FOREST STEWARDSHIP SPATIAL ANALYSIS PROJECT METHODOLOGY REPORT FOR PENNSYLVANIA DECEMBER 2006 COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES BUREAU OF FORESTRY Gene F. Odato, Chief PA DCNR, Bureau of Forestry Rural and Community Forestry RCSOB, 6th Floor P.O. Box 8552 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8552 Phone: 717- 787-2106 Fax: 717-783-5109 email: godato@state.pa.us Joseph R. Petroski, Forest Planner PA DCNR, Bureau of Forestry Forest Resource Planning RCSOB, 6th Floor P.O. Box 8552 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8552 Phone: 717-772-4766 Fax: 717-783-5109 email: jpetroski@state.pa.us TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. ii List of Figures................................................................................................................................ iii List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................................... iv Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Private Forestland ........................................................................................................................... 2 Forest Patch Size............................................................................................................................. 3 Wetlands ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Priority Watersheds......................................................................................................................... 5 Slope ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Proximity to Public Lands .............................................................................................................. 7 Threatened and Endangered Species .............................................................................................. 8 Riparian Areas ................................................................................................................................ 9 Public Water Supplies................................................................................................................... 10 Treat of Development ................................................................................................................... 11 Wildfire Risk................................................................................................................................. 12 Forest Pests ................................................................................................................................... 13 Analysis Mask............................................................................................................................... 14 Optional / Additional Data layers ................................................................................................. 15 Stewardship Potential ................................................................................................................... 15 State Stewardship Committee....................................................................................................... 17 Appendix....................................................................................................................................... 18 i LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Datasets used to derive private forestland. ...................................................................... 2 Table 2. Datasets used to derive forest patch size. ........................................................................ 3 Table 3. Datasets used to derive wetlands. .................................................................................... 4 Table 4. Datasets used to derive priority watersheds..................................................................... 5 Table 5. Datasets used to derive slope. .......................................................................................... 6 Table 6. Datasets used to derive areas that are proximal to public forest lands. ........................... 7 Table 7. Datasets used to derive threatened and endangered species. ........................................... 8 Table 8. Datasets used to derive riparian areas.............................................................................. 9 Table 9. Datasets used to derive public water supplies. .............................................................. 10 Table 10. Datasets used to derive areas threatened by development........................................... 11 Table 11. Datasets used to derive wildfire risk............................................................................ 12 Table 12. Datasets used to derive forest pests. ............................................................................ 13 Table 13. Datasets used to derive the analysis mask. .................................................................. 14 Table 14. Weights assigned to the twelve data layers in the overlay analysis............................. 15 Table 15. Criteria used to classify low, medium, and high areas of stewardship potential......... 16 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Map of private forestland (grid name: privatefor). ....................................................... 2 Figure 2. Map of forest patch size (grid name: ps_f).................................................................... 3 Figure 3. Map of wetlands (grid name: wetlands_ra)................................................................... 4 Figure 4. Map of priority watersheds (grid name: psheds)........................................................... 5 Figure 5. Map of slope (grid name: slope_5_25).......................................................................... 6 Figure 6. Map of proximity to public lands (grid name: publicland). .......................................... 7 Figure 7. Map of threatened and endangered species (grid name: pnhp3). .................................. 8 Figure 8. Map of riparian areas (grid name: pa_strms_f). ............................................................ 9 Figure 9. Map of public water supplies (grid name: drnkwater). ............................................... 10 Figure 10. Map of areas threatened by development (grid name: threatdevelop). ..................... 