Metadata for Montana Public Land Ownership
Identification Information:
Citation:
Originator: Montana Natural Heritage Program (MTNHP)
Publication date: 01/17/2007
Title: Montana Public Land Ownership
Publication place: Helena, Montana
Publisher: Montana State Library
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/mdb/stewardship.zip
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/shape/stew_owners.zip
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/mapper
Online linkage: http://nris.mt.gov/gis/bundler
Browse graphic file name: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/ab105.gif

Browse graphic file name: http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/ab105/owners.pdf

Abstract:
Montana public land ownership status. The layer contains most public land parcels that are at least 40 acres in size. In addition to public lands, it shows areas owned by the Plum Creek Timber Company, areas owned by some private land trusts, and the status of surface waters which were shown as polygons on USGS 1:100,000 scale maps.

This data is mostly derived from 1:100,000 scale maps. The land management, easement, and lease status information that were formerly associated with this data in the Montana Stewardship layer have been moved to separate layers, available at http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/stew_easements.html, http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/stew_leases.html, and http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/stew_management.html
Purpose:
Biological Applications:
To assess the conservation status of a species one must know (1) how much of it there is (how many populations and individuals) and (2) how secure or threatened those populations and individuals are. The ownership and management status of the land is a large determinant of how secure the habitat that supports a given population may be. Private lands protected by conservation easements are less likely to have activities that would threaten the population than are unprotected private lands (activities like subdivision and development; plowing; draining wetlands; mining; etc.) Similarly public lands designated as wilderness or research natural areas generally provide more secure habitat for species than do undesignated lands.

Planning Applications:
Land ownership and management information is essential for long- and short-term land use planning.

This data also provides a useful background in many maps by helping to orient viewers.
Supplemental information:
This data set is a work in progress; it contains errors of omission and errors in current attributes.

Areas where the data are particularly weak include city and county lands (errors of omission - these parcels are coded as private) and BIA trust lands (many unrecorded transfers to and from private land status.)

Please note that this dataset contains information on surface status only. The dataset contains no information about ownership or status of the mineral estate. In fact; some data relating to the mineral estate that were (and are) present in the BLM and GAP Project source layers have been deleted from this dataset; namely data about "withdrawals" and data about "public domain" tracts versus "acquired" tracts in federal ownership.

Time period of content:
Beginning date: 1975
Ending date: 2007
Currentness reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance and update frequency: Yearly
Access constraints: None
Use constraints:
Please be aware that these data are constantly being changed and updated. Rather than distribute the data to second parties; please refer interested parties to MTNHP for the most recent version of the data.

These data do not imply public access to any lands.

This data set is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. MTNHP makes no representations or warranties whatsoever with respect to the accuracy or completeness of this data set and assumes no responsibility for the suitability of this data set for a particular purpose; and MTNHP will not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of errors in this data set.
Point of contact:
Karen Walker
Biological Data Systems Coordinator
Montana Natural Heritage Program
PO Box 201800
Helena, MT 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-3321
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: kwalker@mt.gov


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Data Quality Information:
Attribute accuracy report:
Much attribute data is from the June 1998 version of the GAP Project 'stewardship' layer. Most of this has been reviewed and edited. Some errors (estimate less than 0.5% of values) may remain due to time lags in processing data and changes in land status that have not been communicated to MTNHP. Complete metadata for the GAP stewardship layer is available at http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/stew_old.html

Completeness report:
This data set is a work in progress; it contains errors of omission and errors in current attributes.

Data are updated as information becomes available. Delays between changes in land status and their inclusion in this layer can vary from a few weeks to over a year depending on the source of the information. This data set is a work in progress; it contains errors of omission and errors in current attributes.

Areas where the data are particularly weak include city and county lands (errors of omission - these parcels are coded as private) and BIA trust lands (many unrecorded transfers to and from private land status.)


Horizontal Posistional Accuracy Report:
This is basically 1:100,000 scale (100K) data with a horizontal accuracy of approximately 170 feet. Originally from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 100K Public Land Survey and Ownership layers digitized from BLM 100K Surface Management Status maps in 1995-1996. However much of the new data (especially the conservation easement data and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks data) are 1:24000 scale (24K) data with a horizontal accuracy of approximately 40 feet. 24K data are incorporated into the 100K matrix by editing the 100K linework to fit the 24K linework whenever possible. Note that parcel delineations along rivers and reservoirs are generally suspect due to shifting channels and water levels.

