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This statewide dataset contains a combination of land cover mapping from 2016 aerial imagery and land use derived from standardized assessor parcel information for Massachusetts.
Each location in this layer is associated with a land cover class value as well as a parcel use code
Although both land cover and land use information are included, each of these aspects can be accessed independently, or in interesting and useful combinations with one another. For instance, a user can simply display impervious surfaces (land cover), or commercial parcels (land use). In combination, it is possible to display and measure the portions of the commercial parcels that are covered by impervious surfaces or the portions of residential parcels used as developed open space.
This layer is the result of a cooperative project between MassGIS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Coastal Management (OCM). Funding was provided by the Mass. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
MassGIS stores the data as a single statewide polygon feature class named LANDCOVER_LANDUSE_POLYin the spatial reference of NAD_1983_Contiguous_USA_Albers (EPSG: 5070).
Data development
The following sections describe the development and features of the two components, land cover and land use, as well as the final combined dataset.
Land cover
The thematic land cover dataset was created in raster format by NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). C-CAP has produced numerous standardized land cover products which are included in the National Land Cover Database. These products are used in numerous ways to assess urban growth, inventory wetlands, coastal intertidal areas, and adjacent uplands, and delineate wildlife habitat to monitor changes in these areas. This information helps in the understanding of the landscape's response to natural and human-caused changes. OCM worked in close coordination with MassGIS to produce the land cover. OCM delivered the data to MassGIS in an Albers projection.
2016 NAIP imagery This 2016 land cover information was initially developed as a 1-meter, 6-category draft raster derived from 2016 USDA National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) aerial multispectral imagery. Classes were impervious, bare, grass, shrub, tree, and water. Additional reference data were used to create this 19-class version, including: 2016 WorldView multispectral satellite imagery, lidar-based terrain elevation data, 2016-era 2D structures data, and other ancillary data such as MassDOT Roads, MassDEP Wetlands, etc. The wetlands in the final land cover product are exclusively from the C-CAP program and will differ from the MassDEP Wetlands data.
The land cover information in this product is consistent with C-CAP’s High-Resolution Land Cover Classification Scheme (PDF). Also see General information about C-CAP High-Resolution Land Cover.
Land use
The land use component of the data layer is represented by the Property Type Classification Code associated with each parcel in MassGIS' Standardized "Level 3" Parcels layer. These "use codes" come from the Mass. Department of Revenue Division of Local Services (DLS), along with custom use codes some municipalities include in their parcel data.
For this project, MassGIS created a parcel layer using data deliverables as close as possible to the time of the 2016 NAIP imagery used for the land cover. Since parcel data complying with Level 3 of the MassGIS standard was not available from every municipality for the year 2016, some information was selected from a different year to use data as close to 2016 as possible, with the following rules:
If Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 data was available, it was used. Otherwise, data was used from other years in the following order: 2017 (+1), 2015 (-1), 2018 (+2), 2014 (-2), 2013 (-3), 2012 (-4), 2011 (-5). Fiscal year values were retained in the final product to help indicate relative reliability of the USECODE.
MassGIS merged these parcel data into one feature class and dissolved them based on these fields:
USE_CODE: Use code from DOR DLS, along with custom use codes some municipalities include in their parcel data.
FY: Fiscal year
POLY_TYPE: Parcel type (FEE, TAX, ROW, WATER, PRIV_ROW, RAIL_ROW)
TOWN_ID: Town ID (1-351)
GEN_CODE: Generalized use code chosen by MassGIS for this project to simplify the 1,600+ USE_CODEs for map display.
Combined Land Cover – Land Use Data
For efficient processing and distribution, MassGIS split up the statewide land cover raster into 291 smaller, regularly sized and spaced tiles, each 10km by 10km (10,000 x 10,000 pixels).
The Create Fishnet tool produced a polygon index that precisely fit the tiles. The tiles were identified with a TILENAME value based on row and column position. For example, TILENAME “R07C17” identifies the tile in row 7, column 17. The index is named LANDCOVER_USE_INDEX_POLY. Aside from TILENAME, the other field is SHP_LINK, which stores a link to download a zipped land cover-land use shapefile for each tile.
Each land cover image was converted to a polygon shapefile using a Raster to Shapefile model in ERDAS IMAGINE. This method preserves the thematic attributes and simplifies the polygons very slightly.
MassGIS carried out the following steps in ArcGIS 10.6.1:
Reprojected the land use polygons from Massachusetts State Plane to the same Albers projection of the land cover.