11 Figure 11. Map of wildfire risk (grid name: wildfirersk)............................................................ 12 Figure 12. Map of forest pests (grid name: forhealth)................................................................ 13 Figure 13. Map of the analysis mask (grid name: analysismask). .............................................. 14 Figure 14. Output from the overlay analysis (grid name: finaloverly). ...................................... 16 Figure 15. Potential for forest stewardship in Pennsylvania. Cell values 0-2 represent low stewardship potential; cell values 3-4 represent medium stewardship potential; and cell values 5-12 represent high stewardship potential (grid name: finaloverly). ...... 18 Figure 16. Resource richness for Pennsylvania. Cell values 1-2 represent low resource richness; cell values 3-4 represent medium resource richness; and cell values 5-9 represent high resource richness (grid name: resrichness)............................................................... 19 Figure 17. Resource threats for Pennsylvania. Low threat values contain only 1 data theme threat; medium threats contain 2 data theme threats; and high threats contain all three data theme threats (grid name: resthreats). .............................................................. 20 iii LIST OF ACRONYMS PA DCNR DEP PASDA GIS ESRI SAP DEM NLCD SCC 1 Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Department of Environmental Protection Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access1 Geographic Information System Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. Spatial Analysis Project Digital Elevation Model National Land Cover Datalayer State Stewardship Committee PASDA houses spatial data for Pennsylvania on a website (http://www.pasda.psu.edu). iv INTRODUCTION The Spatial Analysis Project (SAP) is a Geographic Information System (GIS) tool primarily designed to identify important forestland, forestland tracts under Forest Stewardship Plans, and priority areas to concentrate future stewardship efforts. The objectives of SAP are to 1. promote strategic program delivery over traditional first-come, first-served basis; address accountability for positive results on the ground, and 2. provide a standard, consistent way to assess the impact Forest Stewardship Plans have on the forest resource in addressing regionally or nationally important issues. The SAP is broken into two components: a suitability analysis for stewardship potential and the spatial tracking of stewardship plan tracts. The purpose of this report is to document the methodology used in the suitability analysis for Pennsylvania (PA). Twelve key factors were determined to influence the suitability of land for stewardship potential. Each factor is categorized as either a resource threat or as a contribution to resource richness. The twelve factors are: Resource Threats Threat of Development Wildfire Risk Forest Pests Resource Richness Private Forestland Forest Patch Size Wetlands Priority Watersheds Slope Proximity to Public Land Threatened and Endangered Species Riparian Areas Public Water Supplies In addition to the twelve factors above, an analysis mask was generated for the purpose of excluding public land, surface water, and urban areas from the analysis. The twelve key factors and analysis mask were overlaid in the GIS and used to generate a composite layer of Forest Stewardship Program potential. This report describes how the twelve key factors, the analysis mask, and the composite grid were generated. 1 PRIVATE FORESTLAND Private forestland is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 1. All forestland was queried from the National Land Cover Datalayer (NLCD Classes 41, 42, 43, and 91). The analysis mask layer was then used to remove public and urban forestland areas. Raster cells with values of 1 represent private forestland areas. Areas that are not private forestland have raster cell values of 0. Figure 1 shows private forestland in PA. Table 1. Datasets used to derive private forestland. DATASET NAME National Land Cover Datalayer SOURCE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency DESCRIPTION Major land use classifications. 1 0 Figure 1. Map of private forestland (grid name: privatefor). 2 FOREST PATCH SIZE Forest patch size is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from two data sources listed in Table 2. The private forestland layer and major PA roads were used to create private forestland patches in PA. Major PA roads were buffered 15 meters on both sides, and these buffer areas were converted to a 30 x 30 meter grid. All raster cell values from the private forestland layer within the 15 meter road buffer were reclassified to zero. This created a grid of private forestland patches for PA. The Region Group Tool was then used to identify forest patches. Forest patches greater than 100 acres were extracted. Raster cells with values of 1 represent private forestland patches greater than 100 acres. Private forestland patches less than 100 acres have raster cell values of 0. Figure 2 shows forest patch sizes in PA. Table 2. Datasets used to derive forest patch size. DATASET NAME National Land Cover Datalayer Major PA Roads SOURCE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources DESCRIPTION Major land use classifications. Major roads in PA. 1 0 Figure 2. Map of forest patch size (grid name: ps_f). 3 WETLANDS Wetlands are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 3. Raster cells with values of 1 represent wetland areas designated by the national wetland inventory. Non-wetland areas have raster cell values of 0. Figure 3 shows wetland areas in PA. Table 3. Datasets used to derive wetlands. DATASET NAME PA Wetlands SOURCE U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service DESCRIPTION Wetland areas designated by the National Wetland Inventory Data. 1 0 Figure 3. Map of wetlands (grid name: wetlands_ra). 