README for “National Parks 1995-Present” dataset. U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), National Park Service (NPS); U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor] 2025-05-29 ---------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS TO DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1520804 B. NTAD catalog dataset link (Current Year): https://doi.org/10.21949/1522165 ---------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY OF DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- The National Parks 1995-Present dataset is from the National Park Service (NPS), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’s (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This dataset depicts National Park Service boundary data that was created by the Land Resources Division. NPS Director's Order #25 states: "Land status maps will be prepared to identify the ownership of the lands within the authorized boundaries of the park unit. These maps, showing ownership and acreage, are the 'official record' of the acreage of Federal and non-federal lands within the park boundaries. While these maps are the official record of the lands and acreage within the unit's authorized boundaries, they are not of survey quality and not intended to be used for survey purposes." As such this data is intended for use as a tool for GIS analysis. It is in no way intended for engineering or legal purposes. For the full data description, please go to https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2224545?lnv=True. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. General Information B. Sharing/Access & Policies Information C. Data and Related File Overview D. Methodological Information E. Data-Specific Information for: National Parks 1995-Present [datasets] F. Update Log ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. GENERAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Title of Dataset: National Parks 1995-Present [dataset] 1. Description of Dataset: The National Parks 1995-Present dataset is from the National Park Service (NPS), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This dataset depicts National Park Service boundary data that was created by the Land Resources Division. NPS Director's Order #25 states: "Land status maps will be prepared to identify the ownership of the lands within the authorized boundaries of the park unit. These maps, showing ownership and acreage, are the 'official record' of the acreage of Federal and non-federal lands within the park boundaries. While these maps are the official record of the lands and acreage within the unit's authorized boundaries, they are not of survey quality and not intended to be used for survey purposes." As such this data is intended for use as a tool for GIS analysis. It is in no way intended for engineering or legal purposes. For the full data description, please go to https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2224545?lnv=True. 2. Dataset archive link: Https://doi.org/10.21949/1520804 3. Authorship Information: Principal Data Creator or Data Manager Contact Information Institution: U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), National Park Service (NPS) Address: 1201 Oakridge Dr., Fort Collins, CO 80525 Contact: feedback@ios.doi.gov Data Distributor Contact Information Name: National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) Institution: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of Spatial Analysis and Visualization (OSAV) Address: 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington D.C. 20590 Email: ntad@dot.gov 4. Date of data collection and update interval: This dataset is updated every quarter. 5. Geographic location of data collection: United States of America 6. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) ---------------------------------------------------------------- B. SHARING/ACCESS & POLICIES INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Recommended citation for the data: U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor]. National Parks 1995-Present [datasets]. Https://doi.org/10.21949/1520804 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: These data are in the Public Domain. 2. Was data derived from another source?: No. 3.This document was created to meet the requirements enumerated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's 'Plan to Increase Public Access to the Results of Federally-Funded Scientific Research' Version 1.1 << https://doi.org/10.21949/1520559 >> and guidelines suggested by the DOT Public Access website << https://doi.org/10.21949/1503647 >>, in effect and current as of December 03, 2020. ---------------------------------------------------------------- C. DATA & RELATED FILE OVERVIEW ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. File List for the National Parks 1995-Present dataset A. Filename: National_Parks_NTAD1995_NTADPresent.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for National Parks 1995-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year and data vintage year or date respectively. B. Filename: bts_NTAD_National_Parks_DMP_20250529.pdf Short description: A PDF file containing the Data Management Plan that was created for current and future management of the data and associated files. C. Filename: bts_NTAD_National_Parks_README_20250529.txt Short description: The README.txt file that includes human-readable information about the data, variable definitions, contact information, and other contextual information. The file you are reading now. 2. File List for the National_Parks_NTAD1995_Present.zip collection. A. Filename: NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_National_Parks*.zip or NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_National_Parks_XXXX_XX_XX.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for National Parks 1995-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year and data vintage date respectively. 3a. File List for the NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_National_Parks*.zip collection. A. Filename: Park*.shp, National_Parks.shp Short description: A shapefile containing the geospatial data for National Parks 1995-Present dataset. This includes associated files with extensions .prj, .dbf, .sbn, .sbx, .shx. B. Filename: PARK.MET, or parks.txt, parks.htm, and parks.shp.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, data dictionary, etc. 3b. File List for the NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_National_Parks_XXXX_XX_XX.zip collection A. Filename: NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_National_Parks_XXXX_XX_XX.gdb.zip Short description: A file geodatabase containing the geospatial data for National Parks 1995-Present dataset. Geodatabase (GDB) folders contain all the necessary components to view and otherwise interact with their data. B. Filename: National_Parks.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, etc. C. Filename: Parks.xlsx or nps_boundary.xlsx Short description: Excel spreadsheet containing the dataset's data dictionary. ---------------------------------------------------------------- D. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: This data is National Park Service boundaries that were created by the Land Resources Division. Property ownership data is compiled from deeds, plats, surveys, and other source data. Map features from all sources have been adjusted to achieve a ‘best fit’ registration to the ownership parcels. While great care was taken in this process, maps from different sources rarely agree as to the precise location of geographic features. The relative positioning of map features to one another results from combining different map sources without field ‘ground truthing’. 2. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: The data and documentation files can be opened with Esri ArcMap and any GIS software package. ---------------------------------------------------------------- E. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. National Parks data table This dataset is updated every quarter. Dataset Manager is contacted to verify changes to data resulting in NTAD update. The metadata is updated in the same manner. For the most recent data, please visit the NTAD catalog at https://doi.org/10.21949/1522165 A. Number of variables (columns): The data dictionary found in (PDF documentation) provides definitions for the variables B. Data Dictionary/Variable List: Because of the large number of variables, please refer to the Data Dictionary found within the file National_Parks.txt for names, definitions, and formats of variables. C. Missing data codes: None ---------------------------------------------------------------- F. UPDATE LOG ---------------------------------------------------------------- This bts_National_Parks_20250529_README.txt file was originally created on 2021-03-22 by Dominic Menegus, Geographer, dominic.menegus@dot.gov [Note changes or update to the readme.txt file, e.g.:] 2021-03-22: Original file created 2025-05-29: Revised document, including data descriptions and file organization.