Used the Identity tool to geometrically combine the land cover polygons with the dissolved parcel data to produce a land cover-land use feature class for each tile.
Checked and repaired the geometry of the Identity output.
Converted all multipart polygons to single-part polygons in the Identity output.
The Identity created numerous very small polygons because the two components (land cover and land use) were not spatially correlated. To preserve the input data, MassGIS decided not to eliminate polygons or perform any other cartographic refinement at this point. Users can easily perform these operations if desired.
As part of final QA, MassGIS modified the attributes of a small number of polygons with erroneous land cover or generalized land use codes, including a few right-of-way polygons in Boston that did not have the correct USEGENCODE of 55.
There is a shapefile for the entire state and then there are layers by counties located within the MassGIS geological folder (dissolved and not dissolved by “hydgrpdcd”). The statewide shapefile has two fields “hydgrpdcd” (the original field from MassGIS download) and the field “HSG”. The “HSG field is for direct import into the model builder tool and assigns HSG B to the polygons with unknown soil group (as explained under bullet 2 in this One Note: onenote:///\\vhb\gbl\proj\Wat-EV\11456.00\ProjectLog\MassDOT\Programmatic\TS4%20IWP.one#Steps%20for%20updating%20model%20builder§ion-id={E259F258-189F-471F-B0CD-C260697A09DF}&page-id={AB25DC25-54ED-4E27-ACE0-163F422CA562}&end).
It should be noted that none of the rest of the soils data from MassGIS/NRCS is joined to these shapefiles – only “hydgrpdcd”. This data is a snapshot in time downloaded from MassGIS (NRCS SSURGO data) and was originally downloaded sometime in 8/2020.
Water Body AUs - Rivers (arcs) ----- River AUs: : Individual river AUs are represented as one or more lines in the arc feature class. Linework was derived from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrographybased on USGS topographic maps. Additional on-screen editing was performed as needed using USGS topographic quadranglesand/or MassGIS Aerial Imagesas a base map for all river AUs. Lake AUs:Lake AUs are represented as one or more polygons in the polygon feature class. Lake AU polygons were selected from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrographylayer, where available, and placed in a separate file where additional editing (typically closure lines) may have been performed. In some cases AUs were drawn and/or edited to reflect current conditions using USGS topographic quadrangles, and/or MassGIS Aerial Imagesas the base map. Estuary AUs:Estuary AUs are represented as polygons. Where available, polygons are derived from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrographybased on the name and description of each estuarine AU. Additional on-screen digitizing to close polygons to reflect waters actually assessed, but that may not have been represented in the hydrography layer, was completed using the USGS topographic quadranglesas the base map. All AUs (Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries): River, lake, and estuary features, regardless of their derivation, were combined into two single statewide feature classes, one for lines (IL_2018_ARC alias: Waterbody AUs - Rivers (arcs)) and one for polygons (IL_2018_POLY alias: Waterbody AUs - Lakes, Estuaries (polygons)). There is no AU overlap in any two adjacent river, lake, or estuary features.
Attributes: Except for standard GIS items (e.g., Shape_Length (meters), Shape_Area (square meters), Shape, OBJECTID, FID), all attributes were obtained from the DWM/WPP and are presented in the table IL_ATTAINS_2018. This table has a many-to-one relationship with individual features in the IL_2018_ARC and IL_2018_POLY features classes. Only attributes that are the same for every record concerning a feature were added to the attribute table of the feature set. A waterbody AU has only one unique identifier (AU_ID) and description, however, in the ATTAINS table the individual AU information repeats as necessary to accommodate the number of uses assessed, each cause of impairment, and each source for the cause of impairment. The IL_ATTAINS_2018 table can be related to geographic features using the AU_ID. The additional table (IL_SEGDEF_2018) can be used for summarizing data and can be related to geographic features using the AU_ID.
Fields in the IL_2018_POLY and IL_2018_ARC attribute tables are as follows:
Cycle: Reporting cycle year. Note: although this field shows 2018, the reporting cycle was combined for 2018 and 2020.
WBID_2018: Assessment Unit ID (AU_ID) with the reporting cycle year. For simplification, only the first year of the combined 2018/2020 reporting cycle was used.