Lineage:
Source information:
Originator:
University of Montana
Wildlife Spatial Analysis Lab
Publication date: 06/30/1998
Title: Montana Gap Stewardship
Publication place: Missoula
Publisher: Wildlife Spatial Analysis Laboratory
Source scale denominator: 100000
Source contribution:
The current layer is an edited and reformatted version of this source.
Calendar date: 06/30/1998
Source information:
Originator: Bureau of Land Management
Publication date: 12/10/1996
Title: 1:100000 surface management status
Publication place: Billings
Publisher: Montana Office, U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Source scale denominator: 100000
Type of source media: mylar
Source contribution:
The BLM began digitizing their 100K surface management status maps (most of which were published in the late 1970s and early 1980s) in circa 1995. That digital layer has been continuously corrected and updated since its inception. The 19961210 version of that layer was the basis for the GAP9806 layer. MTNHP has used several more recent versions to update 'stew'.
Calendar date: 1975
Calendar date: 12/10/1996
Calendar date: 06/1998
Calendar date: 03/1999
Calendar date: 09/2000
Source information:
Originator: Montana Department of Administration
Publication date: 11/01/2001
Title: Montana Cadastral Mapping Project
Publication place: Helena; Montana
Publisher: GIS Services Section; Information Services Division
Source scale denominator: 24000
Source contribution:
Source of information on land ownership according to county records. The DOA uses those records to create a digital GIS layer of parcel boundaries with parcels (polygons) coded with the Department of Revenue tax-id number. MTNHP then uses this layer to verify and correct land status data and parcel boundaries from other sources (although the Cadastral Project data are often not accurate for public lands; since they are not taxed).
Beginning date: 2000
Ending date: 07/2002
Source information:
Originator: U.S. Geological Survey
Publication date: 05/03/2002
Title: National Hydrography Dataset
Publication place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Source scale denominator: 100000
Source contribution:
NHD linework is used to represent water features (lakes, reservoirs, and rivers) included in this stewardship layer. Where linework errors occur in the NHD version used, 1992 TIGER linework was used to 'fill in'.
Beginning date: 06/22/1997
Ending date: 05/03/2002

