Metadata for Level III and IV Ecoregions of Montana - Draft Second Edition

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- Data Quality Information
- Spatial Data Organization Information
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Identification Information:

Citation:
  Originator: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  Publication date: 2002
  Title:
    Level III and IV Ecoregions of Montana - Draft Second Edition
  Publication place: Helena, Montana
  Publisher: Montana State Library
  Other citation details:
    The former name of the data set on the NRIS web site was "ecoreg_2002"
  Online linkage: ftp://ftp.geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/NonMSDI/Shapefiles/EcoRegions2002.zip
  Browse graphic file name: ftp://ftp.geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Maps/Thumbnails/20060106_491_thumb.jpg
  Browse graphic file description: Thumbnail of Montana Ecoregions map
  Browse graphic file name: ftp://ftp.geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Documents/Maps/Individual/20060106_491_2002_ecoreg.pdf
  Browse graphic file description: Montana Ecoregions map
Abstract:
  This is the second edition (2002) of "Ecoregions of Montana". As of April 2013, the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/mt_eco.htm has ecoregion data published in 2012.
  The second edition (2002) of "Ecoregions of Montana" revises many ecoregion polygon assignments that appeared in the first edition (Woods and others, 1999). These changes were made after research in Idaho (McGrath and others, 2002) recognized the Idaho Batholith as a separate level III ecoregion (Ecoregion 16), limited the Northern Rockies (15) to strongly marine-influenced areas, and transferred the Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies (formerly Ecoregion 16) to another level III ecoregion, the Middle Rockies (17). The second edition also modifies a few level IV ecoregion lines along Montana's western border so that ecoregions shared by Montana and Idaho will edge match. In addition, it updates ecoregion names so that they are consistent with the most recent ecoregion work in area (Chapman and others, 2003). However, it is important to note that although many polygon assignments and a few ecoregion names have changed between the first and second editions, nearly all level IV ecoregion line positions are identical on the two editions.
  Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources; they are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components. By recognizing the spatial differences in the capacities and potentials of ecosystems, ecoregions stratify the environment by its probable response to disturbance (Bryce and others, 1999). These general purpose regions are critical for structuring and implementing ecosystem management strategies across federal agencies, state agencies, and nongovernment organizations that are responsible for different types of resources within the same geographical areas (Omernik and others, 2000).
  The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity (Wiken, 1986; Omernik, 1987, 1995). These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology.
  The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. A Roman numeral hierarchical scheme has been adopted for different levels of ecological regions. Level I is the coarsest level, dividing North America into 15 ecological regions. Level II divides the continent into 52 regions (Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group, 1997). At level III, the continental United States contains 104 ecoregions and the conterminous United States has 84 ecoregions (United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2000). Level IV is a further subdivision of level III ecoregions. Explanations of the methods used to define the USEPA's ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995), Omernik and others (2000), and Griffith and others (1989, 1994).
  The level III and IV ecoregion map on this poster was compiled at a scale of 1:250,000 and depicts revisions and subdivisions of earlier level III ecoregions that were originally compiled at a smaller scale (USEPA, 2000; Omernik, 1987). This poster is part of a collaborative project primarily between USEPA Region VIII, USEPA National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (Corvallis, Oregon), Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service), United States Department of the Interior-Bureau of Land Management, and United States Department of the Interior-U.S. Geological Survey-Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center.
  The project is associated with an interagency effort to develop a common framework of ecological regions. Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies applied to develop the most common ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the U.S. Forest Service (Bailey and others, 1994), the USEPA (Omernik, 1987, 1995), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service, 1981). As each of these frameworks is further refined, their differences are becoming less discernible. Regional collaborative projects such as this one in Montana, where agreement has been reached among multiple resource management agencies, are a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation.
Purpose:
  Assist managers of aquatic and terrestrial resources in understanding the regional patterns of the realistically attainable quality of these resources.
Time period of content:
  Calendar date: 2002
  Currentness reference: publication date
Status:
  Progress: In work
  Maintenance and update frequency:
    Unknown. As of April 2013, the EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/mt_eco.htm has ecoregion data published in 2012.
Access constraints: None
Use constraints:
  The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
Point of contact:
  Alan Woods
  US EPA Lab, Oregon State University, USGS
  200 SW 35th St
  Corvallis, OR 97333
  Telephone: 541-754-4469
  E-Mail: woods.alan@epa.gov
  Contact instructions:
    Alternate contact at the same physical address is James Omernik -- omernik.james@epa.gov 541-754-4458

