Note: Working Group and Subcommittee Charter Updates

The Wetlands Subcommittee promotes standards of accuracy and consistency in Federal geospatial wetlands data, exchanges information on technological improvements for collecting spatial wetlands data, encourages Federal and non-Federal communities to identify and adopt standards and specifications for spatial wetlands data, and collects and processes the requirements of Federal and non-Federal organizations for spatial wetlands data.

Because each State/Tribal historic preservation office, certified local government, and Federal agency operates independently to collect, maintain, and utilize their portion of the repository of over four million cultural resources nationwide, coordination in data standards is a key aspect for the utility of the data, required for Federal regulatory needs, disaster response, and preparedness, as well as for climate change studies. The subcommittee provides the framework for developing cultural resource data standards to facilitate data sharing, in addition to fostering coordination of data collection efforts among stakeholders. Subcommittee members include 20 Federal agencies as well as 10 State and 10 Tribal participants.The Cultural Resources Subcommittee Charter has more information about the organization of the subcommittee and its activities.

Recent accomplishments

FY 2015 Accomplishments

The subcommittee’s accomplishments for 2015 include the following:

  • Facilitated the development of authoritative NGDAs by updating the Data Collection Requirements and Procedures for Mapping Wetland, Deepwater, Related Habitats of the United States. This document describes the technical procedures and requirements for wetlands map data and is intended to aid organizations or individuals mapping wetlands and applying the Cowardin classification system. The document also explains the appropriate application of the wetland classification and mapping process, and how to achieve the data quality requirements required by the FGDC. For more information, see www.fws.gov/wetlands/Documents/Data-Collection-Requirements-and-Procedures-for-Mapping-Wetland-Deepwater-and-Related-Habitats-of-the-United-States.pdf.
  • To facilitate the development and updating of the NSDI wetlands layer, the EPA Wetland Program Development Grants request for proposals language was augmented by adding information on the requirement to comply with the FGDC Wetlands Mapping Standard if Federal funds are used to map wetlands. For more information, see www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/wetlands-mapping/2009-08%20FGDC%20Wetlands%20Mapping%20Standard_final.pdf.
  • To ensure that spatial data from multiple sources (Federal, State, Tribal, regional, and local governments; academia; and the private sector) could be integrated into the NGDA Wetlands Layer, the Subcommittee worked with the Association of State Wetlands Managers to produce and present a webinar on the Wetlands Mapping Standards and Procedures. This webinar reviewed the Data Collection Requirements and Procedures, the FGDC Wetlands Mapping and Classification Standards, and contact information to assist wetland data creators in contributing their data to the NGDA Wetlands Spatial Data Layer. For more information, see www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Contributed-Data.html.
  • Wetlands data for over 125 million acres of the United States was contributed from 12 contributing Federal, State, and local agencies in fiscal year 2015. All data submitted to the NSDI wetlands layer must comply with the National Wetlands Classification Standard and the FGDC Wetlands Mapping Standard. Rigorous quality-control and quality-assurance processes and tools are implemented at all parts of data creation and submission.
  • The National Wetlands Inventory dataset was registered in the Data.gov and Geoplatform.gov catalog and includes access to all of the wetland data endpoints, including Web applications, data downloads, and Web mapping services. This ensures the wetlands data are available to a diverse set of devices operated by end users comprising a full range of roles and skills. This NGDA dataset is part of the Waters – Inland Theme Community. For more information, see cms.geoplatform.gov/a16waterinland-home.

Activity Reports

The Wetlands Subcommittee provides progress reports to the FGDC Coordination Group. These reports contain the most current updates on the activities of the subcommittee.

All updates

Resources