Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 5 · 54a Illinois/Indiana Prairies 54b Chicago Lake Plain...
1
80° 82° 82° 84° 84° 86° 86° 88° 88° 90° 90° 92° 92° 94° 94° 96° 96° 48° 48° 46° 46° 44° 44° 42° 42° 40° 40° 38° 38° 36° November 2010 Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 5 53a Rock River Drift Plain 53b Kettle Moraines 53c Southeastern Wisconsin Savannah and Till Plain 53d Lake Michigan Lacustrine Clay Plain 54a Illinois/Indiana Prairies 54b Chicago Lake Plain 54c Kankakee Marsh 54d Sand Area 54e Chiwaukee Prairie Region 54f Valparaiso-Wheaton Morainal Complex 54g Rock River Hills 55a Clayey High Lime Till Plains 55b Loamy High Lime Till Plains 55c Mad River Interlobate Area 55d Pre-Wisconsinan Drift Plains 55e Darby Plains 55f Whitewater Interlobate Area 56a Northern Indiana Lake Country 56b Battle Creek/Elkhart Outwash Plain 56c Middle Tippecanoe Plains 56d Michigan Lake Plain 56f Lake Michigan Moraines 56g Lansing Loamy Plain 56h Interlobate Dead Ice Moraines 57a Maumee Lake Plain 57b Oak Openings 57c Paulding Plains 57d Marblehead Drift/Limestone Plain 57e Saginaw Lake Plain 61b Mosquito Creek/Pymatuning Lowlands 61c Low Lime Drift Plain 61d Erie Gorges 61e Summit Interlobate Area 70a Permian Hills 70b Monongahela Transition Zone 70c Pittsburgh Low Plateau 70d Knobs-Lower Scioto Dissected Plateau 70e Unglaciated Upper Muskingum Basin 70f Ohio/Kentucky Carboniferous Plateau 71a Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands 71b Mitchell Plain 71c Knobs-Norman Upland 71d Outer Bluegrass 71m Northern Shawnee Hills 71n Southern Shawnee Hills 72a Wabash-Ohio Bottomlands 72b Glaciated Wabash Lowlands 72c Green River-Southern Wabash Lowlands 72d Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain 72e Middle Mississippi Alluvial Plain 72f River Hills 72g Southern Ozarkian River Bluffs 72i Western Dissected Illinoian Till Plain 72j Southern Illinoian Till Plain 72k Cretaceous Hills 72l Karstic Northern Ozarkian River Bluffs 72m Wabash River Bluffs and Low Hills 73a Northern Holocene Meander Belts 83a Erie/Ontario Lake Plain 83 Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands 73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain 72 Interior River Valleys and Hills 71 Interior Plateau 70 Western Allegheny Plateau 61 Erie Drift Plain 57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains 56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains 55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains 54 Central Corn Belt Plains 53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains 46e Tewaukon/Big Stone Stagnation Moraine 46k Prairie Coteau 46l Prairie Coteau Escarpment 46m Big Sioux Basin 46o Minnesota River Prairie 46 Northern Glaciated Plains 47a Loess Prairies 47b Des Moines Lobe 47c Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Drift Plains 47g Lower St. Croix and Vermillion Valleys 47 Western Corn Belt Plains 48a Glacial Lake Agassiz Basin 48b Beach Ridges and Sand Deltas 48d Lake Agassiz Plains 48 Lake Agassiz Plain 49a Peatlands 49b Forested Lake Plains 49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands 50aa Menominee-Drummond Lakeshore 50ab Cheboygan Lake Plain 50ac Onaway Moraines 50ad Vanderbilt Moraines 50ae Mio Plateau 50af Cadillac Hummocky Moraines 50ag Newaygo Barrens 50ah Tawas Lake Plain 50a Lake Superior Clay Plain 50b Minnesota/Wisconsin Upland Till Plain 50c St. Croix Pine Barrens 50d Superior Mineral Ranges 50e Chequamegon Moraines and Outwash Plain 50f Blue Hills 50g Chippewa Lobe Rocky Ground Moraines 50h Perkinstown End Moraines 50i Northern Wisconsin Highlands Lakes Country 50j Brule and Paint River Drumlins 50k Wisconsin/Michigan Pine Barrens 50l Menominee Drumlins and Ground Moraine 50m Mesabi Range 50n Boundary Lakes and Hills 50o Glacial Lakes Upham and Aitken 50p Toimi Drumlins 50q Itasca and St. Louis Moraines 50r Chippewa Plains 50s Nashwauk/Marcell Moraines and Uplands 50t North Shore