Watershed: The MassDEP DWM/WPP watershed delineations are based on the MassGIS Major Basins layer; modified to reflect surface drainage areas for use with the MassDEP Integrated List of Waters report by the WPP. For example, a portion of the Cape Cod Watershed Area was changed to reflect its drainage into Buzzards Bay, resulting in shape changes for both the Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay watershed delineations. In general, the watershed name is based on the Massachusetts Stream and River Inventory System (SARIS) that includes all Massachusetts river basins and coastal drainage areas (Halliwell et al., 1982). The WPP watershed name Boston Harbor (Proper) does not appear in the MassGIS Major Basins layer or the SARIS list of watersheds; it refers to the harbor itself. Three drainage area types are further described in SARIS as follows: River Basin: Major inland river basin. River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area: Major inland river basin coupled with smaller areas draining directly to coastal waters within the general geographic area of the associated river basin. Coastal Drainage Area: Subdivisions of the coastal drainage system that have been partitioned into specific geographic areas. These areas all drain to coastal waters but may have multiple small-scale drainages.
Waterbody: Waterbody names are based on three inventory systems: Stream and River Inventory System (SARIS), Pond and Lake Inventory System (PALIS), or Coastal and Marine Inventory System (CAMIS).
AU_ID: Water body Assessment Unit identification code (AU_ID) for the 2018/2020 cycle of the Massachusetts Integrated List of Waters report.
Location1: Description of the waterbody AU.
Location2: Continuation of the location description if LOCATION1 exceeds 255 characters.
WaterCode: Unique waterbody code based on SARIS, PALIS, or CAMIS inventory coding systems.
WaterType: Waterbody AU type: River (freshwaters, including streams, brooks, etc.), Lake (freshwaters, including ponds, reservoirs, etc.), or Estuary (coastal waters, including bays, estuaries, salt ponds, etc.).
AU_Size: Size of the waterbody AU. (Some historic values in this field may have been based on measurements made with map wheels and other techniques including, but not limited to, planimetry using USGS Quad sheets at a scale of 1:25,000. New values are generated using GIS.) AU_Size is the size reported to the EPA for the AU (portion within the state only, not necessarily the entire waterbody).
Size_Unit: Waterbody size units: Miles (Rivers), Acres (Lakes), Square Miles (Estuaries)
Class: Class assigned to the water body as defined in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00) that can be found at Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00).(Clarification Note: Classification is reflective of Standards version available at the time when assessment decisions were made.)
Qualifier: Class qualifiers (e.g., WWF [warm water fishery], CWF [cold water fishery], etc.) assigned to waterbody as defined in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00). (Clarification Note: Classification is reflective of Standards version available at the time when assessment decisions were made.)
Category: The category of the water body AU in the Massachusetts Year 2018/2020 Integrated List of Waters report; category descriptions are as follows:
Category 1) Unimpaired and not threatened for all designated uses; Category 2)Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others; Category 3) Insufficient information to make assessments for any uses; Category 4)Impaired for one or more uses, but not requiring the calculation of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Category 4A) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: TMDL has been completed. Category 4B) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: Other pollution control requirements are reasonably expected to result in the attainment of designated uses. Category 4C) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: Impairment is not caused by a pollutant. Category 5) Impaired for one or more uses and requiring a restorative "action" plan, such as a TMDL or Alternative Restoration Plan (impairment due to pollutant(s) such as nutrients, metals, pesticides, solids, and pathogens).
REP_count: The number of unique action plans (TMDL reports or Alternative Restoration Plans) associated with the AU for the 2018/2020 reporting cycle.
Water Body AUs - Lakes, Estuaries (polygons)----- River AUs: Individual river AUs are represented as one or more lines in the arc feature class. Linework was derived from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrography based on USGS topographic maps. Additional on-screen editing was performed as needed using USGS topographic quadrangles and/or MassGIS Aerial Images as a base map for all river AUs. Lake AUs:Lake AUs are represented as one or more polygons in the polygon feature class. Lake AU polygons were selected from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrography layer, where available, and placed in a separate file where additional editing (typically closure lines) may have been performed. In some cases AUs were drawn and/or edited to reflect current conditions using USGS topographic quadrangles, and/or MassGIS Aerial Images as the base map. Estuary AUs:Estuary AUs are represented as polygons. Where available, polygons are derived from the MassGIS 1:25,000 hydrography based on the name and description of each estuarine AU. Additional on-screen digitizing to close polygons to reflect waters actually assessed, but that may not have been represented in the hydrography layer, was completed using the USGS topographic quadrangles as the base map. All AUs (Rivers, Lakes, Estuaries): River, lake, and estuary features, regardless of their derivation, were combined into two single statewide feature classes, one for lines (IL_2018_ARC alias: Waterbody AUs - Rivers (arcs)) and one for polygons (IL_2018_POLY alias: Waterbody AUs - Lakes, Estuaries (polygons)). There is no AU overlap in any two adjacent river, lake, or estuary features.
