Maps

These maps will download as high quality pdfs.

Glossary

Methods used to assess plant and animal conservation targets include target selection, goal setting, and viability assessments (downloads as a pdf). Plants selected for the portfolio are in the plan report's species results section (pdf).

Ecoregional targets: terrestrial ecosystems and communities

Methods used to assess community conservation targets, including target selection, goal setting, and viability assessment (downloads as a pdf). Communities selected for the portfolio are in the plan report's terrestrial ecosystems and communities results section (pdf). The national vegetation classification for Lower New England is documented in Plant Communities of the Lower New England-Northern Piedmont Ecoregion, by Julie A. Lundgren, 2000.

Ecoregional targets: matrix forests:

Methods used to develop and assess matrix-forming ecosystem conservation targets. Matrix forest examples selected for the portfolio are in the plan report's matrix-forming ecosystem results section (pdf). Ecological Land Units (ELUs) are introduced in the methods chapter, but without much technical description. Since the original LNE/NP assessment, a new spatial dataset for ecological systems has been developed. Read more about ELUs in the supplementary metadata for systems30 raster data (.doc download).

Block reports are pdf documents that summarize all important descriptive and quantitative information about a matrix block. They were created for the 128 matrix blocks that formed the basis for the final portfolio selection of 95 high priority and alternate matrix blocks. Annotations have been added to the reports on those blocks that were changed in some way but still appear in the final set. A map of the spatial arrangement of blocks is shown below.
 

Ecoregional targets: aquatic systems:

Methods used to assess aquatic conservation targets, including target selection, goal setting, and viability assessment. Aquatic systems selected for the portfolio are in the plan report's aquatic results section (pdf). Download a slideshow of ecoregional planning for aquatic biodiversity in Lower New England, by Arlene Olivero in 2003, here (ppt, 80mb).

The five Lower New England Ecological Drainage Units (EDUs) are the Merrimack, Upper Connecticut, Middle Connecticut, Lower Connecticut, and Cape Cod. For these EDUs, the following tables have summary data and are ready to print (Microsoft Excel downloads).

• Summary of fish and mussel distribution by HUC8 watershed (download)
• Size 2 aquatic system biophysical setting summary (download)
• Size 3 aquatic system biophysical setting summary (download)

These tables and more can be found in the appendices section of this page.

Download all LNE spatial data in one zip file here (1.3gb).

Dataset name	Definition
	Vector Data
blocks	Road, utility line, railroad, and major hydrography line and polygon features used to build ecosystem blocks; chosen for impact on biodiversity.
census	Housing unit density for the U.S. census block groups in 1960-1990 and estimates for 2000-2040.
cerclis	Point sources of pollution: EPA Superfund data used in aquatic condition analysis.
cities	Major cities (over 10,000) in LNE.
counties	Line and polygon boundaries for counties in Northeastern U.S.
dams	National inventory of dams, used in aquatic condition analysis.
dws	Drinking water supplies, used in aquatic condition analysis.
ecoregions	Ecoregion boundaries for the Eastern U.S. Source TNC ECS, based on USFS (Keys et al.) subsections and Natural Heritage Program.
ecosubsect	Ecoregion subsection boundaries.
edu2001	Ecological Drainage Units.
gnis	Place names: an automated inventory of physical and cultural geographic features in the U.S.
hucs_8digit	Hydrologic Units for the Northeastern U.S.A. extracted from USGS 1994 dataset.
ifd	Point sources of pollution: Industrial Facilities Discharge used in aquatic condition analysis.
lakes	Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs polygons.
managedareas	Managed areas: All managed lands with a conservation purpose along with other large state or federally managed lands greater than 500 acres.
matrix	Viable matrix forest examples in the LNE ecoregion.
mines	Point sources of pollution: mining operations, mineral deposits, processing plants.
minorroads	Minor roads, railroads, utility lines, and major hydrological linework.
mjrds	Major roads: U.S. interstate and state highways and other major thoroughfares.
mjrds_blocks	Major road-bounded blocks, including major roads.
mtx_tier12	Viable matrix forest blocks in LNE. Tier 1 are highest priority and are included in the portfolio.
pcs	Point sources of pollution: Permit Compliance System used in aquatic condition analysis.
portfolio_aqua	Aquatic systems portfolio as of 9-30-2002.
qsurf_e	Surficial geology: displays the surface distribution of Quaternary sediments.
rcris	Point sources of pollution: Resources Conservation and Recovery Info system.
rdstrm_reg1	Road stream crossing points.
reg1shedpoly_s1	Size 1 watershed boundaries: Headwaters to small tributaries.
reg1shedpoly_s2	Size 2 watershed boundaries: Small to medium rivers.
reg1shedpoly_s3	Size 3 watershed boundaries: Medium to large rivers.
states	State boundaries.
streams_reg1	USEPA OW River Reach File 3 (RF3) for USGS Drainage Region 1.
trails	Trails: logging roads, fire roads, hiking and other trails not usable by ordinary vehicles.
tri	Point sources of pollution: Toxic Release Inventory; Water release in 1995 used in aquatic condition analysis.
	Raster Data
dem30fill	National Elevation Dataset: processed to fill cell depressions or 'sinks' that reflect isolated surface error. Ground resolution approximately 30 meter.
systems30	Ecological systems: a composite of several different grids, intended to capture the biophysical character of the LNE/NP and NAC ecoregions, including landcover, elevation zone, geological substrate, and landform. Ground resolution approximately 30 meter.

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