Highlands 50u Keweenaw-Baraga Moraines 50v Winegar Dead Ice Moraine 50w Michigamme Highland 50x Grand Marais Lakeshore 50y Seney-Tahquamenon Sand Plain 50z Rudyard Clay Plain 50 Northern Lakes and Forests 51a St. Croix Stagnation Moraines 51b Central Wisconsin Undulating Till Plain 51c Glacial Lake Wisconsin Sand Plain 51d Central Sand Ridges 51e Upper Wolf River Stagnation Moraine 51f Green Bay Till and Lacustrine Plain 51g Door Peninsula 51h Anoka Sand Plain and Mississippi Valley Outwash 51i Big Woods 51j Alexandria Moraines and Detroit Lakes Outwash Plain 51k McGrath Till Plain and Drumlins 51l Wadena/Todd Drumlins and Osakis Till Plain 51m Manistee-Leelanau Shore 51n Platte River Outwash 51 North Central Hardwood Forests 52a Savanna Section 52b Blufflands and Coulees 52c Rochester/Paleozoic Plateau Upland 52 Driftless Area River Mississippi Ohio River Wolf River Eel River Kentucky Big River River Little Wapsipinicon River River Des Meramec Red River Patoka Chippewa River River Guyandotte River River Cass River Snake River Great Sand Minnesota Little River Blue River Scioto River Illinois Little Muskegon East Kickapoo River Brule River Pensaukee Peshtigo River Thief Indian River Escanaba River Root Black Little River Elk River River River Black Black Cedar River Pine Green River Des Kaskaskia Red River Platte White River Mackinaw River Chippewa Pine Wabash Elk Huron River Grand Grand River Pine River Scioto River River River Kettle River River River River River Little River Wabash River River River Spoon River Rock River usky River River Joseph Saint River Au Sable River R i v e r River River River River River River River Plaines White River Miami Mississippi River Ohio River River Moines River Fork 47f 40a 47b 72f 39d 48a 46k 39e 71g 71d 27f 70b 70a 46n 40e 71k 39h 46i 72c 61c 71a 71e 52b 69a 39i 39f 72h 74b 39g 71f 70c 73c 46m 39j 71c 72f 48b 46e 70d 46o 71b 70b 72d 73a 70h 73g 72a 52c 48b 48c 74a 46c 61b 46k 72f 48b 46l 72d 72a 83a 48b 52c 74a 72d 72d 47f 54a 55b 72j 55a 47b 52b 49a 51b 72i 57a 56g 56b 50b 57e 48a 51j 50n 53c 61c 50q 51i 50r 51l 50ae 50g 50i 53b 50j 70b 70e 72b 53d 51c 47c 50l 56h 48d 51f 50af 55d 50v 50o 49b 71a 54f 56d 72a 70f 51a 52a 50p 50s 50x 72i 48b 50e 46e 72c 50aa 54g 54d 50c 51k 52c 53a 55d 51h 70d 70a 72f 51k 50k 61c 56f 51d 71b 72d 50a 50y 71d 56a 55f 71c 50t 50ag 47g 50d 55e 51m 50ac 56c 51e 47a 50w 50ad 50a 61b 50ab 50u 50ah 57d 48d 50h 72f 46k 71n 54d 50f 83a 55c 54b 72e 50z 57c 61e 54d 51g 71m 50m 70c 72m 56h 56h 51n 54e 46m 57b 46o 50ac 50d 61c 54c 72l 46l 72d 72f 72k 50d 72g 72a 61d 72f 61d 72m 73a 57b 50aa 72m 72a 57b 72f 72m 50z 50ac 57b 71n 54a 61c 50ab 51g 50d 50x 71m 50ac 51m 50a 52b 61c 57b 57d 51g 50aa 50a 56d 71d 51m 72f 55b 57a 54d 54a 72a Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for environmental resource management. This map depicts revisions and subdivisions of ecoregions, compiled originally at a relatively small scale (U.S. EPA 2010, Omernik 1987). Compilation of this map, performed at the larger 1:250,000-scale, is part of several collaborative projects primarily between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. EPA Region V, and state environmental resource agencies (Omernik et al. 2004, Woods et al. 2006, 1998). Collaboration and consultation also occurred with other state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey, in an effort to obtain consensus regarding alignments of ecological regions. The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity. These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. Explanations of the methods used to define the ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995, 2000, 2004). Regional collaborative projects such as these state efforts, where the goal is to reach consensus among resource management agencies, comprise a step toward reaching the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding for developing a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon et al. 2001). A common spatial framework would allow integrated ecosystem-type resource management across agencies having different responsibilities and interests for the same geographic areas. Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies that have been used to develop the most commonly used existing ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the U.S. Forest Service (Cleland et al. 2007), the U.S. EPA (Omernik 1987, 2010), and the NRCS (U.S. Department of Agriculture-NRCS 2006). As each of these frameworks is further developed, the differences between them are decreasing. Collaborative projects at the state and regional level, where some agreement has been reached among multiple resource management agencies, are a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation. Comments or questions should be addressed to James Omernik, USGS, c/o U.S. EPA-NHEERL, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4458, email: [email protected], or to Glenn Griffith, Dynamac Inc., c/o U.S. EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4465, email: [email protected]. Literature Cited: Cleland, D.T., J.A Freeouf, J.E. Keys, Jr., G.J. Nowacki, C. Carpenter, and W.H. McNab. 2007. Ecological subregions: sections and subsections of the conterminous United States, Scale 1:3,500,000. A.M. Sloan, cartographer. General Technical Report WO-76. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, D.C. McMahon, G., S.M. Gregonis, S.W. Waltman, J.M. Omernik, T.D. Thorson, J.A. Freeouf, A.H. Rorick, and J.E. Keys. 2001. Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States. Environmental Management 28(3):293-316. Omernik, J.M. 1987. Ecoregions of the conterminous United States. Map Supplement (scale 1:7,500,000). Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77(1):118-125. Omernik, J.M. 1995. Ecoregions: A spatial framework for environmental management. In: Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Planning and Decision Making. W.S. Davis and T.P. Simon (eds.). Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 49-62. Omernik, J.M. 2004. Perspectives on the nature and definition of ecological regions. Environmental Management 34(Supplement 1):s27-s38. Omernik, J.M., S.S. Chapman, R.A. Lillie, and R.T. Dumke. 2000. Ecoregions of Wisconsin. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 88(2000):77-103. U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2006. Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 296. 669p. and map. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Level III Ecoregions of the Continental United States, Map M-1 (revision of Omernik, 1987). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR. Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.S. Brockman, T.D. Gerber, W.D. Hosteter, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio (2 sided color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Scale 1:1,500,000. Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.L. Pederson, and B.C Moran. 2006. Level III and IV Ecoregions of Illinois. U.S. EPA Report, EPA/600/R-06/104. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Western Ecology Division, Corvallis, Oregon. 45p. 0 100 50 MILES 0 100 200 50 KILOMETERS SCALE 1:2,500,000 Level III ecoregion Level IV ecoregion County boundary State boundary International boundary Albers Equal Area Projection Standard Parallels 29.5° N and 45.5° N Charleston Columbus Frankfort Indianapolis Lansing Madison Saint Paul Springfield Akron Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Detroit Louisville Milwaukee Minneapolis Toledo Saint Louis LAKE SUPERIOR LAKE MICHIGAN LAKE ERIE LAKE HURON LAKE ST. CLAIR LAKE OF THE WOODS UPPER RED LAKE LOWER RED LAKE CANADA Guelph Sarnia Timmins Sudbury Windsor St. Thomas Thunder Bay Sault Ste. Marie
Transcript of Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 5 · 54a Illinois/Indiana Prairies 54b Chicago Lake Plain...
