Status of Elk Habitat 1999 in North America - Montana

Kirk M. Horn, Project Coordinator



LIMITING FACTORS
Introduction 

Table of Contents

Identification Information

Data Quality Information

Spatial Data Organization Information

Spatial Reference Information

Entity and Attribute Information

Distribution Information

Metadata Reference Information
  

IDENTIFICATION_INFORMATION

  Citation

    Citation_Information

      Originator:  Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

      Publication_Date:  19990201

      Title: Limiting Factors

      Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Map

      Publication_Information

        Publication_Place:  Missoula, Montana

        Publisher:  Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

      Larger_Work_Citation

        Citation_Information

          Originator: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

          Publication_Date: 19990201

          Title:  Status of Elk Habitat Project

          Publication_Information

            Publication_Place:  Missoula, Montana

            Publisher:  Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

          Other_Citation_Details:

            In keeping with the Mission of the Rocky Mountain Elk

            Foundation  to "ensure the future of elk, other

            wildlife and their habitat",  The Status of North

            American Elk Habitat Project is a cooperative  effort,

            sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and

            USDA,  Forest Service, Northern Region  to produce

            comprehensive   information about North American elk

            habitat. Elk winter and  summer range, important

            habitat features and limiting factors have  been

            subjectively drawn on a 1:250,000 scale map and

            digitized  into a geographic information system (GIS)

            map, state by state  across land ownerships and

            jurisdictions in the United States.   For the Canadian

            Provinces, the GIS map scale was 1:1,000,000.
            The Status of North American Elk Habitat Project is not

            intended  for commercial or private use, but to provide

            resource managers  from State and Federal Agencies,

            Tribal Nations, Canadian  Provinces and other wildlife

            conservation and management interests  with a current,

            efficient and simple GIS tool to assist with  habitat

            management. Uses such as the development of

            conservation  easements, land acquisition and exchange,

            conservation education  and habitat management are a

            few examples of the long term and  collective

            opportunities to address habitat conservation from the 

            "big picture", mid-scale  perspective.
            Copyright © 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. 

            All rights  reserved.  No part of this work may be

            reproduced in any form,  including via an information

            storage and retrieval system or  transmittal in any

            form by any means, electronic, mechanical, 

            photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior

            written  permission of the Rocky Mountain Elk

            Foundation.  All requests for  permission to reproduce

            material from this work should be directed  to

            Conservation Programs Director, Rocky Mountain Elk

            Foundation,  P.O. Box 8249, Missoula, MT 59807-8249.
            The author and publisher may allow reproduction of

            material from  this work, upon written permission, for

            the purposes of assisting  public resource managers and

            furthering the knowledge of wildlife  and habitat

            management in academic settings.  No material from 

            this work may be reproduced for commercial purposes.  

  Description

    Abstract:

      This map layer represents limiting factors for elk in

      the state of Montana.  Issues which presently or in the 

      near term (3-5 years) may effect elk habitat and elk

      management at landscape and/or herd unit levels.

      Categories may include:  Domestic livestock forage competition,

      habitat succession, urban sprawl/habitat conversion, public 

      recreation use, increased road densities, riparian impacts,

      timber harvest impacts, depredation, artificial feeding.
      In keeping with the Mission of the Rocky Mountain Elk

      Foundation  to "ensure the future of elk, other

      wildlife and their habitat",  The Status of North

      American Elk Habitat Project is a cooperative  effort,

      sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and

      USDA,  Forest Service, Northern Region  to produce

      comprehensive   information about North American elk

      habitat. Elk winter and  summer range, important

      habitat features and limiting factors have  been

      subjectively drawn on a 1:250,000 scale map, state by

      state  across land ownerships and jurisdictions in the

      United States.   For the Canadian Provinces, the GIS

      map scale is 1:1,000,000.
      The Status of North American Elk Habitat Project is not

      intended  for commercial or private use, but to provide

      resource managers  from State and Federal Agencies,

      Tribal Nations, Canadian  Provinces and other wildlife

      conservation and management interests  with a current,

      efficient and simple GIS tool to assist with  habitat

      management. Uses such as the development of

      conservation  easements, land acquisition and exchange,

      conservation education  and habitat management are a

      few examples of the long term and  collective

      opportunities to address habitat conservation from the 

      "big picture", mid-scale  perspective.
      Cooperators in this project include State Wildlife

