Chesapeake Bay Program 2025 2024 raster digital data https://doi.org/10.5066/P14BEBRC The Chesapeake Bay Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Database facilitates the characterization of the landscape over time for three discrete time periods at 1-meter spatial resolution. The database was developed by Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) in cooperation with the University of Vermont’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of a 6-year Cooperative Agreement between Chesapeake Conservancy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a separate Interagency Agreement between the USGS and EPA to provide geospatial support to the Chesapeake Bay Program Office. The database contains one-meter, 56-class Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) for all counties (205) within or adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay watershed for 2013/14, 2017/18, and 2021/22 depending on availability of National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for each state. The data are built from 11-class Land Cover (LC), which is attributed to the LULC raster data Additionally, 56 LULC classes are generalized into 18 general LULC classes for ease of visualization and communication of LULC trends. LC change between discrete time periods, detected by spectral changes in NAIP imagery and LiDAR, represents changes between the 11 land cover classes. LULC change uses LC change to identify where changes are happening and then LC is translated to LULC to represent transitions between the 56 LULC classes. The LULCC data is represented as a LULC class change transition matrix which provides users acres of change between multiple classes. It is organized by 18x18 and 56x56 LULC classes and 11x11 LC classes. Sheets with Chesapeake Bay Water (CBW) in the name indicates raster tabulations were performed for only areas that fall inside the CBW boundary e.g., if user is interested in CBW portion of a county then they will use LULC Matrix CBW. Conversely, if they are interested in change transitions across the entire county, they will use LULC Matrix. Additionally, tabular summaries of 56 LULC, 18 LULC, and 11 LC representing the acres per class by county, state, and Chesapeake Bay portion of county and states and the net acres of change per class by county, state, and Chesapeake Bay portion of county and states. The database includes the following data: 1. 2013/2014 Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) 2. 2017/2018 Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) 3. 2021/2022 Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) 4. 2013/2014 to 2017/2018 Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) rasters and LULCC matrices 5. 2013/2014 to 2021/2022 Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) rasters and LULCC matrices 6. 2017/2018 to 2021/2022 Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) rasters and LULCC matrices 7. LULC County Summary Tables 8. LULC County Summary Tables (Chesapeake Bay Watershed Portion) 9. LULCC County Summary Tables 10. Land Use/Land Cover Change County Summary Tables (Chesapeake Bay Watershed Portion) The database was produced to inform effects of land use and land cover change on the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed by providing states, counties and local jurisdictions with detailed and consistent land use information to make data-driven and effective management decisions. The products were developed to be broadly used for informing both conservation and restoration efforts decisions such as habitat suitability assessments, riparian buffer implementation, agriculture and forest conservation, and tracking the conversion of forests and farmlands to other uses. 2013 2022 ground condition Complete Irregular -81.1084 -73.2910 44.7208 36.2129 ISO 19115 Topic Category imageryBaseMapsEarthCover USGS Thesaurus land use and land cover land use change maps and atlases land change Common geographic areas Chesapeake Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Pennsylvania New York Virginia West Virginia None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details. The organizations responsible for generating and funding this dataset make no representations of any kind including, but not limited to the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use, nor are any such warranties to be implied with respect to the data. The data is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government, or any of the collaborating organizations shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the data. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, errors may be reflected in data supplied. Possible errors or limitations of the data have been documented but the list is not exhaustive. The user must be aware of data conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors, original map scale, collection methodology, currency of data, and other conditions. Credit should always be given to the data source when this data is transferred, altered, or used for analysis. Sarah McDonald U.S. Geological Survey, SOUTHEAST REGION Geographer physical

US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Annapolis MD 21401 US (800) 968-7229 smcdonald@chesapeakebay.net Funding provided by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Chesapeake Bay Program. Cooperative participants: University of Vermont Spatial Analysis Laboratory, Chesapeake Conservancy and U.S. Geological Survey. Evaluating accuracy of land use and land cover and its change classes is exceptionally challenging considering the spatial and categorical resolution of the data. However, various steps have been taken to ensure accuracy including consideration of the best available ancillary datasets corresponding to specific time intervals to inform mapping classifications and extensive visual inspections of the data by multiple team members to address issues such as large area or systematic misclassifications. Additionally, automated workflows were developed to track and capture certain erroneous classifications in the workflows. There is a separate and on-going effort to perform an accuracy assessment of the mapped land cover and land cover change classes with an estimated delivery in 2025. The original data was processed at a county-scale and then a state mosaic was created for the data release. The values, classes and legends in the state-wide mosaics are consistent with those provided for the data for individual counties. Please refer to the overview and methods document for more details. Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the entire metadata record carefully for additional details. No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted These are brief descriptions of the processing steps (listed in order of operations): (1) land cover (LC) (2) land cover change (LCC) (3) land use/land cover (LULC) 2021/2022 (4) land use/land cover (LULC) Change (5) land use/land cover and change rasters (6) LULC Class Transition Matrices (7) Summary tables 2024 Land Cover: Land-cover change mapping was performed in eCognition, state-of-the-art software for performing object-based image analysis. This expert-system technique segments input datasets into meaningful landscape objects and classifies them according to both their individual characteristics (e.g., vegetation content from spectral imagery, vegetation height from LiDAR) and their relationships to adjacent features. The 2013/2014 and 2017/2018 land cover data from previous releases was updated using best available LiDAR, regional building footprints, local planimetric data representing roads and buildings, and NAIP Imagery. In the final LULC products, the Emergent Wetlands land cover class is treated as Low Vegetation, resulting in 11 land cover classes. 2024 Land cover change (LCC): To represent change across the analysis period, the original 12-class classification scheme was expanded to include all types of change likely to occur in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Change types with a low probability of occurrence or classes that could not be mapped effectively with the available data were excluded. However, change types that might be added during manual review and editing were included in the classification, including conversion of Low Vegetation to Shrublands. These additional classes were not systematically mapped across the entire study area; rather, they were incorporated when observed to ensure logical consistency with adjacent types of change or manual edits. In the final LULC products, the Emergent Wetlands land cover class is treated as Low Vegetation, resulting in 11 land cover classes. 2024 Land Use/Land Cover 2021/2022: This 56-class land use/land cover data was created by translating land cover to land use using a suite of geospatial models. The models were written in Python using open-source tools and technologies such as rasterio, geopandas, pandas, and gdal. (1) Union tax parcel data with vector image segments, derived from National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery using eCognition software, to create the modeling segmentation called "psegs". Each psegs polygon represents a single land cover class. (2) Various raster ancillary datasets are summarized by psegs such as county land use, NASS Cropland Data Layer and USGS National Land Cover Database. (3) psegs are processed through a series of rule-based geospatial models that use tabulated raster (attribute) and ancillary vector data to classify land use. Examples of vector data includes extractive, landfill, solar fields, and transmission lines. (4) Three separate models produce overlays that are used to classify certain land cover classes such as emergent wetlands, tree canopy and water. These layers are treated separately because their segmentation differs from the psegs. The overlays provide spatial context to create land use classes such as tree canopy: forest, tree canopy over turf grass; wetlands: riverine and terrene wetlands; water: estuarine, lakes and reservoirs. (5) Review and update the time series of LULC to ensure illogical transitions are not present. This includes updates to the 2021/22 land use. (6) Finally, the psegs and overlays are rasterized and reconciled using a rule-based approach to final land use/land cover data. 2024 Land Use/Land Cover Change (1) LULC change is produced by back-casting 2021/2022 land use where LULC change occurred. The driver of LULC change is the LC Change. LULC change is not limited to LC change but can be located using land cover change and tax parcels. (2) Build a vector database of LC change and other raster (e.g. CDL and NLCD) information used to classify the previous land use. (3) To classify areas of previous LULC where LC change occurred, a geospatial workflow is applied using 2021/2022 LULC for context, along with other ancillary information such as the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and Cropland Data Layer (CDL). Tax parcels and LC change are used to identify areas of LULC change that are not a change in land cover e.g. Cropland Herbaceous to Turf Grass in a newly developed parcel. (4) Three separate models produce overlays that are used to classify certain land cover classes such as emergent wetlands, tree canopy and water. These layers are treated separately because their segmentation differs from the psegs. The overlays provide spatial context to create land use classes such as tree canopy: forest, tree canopy over turf grass; wetlands: riverine and terrene wetlands; water: estuarine, lakes and reservoirs. (5) Review and update the time series of LULC to ensure illogical transitions are not present. This includes updates to the 2021/22 land use. (6) Finally, the change vectors and overlays are rasterized and reconciled using a rule-based approach to final land use/land cover change data. 2024 Land Use/Land Cover 2013/2014 and 2017/2018 LULC for these earlier time periods is derived from LULC change and 2021/2022 LULC by 'burning' LULC change values on to the static 2021/2022 LULC. 2024 LULC Class Transition Matrices: Data on LULC change represent transitions