Earth Science Studies in Support of Public Policy Development and Land Stewardship: Headwaters Province, Idaho and Montana

摘要

The development and institution of sound Public Land policy and stewardship practices for a region require the accumulation and integration of earth science and biologic data. The U.S. Geological Survey Headwaters Province project covering western Montana and northern and central Idaho was designed to provide geoscience data and interpretations to Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMA). Managers in USDA Forest Service Regions 1 and 4 made national priority requests for the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program (1) to provide interim products that help them meet their planning cycles and (2) to provide topical studies to meet longer range goals of integrating geoscience data into decision making. Toward this end, the Headwaters Province project team have emphasized development of digital geoscience data, GIS analyses, topical studies, and critical new geologic interpretation to ensure that geoscience data are available for GIS-based science integration and land-use planning. The interrelated products of the project are at complementary scales.