Definition: Prioritizes large areas of contiguous habitat that are relatively intact or have low levels of anthropogenic impact.
Aggregation method: Method was undergone by the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) Crucial Habitat Landscape Integrity Workgroup. A landscape analysis was completed for the entire western United States, and unique Landscape Condition thresholds identifying "low impact" areas of development were identified within each eco-region. A minimum size threshold of 1,000 hectares was established for areas to then be assessed within the Large Natural Areas layer. Those areas were then assessed using the following criteria. See the Native and Unfragmented Landscapes section of the Resources page in the WAFWA CHAT website.
Priority 1: Designates all large natural areas that also contain a landscape condition model score in the best third of the value range. (Large Intact Blocks greater than 1,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition score in the best third of the value range.)
Priority 2: Designates smallest or largest areas that also contain a landscape condition score in the middle third of the value range, or largest areas that also contain low landscape condition values. (Large Intact Blocks less than 10,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition score in the middle third of the value range) OR (Large Intact Blocks greater than 50,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition score in the middle third of the value range) OR (Large Intact Blocks greater than 50,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition scores in the worst third of the value range)
Priority 3: Designates natural areas that are of moderate size and either moderate or low landscape condition scores or small size with low landscape condition results. (Large Intact Blocks between 10,000 and 50,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition score in the middle or worst third of the value range) OR (Large Intact Blocks less than 10,000 hectares AND Landscape Condition score in the worst third of the value range)
Priority 6: Hexagons that were not identified as containing a Large Intact Block within the Landscape analysis.
Data Source
Dataset Name |
Dataset Description |
Data Steward |
Native Unfragmented Landscapes |
Large Intact Blocks that identify large areas of native habitat that are relatively intact or have low levels of anthropogenic impact. |
WAFWA CHAT |
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