| New Jersey Pinelands Bulk-electric-transmission Right-of-way Vegetation Management Prescriptions | |
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Data format: Shapefile File or table name: Vegetation_Management_Prescriptions Coordinate system: State Plane Coordinate System Theme keywords: utilitesCommunication, environment, electric transmission, New Jersey Pinelands, right-of-way, span, utility, vegetation management |
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Abstract:
The Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA) and the Pinelands Commission developed a span-by-span vegetation-management plan for the bulk-electric-transmission rights-of-way (ROWs) in the New Jersey Pinelands Area. Bulk-transmission lines have a 69 kV capacity or greater. The ROW plan includes a report (Lathrop and Bunnell 2009) and an associated GIS layer, which contains the 3,041 polygons, or spans, that compose the 233 mi (2,695 ac) of Pinelands ROWs. Each span in the GIS layer represents the portion of managed right-of-way between two adjacent towers and contains a specific vegetation-management prescription. See Lathrop and Bunnell (2009) for additional information regarding the ROW plan and associated GIS layer. |
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The Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA) and the Pinelands Commission developed a span-by-span vegetation-management plan for the bulk-electric-transmission rights-of-way (ROWs) in the New Jersey Pinelands Area. Bulk-transmission lines have a 69 kV capacity or greater. The ROW plan includes a report (Lathrop and Bunnell 2009) and an associated GIS layer, which contains the 3,041 polygons, or spans, that compose the 233 mi (2,695 ac) of Pinelands ROWs. Each span in the GIS layer represents the portion of managed right-of-way between two adjacent towers and contains a specific vegetation-management prescription. See Lathrop and Bunnell (2009) for additional information regarding the ROW plan and associated GIS layer.
The specific goal of this project was to develop a ROW vegetation-management plan to create and maintain relatively stable and sustainable, early successional habitats that: 1. Represent characteristic Pinelands-reference habitats, such as scrub-shrub vegetation, emergent wetlands, and intermittent ponds; 2. Provide habitat for native Pinelands plants and animals, including threatened and endangered species; 3. Reflect the size, shape, and spatial distribution of characteristic Pinelands-reference habitats; 4. Reflect local soils and hydrologic features; 5. Reflect within-patch heterogeneity similar to characteristic reference habitats; 6. Maximize natural re-vegetation and minimize planting; 7. Are compatible with surrounding landscapes (e.g., locate grasslands adjacent to farmland); 8. Ensure transmission reliability and safety; 9. Require minimal subsequent management; and 10. Minimize the need for individual Pinelands permit reviews.
Refer to Lathrop and Bunnell (2009) for additional information regarding the ROW plan and associated GIS data. Lathrop, R. G. and J. F. Bunnell. 2009. New Jersey Pinelands electric-transmission right-of-way vegetation-management plan. Rutgers University, Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, New Brunswick, NJ, and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, New Lisbon, NJ.
publication date
This GIS layer was completed for the New Jersey Pinelands Commission (NJPC) as part of a joint project with the Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA) and is owned and maintained by the NJPC. New Jersey Pinelands Commission Data Distribution Agreement. Users agrees to abide by the terms and conditions of the following: I. Description of Data to be Provided The data provided herein are distributed subject to the following conditions and restrictions. Subject Data Layers For all data contained herein, NJPC makes no representations of any kind, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use, nor are any such warranties to be implied with respect to the digital data layers furnished hereunder. NJPC assumes no responsibility to maintain them in any manner or form. Terms of Agreement 1. Digital data received from the NJPC are to be used solely for internal purposes in the conduct of daily affairs. 2. The data are provided, as is, without warranty of any kind and the user is responsible for understanding the accuracy limitations of all digital data layers provided herein, as documented in this metadata file. Any reproduction or manipulation of the above data must ensure that the coordinate reference system remains intact. 3. Digital data received from the NJPC may not be reproduced or redistributed for use by anyone without first obtaining written permission from the NJPC. This clause is not intended to restrict distribution of printed mapped information produced from the digital data. 4. Any maps, publications, reports, or other documents produced as a result of this project that utilize NJPC digital data will credit the NJPC's Geographic Information System (GIS) as the source of the data with the following credit/disclaimer: "This (map/publication/report) was developed using New Jersey Pinelands Commission Geographic Information System digital data, but this secondary product has not been verified by NJPC and is not state-authorized." 5. Users shall require any independent contractor, hired to undertake work that will utilize digital data obtained from the NJPC, to agree not to use, reproduce, or redistribute NJPC GIS data for any purpose other than the specified contractual work. All copies of NJPC GIS data utilized by an independent contractor will be required to be returned to the original user at the close of such contractual work. Users hereby agree to abide by the use and reproduction conditions specified above and agree to hold any independent contractor to the same terms. By using data provided herein, the user acknowledges that terms and conditions have been read and that the user is bound by these criteria.
15 Springfield Road
Other contact: Richard G. Lathrop, Jr. Director Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey 14 College Farm Road, Cook Campus New Brunswick, NJ USA 08901-8551 Tel: 732-932-1582 Fax: 732-932-2587 Email: lathrop@crssa.rutgers.edu
GIS data by the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA), Rutgers University, and the New Jersey Pinelands Commission.
No accuracy assessment was completed.
The horizontal accuracy is based on the right-of-way buffers generated in the GIS from the transmission lines and towers to create the span zone polygons. The buffer widths varied by utility company and roughly corresponded to the boundaries of the existing managed ROW corridor visible from the 2002 and 2006 high resolution aerial photography.
