NJ Highlands Watershed Integrity Values

Metadata:

• 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:

New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council (NJ Highlands Council)

Publication_Date: 20120130

Title: NJ Highlands Watershed Integrity Values

Edition: 2.0

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Chester, NJ

Publisher: New Jersey Highlands Council

Online_Linkage: <http://www.highlands.state.nj.us/>

Description:

Abstract:

A watershed describes an area of land that drains downslope to the lowest point. Water moves through a network of drainage pathways, both underground and on the surface, and these pathways converge into streams and rivers, which become progressively larger (i.e., higher order) as the water moves downstream and the size of the contributing drainage area increases. The connectivity of the stream system is the primary reason for conducting aquatic assessments at the watershed level. Because water moves downstream, any activity that affects the water quality, quantity, or rate of movement at one location can affect locations downstream.
Watersheds are widely accepted as an appropriate geographic unit for managing water resources. The condition of a watershed greatly influences the functions and integrity of its wetlands and streams. Land use disturbances in watersheds can have significant negative impacts on wetland or stream morphology, vegetation, flood abatement, water chemistry, and aquatic biota.
Watershed-based planning and zoning begins with the notion that the level of impairment of a watershed (e.g., the percent developed lands versus undeveloped forested lands) largely determines the quality of streams and therefore, the attainability of stream protection goals. This, in turn, strongly influences the nature of the stream protection strategy for a given watershed (i.e., the selection of land use standards, stream corridor management plans, implementation of best management practices, and instituting land acquisition or other protection strategies). The extent of forest, in particular, is an important indicator of watershed condition due to its strong association with water quality and as an indicator of the extent of alteration of a watershed due to past human activity.
Peer-reviewed scientific literature was reviewed to identify defensible indicators of watershed condition for the Highlands Region. From the suite of indicators identified in the literature, an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Highlands Council selected the following to evaluate each of the HUC14s of the Highlands Region including:
1) Percent Developed Lands
2) Habitat Quality
3) Forest Cover
Percent Developed Lands is the percentage of a subwatershed that is developed, with developed defined as lands that have been altered for residential and/or commercial use. Developed lands include areas with impervious cover as well as those with non-impervious cover (e.g., lawns, golf courses). The source of this data is the 2007 LU/LC data set developed by the NJDEP and supplemented by NJ Highlands updated land-use data.
Percent developed land is an indicator of watershed impairment (i.e., in general, the higher the percentage, the lower the watershed quality). A negative relationship between developed land use and aquatic habitat integrity exists. The US Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment study compared aquatic community indicators of selected watersheds to the proportion of urban land use in the watershed. It was found that as natural vegetation communities are replaced by developed land, downstream water quality declines due to combined impacts of point and non-point source pollution and soil erosion.
Habitat Quality represents the percentage of a subwatershed that contains habitat for species of concern including rare, threatened or endangered species. The source of this data is the NJDEP’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) Landscape Project. Habitat quality is used as an indicator of the biological diversity of a watershed (i.e., the more habitat that supports a species of concern, the higher the quality of habitat within a watershed). Given the importance of the Act in protecting rare, threatened, and endangered species they are considered to be excellent indicator of watershed protection needs. Often a rare, threatened and endangered species serve as an indicator species and are the first to show the effects of environmental alteration and degradation because they are often sensitive to biological changes within their habitat.
Forest Cover provides a reliable indicator of essential ecosystem functions of surface water filtration and groundwater recharge. Connection between forest and water quality has been acknowledged for more than one hundred years, as is evidenced in the 1899 New Jersey State Geologist’s Report on the forests of New Jersey. Further, as previously noted, forests are an indicator of the extent of alteration of a watershed due to past human activity. Three distinct forest cover metrics were utilized to characterize watershed condition, as briefly described belowt:
-Percent Total Forest is the percentage of a subwatershed that is forested, with forested defined as all mature and successional upland and wetland forested communities (excluding old fields) . The source of this data is the 2002 LU/LC data set developed by the NJDEP.
-Percent Core Forest represents the percentage of a subwatershed that contains forest areas greater than 300 feet in distance from an altered edge (i.e., disturbed land). The source of this data is the 2002 LU/LC data set developed by the NJDEP.
-Proportion of Total Forest is the amount of forest cover within a given geographic area. A 3-kilometer search area was used to calculate this metric. The source of this data is the 2002 LU/LC data set developed by the NJDEP.