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Data Quality Information:

Lineage:
  Source information:
    Originator: Bailey, R.G., Avers, P.E., King, T., and McNab, W.H., eds.,
    Publication date: 1994
    Title: Ecoregions and subregions of the United States
    Publication place: Washington, DC
    Publisher: U.S. Forest Service
    Other citation details:
      supplementary table of map unit descriptions compiled and edited by McNab, W.H. and Bailey, R.G.
    Source scale denominator: 7500000
    Type of source media: paper map
  Source information:
    Originator: Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., and Larsen, D.P.
    Publication date: 1999
    Title:
      Ecoregions - a geographic framework to guide risk characterization and ecosystem management
    Other citation details: Environmental Practice, v. 1, no. 3, p. 141-155
  Source information:
    Originator:
      Chapman, S.S., Bryce, S.A., Omernik, J.M., Despain, D.G., ZumBerge, J., and Conrad, M.,
    Publication date: 2003
    Title: Ecoregions of Wyoming
    Publication place: Reston, VA
    Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
    Source scale denominator: 400000
    Type of source media:
      color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs
  Source information:
    Originator: Commission for Environmental Cooperation Working Group
    Publication date: 1997
    Title:
      Ecological regions of North America - toward a common perspective
    Publication place: Montreal
    Publisher: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
    Other citation details: 71 p.
  Source information:
    Originator:
      Gallant, A.L., Whittier, T.R., Larsen, D.P., Omernik, J.M., and Hughes, R.M
    Publication date: 1989
    Title:
      Regionalization as a tool for managing environmental resources
    Publication place: Corvallis, OR
    Publisher: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Other citation details: EPA/600/3-89/060, 152 p.
  Source information:
    Originator:
      Griffith, G.E., Omernik, J.M., Wilton, T.F., and Pierson, S.M
    Publication date: 1994
    Title:
      Ecoregions and subregions of Iowa - a framework for water quality assessment and management
    Publisher: Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science
    Other citation details: v. 101, no. 1, p. 5-13
  Source information:
    Originator:
      McGrath C.L., Woods A.J., Omernik, J.M., Bryce, S.A., Edmondson, M., Nesser, J.A., Shelden, J., Crawford, R.C., Comstock, J.A., and Plocher, M.D.,
    Publication date: 2002
    Title: Ecoregions of Idaho
    Publication place: Reston, VA
    Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
    Source scale denominator: 350000
    Type of source media:
      color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs
  Source information:
    Originator: Omernik, J.M
    Publication date: 1987
    Title: Ecoregions of the conterminous United States
    Publisher: Annals of the Association of American Geographers
    Other citation details: v. 77, no. 1, p. 118-125
    Source scale denominator: 7500000
    Type of source media: paper map
  Source information:
    Originator: Omernik, J.M.
    Publication date: 1995
    Title: Ecoregions - a framework for environmental management
    Publication place: Boca Raton, FL
    Publisher: Lewis Publishers
    Other citation details:
      in Davis, W.S. and Simon, T.P., eds., Biological assessment and criteria-tools for water resource planning and decision making, p. 49-62
  Source information:
    Originator: Omernik, J.M., Chapman, S.S., Lillie, R.A., and Dumke, R.T.
    Publication date: 2000
    Title: Ecoregions of Wisconsin
    Publisher:
      Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters
    Other citation details: v. 88, p. 77-103
  Source information:
    Originator: U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service
    Publication date: 1981
    Title:
      Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States
    Publisher: U.S. Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service
    Other citation details: 156 p.
  Source information:
    Originator: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
    Publication date: 2000
    Title:
      Level III ecoregions of the continental United States (revision of Omernik, 1987)
    Publication place: Corvallis, Oregon
    Publisher:
      National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
    Other citation details: Map M-1, various scales
  Source information:
    Originator: Wiken, E.
    Publication date: 1986
    Title: Terrestrial ecozones of Canada
    Publication place: Ottawa
    Publisher: Environment Canada
    Other citation details: Ecological Land Classification Series no. 19, 26 p.
  Source information:
    Originator:
      Woods, Alan J., Omernik, James, M., Nesser, John A., Shelden, J., and Azevedo, Sandra H.
    Publication date: 1999
    Title: Ecoregions of Montana
    Publication place: Reston, VA
    Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
    Source scale denominator: 500000
    Type of source media:
      color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs
  Source information:
    Originator:
      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Western Ecology Division
    Publication date: 2002
    Title: Ecoregions of Montana
    Publication place: Covallis, Oregon
    Publisher:
      U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Western Ecology Division
    Online linkage: http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/mt_eco.htm
  Process step:
    All ecoregion and subregion delineations are digitized from the U.S.G.S. 1:250,000 base maps. Prior to digitizing each base map must be initialized to orient the map and relate it in geographic coordinates to the surface of the earth. When the registration tics are entered at the start of digitizing a transformation error of less than 0.003 must be achieved in order to insure a high level of registration accuracy. The person responsible for digital data entry completes a data sheet describing coverage name, date of entry, and whether a topology for the coverage is established.
    After each 1:250,000 base map has been digitized, a topology for each coverage is established. This function creates unique identities for each polygon.
    Next each base map is tested for polygon errors through an internal editing function. Errors are corrected for unlabeled polygons, unclosed polygons, or polygons with more than one label. Topology is reestablished for each coverage and tested again until no error are indicated.
    The digital coverage is then plotted at the same scale as the original base map. This coverage is overlaid on a light table with the original and visually inspected for replication of original lines with digitized lines. Two individuals independently inspect the coverage for accuracy.