Attributes: Except for standard GIS items (e.g., Shape_Length (meters), Shape_Area (square meters), Shape, OBJECTID, FID), all attributes were obtained from the DWM/WPP and are presented in the table IL_ATTAINS_2018. This table has a many-to-one relationship with individual features in the IL_2018_ARC and IL_2018_POLY features classes. Only attributes that are the same for every record concerning a feature were added to the attribute table of the feature set. A waterbody AU has only one unique identifier (AU_ID) and description, however, in the ATTAINS table the individual AU information repeats as necessary to accommodate the number of uses assessed, each cause of impairment, and each source for the cause of impairment. The IL_ATTAINS_2018 table can be related to geographic features using the AU_ID. The additional table (IL_SEGDEF_2018) can be used for summarizing data and can be related to geographic features using the AU_ID.
Fields in the IL_2018_POLY and IL_2018_ARC attribute tables are as follows:
Cycle:Reporting cycle year. Note: although this field shows 2018, the reporting cycle was combined for 2018 and 2020.
WBID_2018: Assessment Unit ID (AU_ID) with the reporting cycle year. For simplification, only the first year of the combined 2018/2020 reporting cycle was used.
Watershed: The MassDEP DWM/WPP watershed delineations are based on the MassGIS Major Basins layer; modified to reflect surface drainage areas for use with the MassDEP Integrated List of Waters report by the WPP. For example, a portion of the Cape Cod Watershed Area was changed to reflect its drainage into Buzzards Bay, resulting in shape changes for both the Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay watershed delineations. In general, the watershed name is based on the Massachusetts Stream and River Inventory System (SARIS) that includes all Massachusetts river basins and coastal drainage areas (Halliwell et al., 1982). The WPP watershed name Boston Harbor (Proper) does not appear in the MassGIS Major Basins layer or the SARIS list of watersheds; it refers to the harbor itself. Three drainage area types are further described in SARIS as follows: River Basin: Major inland river basin. River Basin and Coastal Drainage Area: Major inland river basin coupled with smaller areas draining directly to coastal waters within the general geographic area of the associated river basin. Coastal Drainage Area: Subdivisions of the coastal drainage system that have been partitioned into specific geographic areas. These areas all drain to coastal waters but may have multiple small-scale drainages.
Waterbody: Waterbody names are based on three inventory systems: Stream and River Inventory System (SARIS), Pond and Lake Inventory System (PALIS), or Coastal and Marine Inventory System (CAMIS).
AU_ID: Water body Assessment Unit identification code (AU_ID) for the 2018/2020 cycle of the Massachusetts Integrated List of Waters report.
Location1: Description of the waterbody AU.
Location2: Continuation of the location description if LOCATION1 exceeds 255 characters.
WaterCode: Unique waterbody code based on SARIS, PALIS, or CAMIS inventory coding systems.
WaterType: Waterbody AU type: River (freshwaters, including streams, brooks, etc.), Lake (freshwaters, including ponds, reservoirs, etc.), or Estuary (coastal waters, including bays, estuaries, salt ponds, etc.).
AU_Size: Size of the waterbody AU. (Some historic values in this field may have been based on measurements made with map wheels and other techniques including, but not limited to, planimetry using USGS Quad sheets at a scale of 1:25,000. New values are generated using GIS.) AU_Size is the size reported to the EPA for the AU (portion within the state only, not necessarily the entire waterbody).
Size_Unit: Waterbody size units: Miles (Rivers), Acres (Lakes), Square Miles (Estuaries)
Class: Class assigned to the water body as defined in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00) that can be found at Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00).(Clarification Note: Classification is reflective of Standards version available at the time when assessment decisions were made.)
Qualifier: Class qualifiers (e.g., WWF [warm water fishery], CWF [cold water fishery], etc.) assigned to waterbody as defined in the Massachusetts Surface Water Quality Standards (314 CMR 4.00). (Clarification Note: Classification is reflective of Standards version available at the time when assessment decisions were made.)