of LULC between two time periods: an early date (e.g., Time 1, 2013 or 2014) and a late date (e.g., Time 2, 2017 or 2018). A concise way of illustrating such changes is to construct a cross-tabulation, aka “pivot table”, between the two datasets. The result is a tabular LULC change matrix that shows all observed changes in the LULC change raster. The early date values (acres of land use X) are represented in rows and the late date values represented in columns. The values along the diagonal are absent because they would represent no change and are not included in the LULC change raster data. 2024 Summary Tables: To allow for easy comparison of Land Use/Land Cover and Land Use/Land Cover trends at the county, state, and Chesapeake Bay portion of county and states, summary tables in the form of Excel Workbooks are provided. These data are produced by aggregating the information stored in the Raster Attribute Tables of the static LULC and LULC Change rasters. The Chesapeake Bay portion of the static LULC was produced by executing ArcGIS Pro’s Tabulate Area tool. 2024 State/jurisdiction mosaics were created for each product for ease of use. 2024 Raster Pixel 495725 872451 Albers Conical Equal Area 29.5 45.5 -96.0 23.0 0.0 0.0 row and column 1.0 1.0 meters North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) Geodetic Reference System 1980 6378137.000000 298.257222 Raster Attribute Table for LULC Change rasters Raster Producer Defined Value Raster Value Producer Defined 10 86 Label Legend and Symbology Label Producer Defined Water All areas of open water. This includes ponds, rivers, lakes and boats not attached to docks. It also includes small, anthropogenic features such as farm ponds and storm-water retention structures. Producer defined Natural Succession Low vegetation, shrubland, and barren land that is presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Impervious Roads Impervious surfaces that are used and maintained for transportation. Producer defined Impervious Structures Buildings (e.g. houses, malls, sheds, and warehouses) made of impervious materials that are greater than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Impervious, Other Human-constructed surfaces (e.g. sidewalks, parking lots, field-mounted solar panels, and rail lines) through which water cannot penetrate, and that are less than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Tree Canopy over Impervious Tree canopy overhanging roads, structures, or other impervious surfaces rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy over Turf Grass Tree canopy overhanging low vegetation in developed areas assumed to be turf grass or otherwise altered through compaction, removal of surface organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Turf Grass Low vegetation associated with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas (e.g. residential lawns, sports fields, cemeteries, golf courses, and airports) that is assumed to be altered through compaction, removal of organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Pervious Developed, Other Low vegetation, shrubland, and barren land that is assumed to be unfertilized and where the regrowth of trees is suppressed. This includes utility transmission lines, pipelines, road rights-of-way, landfills, and pervious portions of solar fields, barren construction zones, and baseball diamonds. Producer defined Forest Tree canopy with an unmanaged understory that is part of a large patch. Large patches are at least 1-acre in size with a minimum patch diameter of 36-meters (~120 feet) and may include areas of early successional forest (natural succession and harvested forest). Smaller patches of tree canopy are classed as forest if they are part of a large early-successional forest patch and comprise at least 10% of the patch area. Forests that are also wetlands are included in this class. Producer defined Forested, Other Small patches of contiguous tree canopy that do not meet forest area and/or width requirements such as agricultural windbreaks and small woodlots whose understory is assumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession. Trees within wetlands are included in this class. Producer defined Harvested Forest Recently cleared tree canopy patches via clear cut, that are low vegetation or barren. These areas mostly represent rotational timber harvests, but the clearings' ultimate purpose is unknown (e.g., forest conversion to agriculture, development, etc.). Producer defined Wetlands, Riverine Non-forested Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters), not including tree canopy. Producer defined Wetlands, Terrene Non-forested Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters, not including tree canopy. Producer defined Wetlands, Tidal Non-forested Wetlands near or adjacent to tidal waters including the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries, not including tree canopy. Producer defined Cropland Low vegetation, shrubland and barren lands used for the production of grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and nuts, grapevines, or other agricultural crops. Producer defined Pasture and Hay Low vegetation and barren lands used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep) or producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Extractive Barren lands and impervious surfaces associated with surface mining operations, such as quarries. Producer defined Count Number of raster cells Producer Defined 7596.0 144493530146.0 Acres Total area in acres Producer Defined 1.877 35705097.3217 LULC Land Use/Land Cover (56-Class) Classification Producer Defined Tidal Waters Any tidal or brackish water bodies near or adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, including all major tributaries on the eastern shore and on the western shore, east of I-95 (the fall line separating the Piedmont from Coastal Plain). Producer defined Lakes and Reservoirs Water bodies that represent large, naturally occurring lakes and artificial lakes (i.e. reservoirs). Producer defined Riverine Ponds Water bodies