While CPAD data is very accurate, there will always be some errors or omissions in a data set of this size. We encourage you to tell us about these gaps by submitting an Error Report.

CPAD's main features are:

• The CPAD inventory contains fee lands only (easements are being developed in a separate database). Key attributes include public access, management designation (where available), county and other information.
• The land data in CPAD is based on the owning agency - where an agency leases or manages land owned by another agency, the owning agency is the primary reference in the CPAD database (in some cases, the managing agency is noted separately). View the Agency List for more information about the agencies in the CPAD inventory.
• CPAD uses GIS-based assessor parcels to determine the boundaries of protected areas (in counties where GIS parcels are not available, boundaries are aligned to the best available reference information). While some assessor parcels in rural areas are not highly accurate spatially, parcels overall offer the most consistent framework for integrating data from hundreds of land-owning agencies.
• The core element in the CPAD database is the HOLDING. Holdings have the most detailed attribute information in CPAD.
• Commonly named protected areas (e.g., Mt. Diablo State Park) are UNITS, which may be made up of two or more holdings. A unit may also have just one holding (e.g., an urban park, or another single parcel protected area). Units have summary attribute information.
• The SUPER UNITS feature class was added in CPAD 1.4. Like Units they are grouped under name of park, but they are not broken by county or owning agency like Units. Super Units are at the most general, and should be used for cartographic purposes.
• A CPAD edition with USGS Gap codes (indicating conservation status) will be published in early 2011.
• CPAD does not include military lands used primarily for military purposes or tribal lands - GIS data for each of these was compiled by GreenInfo Network in 2009 and is available on Cal-Atlas (data may not be complete, as data sources are not fully available).

CPAD 1.6 includes major improvements since the June 2010 release, specifically:

• The desert region received significant updates including land transfers from California State Lands Commission and local land trusts to the BLM, and realignment of National Parks.
• Southern California urban areas, specifically Orange County, have been thoroughly reviewed and updated.
• Sacramento region was updated with edits from the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)
• More extensive parcel alignment in the counties of Colusa, Fresno, Madera, Orange and Placer.
• Major land holding agencies were updated.

CPAD 1.5 reflects improvements since the February 2010 release, specifically:

• Extensive updates have occured in the Sierra Nevada region at the federal, state, and local land trust levels.
• Special attention has been given to improving the inventory of all protected lands in the San Joaquin Valley, including federal holdings as well as small city parks.
• Urban parks data has been continued to be updated in most incorporated cities.
• Alignment of CPAD data to parcel boundaries has been improved throughout the state.
• Thorough updating has been done of California Department of Fish and Game lands.
• CPAD 1.5 more accurately captures managing agencies (agencies different from owning agencies), especially around reservoir areas. Some managing agencies may not yet be defined, however.
• Extensive updates completed of the protected areas in the nine-county Bay Area and Santa Cruz.

CPAD 1.4 includes updates and corrections for federal and state agencies that have GIS data of their holdings, as well as regional and large local agencies. These updates include additions, revisions and in a number of cases deletions where previous information was incorrect.

Specific updates in CPAD 1.4 are:

• Special attention has been given to improving the inventory of all protected lands in the San Joaquin Valley, including federal holdings as well as small city parks.
• Urban parks data has generally been significantly improved in CPAD 1.4, with many missing parks now included and boundaries and attributes made more accurate, particularly in San Diego County.
• Alignment of CPAD data to parcel boundaries has been improved throughout the state.
• CPAD 1.4 better captures the identity of managing agencies (agencies different from owning agencies), especially around reservoir areas. However, some managing agencies may not yet be defined.
• The many small, BLM-owned offshore islands have now been given a Special Use code so they can be queried out of analyses as needed.

CPAD 1.3 is a general update with a number of improvements, particularly for city parks, land managing agency attributes, better parcel alignment, general federal/state updates, and a number of attribute fields. This round of revisions was supported by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), The California Endowment, and the Resources Legacy Fund Preserving Wild California program - we welcome interest and support from other agencies and organizations.

