LCC funding allowed completion of this BLM initiative to develop a North Slope-wide cover type map and create a crosswalk that integrates all component cover type maps that comprise the larger overall North Slope cover type map.
This map is the outcome of a multi-year project to produce a moderate resolution landcover base map for the North Slope of Alaska to serve as a primary base layer for long-term science and planning activities on the North Slope. New Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) 30 meter resolution landcover maps were produced for the far western arctic, and for the area between the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPRA) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In the NPRA, an existing land cover map from the 1990’s was “crosswalked” to the NSSI land cover map classes, and a large portion of the map was updated using more recently acquired Landsat TM images. The remaining areas of the NSSI land cover map utilized an existing statewide land cover mosaic compiled by the Alaska Natural Heritage Program (AKNHP) that consisted of land cover classes that already matched the NSSI land cover classes and originated primarily from National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife (FWS) land cover maps. Twenty four classes are identified in the map, covering approximately 60 million acres (24.3 million hectares) stretching from the border of Canada to the western arctic coast and from the Arctic Ocean south to the Brooks Range.
