Vegetation Classification Map for Colorado's San Luis Valley

167,148 hectares of vegetation data were mapped across multiple management units in Colorado's San Luis Valley. The final product was produced by USFWS personnel and a consortium including NatureServe, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, USGS, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Park Service staff. This ServCat Record presents information from both FWS and NPS.

Use Cases

• Land management planning based on vegetation classification across multiple agencies
• Ecological connectivity analysis based on the mapped boundary reflecting fire management and proximity
• Habitat assessment for wildlife refuges based on the mapped vegetation types
• Conservation prioritization based on the inclusion of private ranch lands like Medano-Zapata Ranch

Strengths

• Covers 167,148 hectares (413,031 acres) of land
• Includes data from multiple agencies: NPS (60,354 ha), USFWS (37,483 ha), and The Nature Conservancy (13,243 ha)
• Final map produced with constant communication between parallel efforts for consistency

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last updated 2026-03-04 08:16:20.671129; freshness should be verified

Provenance

Source

Department of the Interior

Collection Method

Vegetation classification and mapping effort by agency personnel and contractors.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-04 08:16:20.671129

Geography

San Luis Valley, west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south central Colorado, including portions of Saguache and Alamosa Counties.