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6 Spatial Data and Wetlands
Pages 74-88

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From page 74... ... Spatial data consist of digital representations of geographic objects or features on the surface of the earth including tangible man-made objects such as roads and administrative features such as land ownership parcels that are part of the rural and urban fabric discussed in the previous chapter. An equally important part of a spatial data base, however, consists of features that occur as the result of physical, chemical, or biological processes. Read the entire page →
From page 75... ... In contrast, the natural environment presents a much more complex set of challenges. Naturally occurring features such as wetlands are not only difficult to classify, but they also have poorly defined edges, tend to change through time, appear and disappear at different scales, and often can only be delineated with field work and skilled interpretation based on specialized source materials, such as color infrared photography. Read the entire page →
From page 76... ... ; � a digital layer on a federal, state, or local agency cooperative program such as We Maryland digital orthophoto quarter quad mapping and wetland inventory program; and � a series of polygons on maps (digital or not) from the various state and local wetland mapping programs. Read the entire page →
From page 77... ... Swampbuster Provision, Food Security Act of �985 (PL99-19BJ The term "wetland," except when such term is part of the term "converted wetland," means land that has a predominance of hydric soils and that is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Read the entire page →
From page 78... ... Wetlands means land, including submerged land, which consists of any of the soil types designated as poorly drained, very poorly dmined, alluvial or flood plain by the National Cooperative Soils Survey, as may be amended from time to time, by the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agncultum. Read the entire page →
From page 79... ... In essence the debate over wetlands has now moved from a question of whether wetlands should be protected to a question of how much protection should be afforded the remaining wetland resource (Zinn and CopelancI, 1992~. This question of how much or what subset of the overall wetland resource needs national attention and regulation, and a major debate is under way between wetland protection advocates and private lane] Read the entire page →
From page 80... ... leading to a composite national view, incorporation of spatial data and information about the nation's wetlands into an NSDI remains problematical. Impediments Four potential impediments were identified that limit in various forms the implementation of a national wetland data and information resource. Read the entire page →
From page 81... ... 81 c) cite � cn a' e o � c. Read the entire page →
From page 82... ... 82 Air ~.11 ~ ~ ~ ~ ! Read the entire page →
From page 83... ... 83 l l 8.t ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ f~ ~ ~'t~ t~ ~ ~ \3 ~ N y LW1' Cal c. Read the entire page →
From page 84... ... i Figure 6. ~ Evolution of wetland information technology diffusion. Read the entire page →
From page 85... ... Elements of such a strategic approach could include the following: integrating and coordinating NW} and FSA wetland programs and nesting COE jurisdictional wetlands within NW! and FSA, developing standards for digital wetland information, fully implementing the multiagency national orthophoto program (both digital and hard copy products) Read the entire page →
From page 86... ... Finally, in retrospect, if the information community had been in a position to implement a national wetland information resource before and in anticipation of the private regulation stage, it is likely that much of the present technical chaos, overlapping information collection mandates, and institutional inaction could have been substantially reduced. Therefore, the MSC finds that consistent and clear policy along with an understanding of the diffusion of information are required if the wetland components of the NSD} are to be strengthened, CONCLUSION We conclude that the FGDC, through its Subcommittee on Wetlands, needs to reconcile the technical and institutional issues that impede our nation's ability to efficiently and electively map, assess, monitor, and automate wetland information. Read the entire page →
From page 87... ... Review of Policy Wetland Policy Emerges on Consensus and Objective Data (Private land regulationJJ Policy Monitored for Effectiveness Private Responses Figure 6.2 Proposed mode! for diffusion of wetland information. Read the entire page →
From page 88... ... Technology: Modernizing the Wetland Permitting Process, CRSS Architects, Inc., Houston Texas. Read the entire page →

From page 74...

... Spatial data consist of digital representations of geographic objects or features on the surface of the earth including tangible man-made objects such as roads and administrative features such as land ownership parcels that are part of the rural and urban fabric discussed in the previous chapter. An equally important part of a spatial data base, however, consists of features that occur as the result of physical, chemical, or biological processes.

6 Spatial Data and Wetlands Pages 74-88

6 Spatial Data and Wetlands
Pages 74-88