4 PRIORITY WATERSHEDS Priority watersheds are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from two data sources listed in Table 4. Designated impaired streams were overlain on PA’s watersheds. A subset of watersheds was selected representing those that intersect an impaired stream. Raster cells with values of 1 represent watersheds containing an impaired stream. Watersheds not containing an impaired stream have raster cell values of 0. Figure 4 shows the priority watersheds in PA. Table 4. Datasets used to derive priority watersheds. DATASET NAME PA Watersheds PA Impaired Streams SOURCE DESCRIPTION Pennsylvania small watershed boundaries indicated in the PA gazetteer of streams. This dataset is titled “ERRI – Small Watersheds.” Published on the PASDA website from the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Impaired streams in PA obtained on September 18, 2006. PASDA PA Department of Environmental Protection 1 0 Figure 4. Map of priority watersheds (grid name: psheds). 5 SLOPE Slope is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 5. Raster cells with values of 1 represent 5 - 25% slopes. Slopes less than 5% or greater than 25% have raster cell values of 0. Figure 5 shows slopes in PA. Table 5. Datasets used to derive slope. DATASET NAME 30 m DEM SOURCE PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources DESCRIPTION A 30-meter digital elevation model generated by the Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey for the state of PA on December 4, 2006. 1 0 Figure 5. Map of slope (grid name: slope_5_25). 6 PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC LANDS Areas that are proximal to public lands are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from four data sources listed in Table 6. There are four major public forestland areas in Pennsylvania: 1) Allegheny National Forest, 2) state forest land, 3) state park land, and 4) state gamelands. Raster cells with values of 1 represent areas within a ½ mile buffer of public forest land. Areas greater than ½ mile from public forest land have raster cell values of 0. Figure 6 shows the areas that are proximal to public forest land in PA. Table 6. Datasets used to derive areas that are proximal to public forest lands. DATASET NAME Allegheny National Forest Land SOURCE U.S. Forest Service PA State Forest Land PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA State Park Land PA State Gamelands DESCRIPTION National forest land in PA. The “land survey and status boundary” shapefile was downloaded from the U.S. Forest Service’s website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/maps/gis/. State forest land in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. State park land in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. State gamelands in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. 1 0 Figure 6. Map of proximity to public lands (grid name: publicland). 7 THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES Threatened and endangered species are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 7. This data contains polygons representing environmental review indirect conflicts of plant and animal species of special concern, exemplary natural communities, and unique geological features. The data was extracted on October 31, 2006. Polygons were developed based on buffering criteria assigned by the agencies with legal jurisdiction for the species. Areas of special concern have raster cell values of 1. Areas that are not of special concern have raster cell values of 0. Figure 7 shows the areas of special concern in PA. Table 7. Datasets used to derive threatened and endangered species. DATASET NAME Natural Diversity Database SOURCE PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources DESCRIPTION Shapefile containing environmental review indirect conflict polygons. This data is maintained by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. 1 0 Figure 7. Map of threatened and endangered species (grid name: pnhp3). 8 RIPARIAN AREAS Riparian areas are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 8. Riparian areas were established by buffering streams and rivers a distance of 300 feet on both sides. Areas within this buffer may or may not be forested areas. Raster cells with values of 1 represent riparian areas. Non-riparian areas have raster cell values of 0. Figure 8 shows riparian areas in PA. Table 8. Datasets used to derive riparian areas. DATASET NAME PA Streams SOURCE PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources DESCRIPTION Perennial streams and rivers in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. 1 0 Figure 8. Map of riparian areas (grid name: pa_strms_f). 9 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES Public water supplies are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 9. Surface drinking water supply points were buffered a distance of 5 miles, and ground drinking water supply points were buffered a distance of 1 mile. Raster cells with values of 1 represent areas within drinking water supply buffers. Areas outside drinking water supply buffers have raster cell values of 0. Figure 9 shows areas within public water supply buffers in PA. Table 9. Datasets used to derive public water supplies. DATASET NAME Surface & Ground Drinking Water Supply Sources SOURCE PA Department of Environmental Protection DESCRIPTION Surface and ground drinking water supply points in PA. 1 0 Figure 9. Map of public water supplies (grid name: drnkwater). 10 TREAT OF DEVELOPMENT Threat of development is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 10. Areas projected to be developed in the year 2030 have raster cell values of 1. All other areas have raster cell values of 0. Figure 10 shows areas threatened by development in PA. Table 10. Datasets used to derive areas threatened by development. DATASET NAME Forests on the Edge SOURCE Colorado State University DESCRIPTION Data on developed areas for the year 2000 and projected developed areas for the year 2030. Downloaded from http://www.nrel.colostate.edu. 1 0 Figure 10. Map of areas threatened by development (grid name: threatdevelop). 11 WILDFIRE RISK Wildfire risk is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 11. High and very high wildfire risk levels have raster cell values of 1. Very low, low, and moderate wildfire risk levels have raster cell values of 0. Figure 11 shows wildfire risk areas in PA. Table 11. Datasets used to derive wildfire risk. DATASET NAME Northeast U.S. Fire Risk SOURCE Maryland DNR Forest Services DESCRIPTION Fire risk in the Northeast U.S. in the year 2000 indicated by five levels of risk (very low, low, moderate, high, and very high). Only the two most severe categories of risk (high and very high) were used in the analysis. 