Gap Analysis Project
PAD-US Uses
PAD-US is the authoritative source for questions that apply to more than one agency. Agencies are always the best and official source of their lands data. The most common uses of PAD-US are for national or multi-state regional analysis and mapping.
Example uses include supporting such activities as: land use planning, wildfire response, conservation assessments, recreation planning, transportation planning, and public safety/natural hazards planning and response.
Related Content
PAD-US 2.0 Helps RV Users Find Great Campsites
August 6, 2019
Taking a Recreational Vehicle out to find a great campsite is an avocation for hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. One couple has been on the road in their RV for years and has published an app to help find these sites on public lands – PAD-US 2.0 has given them and their app a huge boost in quality.
Regional Conservation Partnership in Chattanooga Guides Growth
July 17, 2019
Thrive 2055 is a visioning process for the greater Chattanooga, TN region (it’s now Thrive Regional Partnership). It was formed as a conservation alliance among land trusts, watershed conservancies, outdoor recreation groups, and other organizations.
Forest Visitor Maps Developed with PAD-US
July 16, 2019
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) manages huge areas of landscapes in our National Forest System. To support the mapping for these areas, particularly for visitor support, USGS manages FSTopo, their data and map production system.
Emergency Management Use of PAD-US, Department of the Interior
July 16, 2019
The Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Interior Operations Center (IOC) enables DOI to better coordinate emergency actions. The Center relies upon the Interior Geospatial Emergency Management System (IGEMS).
Improving Federal Highway Data with PAD-US
April 23, 2019
If you’re the federal agency managing the nation’s highway system, it’s important to understand exactly which highways pass over Federally owned lands.
PAD-US and City/Regional Park Agencies
July 26th, 2017
If you work for a city parks department or a regional parks and open space district, or for any local public agency, you probably have workable GIS data for your own park holdings. But if you’re looking for what’s around you, or in a broad area of study, you might not have access to good GIS data on parks and open space lands.
Many Views of PAD-US
April 18, 2017
One of the uses of PAD-US is for explaining public lands and protected areas to very broad audiences. The Story Maps team at Esri developed a web application on their platform for Earth Day that features PAD-US, to provide just such a primer.
Collaborative Conservation in the Carribean
June 17, 2016
The multi-jurisdictional Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA-CAT), an alliance within the Caribbean LCC, provides coordinated info and expertise to identify and manage the Caribbean protected areas network.
Habitat Connectivity with Shifting Climate
June 14, 2016
A June 2016 article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (“Achieving climate connectivity in a fragmented landscape”, McGuire, et al) reports on new methods that ecologists can use to determine the most effective regions for habitat connectivity.
Planning for Development and Wildlife
May 17, 2016
The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (CHAT) was developed to bring greater certainty and predictability to planning efforts by establishing a common starting point for discussing the intersection of development and wildlife.
Supporting Global Conservation
May 17, 2016
PAD-US is the United States submission to the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), a project of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the UN Environmental Program (UNEP).
Protected Land for Wildlife Corridors
May 16, 2016
A 2016 research project used PAD-US version 1.3 to develop an extensive analysis of options for a large network of protected areas that could support wildlife migration. The following are excerpts from the PLOS ONE journal article on the project: Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States
PAD-US Supporting Recreation and LWCF
May 12, 2016
The federal government’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) program includes funding for individual states, along with support for Federal agencies’ programs. Funding for states is premised on the development every five years of a State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, or SCORP. SCORPs are reviewed and approved by the National Park Service (NPS).