VSP Planning and mapping resources
We partner with other state agencies to provide mapping resources for planning under Washington's Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP). Get resources to help you develop and manage your VSP.
Our resources
We maintain spatial datasets, listed here, to better describe the diverse natural and cultural environment. As a public service, we have made much of our data available.
One of the spatial datasets available is Water Resource Inventory Areas (WRIAs) for Washington state at 1:24,000 scale. WRIAs are being used as the planning unit for the VSP.
Map data
Other state agencies
Washington state geospatial portal
Washington provides a geospatial portal where you can find data, products, and services available in the state. The web site contains a data catalog in which you can find public-facing GIS data layers and related geospatial information produced and maintained by state agencies. The data are also organized by state agency.
Map data
Light Distance and Ranging — Lidar
Light Distance and Ranging (Lidar) is a relatively new technology that employs an airborne scanning laser range finder to produce accurate topographic surveys of great detail.
Lidar can be used, in conjunction with other data, to identify depressional wetlands, frequently flooded areas, and geologically hazardous areas, as well as other features. It can be used for land-use planning, archeology, agriculture and other applications. In 2015, DNR, the Washington Department of Natural Resources initiated a new Lidar program and began collecting and processing existing Lidar data and collecting new data in priority areas.
Additional resource:
- DNR's Lidar webpage
High resolution change detection
High resolution change detection (HRCD) data, generated by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), may be helpful when monitoring the effects of activities on agriculture as well as vegetation in critical areas.
WDFW can detect small-scale changes in vegetation, such as a decrease in the canopy cover of woody vegetation and an increase in semi-pervious or pervious surfaces. These data can be used as monitoring tools for VSP counties for which analyses are completed. In 2013, WDFW completed HRCD maps for 14 Washington watersheds.
Additional resources:
- WDFW High Resolution Change Detection data products at arcgis
- WDFW's final 2011 Report on the High Resolution Change Detection Project
- Questions about HRCD should be directed to: HRCD@dfw.wa.gov
Data limitations
- To detect change, high resolution change detection must be overlaid with a critical area layer from the appropriate year.
- Data in non-Puget Sound watersheds are not as robust as those collected in the Puget Sound area. WDFW may be completing more analysis in these or new watersheds in the future.