      Management  Agencies, Federal Resource Management

      Agencies such as U.S.D.A.,  Forest Service and

      U.S.D.I., Bureau of Land Management, Tribal  Nations

      and Canadian Resource Ministries from six Provinces.
    Purpose:
      The Status of North American Elk Habitat Project is not

      intended  for commercial or private use, but to provide

      resource managers  from State and Federal Agencies,

      Tribal Nations, Canadian  Provinces and other wildlife

      conservation and management interests  with a current,

      efficient and simple GIS tool to assist with  habitat

      management. Uses such as the development of

      conservation  easements, land acquisition and exchange,

      conservation education  and habitat management are a

      few examples of the long term and  collective

      opportunities to address habitat conservation from the 

      "big picture", mid-scale  perspective.
  Time_Period_of_Content

    Time_Period_Information

      Range_of_Dates/Times

        Beginning_Date: 19961016

        Ending_Date:  19990201

    Currentness_Reference: Publication date 

  Status

    Progress: Complete

    Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:  Five years

  Spatial_Domain

    Bounding_Coordinates

      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -116.1701

      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -103.8167

      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.0230

      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 44.3087

  Keywords

    Theme

      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

      Theme_Keyword: Elk

      Theme_Keyword: Wildlife

      Theme_Keyword: Habitat

    Place

      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

      Place_Keyword: Montana  

  Access_Constraints: 

    Copyright © 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Elk  Foundation.

    All rights reserved. No part of this work may be

    reproduced in any form,including via an information

    storage and  retrieval system or transmittal in any

    form by any means,  electronic, mechanical,

    photocopying, recording or otherwise,  without prior

    written permission of the Rocky Mountain Elk 

    Foundation. All requests for permission to reproduce

    material  from this work should be directed to

    Conservation Programs  Director, Rocky Mountain Elk

    Foundation, P.O. Box 8249,  Missoula, MT 59807-8249.

    The author and publisher may allow  reproduction of

    material from this work, upon written  permission, for

    the purposes of assisting public resource  managers and

    furthering the knowledge of wildlife and habitat 

    management in academic settings. No material from this

    work  may be reproduced for commercial purposes.
Use_Constraints:
    Copyright © 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Elk  Foundation.

    All rights reserved. No part of this work may be

    reproduced in any form,including via an information

    storage and  retrieval system or transmittal in any

    form by any means,  electronic, mechanical,

    photocopying, recording or otherwise,  without prior

    written permission of the Rocky Mountain Elk 

    Foundation. All requests for permission to reproduce

    material  from this work should be directed to

    Conservation Programs  Director, Rocky Mountain Elk

    Foundation, P.O. Box 8249,  Missoula, MT 59807-8249.

    The author and publisher may allow  reproduction of

    material from this work, upon written  permission, for

    the purposes of assisting public resource  managers and

    furthering the knowledge of wildlife and habitat 

    management in academic settings. No material from this

    work  may be reproduced for commercial purposes.
  Point_of_Contact

    Contact_Information

      Contact_Organization_Primary

        Contact_Organization: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

        Contact_Person: Kevin Lackey

      Contact_Position: Director of Conservation Programs

      Contact_Address

        Address_Type: mailing and physical address

        Address: 2291 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 8249

        City:  Missoula

        State_or_Province:  Montana

        Postal_Code: 59802

        Country: USA

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: 

      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 

      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:  lackey@rmef.org

      Hours_of_Service: 8:00am - 5:00pm  Monday-Friday 

  Native_Data_Set_Environment

  ArcView version 3.1

   d:\projects\rmef\winterhab.shp  

 





DATA_QUALITY_INFORMATION

  Attribute_Accuracy

    Attribute_Accuracy_Report:  

      The identification of polygons and attributes attached

      to them was done  by subjective professional judgement

      of individual wildlife biologists.  The criteria for

      mapping is described below. Each participating

      biologist  was provided with these instructions.

