Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Clemson University, for the Commission
for Environmental Cooperation
Publication_Date: 2010
Title: Terrestrial Protected Areas of North America, 2010
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Publisher: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Online_Linkage: http://www.cec.org/naatlas
Other_Citation_Details:
This data set is updated frequently to reflect changes in protected-area status and
new information available from each country.
Description:
Abstract:
This polygon data set includes the protected areas of North America that are managed
by national, state, provincial, or territorial authorities. As defined by the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a protected area is an
“area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of
biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed
through legal or other effective means.” The data set was assembled from other public
data sets containing data on protected areas in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Protected area data were obtained from Natural Resources Canada and the Quebec Ministry
of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks for areas in Canada; the National
Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the Nature Conservancy for areas in
Mexico; and the Protected Areas Database (PAD-US Partnership) for areas in the United
States.
This is a replacement for the July 2008 data set.
Purpose:
North American Atlas data are intended for geographic display and analysis at the
national and continental level. These data should be displayed and analyzed at scales
appropriate for 1:10,000,000-scale data. No responsibility is assumed by the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation in the use of these data.
The Protected Areas of North America, 2010 data set is intended to identify, locate,
and characterize North American protected areas under federal, state, provincial, or
territorial management.
Supplemental_Information:
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is an international organization
created by Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America under the North American
Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was established to address
regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental
conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The
Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). Further information on the CEC is available from
http://www.cec.org/ or from
>Commission for Environmental Cooperation
>393, rue St-Jacques Ouest
>Bureau 200
>Montréal (Québec)
>H2Y 1N9 Canada
>
>Telephone: 1 514 350 4300
>Facsimile: 1 514 350 4314
>Electronic mail:
>
This data set is available in several formats, including Shapefile and MXD. Included
with each download are a readme file along with other files appropriate to the
particular format, such as .avl and .lyr files. The data set is also available as a
GeoPDF.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2010
Currentness_Reference: Publication date
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: Annually
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: 152.0
East_Bounding_Coordinate: 4.0
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 90.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate: -5.0
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD Science keywords
Theme_Keyword: Human Dimensions > Land Use/Land Cover > Land Management
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: boundaries
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: protected areas
Theme_Keyword: IUCN management categories
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD Location keywords
Place_Keyword: Continent > North America
Place_Keyword: Continent > North America > Canada
Place_Keyword: Continent > North America > Mexico
Place_Keyword: Continent > North America > United States of America
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Mid-latitude
Place_Keyword: Western Hemisphere
Place_Keyword: Northern Hemisphere
Place_Keyword: North America
Place_Keyword: NAFTA
Place_Keyword: North America Free Trade Agreement
Place_Keyword: Canada
Place_Keyword: Mexico
Place_Keyword: United States
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
None. Acknowledgement of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation
would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical address
Address: 393, rue St-Jacques Ouest, Bureau 200
City: Montreal
State_or_Province: Quebec
Postal_Code: H2Y 1N9
Country: Canada
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1 514 350 4300
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 1 514 350 4314
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.3500
Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
No formal accuracy assessment has been conducted of the attributes in this data set.
The data set reflects the accuracy of the source files, which varied widely in content
and accuracy. Attribute information is from the best data publicly available, but
should not be considered absolute, especially with relation to status of protected
areas, because not all records in existing data sets agree. The status of protected
areas is updated frequently in the source data sets. IUCN codes reflect the status as
reported in the source material supplied to the CEC.
Logical_Consistency_Report:
No tests for logical consistency have been conducted on this data set. The four main
source files were originally in different projections; therefore, spatial variations may
occur where the original data sets intersect.
Completeness_Report:
All these data now have the same attributes and field definitions, but the national
protected-area databases used as sources vary widely in the size of the smallest
incorporated parcels, the representation scale, generalization, and standardization with
other map frameworks.
The Canadian source data sets include terrestrial protected areas which have been
generalized and integrated with other national scale frameworks layers for representation
at 1:1,000,000 scale. The Mexican source data set CONANP incorporates terrestrial
protected areas based on official decrees that established these areas. Protected areas
are represented at different scales from 1:50,000 to 1:250,000.
Protected area status is subject to change with time and is frequently categorized
differently by different agencies. Where there was overlap between the sources for this
data set, up to 30 percent of the records disagreed. Caution is recommended when using
this data set to characterize individual protected areas.
Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
No tests for positional accuracy were performed on this data set. The horizontal
positional accuracy depends on the accuracy of the source data.
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Environment Canada LLC
Publication_Date: 200806
Title: Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS)
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000
Type_of_Source_Media: Electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 200806
Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of acquisition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS08
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Mexico
Publication_Date: 2008
Title: 161 Áreas Naturales Protegidas Federales de México
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Online_Linkage: http://www.conanp.gob.mx
Source_Scale_Denominator: 250000
Type_of_Source_Media: Online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2008
Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CONANP
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information.
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
U.S. Geological Survey, National Biological Information Infrastructure, Gap
Analysis Program
Publication_Date: 200904
Title: Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)
Online_Linkage: http://www.protectedlands.net/padus/
Edition: 1.0
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 100000
Type_of_Source_Media: Online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 200904
Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: PAD-US 1.0
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: The Nature Conservancy
Originator: Pronatura A.C.
