Description: This feature class contains information on brook trout occupancy for National Hydrography Datasets Plus Version 1 (NHDPlusV1) catchments in the southern portion of the brook trout range (PA and south). Fish sample data from a number of state and federal agencies/organizations were used to define patches for brook trout as groups of occupied contiguous catchment polygons from the NHDPlusV1 catchment GIS layer. After defining patches, NHDPlusV1 catchments were assigned occupancy codes. Then state and federal agencies reviewed patches and codes to verify data accuracy. A similar effort is currently being conducted by the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture to develop occupancy data for the remainder of the brook trout range including states of New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Ohio.
Definition Expression: N/A
Copyright Text: The following agencies and organizations provided fish data and/or reviewed occupancy results: Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service (Eastern Region), and USDA Forest Service (Southern Region).