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Spatial Data Organization Information:

Point and vector object information:
  SDTS object type: G-polygon
    SDTS object count: 367

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Spatial Reference Information:

Horizontal coordinate system definition:
  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: 6378137.000000
    Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257222

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Entity and Attribute Information:

Entity type label: EcoRegions2002.dbf
  Attribute label: FID
    Attribute definition: Shapefile sequence number
  Attribute label: Shape
    Attribute definition: Feature geometry
  Attribute label: AREA
    Attribute definition: Area of feature in square meters
  Attribute label: PERIMETER
    Attribute definition: Perimeter of feature in meters
  Attribute label: LEVEL4
    Attribute definition:
      Level 4 ecoregion code. The code is explained in the Level4_Nam field

    Attribute Value | Definition of Attribute Value
    15a | Grave Creek Range - Nine Mile Divide
    15b | Elkhorn Mountains - Boulder Batholith
    15c | Scattered Eastern Igneous-Core Mountains
    15d | Percell Mountains
    15e | Flathead Hills and Mountains
    15f | Eastern Divide Mountains
    15g | Rattlesnake/Blackfoot/South Swan /Northern Garnet-Sapphire Mountains
    15h | High Alpine Zone
    15i | Salish Mountains
    15j | Forested Beaverhead Mountains
    15k | Big Snowy-Little Belt Carbonate Mountains
    15l | Coeur d' Alene-Cabinet-North Bitterroot Mountains'
    15m | Glaciated Bitterroot Mountains and Canyons
    15n | Tobacco Root Mountains
    15o | Big Belt Forested Highlands
    15p | Pioneer - Anaconda Ranges
    15q | Painted Rocks
    15r | Flint Creek-Anaconda Mountains
    15s | Eastern Pioneer Sedimentary Mountains
    15t | Stillwater - Swan Wooded Valley
    15u | Southern Garnet Sedimentary-Volcanic Mountains
    16a | Non-calcareous Foothill Grassland
    16b | Foothill Potholes
    16c | Tobacco Plains
    16d | Bitterroot-Frenchtown Valley
    16e | Camas Valley
    16f | Limy Foothill Grassland
    16g | Limy Foothill Savannah
    16h | Deer Lodge-Philipsburg-Avon Unwooded Intermontane Hills and Valleys
    16i | Pryor-Big Horn Foothills
    16j | Flathead Valley
    16k | Townsend-Horseshoe-London Sedimentary Hills
    16l | Townsend Basin
    16m | Shield-Smith-Paradise Valleys
    16n | Big Hole
    16o | Dry Gneissic - Schistose - Volcanic Hills
    16p | Dry Intermontane Sagebrush Basin
    16q | Centennial basin
    17d | Eastern Gravelly Mountains
    17e | Southwestern Montana Barren Mountains
    17f | Crazy Mountains
    17g | Absaroka-Gallatin-Madison-Bridger Sedimentary Mountains
    17h | Rockland and Mixed High Elevation Vegetation Zone
    17i | Absaroka-Gallatin Volcanic Mountains
    17j | West Yellowstone Valley
    17k | Lady of the Lake
    17l | Gneissic - Schistose Forested Mountains
    17m | Big Horn - Pryor Mountains
    18a | Northern Semi-Arid Intermontane Basin
    41a | Northern Front
    41b | Crestal Alpine/Subalpine Zone
    41c | Western Canadian Rockies
    41d | Southern Carbonate Front
    41e | Flathead Thrust Faulted Carbonate-rich Mountains
    42b | Collapsed Glacial Outwash
