The purpose of this data set is support resource allocation decisions (i.e. where to invest conservation effort) within the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative. It represents a relative ranking of HUC12 watersheds according to the quantity and quality of habitat as described in the GCPO LCC’s draft Integrated Science Agenda (v4). Watersheds (HUC12) were ranked by the presence, quantity and quality of the Open Pine habitat system (includes longleaf, shortleaf and loblolly systems) within the 5 sub-geographies of the GCPO LCC region. Once ranked, watersheds were classified (e.g., “Top 10%”) based on the proportion of the total Open Pine area (current + potential) contained within the watershed.