Purpose:

A subwatershed-based assessment was utilized to evaluate the integrity and protection needs of Highlands Open Waters. The subwatershed boundaries used for this analysis were 14-digit Hydrologic Units. There are 183 HUC14 subwatersheds that are located partially or entirely within the Highlands Region. This effort serves to directly fulfill and respond to the goals and requirements of the Highlands Act.

Supplemental_Information:

Watershed Value Classes
Each of the watershed indicatorsare expressed as a percent of a HUC14. For the purpose of ranking the condition of the subwatershed based on the indicators, it was useful to establish a range of value classes. For each watershed indicator, four (4) value classes were established ranging from 4 (highest watershed quality) to 1 (lowest watershed quality). The value classes were established using the natural breaks option in the ArcView software. The natural break formula is called Jenks optimization, which identifies breakpoints between data classes using a statistical formula to facilitate the identification of groupings and patterns inherent in the data. The natural breakpoints were then adjusted slightly to round to whole numbers and/or when available, to conform to approximate value class breakpoints in the scientific literature.
The value classes were then scored for each HUC14 subwatershed to arrive at a total score for each subwatershed. The scores were calculated using an equation designed to balance those positive indicators of watershed integrity (forest cover and habitat quality) with the indicator of watershed impairment (developed lands).
High Resource Value Watershed includes all HUC14 subwatersheds that contain predominantly forest lands and includes a significant portion of the watershed that is high quality habitat. A high value watershed typically consists of limited pre-existing developed land within the watershed.
Moderate Resource Value Watershed contains forest lands and some habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, but typically also contains developed lands.
Low Resource Value Watershed contains a low proportion of forest lands, a low proportion of habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, and typically consists of higher levels of developed lands.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date/Time:

Currentness_Reference: publication date

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.210621

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -74.052323

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.296595

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.513986

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword:

water, forest, developed lands, wildlife habitat, ecological integrity

Place:

Place_Keyword: New Jersey Highlands

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

Data Distribution Agreement The Highlands Council Agrees to abide by the terms and conditions of the following: I. Description of Data to be Provided
The data provided herein are distributed subject to the following conditions and restrictions:
Subject Data Layers
For all data contained herein, the Highlands Council makes no representations of any kind, including, but not limited to, the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use, nor are any such warranties to be implied with respect to the digital data layers furnished hereunder. The Highlands Council assumes no responsibility to maintain digital data layers in any manner or form.
II. Terms of Agreement
1. Digital data received from the Highlands Council are to be used solely for internal purposes in the conduct of daily affairs.
2. The data are provided, as is, without warranty of any kind and the user is responsible for understanding the accuracy limitations of all digital data layers provided herein, or as documented in any accompanying Data Dictionary and Readme files. Any reproduction or manipulation of the above data must ensure that the coordinate reference system remains intact.
3. Digital data received from the Highlands Council may not be reproduced or redistributed for use by anyone without first obtaining written authorization from the Highlands Council. This clause is not intended to restrict distribution of printed mapped information produced from the digital data.
4. Any maps, publications, reports, or other documents produced as a result of this project that utilize Highlands Council digital data will credit the Highlands Council's Geographic Information System (GIS) as the source of the data with the following credit/disclaimer:
"This (map/publication/report) was developed using New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council's Geographic Information System digital data, but this secondary product has not been verified by the Highlands Council and is not state-authorized."
5. Users shall require any contractor, hired to undertake work that will utilize digital data obtained from the Highlands Council, to agree not to use, reproduce, or redistribute Highlands Council GIS data for any purpose other than the specified contractual work. All copies of Highlands Council GIS data utilized by an contractor will be required to be returned to the original user at the close of such contractual work.
Users hereby agree to abide by the use and reproduction conditions specified above and agree to hold any contractor to the same terms. By using data provided herein, the user acknowledges that terms and conditions have been read and that the user is bound by these criteria.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NJ Highlands Council

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 100 North Road

City: Chester

State_or_Province: New Jersey

Postal_Code: 07930

Country: UNITED STATES

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (908) 879-6737

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (908) 879-4205

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gis@highlands.state.nj.us

Hours_of_Service: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report:

This is a polygon feature-based layer. Data were reviewed for correct topological structure.

