Protected Area Database - VI

This page was generated on Dec 05, 2020

This analysis was generated by the OPUSInspect script, created by Brian Sperlongano. Conflation data provided by Kevin Kenney. The purpose of this analysis is to identify the IUCN Protection Category that should be tagged using the protect_class=* key for protected areas in each state in the United States. In addition, this script locates protected areas that are already tagged in OpenStreetMap and matches them by location and name with PAD-US in order to identify areas which may be incorrectly tagged with protect_class=*.

Protected areas that are not assigned an IUCN Category should still be tagged leisure=nature_reserve (which renders in Carto), but omit protect_class=*. Be aware that minor differences in naming or spelling may cause false positives or negatives; mappers should examine this table carefully.

Additionally, mappers should consult the PAD-US map-based viewer when making a determination:

The PAD-US Data Source

As a work of the United States Federal Government, the PAD-US database is in the Public Domain and is suitable as a data source for OpenStreetMap. PAD-US is an aggregation over over 100 other data sources. Mappers should inspect PAD-US for accuracy and assume that there may be errors.

Note that:

Legend

IUCN Category Meaning Suggested Tagging
Ia IUCN Category Ia: Strict Nature Reserve protect_class=1a
Ib IUCN Category Ib: Wilderness protect_class=1b
II IUCN Category II: National Park protect_class=2
III IUCN Category III: Natural Monument or Feature protect_class=3
IV IUCN Category IV: Habitat/Species Management Area protect_class=4
V IUCN Category V: Protected Landscape/Seascape protect_class=5
VI IUCN Category VI: Protected Area with Sustainable Use of Natural Resources protect_class=6
Other No assigned IUCN Category
Ia, IV, V Multiple categories

This script output is a work in progress and may not be reliable.

Table of IUCN Categorized Protected Areas in VI

IUCN Categorized Protected Areas in VI
Area [1] IUCN
Cat[2]
Ownership Type[1] Owner Operator
Booby Rock V VI Virgin Islands Government
Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge IV FWS Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge
Capella Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Carval Rock V VI Virgin Islands Government
Cas Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Cockroach Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Compass Point V VI Compass Point Pond Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary
Congo Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Cricket Rock V VI Virgin Islands Government
Derick O. Steinmann Beach V NGO St. Croix Environmental Association
Dog Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Dutchcap Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
East End V VI USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Estate Adventure V VI V.I. Resource Conservation and Dev. Council, Inc.
Estate Mount Washington V NGO St Croix Landmarks Society
Flanagan Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Flat Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Frank Bay V VI USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Frenchcap Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge IV FWS Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge
Kalkun Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Leduck Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Magen's Bay V VI, REG
  • Magen's Bay Authority
  • USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources
Saba Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve III NPS NPS
Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge IV FWS Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge
Shark Island V VI Virgin Islands Government
Smith Bay Park III REG Magen's Bay Authority
Southgate V NGO St. Croix Environmental Association
Steven Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Sula Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government
Virgin Islands National Park II DESG Unknown
Whistling Cay V VI Virgin Islands Government

References

  1. ^ Areas listed in the PAD-US are linked to the approximate area (by bounding box). Matching areas tagged in OSM are listed, with the most significant protected area tag listed.
  2. ^ International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) management categories assigned to protected areas for inclusion in the United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC) World Database for Protected Areas (WDPA) and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) North American Terrestrial Protected Areas Database. IUCN defines a protected area as, "A clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values" (includes GAP Status Code 1 and 2 only). Categorization follows as:
    • IUCN Category Ia - Strict Nature Reserves are strictly protected areas set aside to protect biodiversity and possibly geological or geomorphological features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure preservation of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring;
    • IUCN Category Ib - Wilderness Areas protected areas are usually large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence, without permanent or significant human habitation, which are protected and managed to preserve their natural condition;
    • IUCN Category II - National Park protected areas are large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities;
    • IUCN Category III - Natural Monument or Feature protected areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a landform, seamount, submarine caverns, geological features such as caves, or even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small protected areas and often have high visitor value;
    • IUCN Category IV - Habitat and (or) species management protected areas aim to protect particular species or habitats and management reflects this priority. Many category IV protected areas will need regular, active interventions to address the requirements of particular species or to maintain habitats, but this is not a requirement of this category;
    • IUCN Category V Protected landscape and (or) seascape protected areas occur where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant ecological, biological, cultural, and scenic value;
    • IUCN Category VI - Protected area with sustainable use (community based, non-industrial) of natural resources are generally large, with much of the area in a more-or-less natural condition and whereas a proportion is under sustainable natural resource management and where such exploitation is seen as one of the main aims of the area.
    • Other Conservation Areas are not recognized by IUCN at this time; however, they will be evaluated to determine if they meet the definition of Other Effective Area Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) for inclusion in the WDPA following recently released guidance. These areas (GAP Status Code 3 areas only) are attributed in the 'IUCN Category' Domain along with 'Unassigned' areas (GAP Status Code 4).
    • In addition, a few areas are included as 'Not Reported', these areas meet the definition of IUCN protection (i.e. GAP Status Code 1 or 2) but 'IUCN Category' has not yet been assigned and categorical assignment is not appropriate. See the PAD-US Data Manual for a summary of methods.
  3. ^ The general land owner description (e.g. 'Federal', 'Territorial', 'American Indian Lands', 'State', 'Regional Agency Special District', 'Local Government', 'Non-Governmental Organization', 'Private', 'Joint') standardized for the U.S. See PAD-US Data Manual for the “Agency Name to Agency Type Crosswalk� or geodatabase look up table for full domain descriptions. 'Regional Agency Special Districts' include limited purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such as county or municipal. 'Designation' is applied to designations overlapping fee lands as ownership is not applicable. Use the 'Manager Type' field for the best general depiction of Federal lands as several ownership related data gaps (i.e. 'Owner Type' = 'Unknown') occur in the Federal theme