HUC12 Watersheds for Mid-South Habitat Connectivity Project
Summary
Watersheds selected to comprise the study are for the project “Modeling Habitat Connectivity to Support State Wildlife Action Plans in the Mid-South.” This selection represents an expansion of the boundary of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC). The expansion process selected one or two counties in all directions and included the entire state of Louisiana. HUC12 level watersheds intersecting these counties were selected for the connectivity mapping project. The connectivity analysis is based on linking core areas of habitat most suitable for species identified in state wildlife action plans. Land units (30 meter grid cells) were given Condition Index scores derived from landscape configuration, [...]
Summary
Watersheds selected to comprise the study are for the project “Modeling Habitat Connectivity to Support State Wildlife Action Plans in the Mid-South.” This selection represents an expansion of the boundary of the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCPO LCC). The expansion process selected one or two counties in all directions and included the entire state of Louisiana. HUC12 level watersheds intersecting these counties were selected for the connectivity mapping project. The connectivity analysis is based on linking core areas of habitat most suitable for species identified in state wildlife action plans. Land units (30 meter grid cells) were given Condition Index scores derived from landscape configuration, patch size, and site condition threshold values described by multiple input data layers (see the Mid-South Terrestrial Broadly Defined Habitats Condition Index data layer associated with this project). This HUC12 watershed data layer contains average Condition Index values within watersheds in the attribute table. Watersheds with the top 10% Condition Index values within subgeographies were selected as core areas for the connectivity study.
