National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   National Atlas of the United States, 200606, National Wilderness Preservation System of the United States: National Atlas of the United States, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • <http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html?openChapters=chpbound#chpbound>

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: 170

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 72

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17

3. What does it look like?

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 1972

   Ending_Date: 2006

   Currentness_Reference: Ground condition

5. What is the general form of this data set?

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • GT-polygon composed of chains (1360)

   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000278. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   Wilderness area (described by Wildrnp020.dbf)

   Areas of 640 acres or more established by the Wilderness Act of 1964. These areas are owned or administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, or the National Park Service. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Shape

   The representation of the entity in the data. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   Polygon	2-dimensional element

   Area

   The size of the shape in square coverage units. In the distributed file, coverage units represent decimal degrees. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.000
   Maximum:	6.544

   Perimeter

   The perimeter of shape in coverage units. In the distributed file, coverage units represent decimal degrees. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.013
   Maximum:	28.001

   Wildrnp020

   Internal feature number. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	2
   Maximum:	1361

   Feature1

   An indication of the primary feature type. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   Non-Wilderness	An area which is completely surrounded by a wilderness but which is not part of the wilderness. These areas may be private or Federal lands.
   Wilderness	An area established by the Wilderness Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-577) which created the National Wilderness Preservation System. This act defines wilderness as "...an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions..."

   Feature2

   An indication of the secondary feature type. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   Open Water	A body of water that is part of a wilderness area.
   <blank>	There is no secondary feature type.

   Agbur

   A code for the owning or administering agency. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   <blank>	The area is not a wilderness area.
   BLM	The wilderness area is owned or administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
   FS	The wilderness area is owned or administered by the Forest Service.
   FWS	The wilderness area is owned or administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
   NPS	The wilderness area is owned or administered by the National Park Service.

   Url

   The URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the address of a page on the World Wide Web. The address, which provides the basis for establishing an electronic link from a client to the physical location of the page on an Internet server, consists of a server name, file path, and the page's file name. A URL in this map layer is usually the address of a Federal agency website. For example, <http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=wildView&wname=Unimak> is the address of a page that describes the Unimak Wilderness. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   <blank>	The area is not a wilderness area.

   There is no predefined set of valid Uniform Resource Locators.

   Name

   The name of the wilderness area. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   <blank>	The area is not a wilderness area.

   There is no predefined set of valid wilderness area names.

   State

   The two-character State code for the State in which the wilderness area is located. Where the wilderness area falls in more than one State, the codes are separated by dashes: MT-WY. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   <blank>	The area is not a wilderness area.

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas; FIPS PUB 5-2.
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

   State_fips

   The two-digit State code for the State in which the wilderness area is located. Where the wilderness area falls in more than one State, the codes are separated by dashes: 30-56. (Source: National Atlas of the United States)

   Value	Definition
   <blank>	The area is not a wilderness area.

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas; FIPS PUB 5-2.
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • National Atlas of the United States

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Dave Spildie
   USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
   P.O. Box 8089
   Missoula, MT 59087
   

   406-542-4195 (voice)
   [email protected]
   

Why was the data set created?

These data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the national level, and for large regional areas. The data should be displayed and analyzed at scales appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by the National Atlas of the United States in the use of these data.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   ATLAS-FEDLN_200606 (source 1 of 1)

   National Atlas of the United States, 200606, Federal Lands of the United States: National Atlas of the United States, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: Online

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 2000000

   Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: Jun-2006 (process 1 of 1)

   Wilderness areas were extracted from the National Atlas Federal Lands of the United States map layer. Attributes for feature type, feature name, agency ownership, URL, State, and State FIPS codes were retained. Adjacent wilderness areas having the same feature type and name, agency ownership, and URL were merged. State attributes of the merged wilderness areas were then updated. Label points were created for polygons having no label points; they were then assigned a Non-Wilderness value.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • ATLAS-FEDLN_200606

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

   This map layer includes National Wilderness Preservation System areas for all fifty of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Included are features of 640 acres (one square mile) or more. Generally, features under this size are not shown.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

   Using ESRI's ArcInfo GIS software, the map layer was checked for label errors, dangling nodes, and intersections. Polygon topology was built for the map layer.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

None. Acknowledgment of the National Atlas of the United States of America would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   Earth Science Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey
   507 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   1-888-ASK-USGS (1-888-275-8747) (voice)
   

   Contact_Instructions:

   In addition to the address above there are other ESIC offices throughout the country. A full list of these offices is at <http://ask.usgs.gov/esic_index.html>.

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. No responsibility is assumed by the U.S. Geological Survey in the use of these data.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	ESRI Shapefile
     Network links:	<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html?openChapters=chpbound#chpbound>

     Data format:	SDTS
     Network links:	<http://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html?openChapters=chpbound#chpbound>

   • Cost to order the data: There is no charge for the map layer.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 14-Jun-2006

Metadata author:

Peg Rawson
National Atlas of the United States
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20192

703-648-4183 (voice)
[email protected]

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)