Alpine Loop Wildfire Hazard

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Computer Terrain Mapping, Inc.

Publication_Date: 2005

Title: Alpine Loop Wildfire Hazard

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map

Description:

Abstract:

The Alpine Loop Wildfire Hazard data set shows the risk of wildfire on lands along the Loop. This data set is one of the development constraints used to determine Development Potential.

For this project we adapted a new wildfire model from elements of two existing models: the National Fire Protection Association's NFPA 299 rating system (used by the Colorado Office of Emergency Management) and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests Wildfire Hazard-Risk Assessment (see <http://jfsp.nifc.gov/conferenceproc/HR-04Harkinsetal.pdf>). We further modified the model to include an evaporation submodel.

Purpose:

The Alpine Loop Spatial Analysis and Mapping Project inventoried natural and cultural resources and identified important areas where overlapping resources occur. The results from this project will provide an opportunity for area stakeholders - landowners, outdoor enthusiasts, surrounding communities, federal government agencies and local and national preservation groups - to come together to find solutions that maintain the Alpine Loop experience for future visitors and residents, while working within the framework of landowner objectives as well as local and federal government goals.

The Alpine Loop Spatial Analysis and Mapping Project analyzed the Alpine Loop landscape, considering important natural and cultural resources along with the likelihood of development based upon building constraints. The Project aims to provide a planning tool for area stakeholders as they consider the variety of land management options and the future of this magnificent region. The next logical step will be to craft solutions that work within the framework of landowner desires, local and federal government land management goals, and available financial and technical resources to manage the area in a way that preserves the Alpine Loop experience for future generations.

While the Alpine Loop lies within three counties - San Juan, Hinsdale and Ouray - the analytical work extended into a portion of San Miguel County. The resulting mapping and analyses will:

1. Create a spatial foundation to aid future projects in the Alpine Loop corridor;

2. Serve as a prioritization tool for evaluating the conservation potential of individual private parcels;

3. Provide the necessary framework for pursuing future funding opportunities.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 2003

Ending_Date: 2005

Currentness_Reference:

Data were retrieved from various sources and analyzed between 2003 and 2005. See Data Quality Information for time information for source data.

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None Planned

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -107.8725478

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -107.2256611

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.08819806

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.73515861

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: Conservation

Theme_Keyword: Development

Theme_Keyword: Wildfire

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword: United States

Place_Keyword: North America

Place_Keyword: Colorado

Place_Keyword: San Juan Mountains

Place_Keyword: Ouray County

Place_Keyword: San Juan County

Place_Keyword: Hinsdale County

Place_Keyword: San Miguel County

Place_Keyword: Ouray

Place_Keyword: Silverton

Place_Keyword: Lake City

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints: None.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Computer Terrain Mapping, Inc.

Contact_Person: Ed Russell

Contact_Position: President

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing

Address: PO Box 4982

City: Boulder

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80306

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303.444.1670

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 303.443.4856

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ctm@ctmap.com

Hours_of_Service: 8:00-5:00 MT

Data_Set_Credit:

This data set is the product of a collaborative process between numerous agencies, organizations and interested individuals from the beautiful Alpine Loop region.

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

GRASS version 5 on Red-Hat Linux version 8.0 exported to an ASCII Grid

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report: Determined from a variety of data sources of unknown accuracy.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Data are calculated from a variety of data sources of unknown accuracy. Only basic spot checking based on knowledge of terrain was performed.

Completeness_Report: The entire study area was covered by the analysis.

Lineage:

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Chris Daly of Oregon State University and George Taylor of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University

Publication_Date: 199804

Title: Colorado Average Monthly or Annual Precipitation, 1961-90

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Portland, Oregon

Publisher:

Water and Climate Center of the Natural Resources Conservation Service

Online_Linkage: <http://www.ocs.orst.edu/prism/>

Other_Citation_Details:

PRISM is an abbreviation for Parameter-elevation Regression on Independent Slopes Model. PRISM is an analytical model that uses point data and a digital elevation model (DEM) to generate gridded estimates of annual, monthly and event-based climatic parameters.

Type_of_Source_Media: digital

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19610101

Ending_Date: 19901231

Source_Currentness_Reference:

Climatological period from which the point observations were taken.

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: PRISM

Source_Contribution:

30-year average precipitation and average annual temperature data.

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), EROS Data Center

Publication_Date: 1999

Title: National Elevation Dataset

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Sioux Falls, SD

Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Online_Linkage: <http://gisdata.usgs.net/ned/>

Type_of_Source_Media: digital

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19990201

Ending_Date: Unknown

Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: NED

Source_Contribution: Elevation data.

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Publication_Date: 20000507

Title: Colorado Land Cover Data Set

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Sioux Falls, SD

Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Online_Linkage: <http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/programs/lccp/natllandcover.html>

Other_Citation_Details: NLCD Stands for National Land Cover Database

Type_of_Source_Media: digital

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 1988

Ending_Date: 1993

Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: NLCD

Source_Contribution:

Cover type reclassified to determine fire hazard (based on cover) and disturbance regime (how fast the cover type grows back after fire, indicating the likelihood that the cover has regrown from when it was last burned).

