America’s Inventory of Parks and Protected Areas Building and Using the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)

What if you could zoom in on a map of any park or protected open space in America to analyze data and inform decisions about conservation, recreation, public health, land use planning and more?  We’re actually almost there - join us to learn more, and how you can help make this vision a reality.

National parks and forests, wildlife refuges, state beaches and parks, county open space, city parks, land trust preserves, conservation easements, marine protected areas and other protected areas cover over 3 billion acres and are managed by thousands of public agencies and non-profit organizations that serve current and future generations.  A complete and current spatial database of these assets is a critical tool to achieve organizational missions across jurisdictions and commercial applications.  Hear how the FGDC Federal Lands Working Group collaborates to ensure PAD-US, published by USGS, includes the best available representation of federally owned lands and management designations. 

The panel will describe how the PAD-US geodatabase helps the wildfire community determine fire jurisdiction and the North American Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperation for Wilderness and Protected Areas Conservation (NAWPA) assess the State of Conservation in North America.  Public health officials will describe the power of parks and public lands in contributing to a healthy society (Healthy Parks Healthy People, ParkRx, Healthy Places).  Updates from the Federal Recreation Council and Recreation.gov data managers will describe collaborative efforts using PAD-US to help people find parks or activities and make reservations. 

• Lisa Johnson – PAD-US Coordinator, U.S. Geological Survey Cooperator - Boise State University
• Andrew Bailey – National Wildfire Coordinating Group, Office of the Secretary
• Sara Newman – Office of Public Health Director, National Park Service
• Troy Warburton – Automated Lands Program Manager, U.S. Forest Service
• Don Buhler – NGDA Cadastral Theme Lead, Bureau of Land Management