USGS - science for a changing world

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Home/ Overview/ Science Programs/ Data Library/ Products and Publications/States/ Rivers/Teachers and Students/ Links/ Contact/ Search

Upper Midwest Gap Analysis Program

UMGAPThe Gap Analysis Program (GAP) is a U.S Geological Survey project being implemented nationwide with the help of more than 400 cooperators, including the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and other government agencies. The purpose of GAP is to identify "gaps" in the network of conservation lands with respect to land cover or habitat types as well as individual species, and to build partnerships around the development and application of this information. The intent is to provide focus and direction for proactive land management activities at the local, watershed, and ecoregion levels.

In 1995, the Upper Midwest Gap Analysis Program (UMGAP) was simultaneously initiated in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin under the coordination of the Environmental Management Technical Center that has since become part of the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC). The UMESC also coordinates closely with state Gap efforts in Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

 

 

 

 

UMGAP Objectives

  • Develop a multi-state, multi-institutional cooperative approach toward the generation and use of regionwide landscape data in the Upper Midwest.
  • Map the existing land cover of the Upper Midwest using uniform standards and protocols, and with a minimum mapping unit of not less than 2 ha.
  • Map the predicted distributions of native bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species in the Upper Midwest.
  • Map stewardship categories for all lands in the Upper Midwest.
  • Develop a long-term institutional framework for the maintenance, distribution, and updating of regionwide landscape information.

The UMGAP is organized to avoid duplicating efforts while meeting the diverse information needs of the participating state and Federal partners and cooperators. Though the Gap Analysis Program is producing land cover, stewardship, and animal distribution maps specifically in order to perform "gap" analysis, these data will nonetheless prove valuable to resource managers and planners as they try to understand and respond to ecoregional processes that effect the landscape.

As regional GAP Coordinator, the UMESC has the expertise and ability to process and manage large amounts of remotely sensed data, and can manage and distribute the spatial databases being generated by the state partners. By using the regionally consistent UMGAP data sets, natural resource managers will be able to develop ecologically sound conservation strategies for the entire Upper Midwest, avoiding the difficulties commonly associated with combining data from multiple states or programs.

This project will be completed in September 2003.

Related Link:

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/spatial-tech/dfitzpatrick_5001281.html
Page Contact Information: Contacting the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Page Last Modified: October 2, 2007