National Enironmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline: GULF/ATLANTIC ESI, PACIFIC ESI: ESIL

The Gulf/Atlantic ESIL data set contains vector lines representing the shoreline and coastal habitats of the contiguous Atlantic and Gulf states; the Pacific ESI represents the shoreline for the contiguous Pacific coast states. Line segments are classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification system. These data are a complilation of the ESIL data from the most recent ESI atlas publications. 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 national dataset contains only the ESIL shoreline data layer.

The ESI data were collected, mapped, and digitized to provide environmental data for oil spill planning and response. The Clean Water Act with amendments by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires response plans for immediate and effective protection of sensitive resources.

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DO NOT USE MAPS FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES.

Besides the above warning, there are no use constraints on these data. 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. Acknowledgment of the originators, publishers, contributors, and sources listed would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

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, hardcopy data review by in-house and external resource experts, a final Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) process, and multiple automated logical consistency checks.

The spatial location of the ESI shoreline is generally developed from pre-existing digital sources and reflects the positional accuracy of these original data. The horizontal positional accuracy of the 1:24,000 USGS topographic quads should conform to National Map Accuracy Standards at scales of 1:24,000. The minimum mapping unit (MMU) of the actual shoreline classification segments is estimated at 50 meters where mapping is conducted using 1:24,000 hardcopy fieldmaps. Field verification has shown that the absolute positional accuracy of breaks between shoreline ESI types with a 95-percent error bound is approximately 58 meters. See the associated regional metadata for specifics about a particular location.

These data represent coastal shorelines and habitats classified according to the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification system.

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.