Category: The category of the water body AU in the Massachusetts Year 2018/2020 Integrated List of Waters report; category descriptions are as follows:
Category 1) Unimpaired and not threatened for all designated uses; Category 2) Unimpaired for some uses and not assessed for others; Category 3) Insufficient information to make assessments for any uses; Category 4) Impaired for one or more uses, but not requiring the calculation of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Category 4A) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: TMDL has been completed. Category 4B) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: Other pollution control requirements are reasonably expected to result in the attainment of designated uses. Category 4C) Impaired for one or more designated uses but does not require the development of a TMDL: Impairment is not caused by a pollutant. Category 5) Impaired for one or more uses and requiring a restorative "action" plan, such as a TMDL or Alternative Restoration Plan (impairment due to pollutant(s) such as nutrients, metals, pesticides, solids, and pathogens).
REP_count: The number of unique action plans (TMDL reports or Alternative Restoration Plans) associated with the AU for the 2018/2020 reporting cycle.
The MassDEP Wetlands dataset comprises two ArcGIS geodatabase feature classes:
The WETLANDSDEP_POLY layer contains polygon features delineating mapped wetland resource areas and attribute codes indicating wetland type.
The WETLANDSDEP_ARC layer was generated from the polygon features and contains arc attribute coding based on the adjacent polygons as well as arcs defined as hydrologic connections.
Together these statewide layers enhance and replace the original MassDEP wetlands layers, formerly known as DEP Wetlands (1:12,000). It should be noted that these layers provide a medium-scale representation of the wetland areas of the state and are for planning purposes only. Wetlands boundary determination for other purposes, such as the Wetlands Protection Act MA Act M.G.L. c. 131 or local bylaws must use the relevant procedures and criteria.
The original MassDEP wetlands mapping project was based on the photo-interpretation of 1:12,000, stereo color-infrared (CIR) photography, captured between 1990 and 2000, and included field verification by the MassDEP Wetlands Conservancy Program (WCP). In 2007 the MassDEP WCP began a statewide effort to assess and where necessary update the original wetlands data. The MassDEP WCP used ESRI ArcGIS Desktop software, assisted by the PurVIEW Stereo Viewing extension, to evaluate and update the original wetlands features based on photo-interpretation of 0.5m, (1:5,000) digital stereo CIR imagery statewide, captured in April 2005. No field verification was conducted on this updated 2005 wetlands data.
The 2005 WETLANDSDEP_POLY layer includes polygon features that distinguish it from its predecessor by overall changes in size and shape. In addition, new polygons have been created and original ones deleted. Many of the polygons, however, remain the same as in the original layer. All changes have been made according to the techniques described below. For the purpose of cartographic continuity, a small number of coastal polygons outside the state boundary where added based on data provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The 2005 WETLANDSDEP_ARC layer was generated to support map display and was designed to cartographically enhance the rendering of wetland features on a base map. Arc features in this layer were generated from the wetland polygons and coding (ARC_CODE) was assigned based on the adjacent polygon types. Hydrologic connection features (ARC_CODE = 7) were then added. Where delineated, these arc features indicate an observed hydrologic connection to or between wetland polygons. Although efforts were made to be comprehensive and thorough in mapping hydrologic connections, due to the limitations of aerial photo-interpretation some areas may have been missed.
The types of updates made to the original wetland features include alteration, movement/realignment and reclassification. In some cases original wetland areas have been deleted and new areas have been added. Updates to original wetland features resulted from the following factors: changes in the natural environment due to human activity or natural causes; advances in the field of remote sensing, allowing for more refined mapping.
Edit changes to the original wetland data include:
Addition of new wetland and hydrologic connection features
Appending (expansion or realignment) of existing (original) wetland and hydrologic connection features
Reclassification of wetlands features, due to change in wetlands environment from the original classification
Movement (or shifting) of original wetland features to better match the source imagery
Deletion of original wetland or hydrologic connection features due to changes in wetlands environment or inconsistency with mapping criteria.
Please note that although efforts were made to be comprehensive and thorough in the evaluation and mapping of statewide wetland resources some areas of the state may have been missed. Many of the wetland and hydrologic connection features remain the same as in the original data. The polygon attribute SOURCE_SCALE may be used to identify areas that have been altered from the original wetlands. The SOURCE_SCALE code 5000 indicates an updated wetland area. The SOURCE_SCALE code 12000 indicates an unaltered, original wetland polygon.