      Mapping was applied to occupied elk habitat defined as

      habitat where elk  regularly are known to occur at the

      present time and are recognized and  managed

      inclusively as part of the biotic community.
      Summer Range (marked in green) That part of the overall

      range where 90 percent of the individuals are traditionally located

      between spring green-up and the first heavy snowfall.

      Summer range  is not necessarily exclusive of winter

      range: in some areas summer and  winter range may

      overlap. 

      Crucial Summer Range (marked in green) That

      part of the mid-June to mid-August summer range where elk 

      concentrations are about double

      (200 percent) the surrounding elk densities.  Areas important

      for lactating females, calf-rearing, antler growth and 

      other functions requiring high quality forage and

      security should be  considered. 

      Winter Range (marked in red) That part of the overall

      range where 90% percent of the individuals are located  during

      the average five winters out of ten from the first

      heavy  snowfall to spring green-up. 

      Crucial Winter Range (marked in

      red) That part of the winter range where 90 percent of

      the individuals are  located when the annual snowpack

      is at its maximum and/or temperatures  are at a minumum

      in the two worst winters out of ten.

      Other Important Habitat Areas (marked in blue as subset

      of winter or summer range)

      Specific, mappable sites within the overall range

      traditionally occupied  by calving cow elk from May 15

      to June 15, or migratory corridors through  which large

      numbers of animals seasonally move; the loss or

      alteration of  which would manifest itself negatively

      for long term herd productivity  and/or management

      Limiting Factors (as codes drawn in the color of the

      appropriate map layer , red, green or blue)
      Issues which presently or in the near term (3-5 years)

      may affect elk  habitat and elk management at landscape

      and or herd unit levels.   Categories may include:

      domestic livestock forage competition,  habitat

      succession, urban sprawl and habitat conversion, public

       recreation use, increased road densities, riparian

      impacts, timber  harvest impacts, depredation and

      artificial feeding.
  CRITERIA
      The biologists were asked to map elk habitats,

      regardless of  jurisdiction or ownership boundaries,

      using of medium tip  "Flair" pens or the equivalent. 

      They drew summer and winter range on the map with their

       respective colors(green and red) as defined. The

      minimum size  for any area mapped is one (1) square

      mile. Delineated areas were supposed to address

      currently occupied  habitats; the species annual

      biological habitat needs were  to have been be

      emphasized over jurisdiction or ownership  boundaries

      for this project's objectives.  Biologists then drew,

      within the larger areas of winter and summer  range,

      any smaller areas of crucial habitats as defined.

      Maintain  the same green-summer, red-winter color

      scheme and place an  appropriately colored "C" in the

      smaller area. Minimum area  size for the subsets is one

      (1) square mile.  Delineated, if applicable, any

      special or important areas as  defined in blue.

      Parturition areas of initialized with a blue  "P",

      migratory corridors are initialized with a blue "X". 

      Minimum area size is one (1) square mile. For each

      polygon, indicated up to three, subjectively-based 

      "most likely Limiting factors", if applicable, from the

      below  list.
      In addition to the limiting factors mapped in the

      Montana  collaborative workshops, the Montana

      Department of Fish,  Wildlife and Parks also had their

      biologists indicate limiting  factors for elk

      management units under their jurisdiction.   These were

      mapped on 8" x 11" maps of management units.   These

      limiting factors were attributed on the elk management 

      unit layer whiuch was unioned with the winter and

      summer range.   The intersections of these map layers

      allowed operators to  assign the limiting factors

      originally assigned to EMU's  to the previously mapped

      polygons.
     


