MRLC News
New Generations of RCMAP and EAG Data Available
Published
The U.S. Geological Survey Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) Exotic Annual Grass (EAG) team is pleased to announce the release of a new generation of weekly resolution maps. We initially release weekly data for 2026 weeks 10-16 (March 11 – April 15) for total herbaceous, total EAG, cheatgrass, medusahead, field brome, and Sandberg’s Bluegrass. This will be followed by weekly releases through week 38 (late September) of 2026. Weeks 10-38 of 2016-2025 will also be processed and distributed in summer 2026.
A new generation of RCMAP (Rangeland Condition, Monitoring, Assessment, and Projection) fractional component time-series data spanning 1985-2025 are now available.
Both RCMAP and RCMAP-EAG data are available for download and on the rangelands viewer at www.mrlc.gov, and ArcGIS Online.
Annual NLCD OCONUS Tree Canopy Cover Data Now Available
Published
The USDA Forest Service Geospatial Office (GO) builds and maintains the National Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) dataset as part of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Annual data for areas outside the contiguous United States is now available from 1985-2023. This includes Southeast Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The TCC datasets are derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery along with USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, based on a spatial resolution of 30 meters. Each Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) value is determined using photo interpretation methods and machine learning models, to produce the percentage of the area covered by tree canopy and interannual change between all years.
Annual NLCD Reference Data and Validation Metrics Now Available on MRLC
Published
The U.S. Geological Survey has added a new outlet for Reference and Validation (R&V) data for Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Conterminous U.S. (CU), Collection 1.0. In addition to availability on the USGS ScienceBase-Catalog, the R&V data are now hosted right here on MRLC.gov.
These R&V data provide Annual NLCD users with a statistical accuracy assessment of the land cover products, as well as the source reference data. This information helps users understand the accuracy of Annual NLCD and supports better decisions in research, land use planning, and resource management.
New Reference and Validation Data Now Available for Annual NLCD
Published
The USGS has released the Reference and Validation data for Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Conterminous U.S. (CU), Collection 1.0, from 1985 - 2023. With this release, data users now have access to a statistical accuracy assessment of land use and land cover change data, as well as the source reference data. This information helps data users understand how reliable Annual NLCD data is and supports better decisions in research, land use planning, and resource management.
Annual NLCD CONUS Collection 1.1 Now Available
Published
Land Cover Characteristics in a Suite of Six Products
Annual NLCD CU C1.1 adds 2024 to the established suite of six raster-based land use and land cover science products for the conterminous United States. It now covers the period between 1985 and 2024:
1. Land Cover
2. Land Cover Change
3. Land Cover Confidence
4. Fractional Impervious Surface
5. Impervious Descriptor
6. Spectral Change Day of Year
National Annual Tree Canopy Cover data now available from 1985-2023 for CONUS
Published
The USDA Forest Service Geospatial Office (GO) builds and maintains the National Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) dataset as part of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD). Annual data for the contiguous United States is now available from 1985-2023. The TCC datasets are derived from Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery along with USDA Forest Service - Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data, based on a spatial resolution of 30 meters. Each Tree Canopy Cover (TCC) value is determined using photo interpretation methods and machine learning models, to produce the percentage of the area covered by tree canopy and interannual change between all years.
Data for Southeast Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are expected to be released later in 2025.
EVA Now Featuring Annual NLCD
Published
The Enhanced Visualization and Analysis (EVA) tool has been updated to include the all-new Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover products for 1985-2023. With EVA, users can easily view land change characteristics of any two date pairs in the Annual NLCD time series and generate custom reports for any county in the Conterminous U.S.
Annual NLCD Collection 1.0 Now Available
Published
The first release of annual land cover mapping data is now available for the Conterminous United States (CONUS). With this release, Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) offers insights into land cover and land cover change characteristics across CONUS from 1985 to 2023 through the following products:
1. Land Cover – provides 16 land cover classes such as deciduous and evergreen forest, grassland, cultivated crops and developed.
2. Land Cover Change – Represents annual land cover changes between one year and the next.
3. Land Cover Confidence – confidence levels for the land cover classifications.
4. Fractional Impervious Surface – Provides the proportion of land covered by developed surfaces, such as roads and rooftops.
5. Impervious Descriptor – offers additional information about impervious surfaces by distinguishing between roads and other built surfaces.
6. Spectral Change Day of Year – Captures the specific day of the year when significant changes in surface reflectance occur.
CEC Releases New Digital Land Cover/Land Use Map of North America, Most Accurate Available at This Scale
Published
Montreal, 20 March 2023 — The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is pleased to release the latest trinational digital land cover map of North America, under the North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS), a collaboration with the Governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States and their respective mapping agencies. This land cover map is the most accurate map available at this scale and is publicly available through the North American Environmental Atlas.
RCMAP 1985-2024 Fractional Component Time-Series Now Available
Published
The RCMAP product suite includes 10 components: annual herbaceous, bare ground, herbaceous, litter, non-sagebrush shrub, perennial herbaceous, sagebrush, shrub, tree, and shrub height. Data characterize the percentage of each 30-meter pixel in the Western United States covered by each component for each year from 1985-2024 - providing change information for 40 years. This RCMAP update also expands mapping east to include the Great Plains and the grasslands biome.