Maps

Shoreline Length and Water Area in Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Parks

The National Park Service has published widely varying statistics on the length of shoreline and the amount of water area in ocean and coastal parks. This project developed more accurate estimates of shoreline miles and water acres (marine, estuarine and Great Lake) managed by the NPS. The report covers the variety of shoreline data available, data quality problems and how to deal with them, park boundary issues, and the dynamic nature of shorelines.

Park Shoreline Maps

The Natural Resources Stewardship & Science directorate (NRSS) developed shoreline maps for ocean and coastal parks using publicly available imagery and park boundaries from the NPS Land Resources Program (LRP). Slightly more than half of the ocean and coastal parks have LRP-approved boundaries; the boundaries of the remaining parks are provisionary until approved by the LRP.

Seafloor Habitat Maps

Seafloor habitat maps provide park managers with better information about the location and condition of submerged resources and support resource assessments and management planning. The maps establish baseline conditions for future monitoring and can inform post-incident (e.g., storms, ship groundings, oil spills, etc.) management decisions. The NRSS co-hosted an interagency habitat mapping workshop with USGS in 2008 as the first step in developing a seafloor habitat mapping program.