Protected lands are the federal, territorial, American Indian, state, regional, local, non-governmental, and private conservation lands set aside for the preservation of biological diversity or for recreational purposes. These lands are legally protected, and development within these lands typically triggers additional environmental review or permitting. As such, it is very important to know about the location of protected lands within and in the vicinity of a proposed project, as development within protected lands can drastically affect a project’s timeline, budget, and footprint.
Protected areas and land in the United States are governed under the following laws and authorities:
There are a variety of ways to identify protected areas in the United States including the Protected Area Database website here. .
However, one of the easiest ways to identify wetlands is to use an environmental due diligence software like Transect.
Transect’s environmental due diligence software evaluates your proposed project and clearly identifies protected lands intersected and within the vicinity of your site.
But environmental due diligence goes beyond identifying protected land on your development site. Transect Vision also provides you with a multi-layer map of species of concern, wetlands, regulation locations, and infrastructure to consider
Transect uses the USGS Protected Areas Dataset (PAD) as our baseline dataset for protected lands. PAD is America’s official inventory of terrestrial and marine protected areas. PAD includes lands with federal, state, regional, local, joint, and governmental organizational interests. In Transect, PAD data informs customers of two important things:
There are several different categories of land ownership, and each one has a different type of regulatory requirement:
DID YOU KNOW? Transect Reports will map the protected lands intersected by your project and populate a list of known regulations, required permits, and approximate permit timelines for your site, taking the guesswork out of your project planning.
Looking for more?
Learn about how federal protected lands trigger NEPA here >>
The Protected Areas Dataset is a standard layer in Transect’s environmental mapping software.
It’s never been easier to select a site for your project. Transect is environmental due diligence made easy.
Want to learn more?
Download the Transect Datasheet Here
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