Polygon layer · Environmental
Protected areas map across the western states
PAD-US conserved lands by GAP status — what is off the table, and what only looks like it.
Roughly half the West is federally managed, so a protected areas map is the first filter on whether ground is available at all. Designation type is the detail that matters: wilderness is a wall, while some management categories are merely a longer road.
- Source
- USGS
- Refresh
- Monthly
- Geometry
- Polygon
- Included from
- Complete ($499/mo)
Why Protected Areas matters
In several western states the majority of land is federally managed, and the practical question is never whether land is federal but which GAP tier applies. GAP 3 multiple-use land can host a mine or a right-of-way; GAP 1 cannot. That distinction is invisible on a parcel map and decisive in an underwriting memo.
Questions Protected Areas answers
- Is this parcel developable at all, or is it inside a protected designation?
- Which nearby BLM land is multiple-use and which is effectively closed?
- Where do protected boundaries constrain a transmission or pipeline route?
What is in the Protected Areas data
Coverage: Federal, state, tribal and private conserved lands across the western US. Source dataset: Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US).
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| GAP status | 1 and 2 are managed for biodiversity, 3 allows multiple use, 4 carries no protection mandate. |
| Managing agency | BLM, USFS, NPS, state agency, tribal government or private trust. |
| Designation | Wilderness, national monument, conservation area, state park and others. |
| Ownership type | Federal, state, local, tribal or private. |
How we serve Protected Areas
PAD-US polygons are rendered by GAP tier so the protected-versus-multiple-use split is legible at a glance rather than requiring an attribute click.
Protected areas map — source, refresh and coverage
- Steward
- USGS
- Dataset
- Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)
- Refresh cadence
- Monthly
- Coverage
- Federal, state, tribal and private conserved lands across the western US
- Records
- Fetched live per viewport
- Geometry
- Polygon
- Included from
- Complete ($499/mo/mo)
Who uses Protected Areas
Mining & Exploration
Deposits, active claims, protected land and the water to run a mine — on one map.
Energy Development
Route corridors, site generation, and clear the environmental picture before the first landowner call.
Data Centers & AI Infrastructure
Power, water, fiber and permitting risk for every candidate site — before you send anyone to look at it.
Industrial & Manufacturing Siting
The same constraint stack as a data center, weighted for process load instead of compute.
Government & Basin Management
A statewide inventory, live supply monitoring, and a public-facing record without building the platform.
Read Protected Areas alongside
Critical Habitat
USFWS designated habitat — the fastest way to lose two years of schedule.
Wetlands (NWI)
National Wetlands Inventory boundaries — jurisdictional risk, mapped.
BLM Claims
Active mining claims on federal land — who already staked it.
Oil/Gas Leases
Federal oil and gas lease parcels and their status.
Terms used on this page
See Protected Areas on the map
This layer is included from Complete ($499/mo) upward, alongside every other layer in the Complete coverage.