Process step:
Changed the original (GAP9806) attributes by deleting all and replacing with OWN; EASE; LEASE; DESIG. Used reselects on OWNER/MANAGER from the GAP9806 layer to populate the new fields.
Process date: 10/1998
Process step:
Ownership data were updated based on datasets obtained from the following agencies: Glacier National Park; Kootenai National Forest; Flathead National Forest; Gallatin National Forest; Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Process date: 05/2001
Process step:
The original GAP9806 data had a number of polys with no ownership data; mostly along the southern boundary of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. These were either eliminated or coded based on information in the 200009 BLM 100K ownership layer or by simply extending existing arcs to intersect the current reservation boundary or Missouri River arcs. Ownership and/or boundaries for polys with ID = '?' is really just a guess; and data quality in such areas should be considered poor.
Process date: 05/2001
Process step:
Conservation easement data were entered and/or checked and coded with ID numbers supplied by the individual land trusts for all easements through Year 2000 for the following land trusts: Flathead Land Trust; Five Valleys Land Trust; Montana Land Reliance; Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; The Nature Conservancy; Gallatin Valley Land Trust.
Process date: 06/2001
Process step:
The original BLM coverage contained many 'dog-legs' in arcs that cross 100K quad boundaries; plus many extraneous vertices and occasional split polygons. These were removed by editing on-screen over a 100K quad background layer (but many extraneous vertices likely remain).
Process date: 08/2001
Process step:
Census 2000 and Cadastral (CAD) data were used to add off-reservation BIA trust lands where the two sources agreed.
Process date: 09/2001
Process step:
Boundaries delineating wilderness recommendations and other management decisions from national forest land-management plans were deleted. (These data had been added by the GAP Project.)
Process date: 10/2001
Process step:
Data relating to the mineral estate; namely (1) polygons coded as being "withdrawn" and (2) distinctions between "public domain" and "acquired" or "LU" or "Bankhead-Jones" lands; were deleted by editing parcel by parcel (a manual 'dissolve'). This process occasionally included edits based on cadastral (CAD) data; for example along the Canadian border from 106-110 W longitude.
Process date: 11/2001
Process step:
Completed integrating Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks data for lands owned or leased or under easement by the department. This is mostly COGO data initially received from NRIS April 2000 An updated version of these data was received November 2001 and used to update 'stew'; and edits continue to be made as data are supplied by MFWP.
Arcs are incorporated unchanged when there are no or few existing and conflicting arcs in 'stew' (existing arcs are moved to align with the MFWP data.) When there are many conflicting arcs; the MFWP parcels are added using or based on the existing 100K data.
Process date: 12/2001
Process step:
Data for the Flathead Indian Reservation (especially for tribal vs allotted lands) was updated based on a February 1999 map produced by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Parcels were digitized on-screen over a TIFF image obtained by scanning and rectifying the map.
Process date: 12/2001
Process step:
Data for state trust lands were corrected by comparing against tabular data (section/acres/legal) obtained from DNRC and then editing on-screen.
Process date: 01/2002
Process step:
Data for Research Natural Areas and US Forest Service Special Interest Areas were checked and updated and coded with designation dates based on information from the Regional Office in Missoula (Steve Shelly).
Process date: 02/2002
Process step:
Conservation easement data were entered and coded with ID numbers and recordation dates supplied by the individual land trusts for all easements through Year 2001 for the following land trusts: Montana Land Reliance; Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; The Nature Conservancy; Gallatin Valley Land Trust; Prickly Pear Land Trust; Five Valleys Land Trust.
Process date: 03/2002
Process step:
The Plum Creek Timber Company ownership data were updated based on a 20010120 dataset from Plum Creek and then updated again based on a dataset current as of 200201 that also excludes lands for which Plum Creek just holds timber rights.
Process date: 03/2002
Process step:
Many arc and label features were added so as to incorporate administrative units such as national forest ranger districts; BLM Field Offices; DNRC Lands Offices; MFWP Regional Offices; and Indian Reservations. The additional arc and label features are necessary to split parcels that straddle these administrative units. The added features are flagged with an attribute (EX) so that they can be removed if desired.
Process date: 06/2002
Process step:
Extensive edits to included water polys were made to standardize which water features are included. All lake and reservoir polys were deleted except (a) those with more than 100 acres and (b) those named features with more than 40 acres. All riverine polys were deleted except those for the following rivers:
- Kootenai - all in Montana
- Clark Fork - below Bonner (Blackfoot River)
- Flathead - all
- North Fork - below Logging Creek
- Middle Fork - below McDonald Creek
- South Fork - below Hungry Horse Dam
- Missouri - all in Montana
- Yellowstone - all in Montana
- Bighorn - all in Montana
In addition all islands were deleted except those larger than 10 acres that occur within included water features. Linework for water features to be retained was replaced with the version in the NHD (where and if it differed.) All included water features were coded for ownership.
Process date: 11/2002
Process step:
Incorporated BLM wilderness study areas (WSAs) as per data received from BLM website (10/15/2002). Areas along the Missouri are very complex with 4 designations (ACEC WSA NM WSR) overlapping. The Centennial Mtns area is confusing too due to overlapping WSA and PRIMITIVE designations plus ownership changes since both were designated.
Process date: 11/2002
Process step:
Conservation easement data were entered and coded with ID Numbers and recordation dates supplied by the individual land trusts for year 2002 easements for the following land trusts: Montana Land Reliance, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, and the Five Valleys Land Trust.
Process date: 05/2003
Process step:
The Plum Creek Timber Company ownership data were updated based on a data set received from them, dated 1/20/2003.
Process date: 05/2003
Process step:
Year 2003 conservation easements were added for The Nature Conservancy, Montana Land Reliance, Five Valleys Land Trust; several new US Fish and Wildlife Service easements were added; several new Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks fee and easement acquisitions were added; and some ownership adjustments between US Forest Service and private in the Taylor's Fork area of the Gallatin NF were made.
Process date: 06/2004
Process step:
Updated database to reflect land exchanges involving Plum Creek, the Nature Conservancy, and Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the Blackfoot river basin, and other ownership changes and new easements across the state.
Process date: 10/2004
Process step:
Various updates to the data: new conservation easements for 2004 for The Nature Conservancy; Montana Land Reliance; Five Valleys Land Trust; Gallatin Valley Land Trust; Bitterroot Land Trust; Prickly Pear Land Trust and US Fish and Wildlife Service; plus updates to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks areas. Also updated BLM ownership for the Butte Field Office, based on data received from B. Mueller on 20050616; updated Plum Creek Timber Co. (PCTC) ownership based on a January 2005 datalayer received from J. Woods of PCTC; and updated CMR NWR ownership based on USFWS 'Guidemaps' produced on 20040624.
Process date: 06/2005
Process step:
Data was imported to an ESRI personal geodatabase and split into four feature classes: Ownership, Easements, Leases, and Managed_Areas. In the Ownership layer, Private Lands were eliminated. All areas not attributed in the Ownership layer can be assumed to be private. Limited Ownership updates were made where data was available (from Gallatin National Forest, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and the Nature Conservancy). Little effort was made to gather further ownership data due to the work in this area that is being done by the Department of Administration. Conservations Easements were updated for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Monana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, The Nature Conservancy, Montana Land Reliance, Five Valleys Land Trust, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Prickly Pear Land Trust, and the Vital Ground Foundation. Leases were not updated. One new Managed Area was added, the Rocky Mountain Front Conservation Area, for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Process date: 12/01/2006
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Spatial Data Organization Information:
Point and vector object information:
ESRI feature type: Polygon
ESRI feature count: 23570
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Spatial Reference Information:
Horizontal coordinate system definition:
Projected coordinate system name: NAD_1983_StatePlane_Montana_FIPS_2500
Grid coordinate system name: State Plane Coordinate System
SPCS zone identifier: 2500
Lambert conformal conic:
Standard parallel: 45.000000
Standard parallel: 49.000000
Longitude of central meridian: -109.500000
Latitude of projection origin: 44.250000
False easting: 600000.000000
False northing: 0.000000
Planar distance units: meters
Geodetic model:
Horizontal datum name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major axis: 6378137.00
Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257222
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Entity and Attribute Information:
Entity type label: Ownership
Entity count: 23570