smaller than lakes that are in the floodplain or headwaters of streams. Producer defined Terrene Ponds Water bodies smaller than lakes that are not in the floodplain or headwaters of streams. These may include construction ponds, stormwater ponds, and farm ponds. Producer defined Streams and Rivers Non-tidal streams, rivers, and other water-filled channels. Producer defined Bare Shore Sandy or muddy shorelines adjacent to water bodies. Producer defined Roads Paved roads and bridges. Dirt and gravel roads may be mapped as impervious depending on the spectral characteristics of the substrate. Producer defined Structures Buildings (e.g. houses, malls, sheds, and warehouses) made of impervious materials that are greater than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Other Impervious Human-constructed surfaces (e.g. sidewalks, parking lots, field-mounted solar panels, and rail lines) through which water cannot penetrate, and that are less than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Roads Tree canopy overhanging roads, rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Structures Tree canopy overhanging structures, rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Other Impervious Tree canopy overhanging other impervious surfaces rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Turf Grass Tree canopy overhanging low vegetation in developed areas assumed to be turf grass or otherwise altered through compaction, removal of surface organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Turf Grass Low vegetation associated with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas that is assumed to be altered through compaction, removal of organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Bare Developed Barren lands in developed areas, including new construction and baseball diamonds. Producer defined Solar Field Panel Arrays Field-mounted solar panel arrays (other impervious). Producer defined Solar Field Herbaceous Low vegetation surrounding solar panel arrays that is assumed to be managed to prevent tree growth (i.e., suspended succession). Producer defined Solar Field Shrubland Shrubland surrounding solar panel arrays that is assumed to be managed to prevent tree growth (i.e., suspended succession). Producer defined Suspended Succession Barren Barren land assumed to be unfertilized and where the regrowth of trees is suppressed. This includes utility transmission lines, pipelines, and road rights-of-way. Producer defined Suspended Succession Herbaceous Low vegetation assumed to be unfertilized and where the regrowth of trees is suppressed. This includes utility transmission lines, pipelines, and road rights-of-way. Producer defined Suspended Succession Shrubland Shrubland assumed to be unfertilized and where the regrowth of trees is suppressed. This includes utility transmission lines, pipelines, and road rights-of-way. Producer defined Forest Tree canopy with an unmanaged understory that is part of a large patch. Large patches are at least 1-acre in size with a minimum patch diameter of 36-meters (~120 feet) and may include areas of early successional forest (natural succession and harvested forest). Smaller patches of tree canopy are classed as forest if they are part of a large early-successional forest patch and comprise at least 10% of the patch area. Producer defined Forested Other Small patches of contiguous tree canopy that do not meet forest area and/or width requirements such as agricultural windbreaks and small woodlots whose understory is assumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession. Producer defined Natural Succession Barren Barren land presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Natural Succession Herbaceous Low vegetation presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Natural Succession Shrubland Shrubland presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Harvested Forest Barren Barren lands of recently cleared forests and forested other. These areas mostly represent rotational timber harvests, but the clearings' ultimate purpose is unknown (e.g., forest conversion to agriculture, development, etc.). Producer defined Harvested Forest Herbaceous Low vegetation of recently cleared forests and forested other. These areas mostly represent rotational timber harvests, but the clearings' ultimate purpose is unknown (e.g., forest conversion to agriculture, development, etc.). Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Barren Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are barren.Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are barren. Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Herbaceous Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are vegetated. Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Shrubland Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are shrubland. Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Harvested Forest Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are barren or vegetated due to a recent forest clearing (see classes 45 Harvested Forest Barren and 46 Harvested Forest Herbaceous). Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Barren Barren wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters. Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Herbaceous Herbaceous wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters. Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Shrubland Shrubland wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters. Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Harvested Forest Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters and are barren or vegetated due to a recent forest clearing (see classes 45 Harvested Forest Barren and 46 Harvested Forest Herbaceous). Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Barren Barren wetlands near or adjacent to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries. Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Herbaceous Herbaceous wetlands near or adjacent to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries. Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Shrubland Shrubland wetlands near or adjacent to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries. Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Harvested Forest Wetlands near or adjacent to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries that are barren or vegetated due to a recent forest clearing (see classes 45 Harvested Forest Barren and 46 Harvested Forest Herbaceous). Producer defined Cropland Barren Barren lands associated with the production of grains, legumes, vegetables, or other agricultural crops. Producer defined Cropland Herbaceous Vegetation associated with the production of grains, legumes, vegetables, or other agricultural crops. Producer defined Orchards and Vineyards Shrubland Shrubland associated with the production of fruit and nut trees or grape vines. Producer defined Pasture and Hay Barren Barren lands used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep) or producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Pasture and Hay Herbaceous Vegetated lands used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep) or producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Extractive Barren Barren lands associated with surface mining operations. Producer defined Extractive Impervious Impervious lands associated with surface mining operations. Producer defined Orchards and Vineyards Barren Barren lands associated with the production of fruit and nut trees or grape vines. Producer defined Orchards and Vineyards Herbaceous Vegetated lands associated with the production of fruit and nut trees or grape vines. Producer defined Solar Field Barren Barren land surrounding solar panel arrays that is assumed to be managed to prevent tree growth (i.e., suspended succession). Producer defined Solar Field Barren Barren land surrounding solar panel arrays that is assumed to be managed to prevent tree growth (i.e., suspended succession). Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Forested Other Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are tree canopy associated with small forest patches (see class 41 Forested Other). Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Forest Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters) that are tree canopy associated with large forest patches (see class 40 Forest). Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Forested Other Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters and are tree canopy associated with small forest patches (see class 41 Forested Other). Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Forest Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters and are tree canopy associated with large forest patches (see class 40 Forest). Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Forested Other Wetlands near or adjacent to tidal waters including the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries that are tree canopy associated with small forest patches (see class 41 Forested Other). Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Forest Wetlands near or adjacent to tidal waters including the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries that are tree canopy associated with large forest patches (see class 40 Forest). Producer defined LU Land Use (28-Class) Classification Producer Defined Tidal Waters Any tidal or brackish water bodies near or adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean, including all major tributaries on the eastern shore and on the western shore, east of I-95 (the fall line separating the Piedmont from Coastal Plain). Producer defined Lakes and Reservoirs Water bodies that represent large, naturally occurring lakes and artificial lakes (i.e. reservoirs). Producer defined Riverine Ponds Water bodies smaller than lakes that are in the floodplain or headwaters of streams. Producer defined Terrene Ponds Water bodies smaller than lakes that are not in the floodplain or headwaters of streams. These may include construction ponds, stormwater ponds, and farm ponds. Producer defined Streams and Rivers Non-tidal streams, rivers, and other water-filled channels. Producer defined Bare Shore Sandy or muddy shorelines adjacent to water bodies. Producer defined Roads Paved roads and bridges. Dirt and gravel roads may be mapped as impervious depending on the spectral characteristics of the substrate. Producer defined Structures Buildings (e.g. houses, malls, sheds, and warehouses) made of impervious materials that are greater than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Other Impervious Human-constructed surfaces (e.g. sidewalks, parking lots, field-mounted solar panels, and rail lines) through which water cannot penetrate, and that are less than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Roads Tree canopy overhanging roads, rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Structures Tree canopy overhanging structures, rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Other Impervious Tree canopy overhanging other impervious surfaces rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Turf Tree canopy overhanging low vegetation in developed areas assumed to be turf grass or otherwise altered through compaction, removal of surface organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Turf Low vegetation associated with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas that is assumed to be altered through compaction, removal of organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Developed Barren lands in developed areas, including new construction and baseball diamonds. Producer defined Solar Field Field-mounted solar panel arrays (other impervious) and barren, herbaceous, and shrubland surrounding solar panel arrays that are assumed to be managed to prevent tree growth (i.e. suspended succession). Producer defined Suspended Succession Barren, herbaceous, and shrubland lands assumed to be unfertilized and where the regrowth of trees is suppressed. This includes utility transmission lines, pipelines, and road rights-of-way. Producer defined Forest