Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine, estuarine, and terrestrial invertebrate species for the Outer Coast of Washington and Oregon. Vector polygons in this data set represent invertebrate distribution and concentration areas. 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.

Lineage Statement:
Three main sources of data were used to depict invertebrate distribution and seasonality for this data layer: 1) personal interviews with resource experts from Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary (OCNMS), Olympic National Park (NPS), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the University of Washington (UW); 2) digital and/or survey data provided by OCNMS, NPS, ODFW, WDFW, and Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR); and 3) published and unpublished reports.

Process Steps:

• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - Shellfish species were primarily mapped from WDFW, ODFW, and tribal shellfishery managers' expert knowledge, and supplemented with catch data to confirm and add distribution areas. Offshore and nearshore species (Dungeness crab, red and Pacific rock crabs, grooved tanner crab, pink shrimp, spot shrimp, coonstripe shrimp, red and flat abalone, and sea urchins) were mapped to bathymetry, high catch or fishing effort areas, and/or habitat (e.g., hard substrate, submarine canyons, kelp areas), per experts' instructions. (Benthic habitat data provided by Chris Romsos, Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Lab, Oregon State University.) Razor clams were mapped from fishery managers' expert knowledge as well. Bay and estuarine shellfish species were mapped from fishery documents and supplemented with expert knowledge. Clam, crab, and shrimp species present in each bay and estuary were mapped to the entire bay or estuary, except where more specific spatial information was available. Geoduck are present only in small, isolated areas in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and they were mapped from the WDFW Priority Habitats and Species (PHS) spatial database. Deep sea coral and sponge 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 and sponge sites have been included 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 and sponge communities may contain undiscovered deep sea coral and sponge sites. Oregon silverspot butterfly (FT/WA SE) was mapped using WDFW's PHS database. Polygons were mapped as-is. The name of a federally threatened insect was obscured at the request of ORBIC, the data provider. This species was mapped as "Threatened insect". Other invertebrates of conservation priority and/or cultural significance - Pinto abalone is listed as a federal Species of Concern and a Washington State Species of Greatest Conservation Need and Candidate Species. This species was mapped using WDFW PHS data. The spatial data were generalized to a 3 km offshore buffer of townships whose waters were known to contain pinto abalone, per WDFW's request, to protect the species from illegal harvest. Oregon plant bug is ranked S2 - Imperiled in Oregon, and was mapped using ORBIC data. Siuslaw hairy-necked tiger beetle is ranked S1/S2 and was mapped using survey information from The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation status reports. The Makah Tribe, the Hoh Tribe, and the Quinault Indian Nation provided information about invertebrate species that are culturally significant (e.g., olive shells [Makah]) and/or are used for subsistence fishing (e.g., East Pacific red octopus, clams, mussels).
• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - Rocky intertidal communities in both Washington and Oregon were mapped using a combination of spatial resources and expert knowledge. Rocky intertidal habitat was identified from a variety of spatial sources, and then expert knowledge was used to populate species lists for these areas. For Washington, rocky intertidal areas were identified using proposed intertidal marine reserves vector data from NPS and the Washington ShoreZone database where the shoreline contained a positive value (continuous or patchy) for bioband MUS (the mussel Mytilus californianus). Rocky islands and emergent rocks were added from the Washington ShoreZone product and the ESI shoreline product, from which all islands classified as 1A or 2A were included. For Oregon, rocky intertidal areas were identified using rocky shorelines vector data from ODFW. Additional rocky islands and emergent rocks were added using the Oregon ShoreZone product and the ESI shoreline product (all 1A or 2A islands). The spatial information for rocky intertidal communities was extensively reviewed by ODFW, OCNMS, NPS, the Makah Tribe, the Hoh Tribe, and the Quinault Indian Nation to ensure all appropriate areas were included. For both states, rocky intertidal habitat was identified from the aforementioned spatial sources, and expert knowledge from ODFW, OCNMS, NPS, the Makah Tribe, the Hoh Tribe, and the Quinault Indian Nation was used to develop a general list of taxa that inhabit this zone. This "species" (i.e., taxa) list for rocky intertidal communities is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all species present, but instead is intended to generally characterize the community composition of these high biodiversity areas. The same list of taxa was used to characterize the rocky intertidal community throughout the study area, with additional species included in tribal areas where expansion of the list was suggested.
• 2015-10-01 00:00:00 - The above digital and/or hardcopy sources were compiled by the project biologist to create the INVERT 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 INVERT 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).