TM coverage of the Little Pecan Lake Plan. The satellite imagery for a plan can be analyzed with 

 the same techniques used for analyzing the habitat data. The classified satellite coverage is not 

 as detailed as the habitat maps but can provide recent land cover conditions and change statistics 

 for plans. 



The habitat coverage can be compared to the classified TM coverage but problems exist in 

 generating accurate comparisons. The main cause of error is the inability to compare the TM 

 broken marsh class to the 1978 habitat data. Broken marsh is a category representing a distressed 

 marsh characterized by numerous small islands of marsh interlaced with a network of small ponds 

 and channels. Broken marsh is a useful class since it can be used to identify areas of marsh which 

 are in the initial stages of deterioration. This is a mixed land and water class and constitutes a 

 portion of the total land and water areas of a plan. The habitat data has no analog for broken 

 marsh. Habitat data aggregated to land and water classes must be compared to land, water, and 

 broken marsh categories in the classified TM data. CMD has not yet developed an accurate means 

 of assigning the proper percentages of land and water areas within the broken marsh class to the 

 total land and water area occurring at a specific location. This results in an inability to accurately 

 compare the 1984 TM coverage to the 1978 habitat data. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The purpose for designing the wetland management data base is to provide a sound foundation 

 for future management decisions concerning individual plans. CMD's GIS/IPS can provide the 

 following information for each plan: 1956 and 1978 habitat data; 1983 habitat data (if available); 

 1984 Landsat TM data; and 1986 Landsat TM data (if available). In summary: 



1) Information provided by CMD's GIS/IPS is only a tool, and results should be interpreted by 

 professional wetland managers who are familiar with the history of each plan. 



2) The data base can easily be updated to meet the user's needs. 



3) The wetland management contract from Minerals Management Service, for which the 

 Louisiana Geological Survey and DNR are providing data, is a 2-year project. Deliverables 

 from the CMD GIS/IPS will include: 



A. Coastwide habitat maps 



B. Habitat change maps from 1956 to 1978 



C. Habitat maps and habitat change maps for large hydrologic basins within the coastal zone 



D. Site analyses, similar to the Little Pecan Lake analysis, for 24 plans. 



LITERATURE CITED 



Braud, D.H., and H.R. Streiffer. 1987. Landsat Thematic Mapper data analysis for coastal 

 Louisiana. Final Report. Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Management 

 Division, Baton Rouge, LA. 



Cowardin, L.M., V. Carter, F.C. Golet, and E.T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and 

 deep-water habitats of the United States. U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Biol. Serv. Program FWS/OBS- 

 79/31. 131 pp. 



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