FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION
VERSION 2006

TITLE: FLORIDA'S NATIONAL FORESTS

Geodataset Name:       NATIONAL_FORESTS
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Polygon
Feature Count:         3
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This dataset represents Florida's National Forests.
DATA SOURCE(S):                    Florida Natural Areas Inventory
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     Varying scales
DATE OF AUTOMATION OF SOURCE:      20060914
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: NATIONAL_FORESTS.DBF
ITEM NAME WIDTH TYPE
OBJECTID
4 OID
MANAME
200 String
DESCRIPT
35 String
FGDLAQDATE
8 Date
SHAPE
4 Geometry
AUTOID
4 Integer
SHAPE.AREA
0 Double
SHAPE.LEN
0 Double

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item
Item Description
OBJECTID Internal feature number.

MANAME Name of National Forest

DESCRIPT FGDL added field based on MANAME

FGDLAQDATE FGDL added field based on date downloaded from source.

SHAPE Feature geometry.

AUTOID Unique ID added by GeoPlan

SHAPE.AREA Area in meters

SHAPE.LEN Perimeter in meters


USER NOTES:
This data is provided 'as is'. GeoPlan relied on the integrity
of the original data layer's topology
This data is provided 'as is' by GeoPlan and is complete to our
knowledge.
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within
the original data.

The data was created to serve as base information for use in GIS 
systems for a variety of planning and analytical purposes.

This data is provided 'as is' and its horizontal positional accuracy
has not been verified by GeoPlan

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy
has not been verified by GeoPlan

THE DATA INCLUDED IN FGDL ARE 'AS IS' AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED
AS LEGALLY BINDING. THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GEOPLAN CENTER SHALL
NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF USING,
MODIFYING, CONTRIBUTING OR DISTRIBUTING THE MATERIALS.

A note about data scale: 

Scale is an important factor in data usage.  Certain scale datasets
are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes.
Please be sure you are using the best available data. 

1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
county level.
1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such
as property parcel boundaries.
1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
multi-county or regional level.
1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
regional or state level or larger.

Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be
considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data
before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been
made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional
information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact
section of this documentation. For more information regarding
scale and accuracy, see our webpage at:
http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

REFERENCES:
Florida Natural Areas Inventory:
http://www.fnai.org

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
This GIS data layer was generated by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) 
using ArcView v 3.2 and ArcGIS-ArcInfo 9.1. Source polygons were developed 
from the BIOTICS ArcView application.  The polygons were imported into an 
ArcInfo region using ArcInfo 9.1.  Overlaps less than 0.002 meters were removed 
using the ArcInfo CLEAN command.  The ArcInfo region was then converted into 
a polygon shapefile using ArcMap 9.1.

Information in the FLMA data layer was provided to FNAI by the individual 
managing agencies. Boundary information on managed areas was originally in 
either digital format or on paper source maps with varying scales. New digital 
boundary files were integrated into FLMA by FNAI staff. In the case of paper 
source maps, boundaries were either transcribed by FNAI staff onto 1:24,000 
USGS topographic quadrangles and then digitized, or boundaries from paper 
maps were transcribed by FNAI staff in ArcView or ArcMap using underlying USGS 
1:24,000 DRG and/or 2004 DOQQs and on-screen digitization methods. FNAI 
staff then integrated these new digital boundaries into FLMA. The attribute item 
DIG_COM in the FLMA layer provides details on the derivation of boundaries for 
individual managed areas. The following digitizers were used by the FNAI staff:


CalComp DBII, accuracy of +/- .01 inch
CalComp DBIII, accuracy of +/- .005 inch
CalComp 9500 Series, accuracy of +/- .005 inch

When digital boundaries from one source overlapped with digital boundaries from 
another source, the boundaries were adjusted by FNAI staff to eliminate the 
overlapping areas.  Adjustments were made based on the best known information 
about the source of the boundaries.  All overlaps greater than 0.002 meters were 
removed using this process.
Process Date: Unknown

GeoPlan downloaded this dataset from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory website (http://www.fnai.org/gis_data.cfm) in September 2006. The data downloaded was in shapefile format and was in the following projection: Albers HPGN. The layer was originally named FLMA. National Forests were selected out to create this new layer. The Southern portion of Osceola Natioinal Forest was added based on information from Jason Drake: USDA Forest Service 325 John Knox Rd., Suite F-100 Tallahassee, FL 32303 Tel: 850.523.8560 Email: jasondrake@fs.fed.us Used edit tools in ArcMap 9.2 to merge small APALACHICOLA NATIONAL FOREST polygon with larger surrounding APALACHICOLA NATIONAL FOREST polygon. - All records were upcased. - Changed original layer name from FLMA to national_forests. - A DESCRIPT field was added based on MANAME - A FGDLAQDATE field was added based on date of download. Process Date: 200061019
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:
Florida Natural Areas Inventory
FNAI
1018 Thomasville Road, Suite-200C
Tallahassee, FL
32303
(850) 224-8207, ext. 216

http://www.fnai.org/gisdata.cfm sjue@fnai.org Sally Jue

FGDL CONTACT:
Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

Contact FGDL: 

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