct the current and future digital mapping of wetlands and deepwater habitats where federal funds sare involved. For access to this document, go to: http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/wetlands-mapping/2009-08%20FGDC%20Wetlands%20Mapping%20Standard_final.pdf. Or try: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/_documents/gNSDI/FGDCWetlandsMappingStandard.pdf

FGDC Wetlands Mapping Standard Wetlands Mapping Standard Q&A http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/wetlands-mapping/FederalWetlandsMappingStandardQA.pdf/view

Fact Sheets on Wetlands Mapping Standard

Digital Wetlands Data: Interagency Cooperation Fact Sheet (12/2008)   Viewing Wetlands with Google Earth Fact Sheet (11/2008)   Wetlands Master Geodatabase Fact Sheet (07/2007)

Wetlands Mapper (with tutorial) http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Mapper.html

ASWM Feature Article

New A New Mapping Standard* By Jane Awl, Jeanne Christie, Margarete Heber, and Bill Wilen Association of State Wetland Managers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.aswm.org/swp/mapping/christie_mapping.pdf Mapping Coalitions* By Jeanne Christie and Leah Stetson Association of State Wetland Managers http://www.aswm.org/swp/mapping/christie_mapping.pdf (*Reprinted with permission from Environmental Law Institute/National Wetlands Newsletter)

For more information, visit: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/index.html

For FAQs, go to: http://www.fws.gov/wetlands/FAQs.html

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