NJDEP GIS - Landscape Layers Data Downloads

NJDEP Digital Data Downloads in ArcView Shape file format:

Landscape Layers

These files can be used with your GIS or can be viewed with a free GIS Data Viewer from ESRI called ArcExplorer.

These data sets are a product of the Landscape Project, a pro-active, ecosystem-level approach to the long-term protection of imperiled and priority species and their important habitats in New Jersey.

The Endangered and Nongame Species Program plans to release version 3.0 by region, which it has already begun to do with the release of the Highlands Region. As Version 3.0 is released by region it will replace Version 2.1 in the area of that region and the files will be updated accordingly. Until version 3.0 of the Landscape Project is released for a particular region, please continue to use Version 2.1.

Landscape Version - landscapeversion.zip (262 KB, 408 KB unzipped)

The Landscape Version layer provides users a guide to determine which version of the Landscape Project to reference for a particular area.

Version 2.1

Bald Eagle Foraging Version 2.1 - baldeagleforaging.zip (9529 KB, 14019 KB unzipped)

Bald eagle foraging habitat is defined as the amount of habitat required to support a nesting pair of eagles throughout the year, as breeding bald eagles are year-round residents in NJ. The bald eagle foraging model is a stand-alone GIS layer.

Beach Version 2.1 - beach.zip (896 KB, 2050 KB unzipped)

The Beach data set depicts critical area maps for beach dependent species which are generated by selecting specific land-use classes from the NJDEP's LULC data set.

Emergent Wetland Version 2.1 - emergent.zip (33599 KB, 93616 KB unzipped)

The Emergent data set depicts critical area maps for emergent dependent species which are generated by selecting specific land-use classes from the NJDEP's LULC data set.

Forest Version 2.1 - forest.zip (50236 KB, 98491 KB unzipped)

The Forest data set depicts critical area maps for forest dependent species which are generated by selecting specific land-use classes from the NJDEP's LULC data set.

Forested Wetland Version 2.1 - forestedwetlands.zip (43643 KB, 123586 KB unzipped)

The Forested Wetland data set depicts critical area maps for forested wetland dependent species which are generated by selecting specific land-use classes from the NJDEP's LULC data set.

Grassland Version 2.1 - grassland.zip (10714 KB, 29546 KB unzipped)

The Grassland data set depicts critical area maps for grassland dependent species which are generated by selecting specific land-use classes from the NJDEP's LULC data set.

Urban Peregrine Version 2.1 - urbanperegrine.zip (56 KB, 162 KB unzipped)

In Version 2.1, peregrine falcon nests are separated into two types, urban and non urban depending on the type of landscape in which they are located. For urban nests a 1-kilometer radius area around the nest is now valued as peregrine falcon habitat regardless of the land-cover type. Urban peregrine nests continue to value emergent wetland patches that intersect with the 1-kilometer radius area delineated around a peregrine falcon nest. Non-urban peregrine falcon nests continue to value only emergent wetland patches that intersect with the 1-kilometer radius area around the nest. The urban peregrine falcon model is a stand-alone GIS layer that values emergent wetland habitat patches.

Wood Turtle Version 2.1 - woodturtle.zip (2613 KB, 4037 KB unzipped)

Critical areas for wood turtles are mapped following a four-step process. First, a 322-meter (0.2 miles) buffer is applied to all streams (NJDEP Streams) within a 1.6 kilometer radius (one mile) of each wood turtle sighting location. The buffers are clipped so that all areas being designated as critical wood turtle habitat are within 1.6 kilometers of a wood turtle sighting. Second, the NJDEP LULC layer is overlaid on the buffered areas. All areas classified as urban, with the exception of undeveloped upland rights-of-way, are deleted from the buffered areas. Third, all areas classified as wetlands in the NJDEP LULC layer with the exception of cemetery on wetlands, and saline marshes, are overlaid on the stream buffers. All wetlands that are contiguous with the buffered areas are selected and clipped to only include wetlands within 1.6 kilometers of a sighting. Those wetlands are then merged into the stream buffers. Forth and last, a staff turtle biologist conducts a detailed inspection and revision of each resultant polygon to ensure biological accuracy. The wood turtle model is a stand-alone layer that is not used to value habitat patches.

Species Look-up Tables for Version 2.1 - Species_Table_V2_1.zip (1248 KB, 64063 KB unzipped)

9.2 Geodatabase of Version 2.1 - landscapeversion2_1gdb.zip (85345 KB, 120791 KB unzipped)

Version 3.0

Species Based Patches within the ENSP Highlands Extended Boundary - highlands_sbp.zip (130062 KB, 262162 KB unzipped)

ENSP employed the NJDEP aerial photo-based LU/LC data layer to delineate potential rare species habitat within the Highlands Region. The 1995 LU/LC was recently updated with 2002 imagery and includes 69 unique LU/LC classes within the Highlands Extended Boundary described in Anderson et al. (1976). Within the Highlands Extended Boundary, each of the 69 LU/LC classes was retained and the unique classes were not dissolved, as had been done in version 2.0, into five general habitat types: forest, forested wetland, grassland, emergent wetland and beach. Retaining the original LU/LC class delineations allowed greater flexibility and potential for a more accurate representation of potential rare species habitat based on individual species. This "species-based patch" approach provided ENSP biologists with the ability to assign a custom set of LU/LC classifications to be valued for each individual species.

Streams within the ENSP Highlands Extended Boundary - highlands_streams.zip (17719 KB, 32426 KB unzipped)

An update to the DEP stream layer was completed with the DEP 2002 LU/LC classification and was incorporated into this current version of the Landscape Project (Version 3.0) within the ENSP Highlands Extended Boundary. All stream centerlines within the Highlands extended boundary were extracted from the LU/LC stream layer. All streams were assigned a unique ID. Stream centerlines within water types "ARTIFICIAL LAKES" (LU02: 5300), "STREAMS AND CANALS" (LU02: 5100) and "NATURAL LAKES" (LU02: 5200), were assigned a second ID, so that each stream could be related back to the water body in which it occurs.

Streams are valued only by mussel species. Mussel occurrences within the Highlands are represented as either polygon or point feature types. All mussel point occurrences within the Highlands Region were buffered by 50 meters. Streams intersected by a 50 meter buffer or a mussel polygon occurrence, were valued for that occurrence. All valued streams were buffered by .75 kilometers upstream and downstream. In the cases where stream buffers of separate occurrences of the same species met, either upstream or downstream, the stream segments between those occurrences were also valued for that species.

Vernal Habitat within the ENSP Highlands Extended Boundary - highlands_vernal_habitat.zip (1310 KB, 2314 KB unzipped)

In 2001 ENSP partnered with Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA) to develop a method for mapping potential vernal pools throughout New Jersey. Through an on-screen visual interpretation of digital orthophotography, CRSSA identified over 13,000 potential pools throughout the state. A subset of these pools was field verified and confirmed, with an 88% accuracy rate (Lathrop et al. 2005), to meet the physical characteristics to qualify as a vernal pool.

Species Look-up Tables for Version 3.0 - Species_Table_V3_0.zip (1493 KB, 48990 KB unzipped)

9.2 Geodatabase of Version 3.0 - landscapeversion3_0gdb.zip (94957 KB, 166638 KB unzipped)

Copyright © State of New Jersey, 1996-2008 Department of Environmental Protection P. O. Box 402 Trenton, NJ 08625-0402 Last Updated: August 19, 2008