East Florida 2020 ESI PARKS/MANAGED Polygons, Lines, Points

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for seagrass, coral reef, hard-bottom communities, and deep-sea coral for East Florida. Vector polygons in this data set represent seagrass, coral, and hard-bottom community distribution. 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 Florida. 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. Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) is more properly known as 'Sensitivity of Coastal Habitats and Wildlife to Spilled Oil' Atlases. The term 'ESI' is often used in reference to the whole dataset, but the term 'ESI' is really a reference to the classification system of shoreline types known as Environmental Sensitivity Index, that classifies a shoreline on a scale from 1 to 10 based upon overall sensitivity to spilled oil. FWRI contracted out updates for the East Florida ESI area of interest, with the exception of Human Use data, in 2019. These datasets were delivered as feature classes in overlapping-polygon format following the NOAA ESI Data Standard. The East Florida ESI data format is consistent with the previously delivered ESI data.

The ESI data provide sensitive areas data for oil spill planning and response and other environmental management and natural resource purposes. The Clean Water Act with amendments by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires response plans for immediate and effective protection of sensitive areas. These data also support other related state and federal regulatory requirements for oil spill prevention, planning, response, and restoration.

[THIS FIELD IS FOR INTERNAL NOTES AS NEEDED. IT WILL NOT BE VIEWABLE IN THE PUBLIC METADATA RECORD.]

Prepared by Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina for the Florida Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), St. Petersburg, Florida

A 5-year update cycle is planned with some maintenance and field verification likely on an annual basis

In addition to the geographic data layers, six relational attribute or data tables, BIORES, BREED, SEASONAL, SOURCES, SPECIES, and STATUS, are used to store the complex biological data in the ESI data structure. The geographic data layer containing biological resource information (in this case, BENTHIC) is linked to the Biological Resources table (BIORES) using RARNUM. The RARNUM represents a unique combination of species, seasonalities, concentrations, and source information. For each of these groupings, a number is generated. BIORES and the other relational data tables are described below in detail. See the Browse_Graphic section for a link to the entity-relationship diagram, which describes the way these tables relate to the geographic data layers and other attribute tables in the ESI data structure.

A complete description of entity types, attributes, and attribute values for ESI atlases can be found in the NOAA ESI Guidelines.

This data set is in the public domain, and the recipient may not assert any proprietary rights thereto nor represent it to anyone as other than a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission produced data set; it is provided 'as-is' without warranty of any kind, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The user assumes all responsibility for the accuracy and suitability of this data set for a specific application. In no event will the staff of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission be liable for any damages, including lost profits, lost savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of or the inability to use this data set.

This reflects the extent of all land and water features included in the Eastern Florida 2020 ESI area of interest (AOI). The bounding box for each feature class may vary depending on occurrences identified and mapped.

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).

These data are unrestricted. Where possible, always acquire this dataset directly from FWC as other sources may have altered the original data.

DO NOT USE MAPS FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES. Management boundaries are not to be considered legal boundaries. Edges may have been altered for cartographic processes. Note that the ESI database should not be used to the exclusion of other pertinent data or information held by state or federal agencies or other organizations. Likewise, information contained in the database cannot be used in place of consultations with environmental, natural resource, and cultural resource agencies, or in place of field surveys. Recognize that the information contained in the ESI database represents known concentration areas or occurrences of natural, cultural, and human-use resources, but does not necessarily represent the full distribution or range of each species or resource. This is particularly important to recognize when considering potential impacts to protected resources, such as endangered species, wetlands, etc. The ESI databases were developed to provide summary information on sensitive natural and human-use resources for the purposes of oil spill planning, environmental planning, and natural resource management. Although the ESI data should be a valuable planning and resource management tool, they should not be used to the exclusion of other pertinent data or information held by state or federal agencies or other organizations. Likewise, these data cannot be used in place of consultations with environmental, natural resource, and cultural resource agencies, or in place of field surveys. Also, these data and any related map products should not be used for navigation. Recognize that the information contained in the ESI databases represents known concentration areas or occurrences of natural, cultural, and human-use resources, but does not necessarily represent the full distribution or range of each species or resource. This is particularly important to recognize when considering potential impacts to protected resources, such as endangered species, wetlands, archaeological sites, etc. For more information or guidance on proper and improper uses of these data, please contact the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) and Research Planning, Inc. Acknowledgement of the publishers, contributors, and sources listed in the Data_Set_Credit (below) and Lineage section of this document would be appreciated in products derived from or utilizing these data. Users are encouraged to read and fully comprehend the metadata record prior to using these data. Please acknowledge the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) as the data source for any products developed from these data. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. FWC shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of this data. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such. This is not a survey data set and should not be utilized as such. These data are not to be used for navigation. Besides the above warnings, there are no use constraints on these data.