 LIMITING FACTOR CODE, LIMITING FACTOR CATEGORY

      0, Domestic livestock forage competition

      1, Habitat succession/ maturation

      2, Urban sprawl

      3, Public land habitat availability

      4, Increased road densities

      5, Riparian impacts

      6, Timber harvest impacts

      7, Depredation

      8, Limited private land access

      9, Artificial feeding

      A, Habitat conversion

      B, Social carrying capacity exceeded

      D, Late seral stages needed

      E, Special Situation. Habitat where elk populations may

      occur, intermittently, in small numbers. In some

      instances, the   public may receive wildlife viewing,

      photographic or consumptive recreation value from the

      present population. However, land  ownership, social

      carrying capacity consideration and small  size or

      configuration of the land base is not suitable to 

      manage for increasing elk populations at the present

      time.  Wildlife management agencies may not be

      emphasizing elk  habitat or population management and

      may not be budgeting  or conducting public involvement

      for administrative purposes.
      LIMITING FACTOR EXAMPLES AND POTENTIAL RMEF/PARTNERS MITIGATION ACTIONS
      Domestic Livestock Competition: inadequate range

      utilization, forage production downturn

            Actions: Seedings/fertilizations, water developments,

      pasture fencing, prescribed burns
      Habitat Succession/Maturation: canopy closure, seral

      stage advancement, mature forage height

            Actions: Prescribed burns, mechanical forage

      manipulations
      Urban Sprawl/Habitat Conversion: human habitat

      encroachment, detrimental land use changes

            Actions: Acquisitions, conservation easements, land

      exchanges
      Public Land Availability: shortage of public lands to

      actively manage habitat for expanded herds

            Actions: Acquisitions, conservation easements, land

      exchanges
      Increased Road Densities: motorized access, lower

      habitat effectiveness and elk security

            Actions: road closures, access information campaigns, road

      removal/rehabilitation
      Riparian Impacts: concentrated animal groups, habitat

      overutilization

            Actions: off-site forage enhancements, water

      developments, riparian fencing
      Timber Harvest Impacts: increased open road densities,

      vegetation quality/quantity

            Actions: road closures, seedings, fertilizations
      Depredation: fence damage, standing forage loss,

      haystack damage

            Actions: public lands habitat enhancement, private lands

      habitat enhancement
      Limited Private Land Access: private lands block public

      land  hunt access, "refuge" situations

            Actions: conservation easements, access easements
      Artificial Feeding: public agency supplemental feeding,

      private lands "emergency" feeding

            Actions: fertilization, seedings, prescribed burns,

      mechanical manipulations
      Habitat conversion: e.g. burning, disking, herbicide

      treatment...

            Action: plant management actions which modify the

      vegetative cover and possibly other environmental

      aspects.
      Social carrying capacity exceeded: i.e. low landowner

      tolerance.

            Action: collaborative agreements with land

      owners/agencies providing monetary advantages or other

      satisfactory results,  modified management strategies.
      Late seral stages needed: e.g. to increase hiding

      and/or thermal cover

            Action: collaborative management to increase late

      successional stages.
      Special Situation: The concern exists that "Special 

      Situation" habitat may draw attention to fringe areas 

      which may be high profile but expensive and provide 

      little return to the States/Provinces elk

      population/habitat  production and potential. However,

      under the current  situation of status quo, the

      existing land base, elk  population and public

      acceptance and use could remain stable  for an extended

      period of time.

            Action: social/political and economic considerations

      may  warrant the formation of partnership which can

      provide  opportunities to maintain "Special Situation"

      habitat  and/or improve it.
   PROCESS 

      In some instances the mapping was done individually and

       in others it was done in collaborative workshops. 

      Difference of opinion, particularly relating to

      limiting  factors to elk habitat were represented in

      the maps. Each  participating agency has a different

      mandate, and the  management objectives arising from

      these mandates influence  the biologists perception of

      these limiting factors. When  different biologists

      assigned different polygon boundaries,  the cumulative

      extent (outer-most boundaries) were used. To 

      accomplish this a series of ARC/INFO process steps

      resulted  in a union of each different source map and

      subsequent  dissolving of all interior polygon

      boundaries. Winter range  polygons were attributed with

      a consistent color and letter  scheme in the mapping

      directions. All attributes were double  checked with a

      100% coverage by a different operator than the 

      digitizer. Source maps are available, stored at the

      Rocky  Mountain Elk Foundation. Margin notes and

      annotation  provided on the maps were not transcribed.

