HIFLD OPEN PAD-US Protection Mechanism Category (Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.0)

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); Department of Homeland Security

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
metadata.xml application/xml 81.5 KB 11/25/2025 04:46:AM
pad-us-protection-mechanism-category-geojson.zip application/zip 2 GB 11/26/2025 12:51:AM

Project Citation: 

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Department of Homeland Security. HIFLD OPEN PAD-US Protection Mechanism Category (Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.0). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-11-26. https://doi.org/10.3886/E240685V1

Project Description

Project Title:  View help for Project Title HIFLD OPEN PAD-US Protection Mechanism Category (Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.0)
Summary:  View help for Summary The Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) is the official inventory of public parks and other protected open space. PAD-US is published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Gap Analysis Project (GAP). GAP produces data and tools that help meet critical national challenges such as biodiversity conservation, recreation, public health, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure investment. See the GAP webpage for more information about GAP and other GAP data including species and land cover.PAD-US aggregates data for known protected areas whose primary purpose is biodiversity conservation, as well as lands and waters that provide public access to nature. Other PAD-US feature and tile layers are available at PAD-US Web Service.  This content describes the PAD-US dataset which is in the public domain. It is intended for use with the PAD-US Data Explorer. Users are obligated to follow the terms of use of the PAD-US Data Explorer and any accompanying content.Key attribution includes:CategoryOwner TypeOwner NameLocal OwnerManager TypeManager NameLocal ManagerDesignation TypeLocal DesignationUnit NameLocal NameAggregator SourceGIS SourceGIS Source DatePublic AccessGAP Status Code - Status 1, 2, 3 or 4GAP Status DescriptionDate of EstablishmentIUCN Category - International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Description - I: Strict Nature Reserve, II: National Park, III: Natural Monument or Feature, IV: Habitat/Species Management Area, V: Protected Landscape/Seascape, VI: Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources, Other conservation area, Unassigned
Original Distribution URL:  View help for Original Distribution URL https://hifld-geoplatform.hub.arcgis.com/

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms GIS; protected areas; protected lands; protected waters; biodiversity; conservation; HIFLD Open
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2005 – 2024
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) geographic information system (GIS) data
Collection Notes:  View help for Collection Notes Archived from the HIFLD Open GIS data repository, which was deactivated on August 26, 2025. (Downloaded 08/26)


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Published Versions

V1 [2025-11-26]

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DDI 2.5

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