Completeness_Report: Complete.

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Watershed Value Classes
Each of the watershed indicatorsare expressed as a percent of a HUC14. For the purpose of ranking the condition of the subwatershed based on the indicators, it was useful to establish a range of value classes. For each watershed indicator, four (4) value classes were established ranging from 4 (highest watershed quality) to 1 (lowest watershed quality). The value classes were established using the natural breaks option in the ArcView software. The natural break formula is called Jenks optimization, which identifies breakpoints between data classes using a statistical formula to facilitate the identification of groupings and patterns inherent in the data. The natural breakpoints were then adjusted slightly to round to whole numbers and/or when available, to conform to approximate value class breakpoints in the scientific literature.
The value classes were then scored for each HUC14 subwatershed to arrive at a total score for each subwatershed. The scores were calculated using an equation designed to balance those positive indicators of watershed integrity (forest cover and habitat quality) with the indicator of watershed impairment (developed lands).
High Resource Value Watershed includes all HUC14 subwatersheds that contain predominantly forest lands and includes a significant portion of the watershed that is high quality habitat. A high value watershed typically consists of limited pre-existing developed land within the watershed.
Moderate Resource Value Watershed contains forest lands and some habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, but typically also contains developed lands.
Low Resource Value Watershed contains a low proportion of forest lands, a low proportion of habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, and typically consists of higher levels of developed lands.

Process_Date: 20111001

Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NJ Highlands Council

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: 100 North Road

City: Chester

State_or_Province: New Jersey

Postal_Code: 07930

Country: UNITED STATES

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 908-879-6737

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 908-897-4205

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gis@highlands.state.nj.us

Hours_of_Service: 8am-5pm Monday thru Friday

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.000039

Ordinate_Resolution: 0.000039

Planar_Distance_Units: survey feet

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

Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Altitude_System_Definition:

Altitude_Resolution: 0.000100

Altitude_Encoding_Method:

Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: Watershed_Values

Entity_Type_Definition: NJ Highlands Watershed Integrity Values

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: NJ Highlands Council

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: FID

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: HUC14

Attribute_Definition: Hydrologic Unit Code Number

Attribute_Definition_Source: NJDEP

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SW_NAME

Attribute_Definition: Subwatershed Name

Attribute_Definition_Source: NJDEP

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SCORE

Attribute_Definition: Watershed Rank

Attribute_Definition_Source: NJ Highlands Council

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: HIGH

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Includes all HUC14 subwatersheds that contain predominantly forest lands and includes a significant portion of the watershed that is high quality habitat. A high value watershed typically consists of limited pre-existing developed land within the watershed.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NJ Highlands Council

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: MOD

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Contains forest lands and some habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, but typically also contains developed lands

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NJ Highlands Council

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: LOW

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Contains a low proportion of forest lands, a low proportion of habitat suitable for rare, threatened or endangered species, and typically consists of higher levels of developed lands.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NJ Highlands Council

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape

Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: New Jersey Highlands Council

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 100 North Road (Route 513)

City: Chester

State_or_Province: New Jersey

Postal_Code: 07930

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 908-879-6737

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 908-879-4205

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gis@highlands.state.nj.us

Hours_of_Service: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

Contact_Instructions:

Contact the Distributor if you have any questions or concerns regarding the distribution and/or download of this data. If you have questions or concerns regarding the data itself, please contact the Metadata Contact person listed in the Metadata Reference Section.

Resource_Description: Downloadable Data

Distribution_Liability: See "Use Constraints"

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20120130

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: New Jersey Highlands Council

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing address

Address: 100 North Road

City: Chester

State_or_Province: New Jersey

Postal_Code: 07930

Country: UNITED STATES

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 908-879-6737

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 908-879-4205

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: gis@highlands.state.nj.us

Hours_of_Service: 9:00AM - 5:00PM

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time