The US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for a project entitled, ¿Research and data development of a protected areas geodatabase inventory, focused on the federal lands data management system and review protocols, for the United States and North America to facilitate spatial analyses that inform land management policy¿. This project has both policy research and data development components. The general purpose is to participate in a cooperative research, data development, and review effort. The recipients will work with federal land managers, USGS, and non-governmental organization (NGO) colleagues to refine the PAD-US data management system, website, and review strategy. This work utilizes available technology to automate the aggregation of authoritative protected areas data from agencies and communicate available products to specified audiences. The process should inform landscape conservation planning through targeted spatial analyses. Data development will support revisions to protected area descriptions (e.g. Name, Owner), major boundary overlaps, and conservation measures in the PAD-US geodatabase, in an updated version of the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) geodatabase, a cooperative project sponsored by the USGS.