The new National Wild & Scenic Rivers System map is here! It has all the currently designated rivers on it. National Wild and Scenic River System Map (PDF)
One of our most frequent requests is for the GIS files for the National Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The managing agencies, lead by the National Park Service, and ESRI have worked to greatly enhance the GIS database. Hopefully, the new product is self-explanatory to those needing the data.
GIS Data
Two interagency GIS data sets of wild and scenic river centerline data have been made available through the U.S. Forest Service Geospatial Data Discovery Site. The first data set, called "National Wild and Scenic River Lines," is a river level dataset showing the full expanse of the river designation, along with other river management documentation information. The second is called "National Wild and Scenic River Segments." This dataset shows the full expands of the river designation but has been subdivided to provide information on the wild, scenic, or recreational classification. It includes other attribute information, such as 'outstandingly remarkable values' and management information.
National Wild and Scenic River Lines
National Wild and Scenic River Segments
Information About The Data Sets & Additional Resources
The data is available for download as a shapefile, spreadsheet, or KML. It has been mapped using the U.S. Geological Survey's High Resolution (1:24,000) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD). Other formats for the Interagency Center Line data and U.S. Forest Service Wild and Scenic River Boundary data can be found through the USFS Geodata Clearing House website.
The National Park Service's Wild and Scenic River Boundary data represent the polygon boundary data for the wild and Scenic rivers administered by the National Park Service and can be found on their web site.
An interagency database of active study rivers has also been created. This study database features high resolution line data of the active study rivers and can be found here:
National Wild and Scenic River Active Study Rivers Lines
An interagency database of eligible and suitable rivers has also been created. This database features high resolution line and segment data of the rivers that have been found eligible and/or suitable for wild and scenic designation but are not designated. The data can be found here:
National Eligible and Suitable Wild and Scenic River Lines
National Eligible and Suitable Wild and Scenic River Segments