Apex Scout — Data Sources & Attribution

Apex AR Systems LLC  ·  U.S. Provisional Patent App. No. 63/976,896 

Apex Scout's predictive alerts and maps are built on authoritative federal and scientific datasets. We believe in transparent attribution — both because it is required by some of our data providers, and because you deserve to know what is behind every alert you see.

United States Geological Survey (USGS)

National Water Information System (NWIS)

Real-time streamflow data from approximately 689 active stream gauges across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. Used in Apex Scout for water-crossing hazard alerts. Data is retrieved via the USGS NWIS Instantaneous Values web service.

USGS data is in the public domain and provided without warranty. Apex AR Systems is solely responsible for any analysis, interpretation, or alerts derived from this data.

Source: https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis

National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)

High-resolution stream and water-body geometry across Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah (1.16 million flowlines). Used in Apex Scout for stream and river rendering, water-crossing identification, and trail–water intersection analysis.

Source: https://www.usgs.gov/national-hydrography

Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.1

Public-land boundary geometry — U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, State, and designated Wilderness areas. The agency and designation breakdown shown in Apex Scout is derived from PAD-US manager-type and designation attributes. Used in Apex Scout for public-land boundary overlays.

PAD-US is produced by the USGS Gap Analysis Project (GAP) and is in the public domain. Recommended citation: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP), 2024, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.1: U.S. Geological Survey data release.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5066/P96WBCHS

3D Elevation Program (3DEP)

Terrain elevation and derived slope products covering Apex Scout coverage states. Used in Apex Scout for avalanche-risk modeling, viewshed analysis, and elevation display.

Source: https://www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation-program

Recreation.gov / Recreation Information Database (RIDB)

Trailhead, parking, and recreation-site locations and details across Apex Scout coverage areas. Used in Apex Scout for trailhead and access-point map markers.

RIDB data is provided by Recreation.gov and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which requires attribution. Apex Scout displays this credit in-app and here in satisfaction of that requirement. Apex AR Systems is solely responsible for any analysis or presentation derived from this data.

Source: https://ridb.recreation.gov

License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) & USDA Forest Service

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS)

1,684 historical wildfire burn perimeters across Apex Scout coverage states, with age-banded severity classifications. Used in Apex Scout for fire-damage trail-hazard alerts (RED tier 0–2 years, YELLOW 2–5 years, BLUE 5–15 years). MTBS is a joint program of the USDA Forest Service and U.S. Geological Survey.

Source: https://www.mtbs.gov

National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS)

Daily 1 km gridded snow depth and snow water equivalent data, product G02158. Eight years of historical data used in Apex Scout for snowpack and avalanche-risk trail alerts.

Citation: National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) Data Products at NSIDC, Version 1. Boulder, Colorado USA. NSIDC: National Snow and Ice Data Center. DOI: 10.7265/N5TB14TC.

National Weather Service (NWS) & NOAA

NWS API

Active weather watches, warnings, and advisories used for Apex Scout weather alerts. Retrieved in real time and merged with predictive HRRR forecast data.

Source: https://api.weather.gov

High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR)

3 km hourly weather-forecast model output, used by Apex Scout to provide predictive weather alerts ahead of NWS-issued active warnings. Operated by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.

Source: https://rapidrefresh.noaa.gov/hrrr

USDA Forest Service

National Forest System Trails (NFS Trails)

Authoritative trail-centerline geometry across Apex Scout coverage areas. Used in Apex Scout for trail rendering and hazard-tier mapping. Accessed via the USDA Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.

Source: https://data.fs.usda.gov

Map Tiles & Geocoding

Mapbox

Base-map imagery, vector tiles, and geocoding services. Apex Scout uses Mapbox under a commercial license.

Source: https://www.mapbox.com

A Note on Data Freshness

Different datasets refresh at different cadences: USGS streamflow every 15 minutes; NWS weather alerts continuously; HRRR forecasts hourly; SNODAS snow data daily; MTBS fire perimeters annually (with incremental in-season updates); NHD streams, PAD-US boundaries, RIDB access points, NFS trails, and terrain annually or as published. Apex Scout caches and refreshes data automatically. Alert timing reflects the freshness of the underlying source.

Disclaimer

Data sources listed above are provided “as is” by their respective agencies and providers. Apex AR Systems performs analysis, modeling, and alert generation based on this data but does not represent or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of either the source data or our derived alerts.

Apex Scout informs. You decide.

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