Historic and forecasted population and land-cover change in eastern North Carolina, 1992-2030

Peter R. Claggett; Hearn; David I. Donato

doi:10.3133/ofr20141125

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Historic and forecasted population and land-cover change in eastern North Carolina, 1992-2030

Peter R. Claggett·Hearn·David I. Donato

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Abstract

The Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) was formed in 2005 as a partnership between the Department of Defense (DOD) and State and Federal agencies to promote better collaboration in making resource-use decisions. In support of this goal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study to evaluate historic population growth and land-cover change, and to model future change, for the 13-county SERPPAS study area in southeastern North Carolina (fig. 1). Improved understanding of trends in land-cover change and the ability to forecast land-cover change that is consistent with these trends will be a key component of efforts to accommodate local military-mission imperatives while also promoting sustainable economic growth throughout the 13-county study area. The study had three principal objectives: 1. Evaluate historic changes in population and land cover for the period 1992–2006 using both previously existing as well as newly generated land-cover data. 2. Develop models to forecast future change in land cover using the data gathered in objective 1 in conjunction with ancillary data on the suitability of the various sub-areas within the study area for low- and high-intensity urban development. 3. Deliver these results—including an executive-level briefing and a USGS technical report—to DOD, other project cooperators, and local counties in hard-copy and digital formats and via the Web through a map-based data viewer. This report provides a general overview of the study and is intended for general distribution to non-technical audiences.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 33.74660950260304° to 35.73870984488909° latitude; -79.06036376953125° to -76.06658935546875° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Peter R. Claggett, Hearn, David I. Donato. 2015. Historic and forecasted population and land-cover change in eastern North Carolina, 1992-2030. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141125

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