--- Begin Forwarded Message --- Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2000 10:41:42 -0700 From: Jennifer Stone Muilenburg <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Fw: New National Land Cover Dataset Now Available Sender: Jennifer Stone Muilenburg <[log in to unmask]> FYI -- the Eastern half of the US is done, with the rest due in 6 months... > NEWS RELEASE > > > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey > 119 National Center > Reston VA, 20192 > > Contact: Karen Wood, 703-648-4447, [log in to unmask] > Nick Van Driel, 605-594-6007, [log in to unmask] > > For release: October 4, 2000 > > > New National Land Cover Dataset Now Available > > > > The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection > > Agency (EPA) have teamed up to compile the first seamless National Land > > Cover Dataset (NLCD) using satellite imagery for the conterminous United > > States. At 30-meter resolution, the NLCD is the most detailed land cover > > information ever compiled at a national level. The new CD-ROMs include data > > for the states east of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Data for the > > remaining states will be available within the next six months. > > The first eight CD's of a planned 31-volume disc set contains 21 categories > of land cover information across the lower 48 states. These data are used > in a variety of national and regional applications, including watershed > management, environmental inventories, transportation modeling and land > management. > > "Many federal, state, and local agencies rely on land cover data in making > critical decisions related to managing natural resources," said USGS > associate director for geography Barbara Ryan. "Land cover has changed > considerably since the last data set was developed in the 1970's, and it's > important to provide resource managers with the most up-to-date information > available." > > The release of the CD's is the culmination of a five-year effort by the > USGS, EPA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. > Forest Service to purchase and analyze the necessary Landsat satellite > Thematic Mapper imagery used in the NLCD. Scientists at the USGS used a > variety of supporting information in addition to the satellite data, > including topography, census, agricultural statistics, soil > characteristics, other land cover maps, and wetlands data to determine and > label the land cover type for each 30-meter pixel. This imagery database is > also being used by the partner organizations for their own programs. > > The NLCD was designed to be compatible with the earlier Land Use/Land Cover > data set compiled from 1970's and 1980's aerial photography. The data from > these two time periods provide an opportunity to investigate the land cover > change in the United States over the last 30 years. The experience gained > from this mapping effort will be used to improve the next-generation > national land cover data set, which will use Landsat-7 data collected over > the next three years. > > The CD-ROMs can be ordered from Customer Services at the USGS EROS Data > Center (605-594-6151; email [log in to unmask]; FAX > 605-594-6589), contact any other USGS Earth Science Information Center or > order online from this address: > http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/programs/lccp/mrlcreg.html. For more > information about the NLCD and the USGS Land Cover Characterization > Program, please visit: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/programs/lccp > > > As the Nation's largest water, earth and biological science and civilian > mapping agency, the USGS works in cooperation with more than 2,000 > organizations across the country to provide reliable, impartial scientific > information to resource managers, planners and other customers. This > information is gathered in every state by USGS scientists to minimize the > loss of life and property from natural disasters, to contribute to the > sound conservation and economic and physical development of the Nation's > natural resources, and to enhance the quality of life by monitoring water, > biological, energy, and mineral resources. > > * * * USGS * * * > > In-depth information about USGS programs may be found on the USGS home page > at . To receive the latest USGS news releases automatically by e-mail, send > a request to . Specify the listserver(s) of interest from the following > names: water-pr; geologic-pr; geologic-hazards-pr; biological-pr; > mapping-pr; products-pr; lecture-pr. In the body of the message write: > subscribe (name of listserver) (your name). Example: water-pr joe smith. > > > --- End Forwarded Message ---