      Prior to dissolving  winter range polygons an interim

      GIS map coverage was  created with variables tracking

      source polygons and all  database attributes. The Rocky

      Mountain Elk Foundation  chose to minimize database

      attributes by splitting each  polygon theme out as an

      individual map coverage or shapefile,  and dissolve all

      internal lines.
    Logical_Consistency_Report:

      Polygon and arc-node topology were created and carried

      over  in converting native ARC/INFO coverages to

      ARC/INFO Shapefiles
    Completeness_Report:

      The spatial resolution of this data was mapped on two

      paper  sources. Some portions of the state were

      incomplete. The  list below provides a summary of map

      layers and map sources  provided by Montana wildlife

      biologists cooperating in the  project. Consistent

      color coding and attributing was asked  of all

      biologists, but no specific business rules were 

      provided to the biologists to restrict the polygon size

      and  shape. As a result, there is some variance in the

      size and  shape of habitat polygons between different

      geographic  areas and administrative jurisdictions.
      HABITAT MAPS RECEIVED FROM

        FWP Region 1 

        FWP Region 2- no limiting factors 

        FWP Region 3 

        FWP Region 4 - no limiting factors 

        FWP Region 5- no limiting factors 

        FWP Region 6&7- no limiting factors 

        Bitterroot National Forest 

        Custer National Forest- no limiting factors 

        Gallatin National Forest 

        Helena National Forest- no limiting factors 

        Lewis & Clark National Forest 

        Lolo National Forest 

        Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge 

        Crow-Northern Cheyenne Tribe

        Flathead National Forest (digital files in ARC/INFO format, 

        no data provided

        Beaverhead National Forest (digital files in ARC/INFO format, 

        no meta data provided) 

        Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (digital files in 

        ARC/INFO format, metadata provided in paper form. Original 

        metadata is on file at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation) 

        FWP - all regions - base maps provided by Kalispell Office 

        (digital files in ARC?INFO format. Original metadata 

        is on file at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
      MAP SOURCES - all maps are paper unless noted

        FWP Region 1

         250K: RMEF Base map (2)

         125K: Rexford Ranger District Road Access map

        FWP Region 2

         250K: RMEF Base map (1)

         FWP Region 3

         250K: RMEF Base map (3)

        FWP Region 4 

          250K: RMEF Base map (2)

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Great Falls 

          (xerox copy of portion)

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Canyon Ferry 

          (xerox copy of portion)

        FWP Region 5

          250K: RMEF Base map (1)

        FWP Region 6&7

          250K: RMEF Base map (1)

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Melstone 

        Bitterroot National Forest

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Hamilton, Nez Perce 

        Pass, Wisdom 

        Custer National Forest

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Lame Deer, Ekalaka,

        Powderville, Broadus, Birney 

        Gallatin National Forest

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Big Timber 

        Helena National Forest & Deerlodge National Forest

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Elliston, Townsend,

        Butte N., Butte S., Canyon Ferry, Dearborn, Philipsburg 

        Lewis & Clark National Forest

          Unknown Scale: Lewis & Clark National Forest plots (6-mylar)

        Lolo National Forest

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Missoula W, Plains,

        Wallace, Thompson Falls, Missoula East, Seeley Lake

        Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge

          100K: BLM Surface Management Status map - Fort Peck Lake East,

        Fort Peck Lake West, Sand Springs, Zortman

          Revisions on 250K: RMEF Base map (2)

        Crow-Northern Cheyenne Tribe

          250K: RMEF Base map (1)

        Revisions on 250K: RMEF Base map (2)
   Positional_Accuracy

     Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy

       Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:
         The source maps for this project were mapped at two

         scales,  1:100,000  and 1:250,000.  In some cases

         agencies provided   digital source data and paper plots

         at various scales.  Some maps  were folded and mailed. 