Originator: Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad
Originator: Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas
Publication_Date: 200708
Title:
Base de Datos Geográfica de Áreas Naturales Protegidas Estatales del Distrito
Federal y Municipales de México- Version 1.0
Source_Scale_Denominator: 250000
Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 200708
Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: TNC-Mexico
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring
Centre and IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Publication_Date: 2009
Title: World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) 2009 web download
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Online_Linkage: http://www.wdpa.org/
Type_of_Source_Media: Online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 2009
Source_Currentness_Reference: Publication date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: WDPA_2009
Source_Contribution: IUCN category information.
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Environment Canada LLC
Publication_Date: 20100427
Title: Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS)
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000
Type_of_Source_Media: Electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 201004
Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of acquisition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS201004
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks
Publication_Date: Unknown
Title: Register of Protected Areas in Quebec
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000
Type_of_Source_Media: Electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 201003
Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of acquisition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: MDDEP
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Program
Publication_Date: Unknown
Title: Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)
Edition: 1.1 – WDPA Code Update
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 100000
Type_of_Source_Media: Internal file
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 201008
Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of aquisition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: PAD-US_1.1 WDPA Update
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Environment Canada LLC
Publication_Date: 20101010
Title: Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS)
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector digital data
Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000
Type_of_Source_Media: Electronic mail system
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 201004
Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of acquisition
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS201010
Source_Contribution: Spatial and attribute information
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Protected-area data were obtained for Canada (CARTS08), Mexico (CONANP and TNC-Mexico),
and the United States of America (PAD-US 1.0). For the United States, only polygons
with state or federal ownership and (or) administration, were extracted from the PAD-US
data set.
When the attribute data were complete for each country, the data were projected to
the North American Environmental Atlas projection (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area) and
the files were merged.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS08
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: CONANP
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TNC-Mexico
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: PAD-US 1.0
Process_Date: 200908
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Donald J. Lipscomb
Contact_Organization: Clemson University
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical address
Address: Dept. of Forestry & Ntl. Res., Clemson University
City: Clemson
State_or_Province: South Carolina
Postal_Code: 29634
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1 864 656 7293
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 1 864 656 3304
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The 2009 WDPA data set was used to update the WDPASiteID field.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: WDPA_2009
Process_Date: 2010
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Donald J. Lipscomb
Contact_Organization: Clemson University
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical address
Address: Dept. of Forestry & Ntl. Res., Clemson University
City: Clemson
State_or_Province: South Carolina
Postal_Code: 29634
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1 864 656 7293
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 1 864 656 3304
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The April 2010 CARTS data set was reprojected to the standard CEC projection (Lambert
Azimuthal Equal Area) and the attributes adjusted to match those in the existing North
American data set. The MDDEP data set was also reprojected and the attributes adjusted
to match those in the existing North American data set. Additional edits were made to
the protected areas attribute fields to better accommodate the data. The additional
Canadian data was appended to the existing data, and duplicate entries were manually
removed.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS201004
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: MDDEP
Process_Date: 201004
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
An updated, unpublished version of the PAD-US data set was received and used to update
the information for protected areas in the United States.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: PAD-US_1.1 WDPA Update
Process_Date: 201009
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Additional protected areas were added to the file from the October 2010 CARTS data.
Also, errors found during the quality control process were corrected, and some
attribute values were updated.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: CARTS201010
Process_Date: 201011
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: G-polygon
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 456925
Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Map_Projection:
Map_Projection_Name: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
Lambert_Azimuthal_Equal_Area:
Longitude_of_Projection_Center: -100.000000
Latitude_of_Projection_Center: 45.000000
False_Easting: 0.000000
False_Northing: 0.000000
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: Coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 0.016384
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.016384
Planar_Distance_Units: Meters
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: D_Sphere_ARC_INFO
Ellipsoid_Name: Sphere_ARC_INFO
Semi-major_Axis: 6370997.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 1.0
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: Protected area
Entity_Type_Definition:
An area of land and (or) sea especially dedicated to the protection and
maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated
cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means.
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition: The representation of the entity in the data.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: Polygon
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: A 2-dimensional element
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: ESRI GIS software
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Us_id
Attribute_Definition:
The unique United States identifier for the element, intended to remain the same
through data editing and changes.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 1
Range_Domain_Maximum: 628442
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: -999
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
The protected area is not in the United States of America.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Na_id
Attribute_Definition:
A unique identifier for the element, intended to remain the same through data editing
and changes.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
Identifiers are generated for all protected areas in the data set. Values between
1,000,000 and 1,999,999 are used for areas in Canada, values between 2,000,000 and
2,999,999 are used for areas in Mexico, and values between 3,000,000 and 3,999,999
are used for areas in the United States of America.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Pa_name
Attribute_Definition:
The name given to the protected area by the administrator or owner.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
There is no predefined set of valid protect area names. Names were extracted from
the source data sets.
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: <blank>
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
The protected area name was not available in the source data sets.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Date_Estab
Attribute_Definition: The date legislation established the area as protected.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: unknown
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: The date is unknown.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
There is no standardized list of dates when the protected areas were established.
The date may be in the format mm/dd/yyyy, or in the format yyyymmdd, or may just
be the year. Dates are shown as they appeared in the source data sets.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Datasource
Attribute_Definition:
The source data set from which the protected area was compiled.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: CARTS
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
The protected area information was compiled from the Conservation Areas Reporting
and Tracking System.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: CONANP
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
The protected area information was compiled from the Comision Nacional de Areas
Naturales Protegidas data set.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: MDDEP
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
The protected area information was compiled from Ministry of Sustainable
Development, Environment and Parks (Quebec, Canada) data.
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
Commission for Environmental Cooperation