The Undeveloped Habitat Components represent the areas within the undeveloped block outer boundaries (companion dataset) of areas in Maine that do not contain roads, buildings, developed landcover, agricultural landcover, active railroad lines, or gravel pits. It represents edge, core areas, and water within the undeveloped blocks outer boundaries. Several types of features are used to define the outer boundaries of the undeveloped blocks and various size buffers of these features are used to define 'edge' and 'core' habitat within the undeveloped blocks.

Component Features/datasets (with year of publication) that define the outer boundaries of the undeveloped blocks include:

1. Developed and Agricultural land cover - source: NLCD 2021 (National Land Cover Dataset (USGS, Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium: 2021)

2. Roads - sources: MaineDOT Public Roads (Maine Office of GIS: 2023), E911 Roads Features (Maine Office of GIS: 2023), NHDOT Roads (New Hampshire Granit 2023)

3. Buildings - source: Microsoft Buildings Footprints: 2018

4. Gravel Pits - source: MaineDEP_Maining dataset (Maine Office of GIS: 2023), and NLCD 2021 (USGS, Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium: 2021)

Edge areas are natural habitats (from the NLCD2021 land cover dataset that are within the following distances of the following features and datasets (datasets and vintages listed above):

1. MDOT Public Roads – Interstate, Other Freeway or Expressway -> 500’

2. LC24 (high intensity development)->500’

3. MDOT Public Roads – Major Collector, Minor Collector Minor Arterial, Other Principal Arterial -> 375’

4. LC 23 (medium intensity development)->375’

5. MDOT Public Roads - Local -> 250’

6. E911 Local, Private or Gated Roads -> 250’

7. LC 21, 22 (developed open space and low intensity development) -> 250’

8. Building Footprints ->250’

9. Railroads (Active only) -> 250’

10. Powerline Corridors themselves

11. Powerline Corridors -> 250’

12. Gravel Pits ->250’

13. NH Roads -> 250’

Core areas are simply the natural habitats (from the NLCD2021) land cover data that are within the undevleoped block polygon that are beyond the distances that define edge areas.

Water is simply open water as take from the NLCD2021 land cover dataset.

Also note that certain features, specifically powerline corridors were mapped as edge-creating but not outer-boundary defining (powerline corridors can exist within outer block boundaries).

Agricultural lands are NOT included in the undeveloped block outer boundaries or components datasets.