         All maps received in non-digital form  were digitized

         with registration tolerances not exceeding the 

         following: skew error less than 0.1% and scale mismatch

         less than  0.3%. If a map exceeded these tolerances, it

         was registered up to  three times and error accepted if

         the error factors were  consistent.
     Vertical_Positional_Accuracy

      Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

        There were no vertical attributes in these files.  

Lineage

    Source_Information

      Source_Citation

        Citation_Information

          Originator: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

          Publication_Date: 19990201

          Title: Status of North American Elk Habitat Project

          Edition: First

          Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map

          Publication_Information

            Publication_Place: Missoula, Montana

            Publisher: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

      Source_Scale_Denominator: 250,000

      Type_of_Source_Media: Paper

      Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

         Time_Period_Information:

           Range_of_Dates/Times:

             Beginning_Date: 19961016

             Ending_Date: 19990201

         Source_Currentness_Reference: Date of publication

       Source_Citation_Abbreviation: ARC/INFO Shapefile

      Source_Contribution:  

        The RMEF extends our sincere thank you to the many

        staff members of  State  Wildlife Management Agencies,

        Federal Resource Management Agencies  such  as U.S.

        D.A., Forest Service and U.S.D.I., Bureau of Land

        Management,  Tribal Nations and Canadian Resource

        Ministries from six Provinces for their tremendous

        cooperation in the production of The Status of North 

        American Elk Habitat Project. Elk habitat was mapped by

        over fifty  wildlife biologists in Montana in

        individual and collaborative  sessions.
        Base maps, digitizing and GIS processing was conducted

        by Geodata  Services, Inc., Missoula, Montana.
      Process_Step

      Process_Description:

        The 1:250,000 scale maps used in this project were

        created by Geodata Services, Inc. The intent of the

        base maps were to provide a visual reference, with

        information needed by the field biologist, but a

        minimal amount of clutter.   The base maps included

        shade relief depicting topography, rivers, streams and

        lake edges, major highways, towns and places, county

        lines and ocean where applicable (not applicable in

        Montana).  The shaded relief maps were based on Defense

        Mapping Agency (DMA)1:250,000 scale digital

        elevation model (DEM) files which have a 90 percent    

        probability of 30 meter accuracy.  See also

        http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/1_dgr_dem

        for further descriptions of this base data.  A color

        shaded relief map was  created for each map tile using

        the default ARC/INFO hillshade  command.  The shaded

        relief map was developed with a color ramp depicting

        elevation strata.  The AML was based on the RELIEF.AML 

        provided by Jeffery S. Nighbert, Bureau of Land

        Management,  1515SW 5th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97208,

        phone 503-952-6399,  email: jnighber@or.blm.gov.  The

        AML used in this process is on  file at the Rocky

        Mountain Elk Foundation.   Streams, rivers and  lake

        edges were plotted from three hydrography data sets

        (preliminary RF3, at a scale of 1:100,000) data

        provided by the  Northwest Office of the EPA. These

        data sets were unofficial, but  provided enough detail

        and accuracy to provide a frame of reference  for the

        biologists to locate themselves on the map.  The three

        data  sets included the Pacific Northwest data, the

        Western data set and  the Eastern dataset.  Some

        overlap existed in the datasets and  some errors were

        apparent.  Before plotting the hydrography,  streams

        with line segments longer than 4,500 meters were

        selected  to provide map text and annotation (otherwise

        the amount of text  would have overwhelmed everything

        else).   Towns and cities were  obtained from the

        Geographic Names Information System.  County boundaries

        major roads and highways were plotted using the sample 

        data sets that accompany Arcview, an ESRI software

        product.
        These base maps were 34" x 48" ("map" dimensions

        actually about 32" x 40"), in a map tile

        structure based on aggregates of  1:250,000 US

        Geological Survey map tiles.   Two of  the DMA DEM

        files  comprise one USGS map tile at that scale.   The

        map tiles used for  this project comprised two USGS map

        tiles (orfour DEM tiles).  Each  base map was uniquely

        numbered and an index map was developed for  the

        contiguous US.  This map is on file at the Rocky

        Mountain Elk  Foundation.
Process_Date: 19990201

      Process_Contact

        Contact_Information

          Contact_Person_Primary

            Contact_Organization:   Geodata Services, Inc.

