Forest Canopy Gaps in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Derived from 2005 Aerial Imagery

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is home to many wildlife species that depend on forest canopy connectivity to thrive. Park biologists are interested to learn how forest loss in the late 2000s and early 2010s caused by beech bark disease (BBD) is affecting these wildlife species. Biologists need to know where forest canopy gaps exist and identify where the greatest canopy connectivity loss has occurred prior to research observing and collecting data on wildlife species. This dataset will show biologists where canopy gaps existed shortly after BBD infection as derived from object-based image analysis and aerial imagery acquired in 2005.