Process_Step:

Process_Description: Compute 30-year average rainfall from PRISM

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: PRISM

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: precipitation submodel

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

computed the product of the (normalized) average annual maximum temperature (from PRISM) and the annual relative solar incidence (including shadows) derived from NED

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: PRISM

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NED

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: evaporation submodel

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description: Compute slope from NED

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NED

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: slope gradient submodel

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Reclassify from NLCD according to how easily the vegetation burns (fuel hazard). Higher values indicate higher flammability. Fuel Hazard from land cover was classified as follows: The following land cover types were given a fuel hazard of 0, indicating fuel hazard is not applicable: Water: Open Water, Water: Perennial Ice/Snow, Barren: Bare Rock/Sand/Clay, Barren: Quarries/Strip Mines/Gravel Pits, Barren: Transitional, Developed: Low Intensity Residential, Developed: High Intensity Residential, Developed: Commercial/Industrial/Transportation, Non-Natural Woody: Orchards/Vineyards/Other, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Row Crops, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Fallow, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Urban/Recreational Grasses. The following land cover types were given a fuel hazard of 1 indicating low fire risk: Wetlands: Woody Wetlands, Wetlands: Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Small Grains. The following land cover types were given a fuel hazard of 2 indicating moderate fire risk: Shrubland: Shrubland, Herbaceous Upland Natural/Semi-Natural Vegetation: Grasslands/Herbaceous, Forested Upland: Deciduous Forest, Forested Upland: Evergreen Forest, Forested Upland: Mixed Forest, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Pasture/Hay. No land cover types were given a fuel hazard of 3 indicating high fire risk.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NLCD

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: fuel hazard submodel

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

reclassify from NLCD according to how quickly the vegetation recovers from fire (disturbance regime). Higher values indicate quicker recovery. Disturbance regime from land cover was classified as follows: The following land cover types were given a disturbance regime value of 0, indicating disturbance regime is not applicable: Water: Open Water, Water: Perennial Ice/Snow, Barren: Bare Rock/Sand/Clay, Barren: Quarries/Strip Mines/Gravel Pits, Barren: Transitional, Developed: Low Intensity Residential, Developed: High Intensity Residential, Developed: Commercial/Industrial/Transportation, Non-Natural Woody: Orchards/Vineyards/Other, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Row Crops, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Small Grains, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Fallow, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Urban/Recreational Grasses. No land cover types were given a disturbance regime value of 1 indicating a long recovery period or a value of 2 indicating a medium recovery period. The following land cover types were given a disturbance regime value of 3 indicating a short recovery period: Shrubland: Shrubland, Herbaceous Upland Natural/Semi-Natural Vegetation: Grasslands/Herbaceous, Wetlands: Woody Wetlands, Wetlands: Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands, Forested Upland: Deciduous Forest, Forested Upland: Evergreen Forest, Forested Upland: Mixed Forest, Herbaceous Planted/Cultivated: Pasture/Hay.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NLCD

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: disturbance regime submodel

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

final wildfire hazard computation: (precipitation submodel) x (evaporation submodel) x (slope gradient submodel) x (fuel hazard submodel) x (disturbance regime submodel)

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: precipitation submodel

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: evaporation submodel

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: slope gradient submodel

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: fuel hazard submodel

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: disturbance regime submodel

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: wildfire hazard unclassified

Process_Date: 2005

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Reclassified wildfire hazard into three equal interval categories. The reclassified values are 3 (high restriction of development potential due to wildfire hazard) if in the top third of the results, 2 (moderate restriction of development potential due to wildfire hazard) if in the middle third of the results or 1 (low restriction of development potential due to wildfire hazard) if in the bottom third of the results.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: wildfire hazard classified

Process_Date: 2005

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Raster

Raster_Object_Information:

Raster_Object_Type: Grid Cell

Row_Count: 1256

Column_Count: 1863

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Grid_Coordinate_System:

Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator

Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

UTM_Zone_Number: 13

Transverse_Mercator:

Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: .9996

Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -105 00 00

Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 00 00 00

False_Easting: 500000

False_Northing: 0

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 30.0

Ordinate_Resolution: 30.0

Planar_Distance_Units: METERS

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)

Ellipsoid_Name: GRS 1980

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222101

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: Wildfire hazard grid cell

Entity_Type_Definition: Any of the data elements in the wildfire hazard map

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: author

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: wildfire hazard cell value

Attribute_Definition:

Values of 3 (high hazard), 2 (medium hazard), 1 (low hazard), and 0 (no hazard)

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Range_Domain:

Range_Domain_Minimum: 0

Range_Domain_Maximum: 3

Attribute_Definition_Source: author

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Computer Terrain Mapping, Inc.

Contact_Person: Ed Russell

Contact_Position: President

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing

Address: PO Box 4982

City: Boulder

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80306

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303.444.1670

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 303.443.4856

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ctm@ctmap.com

Resource_Description: Alpine Loop Spatial Analysis and Mapping Project

Distribution_Liability:

Computer Terrain Mapping, Inc. (CTM) provides this data set as is. CTM makes no guarantee or warranty concerning the accuracy of information contained in the data. CTM further makes no warranties, either expressed or implied as to any other matter whatsoever, including, without limitation, the condition of the product, or its fitness for any particular purpose. The burden for determining fitness for use lies entirely with the user. Although this data has been processed successfully on computers at CTM, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the CTM regarding the use of this data on any other system, nor does the fact of distribution constitute or imply any such warranty.

Custom_Order_Process: Contact distributor to receive additional copies.

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 200504

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Computer Terrain Mapping, Inc.

Contact_Person: Ed Russell

Contact_Position: President

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing

Address: PO Box 4982

City: Boulder

State_or_Province: CO

Postal_Code: 80306

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 303.444.1670

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 303.443.4856

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ctm@ctmap.com

Hours_of_Service: 8:00-5:00 MT

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998