Attribute label: FID
Attribute definition: Internal feature number

Attribute label: Shape
Attribute definition: Feature geometry

Attribute label: OBJECTID
Attribute definition: Internal feature number from NRIS SDE database

Attribute label: Own
Attribute definition: Two-digit code representing the agency that owns the area


Attribute
Value		 Definition of
Attribute Value
0 Unknown
10 US Government
11 US Bureau of Land Management
12 US Bureau of Reclamation
13 US Fish and Wildlife Service
14 National Park Service
15 US Forest Service
16 US Dept of Agriculture
17 US Army Corps of Engineers
18 US Dept of Defense
20 State of Montana
21 Montana State Trust Lands
22 Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
23 Montana University System
24 Montana Dept of Corrections
25 Montana Dept of Transportation
26 Montana Dept of Natural Resources Water Projects
30 Local Government
31 County Government
32 City Government
40 Bureau of Indian Affairs Trust Land
41 Blackfeet Tribal Lands
42 Crow Tribal Lands
43 Salish and Kutenai Tribal Lands
44 Fort Belknap Tribal Lands
45 Fort Peck Tribal Lands
46 Northern Cheyenne Tribal Lands
47 Chippewa-Cree Tribal Lands
48 Turtle Mountain Alloted Lands
52 Plum Creek Timber Company
60 Private Land Trusts
61 The Nature Conservancy
62 Montana Land Reliance
63 Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
64 Ducks Unlimited
65 Boone and Crockett Club
66 Five Valleys Land Trust
67 Flathead Land Trust
68 Gallatin Valley Land Trust
69 Prickly Pear Land Trust
71 Bitter Root Land Trust
72 Blackfeet Land Trust
73 Mid-Yellowstone Land Trust
80 Water
81 Water - reserved/withdrawn by federal agency
82 Water - state trust land, state water project or state Fish, Wildlife, and Par
84 Water - tribal
85 Water - private
88 Water - navigable (state Dept of Natural Resources)
89 Water - both state and federal claims

Attribute label: Area
Attribute definition: Area of feature in square meters

Attribute label: OwnFull
Attribute definition: Name of the owning agency.
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Distribution Information:
Distributor:
Karen Walker
Biological Data Systems Coordinator
Montana Natural Heritage Program
PO BOX 201800
Helena, MT 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-3321
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: kwalker@mt.gov


Contact instructions: Contact via email
Resource description: Downloadable Data


Distribution liability:
The user of this data agrees to release the Montana Natural Heritage Program; its officers; directors; agents; employees; and those acting on its behalf from all debts; claims; and liability of any kind arising out of or in connection with the use of the data.

Please be aware that these data are constantly being changed and updated. Rather than distribute the data to second parties; please refer interested parties to MTNHP for the most recent version of the data.

These data do not imply public access to any lands.

This data set is provided "as-is" without warranty of any kind. MTNHP makes no representations or warranties whatsoever with respect to the accuracy or completeness of this data set and assumes no responsibility for the suitability of this data set for a particular purpose; and MTNHP will not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of errors in this data set.

Standard order process:
Digital form:
Format name: ESRI Personal Geodatabase
Online option:
http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/mdb/stewardship.zip
Digital form:
Format name: ESRI Shapefile
Online option:
http://nris.mt.gov/nsdi/nris/shape/stew_owners.zip
Online option:
http://nris.mt.gov/mapper
Online option:
http://nris.mt.gov/gis/bundler
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Metadata Reference Information:
Metadata date: 01/17/2007
Metadata contact:
Karen Walker
Biological Data Systems Coordinator
Montana Natural Heritage Program
PO BOX 201800
Helena, MT 59620-1800


Telephone: (406) 444-3321
Fax: (406) 444-0581
E-Mail: kwalker@mt.gov


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