80°
82°
82°
84°
84°
86°
86°
88°
88°
90°
90°
92°
92°
94°
94°
96°
96°
48°
48°
46°
46°
44°
44°
42°
42°
40°
40°
38°
38°
36°
November 2010Level III and IV Ecoregions of EPA Region 5
53a Rock River Drift Plain53b Kettle Moraines53c Southeastern Wisconsin Savannah and Till Plain53d Lake Michigan Lacustrine Clay Plain
54a Illinois/Indiana Prairies54b Chicago Lake Plain54c Kankakee Marsh54d Sand Area54e Chiwaukee Prairie Region54f Valparaiso-Wheaton Morainal Complex54g Rock River Hills
55a Clayey High Lime Till Plains55b Loamy High Lime Till Plains55c Mad River Interlobate Area55d Pre-Wisconsinan Drift Plains55e Darby Plains55f Whitewater Interlobate Area
56a Northern Indiana Lake Country56b Battle Creek/Elkhart Outwash Plain56c Middle Tippecanoe Plains56d Michigan Lake Plain56f Lake Michigan Moraines56g Lansing Loamy Plain56h Interlobate Dead Ice Moraines
57a Maumee Lake Plain57b Oak Openings57c Paulding Plains57d Marblehead Drift/Limestone Plain57e Saginaw Lake Plain
61b Mosquito Creek/Pymatuning Lowlands61c Low Lime Drift Plain61d Erie Gorges61e Summit Interlobate Area
70a Permian Hills70b Monongahela Transition Zone70c Pittsburgh Low Plateau70d Knobs-Lower Scioto Dissected Plateau70e Unglaciated Upper Muskingum Basin70f Ohio/Kentucky Carboniferous Plateau
71a Crawford-Mammoth Cave Uplands71b Mitchell Plain71c Knobs-Norman Upland71d Outer Bluegrass71m Northern Shawnee Hills71n Southern Shawnee Hills
72a Wabash-Ohio Bottomlands72b Glaciated Wabash Lowlands72c Green River-Southern Wabash Lowlands72d Upper Mississippi Alluvial Plain72e Middle Mississippi Alluvial Plain72f River Hills72g Southern Ozarkian River Bluffs72i Western Dissected Illinoian Till Plain72j Southern Illinoian Till Plain72k Cretaceous Hills72l Karstic Northern Ozarkian River Bluffs72m Wabash River Bluffs and Low Hills
73a Northern Holocene Meander Belts
83a Erie/Ontario Lake Plain83 Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands
73 Mississippi Alluvial Plain
72 Interior River Valleys and Hills
71 Interior Plateau
70 Western Allegheny Plateau
61 Erie Drift Plain
57 Huron/Erie Lake Plains
56 Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains
55 Eastern Corn Belt Plains
54 Central Corn Belt Plains
53 Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains46e Tewaukon/Big Stone Stagnation Moraine46k Prairie Coteau46l Prairie Coteau Escarpment46m Big Sioux Basin46o Minnesota River Prairie
46 Northern Glaciated Plains
47a Loess Prairies47b Des Moines Lobe47c Eastern Iowa and Minnesota Drift Plains47g Lower St. Croix and Vermillion Valleys
47 Western Corn Belt Plains
48a Glacial Lake Agassiz Basin48b Beach Ridges and Sand Deltas48d Lake Agassiz Plains
48 Lake Agassiz Plain
49a Peatlands49b Forested Lake Plains
49 Northern Minnesota Wetlands
50aa Menominee-Drummond Lakeshore50ab Cheboygan Lake Plain50ac Onaway Moraines50ad Vanderbilt Moraines50ae Mio Plateau50af Cadillac Hummocky Moraines50ag Newaygo Barrens50ah Tawas Lake Plain
50a Lake Superior Clay Plain50b Minnesota/Wisconsin Upland Till Plain50c St. Croix Pine Barrens50d Superior Mineral Ranges50e Chequamegon Moraines and Outwash Plain50f Blue Hills50g Chippewa Lobe Rocky Ground Moraines50h Perkinstown End Moraines50i Northern Wisconsin Highlands Lakes Country50j Brule and Paint River Drumlins50k Wisconsin/Michigan Pine Barrens50l Menominee Drumlins and Ground Moraine50m Mesabi Range50n Boundary Lakes and Hills50o Glacial Lakes Upham and Aitken50p Toimi Drumlins50q Itasca and St. Louis Moraines50r Chippewa Plains50s Nashwauk/Marcell Moraines and Uplands50t North Shore Highlands50u Keweenaw-Baraga Moraines50v Winegar Dead Ice Moraine50w Michigamme Highland50x Grand Marais Lakeshore50y Seney-Tahquamenon Sand Plain50z Rudyard Clay Plain
50 Northern Lakes and Forests
