This polygon shapefile depicts pond areas data compiled from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) and the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). The type field used for NWI is "freshwater ponds" and NHD is "lake or pond." Ponds are key habitats for several target species (California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, and Western/Northwestern pond turtle), so it is important to include a large number of ponds in the Conservation Lands Network. The absolute number of ponds for each landscape unit is assumed to be a first-order determinant of potential metapopulation persistence. To evaluate whether the Coarse Filter Conservation Lands Network included a sufficient number of ponds as well as networks of ponds in each landscape unit, a gap analysis of the nine county San Francisco Bay Area Region, California freshwater ponds was conducted. The gap analysis also allowed for the assessment of local needs for supporting viable metapopulations (spatially separated subpopulations) of pond-dependent conservation targets. The gap analysis identified ponds that fall within currently protected lands (BPAD 2010) and the Coarse Filter Conservation Lands Network and was used during the Amphibian, Reptile, and Invertebrate Project Team. This dataset was developed/compiled for use in the San Francisco Bay Area Upland Habitat Goals Project, a Project used to identify a Conservation Lands Network (CLN) for biodiversity preservation to inform conservation investments and lasting cooperative conservation partnerships. The Conservation Lands Network GIS Database is the primary output of the Project. The data depicts the spatially explicit CLN that is recommended for the nine county San Francisco Bay Area Region, California. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.
