State Reports - Virginia The land cover mapping of VA-GAP is two-thirds complete. A basic Anderson et al. (1979) level 1+/- map has been completed and will be distributed to cooperators soon, along with aggregated wetlands and urban layers. An accuracy assessment, using almost 2400 videography points, has been performed. Videography data taken in fall of 1995 and spring of 1996 were used in this process. Additional videography flights recorded during fall of 1996 (along with the previous flights) are currently being interpreted to aid in creating and assessing the next map iterations. Drafts of the second iteration have been delineated for the western part of the Commonwealth. This second stage relies more on ecological modeling than spectral data. Topographical and climatological forest-type profiles have been identified using available literature, the US Forest Service’s FIA data set, expert review, and several digital land cover maplets. The third and final mapping stage will involve additional Landsat TM imagery. These scenes have recently arrived and are being processed. We now have a nearly complete set of leaf-off and leaf-on imagery. A working hierarchical land cover classification for Virginia has been outlined and reviewed. This system incorporates the NVCS along with intermediate land cover classes that work well in Virginia. A crosswalk to other classification systems will be completed once our mapping efforts are reasonably finished. Our final land cover map should be completed in early 1998. The land stewardship layer has been updated. Mapping of state-owned lands is complete. A map of the boundaries of several federal lands is expected to arrive shortly. The two maps will be merged as soon as all of the data are available. A biodiversity management ranking system will be discussed shortly. The review and update of species information for use in the development of potential distribution maps for the terrestrial vertebrate species is continuing. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) staff have completed work on the reptile and amphibian species (approximately 150, including subspecies) and have completed assessments for over half of the breeding birds. The relatively sparse information on Virginia mammals has challenged the reviewers, but cooperation and information/data from two prominent mammalogists (Dr. Charles Handley and Dr. John Pagels) have proved extremely valuable to overcoming this hurdle. VDGIF personnel are continuing to contact other researchers and institutions for additional mammal data. The WildlifeMapping project in Virginia is off to a great start. Two workshops have been held so far and six more are planned for the fall. We are also in the process of developing our data entry software and our Internet web page. A video about the program highlighting Virginia habitats and species is in the works as well. All those who have heard about the program are excited about its potential in the Commonwealth. VA-GAP has worked closely with regional biodiversity and land cover mapping efforts. We currently maintain a listserver for Mid-Atlantic GAP projects, which has aided in developing regional videography missions, research proposals, and accuracy assessment methodology. Virginia is proud to have hosted the 1997 GAP Principal Investigators’ Conference in Reston. |