51a St. Croix Stagnation Moraines51b Central Wisconsin Undulating Till Plain51c Glacial Lake Wisconsin Sand Plain51d Central Sand Ridges51e Upper Wolf River Stagnation Moraine51f Green Bay Till and Lacustrine Plain51g Door Peninsula51h Anoka Sand Plain and Mississippi Valley Outwash51i Big Woods51j Alexandria Moraines and Detroit Lakes Outwash Plain51k McGrath Till Plain and Drumlins51l Wadena/Todd Drumlins and Osakis Till Plain51m Manistee-Leelanau Shore51n Platte River Outwash
51 North Central Hardwood Forests
52a Savanna Section52b Blufflands and Coulees52c Rochester/Paleozoic Plateau Upland
52 Driftless Area
River
Mississ
ippi
Ohi
o Ri
ver
Wolf River
Eel River
Kentucky
Big River
Rive
r
Little
Wapsipinicon River
Rive
r
Des
Meramec
Red River
Patoka
Chippewa River
River
North River
Guyandotte River
River
Cass Rive
r
Snake River
North Fabius River
Great
Sand
Minnesota
Little R
iver
Blue
River
Scioto River
Illinois
Little
Muskegon
East
Kick
apoo
River
Brule
River
Pensaukee
Peshtigo River
Thie
f
Indian
River
Escanaba
River
Root
Black
Skunk River
Littl
e Rive
r
Elk River
River
River
Black
Black
Cedar River
Pine
Green River
Des
Kaskaski
a
Red
River
Plat
te
White River
Mackina
w
River
Chippe
wa
Pine
Wabash
Elk
Huron
Rive
rGrand
Grand River
Pine River
Fox River
Scioto
River
Rive
r
River
Kettle
River
River
River
Rive
r
River
Little
Rive
r
Wabash
River
River
Rive
r
Spoo
n
Rive
r
Rock
Rive
rus
ky
River
River
Joseph
Saint
River
Au Sable
River
River
River
River
Rive
r
River
Rive
r
River
RiverPlaines
Whit
e
Rive
r
Mia
mi
Mississippi
River
Ohio
River
River
Moines
River
Fork
47f
40a
47b
28a40b
47c
47i
72f
39d
47e
40c
47a
48a
47k
46k
39e
39a
71g
71d
27f
70b
70a
46n
40e
40d
47h
71k
39h
47d
46i
72c
61c
71a
71e
52b
69a
39i
39f 72h
74b
39g
71f
70c
47m
47f
73c
46m
39j
71c
29a
72f
48b
46e
70d
39k
46o
71b
70b
72d27g
47j
73a
70h
73g
72a
52c
48b
48c
74a
46c
61b
46k
72f
48b
46l
72d
72a
83a
48b
47f
52c
74a
72d72d
47f
54a
55b
72j
55a
47b
52b
49a
51b
72i
57a
56g
56b
50b
57e
48a
51j
50n
53c
61c
50q
51i
50r
51l
50ae
50g
50i
53b
50j
70b
70e
72b
53d
51c
47c
50l
56h
48d
51f
50af
55d
50v
50o
49b
71a
54f
56d
72a
70f
51a
52a
50p50s
50x
72i
48b
50e
46e
72c
50aa
54g
54d
50c
51k
52c
53a
55d
51h
70d
70a
72f
51k
50k
61c
56f
51d
71b
72d
50a 50y
71d
56a
55f
71c
50t
50ag
47g
50d
55e
51m
50ac
56c
51e
47a
50w
50ad
50a
61b
50ab
50u
50ah
57d
48d
50h
72f
46k
71n
54d
50f
83a
55c
54b
72e
50z
57c 61e
54d
51g
71m
50m
70c
72m
56h
56h
51n
54e
46m
57b
46o
50ac
50d
61c
54c
72l
46l
72d
72f
72k
50d
72g72a
61d
72f
61d
72m
73a
57b
50aa
72m
72a
57b
72f
72m
50z
50ac
57b
71n
54a
61c
50ab
51g
50d
50x
71m
50ac
51m
50a
52b
61c
57b
57d
51g
50aa
50a
56d
71d
51m
72f
55b
57a
54d
54a
72a
Ecoregions denote areas of general similarity in ecosystems and in the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for environmental resource management. This map depicts revisions and subdivisions of ecoregions, compiled originally at a relatively small scale (U.S. EPA 2010, Omernik 1987). Compilation of this map, performed at the larger 1:250,000-scale, is part of several collaborative projects primarily between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (NHEERL), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. EPA Region V, and state environmental resource agencies (Omernik et al. 2004, Woods et al. 2006, 1998). Collaboration and consultation also occurred with other state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey, in an effort to obtain consensus regarding alignments of ecological regions.
The approach used to compile this map is based on the premise that ecological regions can be identified through the analysis of the patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity. These phenomena include geology, physiography, vegetation, climate, soils, land use, wildlife, and hydrology. The relative importance of each characteristic varies from one ecological region to another regardless of the hierarchical level. Explanations of the methods used to define the ecoregions are given in Omernik (1995, 2000, 2004).