Tree canopy with an unmanaged understory that is part of a large patch. Large patches are at least 1-acre in size with a minimum patch diameter of 36-meters (~120 feet) and may include areas of early successional forest (natural succession and harvested forest). Smaller patches of tree canopy are classed as forest if they are part of a large early-successional forest patch and comprise at least 10% of the patch area. Producer defined Forested Other Small patches of contiguous tree canopy that do not meet forest area and/or width requirements such as agricultural windbreaks and small woodlots whose understory is assumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession. Producer defined Natural Succession Barren, herbaceous, and shrubland lands presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Harvested Forest Barren and herbaceous lands of recently cleared forests and forested other. These areas mostly represent rotational timber harvests, but the clearings' ultimate purpose is unknown (e.g., forest conversion to agriculture, development, etc.). Producer defined Riverine Wetlands Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters). Producer defined Terrene Wetlands Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters. Producer defined Tidal Wetlands Wetlands near or adjacent to Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries. Producer defined Cropland Barren and herbaceous lands associated with the production of grains, legumes, vegetables, or other agricultural crops. Producer defined Orchards and Vineyards Barren, herbaceous, and shrubland lands associated with the production of fruit and nut trees or grape vines. Producer defined Pasture and Hay Barren and herbaceous lands used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep) or producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Extractive Barren and impervious lands associated with surface mining operations. Producer defined LC Land Cover Classification Producer Defined Water All areas of open water. This includes ponds, rivers, lakes and boats not attached to docks. It also includes small, anthropogenic features such as farm ponds and storm-water retention structures. MMU = 25 square meters. Producer defined Barren Areas void of vegetation consisting of natural earthen material regardless of how it has been cleared. This includes beaches, mud flats, bare ground in construction sites, and intensive agricultural operations. MMU = 25 square meters. Producer defined Impervious Roads Impervious surfaces that are used and maintained for transportation. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Impervious Structures Human-constructed objects made of impervious materials that are greater than approximately 2 meters in height. Houses, malls, and electrical towers are examples of structures. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Other Impervious Human-constructed surfaces through which water cannot penetrate, and that are below approximately 2 meters in height. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Impervious Roads Forest or Tree Cover that overlaps with impervious surfaces rendering the roads partially or completely not visible to plain sight. Note: impervious surfaces and tree canopy were mapped independently, overhanging tree canopy was identified by superimposing these classes to isolate areas of overlap. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Impervious Structures Forest or Tree Cover that overlaps with impervious surfaces rendering the structures partially or completely not visible to plain sight. Note: impervious surfaces and tree canopy were mapped independently, overhanging tree canopy was identified by superimposing these classes to isolate areas of overlap. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Tree Canopy Over Other Impervious Forest or Tree Cover that overlaps with impervious surfaces rendering the impervious surface partially or completely not visible to plain sight. Note: impervious surfaces and tree canopy were mapped independently, overhanging tree canopy was identified by superimposing these classes to isolate areas of overlap. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Tree Canopy Deciduous and evergreen woody vegetation of either natural succession or human planting that is over approximately >3 meters in height. Stand-alone individuals, discrete clumps, and interlocking individuals are included. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Low Vegetation Plant material less than approximately 3 meters in height. Includes lawns, tilled fields, nursery plantings with or without tarp cover, recently cut forest management areas, and natural ground cover. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined Shrubland Heterogeneous area of both/either deciduous and/or evergreen woody vegetation. Characterized by variation in height of vegetation through patchy coverage of shrubs and young trees interspersed with grasses and other lower vegetation. Discrete clumps and small patches of interlocking individuals are included, as are true shrubs, young trees, and trees or shrubs that are small or stunted because of environmental conditions, when intermingled in a heterogeneous landscape with low vegetation. MMU = 225 square meters. Producer defined Low Vegetation; Barren Plant material less than approximately 3 meters in height. Includes lawns, tilled fields, nursery plantings with or without tarp cover, recently cut forest management areas, and natural ground cover. MMU = 9 square meters. Producer defined LU_Gen Land Use/Land Cover General (18-Class) Classification Producer Defined Water Tidal waters (e.g. Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean), lakes and reservoirs, riverine and terrene ponds, large rivers, and water within smaller channels visible through the tree canopy. Producer defined Natural Succession Low vegetation, shrubland, and barren land that is presumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession and may eventually transition to tree canopy. This includes recovery of previously harvested areas and other forest disturbances. Producer defined Impervious Roads Paved roads and bridges. Dirt and gravel roads may be mapped as impervious depending on the spectral characteristics of the substrate. Producer defined Impervious Structures Buildings (e.g. houses, malls, sheds, and warehouses) made of impervious materials that are greater than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Impervious, Other Human-constructed surfaces (e.g. sidewalks, parking lots, field-mounted solar panels, and rail lines) through which water cannot penetrate, and that are less than ~2 meters in height. Producer defined Tree Canopy over Impervious Tree canopy overhanging roads, structures, or other impervious surfaces rendering them partially or completely invisible from above. Producer defined Tree Canopy over Turf Grass Tree canopy overhanging low vegetation in developed areas assumed to be turf grass or otherwise altered through compaction, removal of surface organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Turf Grass Low vegetation associated with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas (e.g. residential lawns, sports fields, cemeteries, golf courses, and airports) that is assumed to be altered through compaction, removal of organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Pervious Developed, Other Low vegetation associated with residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational areas (e.g. residential lawns, sports fields, cemeteries, golf courses, and airports) that is assumed to be altered through compaction, removal of organic material, and/or fertilization. Producer defined Forest Tree canopy with an unmanaged understory that is part of a large patch. Large patches are at least 1-acre in size with a minimum patch diameter of 36-meters (~120 feet) and may include areas of early successional forest (natural succession and harvested forest). Smaller patches of tree canopy are classed as forest if they are part of a large early-successional forest patch and comprise at least 10% of the patch area. Forests that are also wetlands are included in this class. Producer defined Forested, Other Small patches of contiguous tree canopy that do not meet forest area and/or width requirements such as agricultural windbreaks and small woodlots whose understory is assumed to be undergoing natural or managed succession. Trees within wetlands are included in this class. Producer defined Harvested Forest Recently cleared tree canopy patches via clear cut, that are low vegetation or barren. These areas mostly represent rotational timber harvests, but the clearings' ultimate purpose is unknown (e.g., forest conversion to agriculture, development, etc.). Producer defined Wetlands, Riverine Non-forested Wetlands adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers (within the floodplain or at the headwaters), not including tree canopy. Producer defined Wetlands, Terrene Non-forested Wetlands that are not adjacent to non-tidal streams and rivers or tidal waters, not including tree canopy. Producer defined Wetlands, Tidal Non-forested Wetlands near or adjacent to tidal waters including the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean, or their tidal tributaries, not including tree canopy. Producer defined Cropland Low vegetation, shrubland and barren lands used for the production of grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and nuts, grapevines, or other agricultural crops. Producer defined Pasture and Hay Low vegetation and barren lands used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep) or producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Extractive Barren lands and impervious surfaces associated with surface mining operations, such as quarries. Producer defined Macro Macro Land Use (4-Class) Classification Producer Defined Water All surface waters including tidal (e.g. Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Atlantic Ocean) and fresh (e.g., lakes and reservoirs, riverine and terrene ponds, large rivers, and water within smaller channels visible through the tree canopy). Producer defined Natural Tree canopy with an unmanaged understory (i.e. forest), early successional forests, forest clear cuts, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, beaches, and exposed lake and reservoir water margins. Producer defined Developed Impervious and pervious development, including paved roads and bridges, buildings, sidewalks, parking lots, tree canopy overhanging roads, structures, or other impervious surfaces, residential lawns, recreational fields, cemeteries, golf courses, airports, tree canopy overhanging turf grass, utility transmission lines, pipelines, road rights-of-way, landfills, solar fields, barren construction zones, and surface mining operations. Producer defined Agricultural Lands associated with the production of crops (e.g., grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts), used for grazing livestock (e.g., cattle, goats, sheep), or for producing fodder (e.g., hay and alfalfa). Producer defined Red Red value for symbology renderer Producer Defined 0 255 Green Green value for symbology renderer Producer Defined 0 255 Blue Blue value for symbology renderer Producer Defined 0 230 Raster Attribute Table for LULC rasters Chesapeake Bay Program, 2025, Chesapeake Bay Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) Database 2024 Edition: U.S. Geological Survey data release https://doi.org/10.5066/P14BEBRC Sarah McDonald U.S. Geological Survey, Lower-Mississippi Gulf Water Science Center Geographer physical

US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Annapolis MD 21401 US (800) 968-7229 smcdonald@chesapeakebay.net Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Digital Data https://doi.org/10.5066/P14BEBRC None 2025 Sarah McDonald U.S. Geological Survey, Lower-Mississippi Gulf Water Science Center Geographer physical

US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Annapolis MD 21403 US (800) 968-7229 smcdonald@chesapeakebay.net FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998