    42d | Northern Missouri Coteau
    42i | Glaciated Dark Brown Prairie
    42j | Glaciated Northern Grasslands
    42k | Coteau Lakes Upland
    42l | Sweetgrass Uplands
    42m | Cherry Patch Moraines
    42n | Milk River Pothole Upland
    42o | Northcentral Brown Glaciated Plains
    43a | Missouri Plateau
    43b | Little Missouri Badlands
    43c | River Breaks
    43d | Forested Buttes
    43e | Sagebrush Steppe
    43g | Semiarid Pierre Shale Plains
    43k | Dense Clay Prairie
    43l | Missouri Breaks Woodland-Scrubland
    43m | Judith Basin Grassland
    43n | Central Grassland
    43o | Unglaciated Montana High Plains
    43p | Ponderosa Pine Forest-Savannah Hills
    43q | Mesic Tongue River Dissected Plains

  Attribute label: LEVEL4_NAM
    Attribute definition: Name of the level 4 ecoregion.
  Attribute label: LEVEL3
    Attribute definition:
      Level 3 ecoregion code. The code is explained in the Level3_Nam field

    Attribute Value | Definition of Attribute Value
    15 | Northern Rockies
    16 | Montana Valley and Foothill Prairies
    17 | Middle Rockies
    18 | Wyoming Basin
    41 | Canadian Rockies
    42 | Northwestern Glaciated Plains
    43 | Northwestern Great Plains

  Attribute label: LEVEL3_NAM
    Attribute definition:
      Name of the level 3 ecoregion. The values of this field are enumerated in the LEVEL3 attribute description.

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Distribution Information:

Distributor:
  Montana State Library
  PO Box 201800
  Helena, MT 59620-1800
  Telephone: 406-444-5354
  TDD/TTY telephone: 406-444-4799
  Fax: 406-444-0266
  E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov
Resource description: Downloadable Data
Distribution liability:
  The Montana State Library provides this product/service for informational purposes only. The Library did not produce it for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Consumers of this information should review or consult the primary data and information sources to ascertain the viability of the information for their purposes. The Library provides these data in good faith but does not represent or warrant its accuracy, adequacy, or completeness. In no event shall the Library be liable for any incorrect results or analysis; any direct, indirect, special, or consequential damages to any party; or any lost profits arising out of or in connection with the use or the inability to use the data or the services provided. The Library makes these data and services available as a convenience to the public, and for no other purpose. The Library reserves the right to change or revise published data and/or services at any time.
Standard order process:
  Digital form:
    Format name: ESRI Shapefile
    Online option:
    ftp://ftp.geoinfo.msl.mt.gov/Data/Spatial/NonMSDI/Shapefiles/EcoRegions2002.zip

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Metadata Reference Information:

Metadata date: 01/13/2014
Metadata review date: 04/17/2013
Metadata review date: 01/06/2006
Metadata contact:
  Montana State Library
  P.O. Box 201800
  Helena, MT 59620-1800
  Telephone: 406-444-5354
  TDD/TTY telephone: 406-444-4799
  Fax: 406-444-0266
  E-Mail: geoinfo@mt.gov

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