1 0 Figure 11. Map of wildfire risk (grid name: wildfirersk). 12 FOREST PESTS Forest Pests are depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from one data source listed in Table 12. The dataset was queried for severe outbreaks of gypsy moth, forest tent caterpillar, or hemlock wooly adelgid in the last ten years (1996-2006). Insect outbreak areas have raster cell values of 1. All other areas have raster cell values of 0. Figure 12 shows forest pest areas in PA. Table 12. Datasets used to derive forest pests. DATASET NAME PA Aerial Sketch Mapping I&D 19632006 SOURCE PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources DESCRIPTION Aerial sketch mapping of insect defoliations in PA. This data contains tabular information on year, agent, severity, host, and acres. 1 0 Figure 12. Map of forest pests (grid name: forhealth). 13 ANALYSIS MASK The analysis mask is depicted with a 30 x 30 meter raster grid derived from five data sources listed in Table 13. Surface water (NLCD class 11), urban areas (NLCD classes 21, 22, and 23), and public forest land have raster cell values ‘NoData’ (e.g., NULL). All other areas have raster cell values of 1. Figure 13 shows the analysis mask for PA. Table 13. Datasets used to derive the analysis mask. DATASET NAME National Land Cover Datalayer Allegheny National Forest Land SOURCE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Forest Service PA State Forest Land PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources PA State Park Land PA State Gamelands DESCRIPTION Major land use classifications. National forest land in PA. The “land survey and status boundary” shapefile was downloaded from the U.S. Forest Service’s website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny/maps/gis/. State forest land in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. State park land in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. State gamelands in PA. This dataset has been maintained by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Forestry. 1 0 Figure 13. Map of the analysis mask (grid name: analysismask). 14 OPTIONAL / ADDITIONAL DATA LAYERS There were no additional data layers added to this analysis. STEWARDSHIP POTENTIAL After the twelve data layers and the analysis mask were created, an overlay analysis was performed to generate the composite grid. The output from the overlay analysis ranks the land for stewardship potential. The raster cell values for all twelve data layers are in a 0-1 format (a value 0 indicates ‘no threat’ or ‘no resource richness,’ and a value 1 indicates a threat or contribution to resource richness). Table 14 lists the weights assigned to the twelve data layers. Each layer was given equal weight in the overlay model. Table 14. Weights assigned to the twelve data layers in the overlay analysis. FACTOR Private Forestland Forest Patch Size Wetlands Priority Watersheds Slope Proximity to Public Lands Threatened and Endangered Species Riparian Areas Public Water Supplies Threat of Development Wildfire Risk Forest Pests WEIGHT 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ESRI’s Spatial Analyst Extension was used for the overlay analysis. The Single Output Map Algebra tool was used to sum the twelve individual data layer values across the state. Since each layer was assigned equal weight and there were twelve input layers, the maximum value for any given area was twelve. Figure 14 shows the output from the overlay analysis. High, medium, and low stewardship potential levels were generated from the overlay analysis. The 15 criteria used to generate each level are shown in table 15. The Appendix contains three maps summarizing the overlay analysis: 1) Potential for Forest Stewardship Program Benefits, 2) Resource Richness, and 3) Resource Threats. Figure 14. Output from the overlay analysis (grid name: finaloverly). Table 15. Criteria used to classify low, medium, and high areas of stewardship potential. Stewardship Potential Level Low Medium High Cell Values 0-2 3-4 5+ 16 STATE STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE The State Stewardship Committee (SCC) provided input through various stages of this project. Their decisions were gathered at the August 2006 meeting and consisted of: 1) project level decisions, and 2) individual data layer decisions. The project level decisions dealt with broad decisions made about this analysis as a whole. The SCC investigated whether or not additional data layers (beyond the twelve key factors) should be analyzed. Their knowledge, understanding, and experience with issues specific to PA were used to make this decision. The committee also helped determine weights for the twelve key data layers in the final overlay analysis. The methodology report and results of the final overlay analysis were reviewed by the committee as well. Several decisions were also made by the committee about specific factors and individual data layers. When generating the slope data layer, the committee helped determine the range of slopes to display in the analysis. Several buffer distances were also decided on by the committee, such as the buffer distances used to generate the drinking water supplies, riparian corridors, and proximity to public land layers. When generating the forest patch size, the committee determined the minimum size that defines a patch. The committee also decided on which pests to include in the forest pest layer. 17 APPENDIX Figure 15. Potential for forest stewardship in Pennsylvania. Cell values 0-2 represent low stewardship potential; cell values 3-4 represent medium stewardship potential; and cell values 5-12 represent high stewardship potential (grid name: finaloverly). 18 Figure 16. Resource richness for Pennsylvania. Cell values 1-2 represent low resource richness; cell values 34 represent medium resource richness; and cell values 5-9 represent high resource richness (grid name: resrichness). 19 Figure 17. Resource threats for Pennsylvania. Low threat values contain only 1 data theme threat; medium threats contain 2 data theme threats; and high threats contain all three data theme threats (grid name: resthreats). 20