This project will produce land cover classification maps with an emphasis on wetlands for the Great Lakes region using high-resolution land cover data from NOAA’s Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). The initial data, released in January 2024, includes three feature layers: impervious surfaces, tree canopy, and water features. Future products, expected in 2025 to 2026, will include the full C-CAP classification scheme with up to 16 classes, including wetlands, cultivated, and impervious under canopy. By providing more detail (900 times that of the 30-meter regional land cover), these new high-resolution land cover datasets provide critical information to support a wide range of local and site-level applications, including flood inundation modeling, stormwater management, wetland monitoring and restoration, water quality assessments, nature-based solutions, and urban forestry.
Utilizing these datasets, NOAA will develop wetland classification maps for the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes basin. These data will be consistent with NOAA’s C-CAP classification standard and will include five categories of wetlands. Mapping is based on the most up-to-date available aerial imagery. Once produced, these data will become the foundation of an analysis of wetland condition and resilience to fluctuating lake levels.
In addition, NOAA will produce a smaller area of more detailed wetland mapping focused on species-level categories. Location and exact classification scheme of that mapping will be based on the previously mentioned resilience analysis and partner input from within the region. These data are expected to be similar to other detailed wetland habitat mapping products developed by NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. All data produced as part of this project will be available for public access at NOAA’s Digital Coast website.
Funding:
FY2023: $500,000
FY2022: $500,000
Contact: Nate.Herold@noaa.gov