Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine and estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), and deep sea corals for the Outer Coast of Washington and Oregon. Vector polygons in this data set represent eelgrass, surfgrass, macroalgae, coral, and kelp distributions. Species specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for Outer Coast of Washington and Oregon. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

This reflects the extent of all land and water features included in the overall Outer Coast of Washington and Oregon ESI study region. The bounding box for this particular feature class may vary depending on occurrences identified and mapped.

Process Steps:

• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - Kelp distributions in Oregon were created using data provided by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) for the years 1990, 1996, 1999, and 2010. Data for Washington kelp distributions was provided by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), and contained compiled data from 1989 through 2012. Surfgrass distributions were mapped based on expert knowledge and both surfgrass and eelgrass distributions were mapped with data from the Washington and Oregon ShoreZone products. Eelgrass data was also incorporated from the EPA's Office of Research and Development's remotely sensed eelgrass estimations in Oregon estuaries. Non-kelp macroalgae were mapped using expert knowledge from Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS) and ODFW. Deep sea corals were mapped using survey data from OCNMS. Kelp distributions in Oregon were mapped using all four years of estimation: 1990, 1996, 1999, and 2010. The 2010 data was originally derived from remote sensing operations and had a much finer level of detail than the manually digitized distributions from earlier years. This 2010 data set was buffered by 50 meters and merged back with the previous estimations from 1990, 1996, and 1999 to create a more generalized and cohesive estimation of kelp in Oregon marine waters.
• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - In Washington waters, kelp distributions were provided as a composite layer from data beginning in 1989 and ending in 2012. Each polygon was attributed with a tally of the number of years that one of the two species, giant kelp or bull kelp, were present in the 23 year span. Both giant kelp and bull kelp were mapped in the WDNR product, but were generalized to "Canopy kelp" for ease of interpretation. EPA eelgrass was incorporated after removing polygons smaller than 250 m^2 and filling in gaps less than 500 m^2. In Siletz and Nestucca estuaries, the EPA data was quite sparse and close to the shoreline. In these cases shoreline adjacent to the EPA data was buffered by 50m and included as a substitute. Eelgrass and surfgrass distributions incorporated from ShoreZone products were mapped along the ESI shoreline with an onshore/offshore buffer of 50 m. Non-kelp macroalgae and surfgrass were included in all rocky intertidal areas based on expert knowledge. Subtidal non-kelp macroalgae was mapped on hard bottom areas from the edge of the intertidal zone out to 30 m depth, based on expert knowledge. (Benthic substrate data provided by Chris Romsos, Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Lab, Oregon State University.) Deep sea coral communities were mapped using benthic survey data from OCNMS. OCNMS has surveyed Sanctuary waters for these unique communities, but they have not yet surveyed all Sanctuary areas or the broader region. Thus, confirmed deep sea coral sites have been mapped in the ESI, but these data indicate presence only, not absence. They are included in both the "Benthic" and "Invertebrate" ESI layers. Areas not mapped as deep sea coral communities may contain undiscovered deep sea coral sites.
• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - The above digital and/or hardcopy sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the BENTHIC data layer. Depending on the type of source data, three general approaches are used for compiling the data layer: 1) information gathered during initial interviews and from hardcopy sources are compiled onto U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000 topographic quadrangles and digitized; 2) hardcopy maps are digitized at their source scale; 3) digital data layers are evaluated and used "as is" or integrated with the hardcopy data sources. 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 BENTHIC data layer 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).