Regional collaborative projects such as these state efforts, where the goal is to reach consensus among resource management agencies, comprise a step toward reaching the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding for developing a common framework of ecological regions (McMahon et al. 2001). A common spatial framework would allow integrated ecosystem-type resource management across agencies having different responsibilities and interests for the same geographic areas. Reaching that objective requires recognition of the differences in the conceptual approaches and mapping methodologies that have been used to develop the most commonly used existing ecoregion-type frameworks, including those developed by the U.S. Forest Service (Cleland et al. 2007), the U.S. EPA (Omernik 1987, 2010), and the NRCS (U.S. Department of Agriculture-NRCS 2006). As each of these frameworks is further developed, the differences between them are decreasing. Collaborative projects at the state and regional level, where some agreement has been reached among multiple resource management agencies, are a step toward attaining consensus and consistency in ecoregion frameworks for the entire nation.
Comments or questions should be addressed to James Omernik, USGS, c/o U.S. EPA-NHEERL, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4458, email: [email protected], or to Glenn Griffith, Dynamac Inc., c/o U.S. EPA, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR 97333, (541) 754-4465, email: [email protected].
Literature Cited:
Cleland, D.T., J.A Freeouf, J.E. Keys, Jr., G.J. Nowacki, C. Carpenter, and W.H. McNab. 2007. Ecological subregions: sections and subsections of the conterminous United States, Scale 1:3,500,000. A.M. Sloan, cartographer. General Technical Report WO-76. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, D.C.
McMahon, G., S.M. Gregonis, S.W. Waltman, J.M. Omernik, T.D. Thorson, J.A. Freeouf, A.H. Rorick, and J.E. Keys. 2001. Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States. Environmental Management 28(3):293-316.
Omernik, J.M. 1987. Ecoregions of the conterminous United States. Map Supplement (scale 1:7,500,000). Annals of the Association of American Geographers 77(1):118-125.
Omernik, J.M. 1995. Ecoregions: A spatial framework for environmental management. In: Biological Assessment and Criteria: Tools for Water Resource Planning and Decision Making. W.S. Davis and T.P. Simon (eds.). Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL. pp. 49-62.
Omernik, J.M. 2004. Perspectives on the nature and definition of ecological regions. Environmental Management 34(Supplement 1):s27-s38.
Omernik, J.M., S.S. Chapman, R.A. Lillie, and R.T. Dumke. 2000. Ecoregions of Wisconsin. Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 88(2000):77-103.
U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2006. Land resource regions and major land resource areas of the United States, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Basin. U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook 296. 669p. and map.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2010. Level III Ecoregions of the Continental United States, Map M-1 (revision of Omernik, 1987). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Corvallis, OR.
Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.S. Brockman, T.D. Gerber, W.D. Hosteter, and S.H. Azevedo. 1998. Ecoregions of Indiana and Ohio (2 sided color poster with map, descriptive text, summary tables, and photographs). U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA. Scale 1:1,500,000.
Woods, A.J., J.M. Omernik, C.L. Pederson, and B.C Moran. 2006. Level III and IV Ecoregions of Illinois. U.S. EPA Report, EPA/600/R-06/104. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Western Ecology Division, Corvallis, Oregon. 45p.
0 10050 MILES
0 100 20050 KILOMETERSSCALE 1:2,500,000
Level III ecoregionLevel IV ecoregionCounty boundaryState boundaryInternational boundary
Albers Equal Area ProjectionStandard Parallels 29.5° N and 45.5° N
Charleston
Columbus
Frankfort
Indianapolis
LansingMadison
Saint Paul
Springfield
Akron
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Detroit
Louisville
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Toledo
Saint Louis
L A K E S U P E R I O R
L A K E M I C H I G A N
L A K E E R I E
L A K E H U R O N
LAKEST. CLAIR
L A K EO F T H EW O O D S
UPPERRED LAKE
LOWERRED LAKE
C A N A D A
Guelph
Sarnia
Timmins
Sudbury
Windsor
St. Thomas
ThunderBay
SaultSte. Marie
![API Mpms 11[1].1.3, 1_1995 Table 6c, Table 54c](https://static.fdocuments.in/doc/165x107/55cf9d98550346d033ae50a9/api-mpms-11113-11995-table-6c-table-54c.jpg)
