Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) Online Applications
Administered by the U.S. Geological Survey Gap Analysis Project, the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is the nation’s official inventory of public open space and private protected areas. The lands included in PAD-US are assigned conservation status codes that both denote the level of biodiversity preservation and indicate other natural, recreational and cultural uses. PAD-US also includes the best available aggregation of federal lands data provided by agencies.
PAD-US Data Explorer
The Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) Data Explorer allows users to view web maps and chart statistics of areas that are protected for biodiversity conservation, as well as lands and waters that provide public access to nature.
Launch the explorer: https://maps.usgs.gov/padusdataexplorer/
PAD-US Statistics Dashboard
This dashboard provides a way of interacting with PAD-US data by leveraging spatial data from PAD-US into tabular and chart format. It enables users to quickly visualize information from acreage to ownership and landscape composition in an accessible format at a (coarse) national scale all the way down to a (granular) county scale.
Launch the dashboard: https://tableau.usgs.gov/#/views/PADUS_Statistics/Dashboard
GAP Status Assignment Tool
This tool allows PAD-US Data Stewards to determine GAP Status Code for a protected area. GAP Status Codes are a measure of the conservation type of each parcel based on protection level categories that provide a measure of management intent for the long-term protection of biodiversity. User provided GAP Status Codes are preferred but can be categorically assigned using designation type and a crosswalk created in collaboration with data stewards.
Launch the tool: https://maps.usgs.gov/surveys/gap_status_assignment_tool/index.html
Many legitimate overlaps exist in the PAD-US geodatabase Combined feature class that supports services in both the Data Explorer and the Viewer (e.g. multiple Marine Protected Areas designations, Wilderness Areas over National Forests or National Parks). These applications identify each overlapping unit, with attributes. Refer to the ‘fee only’ services (Fee Managers, Federal Fee Managers) for the best available footprint of public land and other protected area ownership and management without overlapping designated areas. GAP also develops a Combined file without overlaps for analyses available here.
Contact Us
For technical or PAD-US related questions while using either of these online map applications, contact the PAD-US Team at: pad-us@usgs.gov
Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) Online Applications
Administered by the U.S. Geological Survey Gap Analysis Project, the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is the nation’s official inventory of public open space and private protected areas. The lands included in PAD-US are assigned conservation status codes that both denote the level of biodiversity preservation and indicate other natural, recreational and cultural uses. PAD-US also includes the best available aggregation of federal lands data provided by agencies.
PAD-US Data Explorer
The Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) Data Explorer allows users to view web maps and chart statistics of areas that are protected for biodiversity conservation, as well as lands and waters that provide public access to nature.
Launch the explorer: https://maps.usgs.gov/padusdataexplorer/
PAD-US Statistics Dashboard
This dashboard provides a way of interacting with PAD-US data by leveraging spatial data from PAD-US into tabular and chart format. It enables users to quickly visualize information from acreage to ownership and landscape composition in an accessible format at a (coarse) national scale all the way down to a (granular) county scale.
Launch the dashboard: https://tableau.usgs.gov/#/views/PADUS_Statistics/Dashboard
GAP Status Assignment Tool
This tool allows PAD-US Data Stewards to determine GAP Status Code for a protected area. GAP Status Codes are a measure of the conservation type of each parcel based on protection level categories that provide a measure of management intent for the long-term protection of biodiversity. User provided GAP Status Codes are preferred but can be categorically assigned using designation type and a crosswalk created in collaboration with data stewards.
Launch the tool: https://maps.usgs.gov/surveys/gap_status_assignment_tool/index.html
Many legitimate overlaps exist in the PAD-US geodatabase Combined feature class that supports services in both the Data Explorer and the Viewer (e.g. multiple Marine Protected Areas designations, Wilderness Areas over National Forests or National Parks). These applications identify each overlapping unit, with attributes. Refer to the ‘fee only’ services (Fee Managers, Federal Fee Managers) for the best available footprint of public land and other protected area ownership and management without overlapping designated areas. GAP also develops a Combined file without overlaps for analyses available here.
Contact Us
For technical or PAD-US related questions while using either of these online map applications, contact the PAD-US Team at: pad-us@usgs.gov