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The software packages used to develop the atlas are Environmental Systems Research Institute's ArcGIS for Desktop 10.7.1(R) and SQL SERVER(R) (version 2019). The hardware configuration is PC's with Windows Operating System 10. The following Geodatabase Feature Classes are included in the data set: aoi, benthic, birds, birdspt, esil, esip, fish, herp, hydrol, hydrop, invert, m_mammal, managed_poly, nav_marine_point, political_line, political_point, political_poly, resource_point, resource_poly, socecon_line, socecon_point, socecon_poly, and t_mammal. Associated relational and desktop data tables are biores, breed, seasonal, soc_dat, sources, species, and status.

A multi-stage error checking process is used to verify both attribute accuracy and logical consistency throughout data production. The process includes a standardized data entry methodology, data review by in-house and external resource experts, a final Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) process, and multiple automated logical consistency checks. Quantitative data (such as densities, counts, abundances, or concentrations) provided by resource experts for inclusion in the data set may vary widely in attribute accuracy, depending upon the methodology used to collect and compile such data. For a more detailed evaluation of source data attribute accuracy, contact the sources listed in the Lineage section. The attribute accuracy is estimated to be 'good' given the years of ESI experience, the data input methodology, the quality control review sessions, and the digital logical consistency checks.

Spatial components for the biological data layers can come from expert interviews, hardcopy, or digital sources. Some of the spatial components of the biological data layers may have been developed using regional experts who estimate concentration areas. It is difficult to estimate the positional accuracy of such data, except to state that they are compiled on hardcopy base maps with a scale of 1:24,000. Some of the spatial components of the biological data sets are developed from pre-existing digital or hardcopy sources and reflect the positional accuracy of these original data. Note that biological resource data by their very nature are considered "fuzzy", and this should be understood when considering the positional accuracy of vector digital objects representing these resources. See the Lineage and Process_Description sections for more information on the original source data and how these data were integrated or manipulated to create the final data set.

These data represent a synthesis of digital survey and model data and expert knowledge on seagrass, coral, and hard-bottom community distribution. These data do not necessarily represent all benthic occurrences in East Florida. The following species are included in this data set: (Species_ID, Common Name, Scientific Name [n/a if not applicable]): 14, Lobed star coral, Orbicella annularis; 15, Mountainous star coral, Orbicella faveolata; 16, Boulder star coral, Orbicella franksi; 17, Coral and rock, n/a; 18, Acropora spp., Acropora spp.; 85, Seagrass, n/a; 253, Hardbottom reef, n/a; 1034, Coral patch reef, n/a; 1078, Aggregate reef, n/a; 1174, Johnson's seagrass, Halophila johnsonii; 1183, Deep sea coral, n/a.

A multi-stage error checking process, described in the above Attribute_Accuracy_Report, is used to verify both attribute accuracy and logical consistency throughout data production. This process includes multiple automated logical consistency checks that test the files for missing or duplicate data, rules for proper coding, GIS topological consistencies, and SQL SERVER(R) to ArcGIS(R) consistencies. A final review is made by the ESI manager, where the data are written to CD-ROM and the metadata are written. RARNUM's are defined on an element basis, so 'resources at risk' groupings will contain only a single element.

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.