            Contact_Person: Ken Wall

          Contact_Position: President

          Contact_Address

            Address_Type: mailing and physical address

           Address: 104 South Ave. E.

            City: Missoula

            State_or_Province: Montana

            Postal_Code: 59801

            Country: USA

          Contact_Voice_Telephone: (406) 721-8865

          Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (406) 721-1023

          Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: kwall@geodata-mt.com

         Hours_of_Service:  8am-5pm, Monday - Friday
  

SPATIAL_DATA_ORGANIZATION_INFORMATION
  Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

  Point_and_Vector_Object_Information

    SDTS_Terms_Description

      SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains

      Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 341
  

SPATIAL_REFERENCE_INFORMATION
  Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition

    Planar

      Map_Projection

        Map_Projection_Name: Albers Conical Equal Area

        Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:

          1st_Standard_Parallel: 46:00:00

          2nd_Standard_Parallel: 48:00:00

          Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -109:30:00

          Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 44:15:00

          False_Easting: 600000

          False_Northing: 0

      Planar_Coordinate_Information

        Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: Coordinate pair

        Coordinate_Representation:

          Abscissa_Resolution:  

          Ordinate_Resolution:  

        Planar_Distance_Units: Meters

    Geodetic_Model

      Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum 1927

      Ellipsoid_Name: Clarke 1866

      Semi-major_Axis: 6378206.4

      Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 294.98
  

ENTITY_AND_ATTRIBUTE_INFORMATION
  Detailed_Description

    Entity_Type

      Entity_Type_Label: winterhab.dbf

      Entity_Type_Definition: Shapefile Attribute Table

      Entity_Type_Definition_Source: None

    Attribute

      Attribute_Label: Area

      Attribute_Definition: Area of polygon

      Attribute_Definition_Source: Software computed

      Attribute_Domain_Values

       Range_Domain

          Range_Domain_Minimum: 262.96604

          Range_Domain_Maximum: 12700849739.16637

    Attribute

      Attribute_Label: Perimeter

      Attribute_Definition: Perimeter of polygon

      Attribute_Definition_Source: Software computed

      Attribute_Domain_Values

       Range_Domain

          Range_Domain_Minimum: 100.92706

          Range_Domain_Maximum: 1173791.48615

    Attribute

      Attribute_Label: Winterdp_

      Attribute_Definition: ARC/INFO System Variable - Internal ID

      Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined

      Attribute_Domain_Values

       Range_Domain

          Range_Domain_Minimum: 2

          Range_Domain_Maximum: 342

    Attribute

      Attribute_Label: Winterdp_i

      Attribute_Definition: ARC/INFO System Attribute - Unique identifier

      Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined

      Attribute_Domain_Values

       Range_Domain

          Range_Domain_Minimum: 1

          Range_Domain_Maximum: 341

    Attribute

      Attribute_Label: Hab

      Attribute_Definition: Winter Range Habitat

      Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined

      Attribute_Domain_Values

        Unrepresentable_Domain: Character field
  

DISTRIBUTION_INFORMATION
  Distributor

    Contact_Information

      Contact_Organization_Primary

        Contact_Organization: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

        Contact_Person:  Kevin Lackey

      Contact_Position: Director of Conservation Programs

      Contact_Address

        Address_Type: mailing and physical address

        Address: 2291 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 8429

        City: Missoula

        State_or_Province: Montana

        Postal_Code: 59802

        Country: USA

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: (406) 523-4500

      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone:  (406) 523-4581

      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:  lackey@rmef.org

      Hours_of_Service:  8am-5pm , Monday - Friday

  Resource_Description:

       Status of Elk Habitat-Montana
  Distribution_Liability: 

    Users must assume responsibility to determine the

    accuracy  of this data for their purposes. This data

    set is to be used  as a primary reference source.

