Data Management Plan

This data set contains vector polygons depicting locations of historical sites; vector lines representing pipeline, road, and rail route features; and vector points representing airports, archaeological sites, abandoned vessels, beaches, bridges, campgrounds, EPA Risk Management Plan (RMP) facilities, historical sites, landfills, oil facilities, renewable energy sites, and surfing in the New York/New Jersey Metro Area, Hudson River, and South Long Island regions.

Polygons in the SOCECON feature data set may overlap where an area is associated with more than one agency or feature type. As an example, multiple parks may fall within a county boundary, which may itself fall within a larger polygon depicting the jurisdiction of an Army Corps of Engineers region.

As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. The entirety of the NY/NJ Metro Area, Hudson River, and South Long Island Human-Use data layers consists of: PARKS-MANAGED AREAS Polygons, Points; NAVIGATION-MARINE Points, Lines; POLITICAL-JURISDICTIONAL Polygons, Points; RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Polygons, Points; SOCECON Polygons, Points, Lines; and NATURAL HAZARD Polygons.

Process Steps:

• 2015-11-01 00:00:00 - Process steps 1 and 2 describe the process used to map all points within the human use data layers found within the SOCECON feature data set. The mapping extent was dependent upon information availability and location of mapped coastal habitats and shorelines. The main sources of data used to depict human-use resources for this data layer were publicly-available digital data supplemented with expert knowledge. Abandoned vessel data originated from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey Automated Wrecks and Obstructions Information System. Access locations were compiled using New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) digital data and Quantum Spatial, Inc. (QSI) generated points. Airport locations were acquired from Federal Aviation Administration Aeronautical Information Services. NYSDEC and Rutgers Agricultural Experiment Station provided information on aquaculture sites. Archeological sites were provided by Hudsonia LTD and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. NOAA.s Coastal Services Center provided data for artificial reefs. Beach locations were compiled by QSI using aerial imagery and data from United States Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System. Boat ramp locations were mapped using digital data from NYSDEC, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, New York State Office of Cyber Security (NYSOCS), and National Park Service. The NYSOCS also provided state campground data. Coast Guard unit locations were acquired from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Operation Systems Center and U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Geographic Products Branch. Diving and surfing sites were acquired from EcoTrust as part of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal and Ocean Recreation Study. The New Jersey Department of State and New York City Department of City Planning provided ferry terminal data. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Facility locations represent facilities that are required to maintain a risk management plan, because they use/store regulated substances exceeding an EPA-specified threshold quantity. The data were provided by the USEPA to NOAA's Emergency Response Division. Historic sites were depicted from sites in the NPS National Register of Historic Places. Landfill sites were compiled from Energy Justice and NYSDEC tabular data. Lock and Dam data were acquired from NYSDEC.s Inventory of Dams. Marina data were provided by the Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Association, the Mohawk Hudson Council of Yacht Clubs, and Peter Cunningham. Additional probable marina locations were mapped by QSI using Google Earth imagery. NYSDEC and United States Energy Information Administration provided locations of major oil facilities.
• 2015-11-01 00:00:00 - Port locations were obtained from NOAAS.s Coastal Services Center, National Atlas, and NYC Department of City Planning. Recreational fishing sites came from NYSDEC. NOAA.s Office for Coastal Management provided data for renewable energy. Repeated measurement site (RMS) locations for marine observation sites and tide gauges were obtained through NOAA's National Data Buoy Center, and the Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. Mussel Watch program RMS locations were obtained from the NOAA Chemical Impacts Team. An oyster restoration site was provided by New York/New Jersey Baykeeper. Streamflow gage locations were obtained from the USGS. NYSDEC Bureau of Water Resources Management provided water intake locations and were supplemented with expert knowledge. Water intakes in New Jersey were mapped as polygons and were not included in this feature class. The above digital and expert knowledge sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the SOCECONPT data layer. Depending on the type of source data, two general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the ESI base map features (ESIP, HYDROP, ESIL) 2) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled and digitized using ESI base map features. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the SOCECONPT data layer are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data are created.
• Process step 3 describes the process used to map all lines within the human use data layers found within the SOCECON feature data set. The mapping extent was dependent upon information availability and location of mapped coastal habitats and shorelines. The main sources of data used to depict human-use resources for this data layer were publicly-available digital data sets. Bridge locations were mapped using the National Atlas of the United States Major Roads and supplemented by Quantum Spatial, Inc. (QSI) using ESRI aerial imagery. Pipeline data were acquired from the United States Energy Information Administration. Rail routes were acquired from the National Atlas. Shipping Lanes were mapped using the National Waterway Network provided by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The above digital sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the SOCECONL data layer. Depending on the type of source data, two general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the ESI base map features (ESIP, HYDROP, ESIL) 2) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled and digitized using ESI base map features. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the SOCECON line data layer are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data are created.
• Process steps 4 and 5 describe the mapping of all polygon features found within the SOCECON feature data set. The mapping extent was dependent upon information availability and location of mapped coastal habitats and shorelines. Sources of data used to depict human-use resources in this data layer include publically-available digital data sets supplemented with expert knowledge. Aquaculture locations were provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The United States Army Corps of Engineers provided data for their jurisdictional boundaries. United States Coast Guard (USCG) jurisdictional boundaries were acquired from the USCG Operation Systems Center. County jurisdictional boundaries were acquired from the New York State Geographic Information System Program (NYSGIS) Office and the New Jersey Office of Information Technology (NJOIT). Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region data came from the EPA. Essential Habitat for fish was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service Mid-Atlantic Essential Fish Habitat and New England Essential Fish Habitat. Audubon New York and New Jersey Audubon provided Important Bird Areas data. Multi-species essential habitat in New York was mapped using New York State Department of State's Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat data. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regions were acquired by the FEMA Enterprise GIS Services. State managed shellfish areas were obtained from NJDEP and SeaPlan (Northeast Ocean Data). Historical sites came from the National Park Service (NPS), NJDEP, NJDOS, New York State Office of Cyber Security (NYSOCS), and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP). Military jurisdictional boundaries that fall under the responsibility of the Department of Defense came from the United States Census Bureau (Census Bureau), National Atlas, NJDEP, NYSOCS, and NOAA.s Office for Coastal Management. National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) boundary data for the Hudson River were provided by the NERR System. National Guard locations were mapped with data from the Census Bureau and the NYSOCS. Fire Island National Seashore and Gateway National Recreation Area were mapped using NPS data. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) properties and easements were provided by TNC. State boundaries were provided by NYSGIS and NJOIT. State park data were provided by NYSOCS and NYSOPRHP, USGS Protected Areas Database, and NOAA.s Office of National Marine Protected Areas Center. The Poospatuck and Shinnecock Reservations were mapped using Census Bureau data. Water Intake locations provided by NJDEP were offset and buffered as requested by New Jersey. United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wildlife Refuge data were provided by the USFWS. All polygons were edited to reflect the updated ESI shoreline. The above digital and/or hardcopy sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the MGT data layer.
• Depending on the type of source data, two general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the ESI base map features (ESIP, HYDROP, ESIL) 2) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled and digitized using ESI base map features. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the SOCECON polygon data layers are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data are created.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).