Larry Orman
Friday, October 17, 2008 - 1:30-2:00
Designing a next-generation inventory that tracks all lands protected for open space uses in the United States is the task of a public private work group, due to report in early 2009. This inventory design will build on USGS GAP data, work by the Conservation Biology Institute and the efforts of states and federal agencies, and will propose steps to expand and better integrate this information and to keep it up to date into the future. An improved inventory is crucial for better strategic acquisition planning and management, more effective accountability for public investments and enhanced public access to outdoor opportunities. At this session, current proposals from the work group will be unveiled along with new tools for tracking state and federal data sources, as well as new approaches for gathering and maintaining protected lands inventories. GreenInfo Network, a non-profit GIS support organization, is coordinating this project and is responsible for a newly-published inventory of all protected lands in California.
Keywords: BIODIVERSITY, CONSERVATION MEASUREMENT, CONSERVATION PLANNING, GAP, LAND INVENTORIES, NATIONAL SCALE, OPEN SPACE DATABASES, PROTECTED AREAS