ROW Span Layer: To create the ROW span layer, the re-formatted GIS layer was used and the transmission lines were mapped between substations to identify individual circuits and confirm geographic coverage. Using aerial photographs from 2002 and 2006, utility towers were located and a standard ROW buffer width for that particular circuit was applied to create a polygonal coverage. The buffer widths varied by utility company and roughly corresponded to the boundaries of the existing managed ROW corridor visible from the aerial photographs. For each tower that was visible on the aerial photographs, boundaries were generated to separate the circuits into individual polygons or spans. A span is the portion of a ROW between two adjacent towers. A unique alpha-numeric identifier was assigned to each span that included information on the utility company, circuit, and span number. There were situations in which multiple lines and/or circuits shared the same ROW corridor. Up to seven circuits shared the same corridor in some locations. For most cases with multiple circuits, the spans in that corridor were subdivided into parallel sets of spans. The resulting ROW span layer included 233 miles of Pinelands ROWs, contained 3,041 individual spans, and covered 2,695 acres. The ROW span layer served as the foundation for the project because it represented the boundary for mapping vegetation within Pinelands ROWs and allowed for linking span-by-span vegetation-management prescriptions to specific geographic areas of the Pinelands. See Lathrop and Bunnell (2009) for additional information regarding the ROW plan and associated GIS layer.
14 College Farm Road
Develop a Dynamic Span-by-span Vegetation-management Plan for Pinelands Rights-of-way: The objective of this task was to develop a GIS-based span-by-span vegetation-management plan for the bulk electric-transmission ROWs in the Pinelands. To accomplish this, the current vegetation along the approximately 233 miles of ROW was characterized and a vegetation-management prescription was assigned to each of the 3,041 spans contained in the ROW span GIS layer. The vegetation-management prescriptions were variations on mowing and manual and mechanized cutting and, for some spans, included timing restrictions due to the presence of wetlands or nearby records of threatened or endangered species. The existing vegetation along Pinelands ROWs was characterized using a combination of field and aerial photograph interpretation methods. Field surveys were completed during the summer and fall of 2007. Vegetation was visually interpreted from 2007 aerial photography. Because of on-going vegetation management on the ROWs, aerial photographs from 2002 and 2006 were also examined to more accurately characterize existing vegetation. For the field and aerial photograph surveys, the percentage cover of forest, topped trees, tree sprouts, shrub oaks, shrubs, herbaceous, and bare ground was estimated in each span. Field surveys were conducted by slowly driving ROW access roads and periodically stopping to photograph and categorize the vegetation. Because it was difficult to differentiate tree sprouts, shrubs, and shrub oak when completing the aerial photograph interpretations, these three cover types were often combined as scrub/shrub. The cover categories for all surveys included dominant (>50%), co-dominant (25-50%), subordinate (<25%), and present (<5%). A vegetation-management prescription was assigned to each of the spans in the GIS layer using the terms cut trees manually, cut trees mechanically, or mow. Cut trees manually means to cut trees or topped trees at the base by hand with the use of chainsaws or similar hand tools. Cut trees mechanically means to cut trees or topped trees at the base with the use of machines. Mowing refers to shearing off any woody and herbaceous vegetation with the use of a machine. Each span was assigned a cutting and/or mowing prescription based on the vegetation characterized through the field and aerial-photograph surveys. If forest or topped trees were present in a span, a prescription to cut those trees was assigned. In spans where tree-sprout cover was low compared to shrub cover, a prescription to cut the tree sprouts manually was assigned when tree sprouts and shrubs were well mixed. A prescription to mow only the tree sprouts and not the shrubs was assigned when the tree sprouts and shrubs were distributed in relatively distinct patches. For spans where tree-sprouts were present with little to no shrub cover, a mowing prescription was assigned to that span. A mowing prescription was assigned to spans that were already well-groomed herbaceous areas in developed and agricultural landscapes and to spans that crossed herbaceous patches maintained as food plots by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife. Compared to field visits, prescriptions applied to wetland spans were more conservative when based on the aerial photographs. Some of the wetland spans that were field surveyed supported too many tree sprouts for manual tree cutting to be practical. In those cases, a mowing prescription was applied. For wetland spans interpreted from aerial photographs, if standing water, access road flooding, or significant soil disturbance was visible on the aerial photographs, a manual tree cutting prescription was applied to the span rather than a mowing prescription to avoid soil disturbances associated with mowing equipment. Timing restrictions were incorporated into the vegetation-management prescriptions of some spans due to the presence of wetlands and threatened and endangered (T&E) species. See Lathrop and Bunnell (2009) for additional information regarding the ROW plan and associated GIS layer.
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Unique alpha-numeric span identifier
Indicates whether the existing vegetation was characterized using aerial photographs or field visits
The name of the utility company responsible for vegetation management of the span
Forest cover
Cover of topped trees
Cover of small diameter tree sprouts from cut stumps or trees that grew from seed
Cover of various species of shrub oaks
Cover of various species of shrubs
Scrub/shrub cover (Because it was difficult to differentiate tree sprouts, shrubs, and shrub oak when completing the aerial-photograph interpretations, these three cover types were often combined as scrub/shrub)
Herbaceous-vegetation cover
Bare-ground cover
Agricultural land
Indicates the presence of non-Pinelands vegetation, primarily Phragmites.
Developed area
Cover of paved roads
Water cover
Cover of short stubble from freshly mowed woody vegetation
Vegetation-management prescription for the span
Number of acres in the span zone
15 Springfield Road