    Photographic or digital  enlargement of this map to

    scales greater than 1:250,000 can  cause

    misrepresentation of the data. If enlarged, the maps 

    will not include the fine detail that would be

    appropriate  for mapping at the large scale. No

    warranty expressed or  implied is made by the Rocky

    Mountain Elk Foundation or  Geodata Services, Inc.

    regarding the utility of the data on  any other system,

    nor shall the act of distribution  constitute any such

    warranty. The Rocky Mountain Elk  Foundation, nor

    Geodata Services, Inc. are liable for misuse  of the

    data. Nor are they liable for damage, transmission of 

    viruses, or computer contamination through the

    distribution  of these data sets.
    Copyright © 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Elk

    Foundation.  All rights reserved. No part of this work

    may be reproduced  in any form, including via an

    information storage and  retrieval system or

    transmittal in any form by any means,  electronic,

    mechanical, photocopying, recording or  otherwise,

    without prior written permission of the Rocky  Mountain

    Elk Foundation. All requests for permission to 

    reproduce material from this work should be directed to

     Conservation Programs Director, Rocky Mountain Elk 

    Foundation, P.O. Box 8249, Missoula, MT 59807-8249. The

     author and publisher may allow reproduction of

    material from  this work, upon written permission, for

    the purposes of  assisting public resource managers and

    furthering the  knowledge of wildlife and habitat

    management in academic  settings. No material from this

    work may be reproduced for  commercial purposes.
  Distribution_Liability:
    Users must assume responsibility to determine the

    accuracy  of this data for their purposes. This data

    set is to be used  as a primary reference source.

    Photographic or digital  enlargement of this map to

    scales greater than 1:250,000 can  cause

    misrepresentation of the data. If enlarged, the maps 

    will not include the fine detail that would be

    appropriate  for mapping at the large scale. No

    warranty expressed or  implied is made by the Rocky

    Mountain Elk Foundation or  Geodata Services, Inc.

    regarding the utility of the data on  any other system,

    nor shall the act of distribution  constitute any such

    warranty. The Rocky Mountain Elk  Foundation, nor

    Geodata Services, Inc. are liable for misuse  of the

    data. Nor are they liable for damage, transmission of 

    viruses, or computer contamination through the

    distribution  of these data sets.
    Copyright © 1997 by the Rocky Mountain Elk

    Foundation.  All rights reserved. No part of this work

    may be reproduced  in any form, including via an

    information storage and  retrieval system or

    transmittal in any form by any means,  electronic,

    mechanical, photocopying, recording or  otherwise,

    without prior written permission of the Rocky  Mountain

    Elk Foundation. All requests for permission to 

    reproduce material from this work should be directed to

     Conservation Programs Director, Rocky Mountain Elk 

    Foundation, P.O. Box 8249, Missoula, MT 59807-8249. The

     author and publisher may allow reproduction of

    material from  this work, upon written permission, for

    the purposes of  assisting public resource managers and

    furthering the  knowledge of wildlife and habitat

    management in academic  settings. No material from this

    work may be reproduced for  commercial purposes.
  Standard_Order_Process

    Digital_Form

      Digital_Transfer_Information

      Digital_Transfer_Information

        Format_Name: ARCS - ARC/INFO Shapefile

      Digital_Transfer_Option

        Offline_Option

          Offline_Media:  CD ROM

          Recording_Format: ISO 9660

            Compatibility_Information: ISO 966 format allows the CDROM

            to be read by most computer operating systems.

    Fees: Contact Kevin Lackey, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
  

METADATA_REFERENCE_INFORMATION
  Metadata_Date: 19990201

  Metadata_Review_Date:  20040201

  Metadata_Contact

    Contact_Information

      Contact_Organization_Primary

        Contact_Organization: Geodata Services, Inc.

        Contact_Person: Ken Wall

      Contact_Position: President

      Contact_Address

        Address_Type: mailing and physical address

        Address: 104 South Ave. E.

        City: Missoula

        State_or_Province: Montana

        Postal_Code: 59801

        Country: USA

      Contact_Voice_Telephone: (406) 721-8865

      Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (406) 721-1023

      Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: kwall@geodata-mt.com

      Hours_of_Service:  8am-5pm Monday - Friday

  Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC  Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Meta

  Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998