fuels in relation to transportation routes, water sources, and available fire- 
fighting equipment. This particular application suggests that there are a 
nearly infinite number of applications of the land use and land cover maps 
and data which have not been conceived yet. While we may postulate certain 
kinds of expectable applications, it remains for the individual land manager 
or planner to discover new ways of applying the data base. 
Other States which have participated in the program as cooperators have also 
developed, or are in the process of developing, geographic information systems 
which have the USGS land use and land cover information as their focal point. 
Alabama is adding grid cell data on floodplains, soils, terrain, and slope. 
They are also incorporating point and line information such as transportation 
systems. The Alabama Development Office will use this system to monitor and 
direct land use changes and related economic development. 
Other State and local government agencies who have not participated formally 
as financial cooperators are also making use of the USGS land use and land 
cover maps and data and are also inputting the data into geographic informa- 
tion systems. As an example, the California Department of Fish and Game 
recently ordered 500 copies of the land use and land cover map for the Los 
Angeles 1:250,000-scale quadrangle. These copies will be distributed to that 
agency's offices as part of a plan to develop a statewide wildlife management 
planning system using the land use and land cover maps as the central planning 
tool. In adapting this map to their own needs, the California agency ordered 
the map composited with the topographic base map and printed in two colors. 
Other agencies frequently add additional information to the maps by sub- 
dividing the Level I! USGS categories. In another California example, the 
State Air Resources Board is adding specific Level Ill urban categories to 
the USGS land use maps in southern California. The intent of this activity 
is to determine the location, patterns, and types of land from the existing 
network of air quality stations added to micrometeorological data on air 
drainage permits planning and zoning restrictions to be applied to such 
problem land uses. 
The land use data base currently available is also being used in several USGS 
research projects at the State level. For example, in Louisiana, the maps 
and data have been used in a study of the impact that the oil and gas industry 
has had on land use patterns of the chenier and deltaic sections of the coastal 
plain over the past 30 years. The land use patterns and changes have been 
related to the changes in economic structure, as well as population and employ- 
ment patterns. 
4. Applications at the Metropolitan, County, and Local Levels 
As might be expected, applications of the USGS land use and land cover maps 
and data at the metropolitan, county, or local level are not yet as numerous 
as other applications over larger areas. The primary reasons for this seem 
to be the degree of detail included in the maps at 1:250,000 and 1:100,000 
scales, as well as the amount of categorical detail provided at Level ll. 
    
  
  
  
   
  
   
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
  
   
  
   
  
    
   
   
   
   
  
   
  
   
    
  
   
   
    
   
    
  
  
    
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