Specific updates in CPAD 1.3 are:

• Reviewed and updated and aligned holdings of major state and federal agencies, including US Forest Service, BLM, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Calif. Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game, using the most recent data sets from each agency (as of May - August, 2009).
• Expanded coverage of small parks in all urban areas of California, including many special districts in small towns and suburban/exurban areas.
• Management codes for CDFG - and CDPR-managed lands that are owned by other agencies have been thoroughly updated. Agency management around reservoir areas much more accurate and complete.
• Aligned data to parcels in several counties. Solved parcel/holding alignment issues across the state (note: in general CPAD aligns its holdings data to GIS-based assessor parcels, even though parcels in rural areas are not always of high accuracy - in some cases where agency holding data or visual inspection through aerial photos indicates otherwise, holding boundaries are not aligned exactly to parcels).
• Access codes corrected/updated for many agencies, especially Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game.
• Assigned National Designations to all CPAD holdings (these are based on emerging USGS standards and include scores of management designations such as National Monument, State Beach, local park, etc.).
• Reviewed Los Angeles Flood Control district holdings and removed most properties that were only structural floodway channels, but retained those properties that had open space qualities and/or recreation uses.
• Created a coded domain for Managing Agency ID.

The CPAD 1.2 dataset is a major improvement over past CPAD data, with extensive new urban park coverage, full holding updates for major agencies, many new agencies and organizations, numerous geographic focus areas updated, improved parcel alignment, and more extensive attributes. This work has been supported by grants from the Calif. Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and the Resources Legacy Fund Preserving Wild California program.

Specific updates in CPAD 1.2 are:

• Reviewed and updated holdings of major agencies, including US Forest Service, BLM, BLM, Fish & Wildlife Service, Calif. Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game, using the most recent data sets from each agency (as of Jan/February, 2009).
• Major expansion of coverage of small parks in all urban areas of California, including visual inspection of most park holdings against aerial photographs (note CPAD generally contains only the open space elements of parks, as distinguishing associated recreational structures can be difficult).
• Holdings added for 60 new special districts, mostly park and recreation agencies, across the state, with special attention paid to Southern California, the North Coast and various suburban/exurban areas.
• Addition of many holdings for counties and cities in the Sierra and North Coast.
• In depth updates for Bay Area land trusts and special districts.
• Defined major water elements of most holdings for North Coast, Central Valley, Lake, and Sierra regions based upon National Hydrological Dataset geometry.
• Added and updated holdings data along the Sacramento River.
• Aligned data to parcels in seven counties. Solved parcel/holding alignment issues across the state (note: in general CPAD aligns its holding data to GIS-based assessor parcels, even though parcels in rural areas are not always of high accuracy - in some cases where agency holding data or visual inspection through air photos indicates otherwise, holding boundaries are not aligned exactly to parcels).
• Updated land trust holdings throughout the Sierra region - added 15 new land trusts to CPAD.
• Updated San Joaquin Valley city park holdings (south of Sacramento).
• Access codes corrected/updated for many agencies, especially Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game.
• Assigned National Designations to approximately ninety percent of CPAD holdings (these are based on emerging USGS standards and include scores of management designations such as National Monument, state beach, local park, etc.).
• Standardized naming conventions in Unit and Holding Names.
• Reviewed Los Angeles Flood Control district holdings and removed most properties that were only structural floodway channels, but retained those properties that had open space qualities and/or recreation uses.
• Created new Label Name field for abbreviated named of holdings – use this when labeling holdings or units in GIS projects.

Contains corrections and updates for Calif. Dept. of Fish & Game holdings, additions in the Bay Area, Sierra foothills and Northern Sierra, changes in early 2008 from US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, additional State Lands Commission holdings and improvements of some city park holding attributes.

Original release