Identification_Information:
  Citation:
    Citation_Information:
      Originator: USDA/NRCS - National Geospatial Center of Excellence
      Title: USDA-NRCS Easement Areas
  Description:
    Purpose: Vector dataset provides an aggregate layer of conservation easements received from each state  used to identify, monitor, and enhance the spatial accuracy of restoration program polygons.  Includes all US states, territories and possessions.
  Time_Period_of_Content:
    Time_Period_Information:
      Single_Date/Time:
        Calendar_Date: 2000 - Present
  Status:
    Progress: In Work
  Spatial_Domain:
    Bounding_Coordinates:
      West_Bounding_Coordinate: -92.88943
      East_Bounding_Coordinate: -86.76412
      North_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.08088
      South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.49182
  Keywords:
    Theme:
      Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Standard for Geospatial Dataset File Naming
      Theme_Keyword: easement
    Place:
      Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GNIS
      Place_Keyword: Wisconsin
      Place_Keyword: *
  Use_Constraints:

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Service Center Agencies should be acknowledged as the data source in products derived from these data.

    This data set is not designed for use as a primary regulatory tool in permitting or citing decisions, but may be used as a reference source.  This information may be interpreted by organizations, agencies, units of government, or others based on needs; however, they are responsible for the appropriate application.  Federal, State, or local regulatory bodies are not to reassign to the Service Center Agencies any authority for the decisions that they make.  The Service Center Agencies will not perform any evaluations of these data for purposes related solely to State or local regulatory programs.

    Photographic or digital enlargement of these data to scales greater than at which they were originally mapped can cause misinterpretation of the data.  Digital data files are periodically updated, and users are responsible for obtaining the latest version of the data.
  Point_of_Contact:
    Contact_Information:
      Contact_Organization_Primary:
        Contact_Organization: Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC BC) Geospatial Enterprise Operations (GEO) Branch
      Contact_Address:
        Address: 501 W. Felix St, Bldg 23
        City: Fort Worth
        State_or_Province: Texas
        Postal_Code: 76115
Data_Quality_Information:
  Lineage:
    Source_Information:
      Source_Citation:
        Citation_Information:
          Originator:
            NRCS

  Geography Division
          Publication_Date: 2000 - Present
          Title: USDA-NRCS Conservation Easements
      Source_Scale_Denominator: 4,800
    Process_Step:
      Process_Description: EASEMENTS is a national layer of conservation easement polygons that represents where a voluntary, legally binding contract/agreement between landowners and the USDA, that limit certain types of uses or prevents development from taking place on a piece of property now and in the future, for the stated purpose of protecting the property's ecological or open-space agricultural values, are located.  Easement datasets received from states are brought into ArcMap to assess projection and validity.  Re-projected as needed. 
Easements with inaccurate or missing attribute data are returned to the states through a check in/check out procedure. 100% of easement state layers, merged with the national easement authoritative easement layer have the proper attribution.
Ongoing effort to correct and standardize attributes and identify geometry issues such as overlaps - input from the states required to resolve most of these issues and acquired through a  check in/check out procedure.
 Loaded into SDE. These spatial easement boundaries are not a representation of the legal easement boundary and should not be used for any purposes beyond general planning.
      Process_Date: 202110
Spatial_Reference_Information:
  Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
    Geographic:
      Latitude_Resolution: 0.02
      Longitude_Resolution: 0.02
      Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
    Geodetic_Model:
      Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83)
      Ellipsoid_Name: GRS1980
      Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0
      Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222101
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
  Overview_Description:
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
      The files contain data describing conservation easements.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: OBJECTID,Admin_Area,Method,Scale,CalcAcres,NEST_STATE,NEST_County,NEST_PROGRAM,NEST_EASEMENT_DURATION,NEST_C_CLOSING_DATE,Disclaimer
Distribution_Information:
  Distribution_Liability:

    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the Service Center Agencies regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture will warrant the delivery of this product in computer readable format, and will offer appropriate adjustment of credit when the product is determined unreadable by correctly adjusted computer input peripherals, or when the physical medium is delivered in damaged condition.  Request for adjustment of credit must be made within 90 days from the date of this shipment from the ordering site.

    Neither the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor any of its agencies are liable for misuse of the data, for damage, for transmission of viruses, or for computer contamination through the distribution of these data sets.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
  Standard_Order_Process:
    Digital_Form:
      Digital_Transfer_Information:
        Format_Name: ESRI File GeoDataBase
Metadata_Reference_Information:
  Metadata_Date: 12/03/2021
  Metadata_Standard_Name: SCI Minimum Compliance Metadata
  Metadata_Standard_Version: SCI Std 003-02
