Description: In 1987, the Chesapeake Bay Agreement was signed by states within the Chesapeake Bay region including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia. This agreement included commitments for providing fish passage within each state: "to provide for fish passage at dams, and remove stream blockages wherever necessary to restore passage for migratory fish." With this humble beginning, the Chesapeake Bay states set a goal to reopen a total of 1,357 miles of historical spawning grounds by the year 2003. Maryland's portion of this goal is to reopen 388.65 miles of stream. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fish Passage Program has taken this commitment very seriously; to date the Program has completed 61 projects, reopening a total 348.9 miles of upstream spawning habitat. Several projects scheduled to be completed by 2003 will allow the Program to not only meet but also exceed the goal set forth by the Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Meeting this goal has been a cooperative effort between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, State Highway Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Department of Interior - US Fish & Wildlife, Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, University Maryland and a multitude of others including private citizens, local watershed groups and local governments.
Description: These data sets exist in raster and vector formats. The areas in this data set were determined from USGS Terrapin studies (for more information contact Paula Henry, 410-465-0550 or paula.henry@usgs.gov), DNR studies conducted by Margaret Whilden, and a terrapin study conducted by Willem Roosenburg (contact information can be acquired from Harley Speir of DNR Fisheries Service). For extent acquracies please contact the project lead for each study. Secondary habitats were delineated using sandy beach data from VIMS and salinity data from Lee Karrh of DNR. Sandy beach areas were selected and exported from the source file and then combined with the salinity data to determine sensitivity importance levels. These data sets were then converted to raster format and reclassified with a rank determined by DNR biologists. This rank determines level of habitat importance with spawning areas ranking highest and adult areas of bay depth below 3 feet ranking the lowest. These ranked rasters were then stacked and an output raster was created showing areas of high habitat diversity. These rasters were then clipped by county.
Description: The Areas for Sensitive Terrapin Nesting Sites dataset represents all areas in the Coastal Bays Watershed that have been observed as nesting sites for terrapins as well as those areas that are excellent potential areas for nesting, i.e.. sandy beaches. All areas are ranked for sensitivity by the Sensitive Areas Taskforce, conviened by the MD Dept. of Natural Resources Water Use Committee. The dataset was created by combining the sandy beach areas compiled by MD Geologic Survey from the MD Wetland Guidance Map shoreline data and information given to staff by Mr. Jim Casey of the MD DNR Fisheries Division of the observed nesting sites.
Description: These data sets exist in raster and vector formats. The areas in this data set were derived from sitings called in and tracked by Steve Doctor at Matapeake. These sitings were located as points on a map that were contributed by Mr. Doctor and Nancy Butowski, DNR Fisheries Service. Professional guidance was provided by Nancy Butowski and Steve Doctor. The areas were then located on the VIMS shoreline data set and exported as an independent data set. These data sets were then converted to raster format and reclassified with a rank determined by DNR biologists. This rank determines level of habitat importance with spawning areas ranking highest and adult areas of bay depth below 3 feet ranking the lowest. These ranked rasters were then stacked and an output raster was created showing areas of high habitat diversity. These rasters were then clipped by county.
Description: The Sensitive Areas Horseshoe Crab dataset shows areas within Maryland's Coastal Bays that are significant for Horseshoe Crab breeding populations. Horseshoe Crabs use sandy beach areas for breeding. The coverage differentiates potential breeding habitat (hcrab_rank=3) from confirmed breeding locations (hcrab_rank=5).
Copyright Text: MD iMAP, DNR and the Worcester Regional GIS Program
Description: This shapefile contains the outline of each Breeding Bird Atlas block for the entire state. A "block" is the basic unit of data collection for the Maryland/DC Breeding Bird Atlas, a cooperative project of MD DNR and the MD Ornithological Society. A block is defined as one-sixth of a USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle: the quad is halved vertically and cut into thirds horizontally.
Description: The statewide vector file shows buffered areas that primarily contain habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species and rare natural community types. It was originally created over USGS 7.5 minute topographic quadrangle maps and it generally includes, but does not specifically delineate, such regulated areas as Natural Heritage Areas, Wetlands of Special State Concern, Colonial Waterbird Colonies, and Habitat Protection Areas.
Copyright Text: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife & Heritage Service (MD DNR WHS)
Description: The multiple vector file denotes the 32 areas designated in the state's Threatened and Endangered Species regulations (COMAR 08.03.08) under section .10 Natural (1) Contain one or more threatened or endangered species or wildlife species in need of conservation; (2) Be a unique blend of geological, hydrological, climatalogical or biological features; and (3) Be considered to be among the best Statewide examples of its kind. Designation of these areas was developed in conjunction with the Critical Area Law and most fall within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. Sites outside the Critical Area are already owned by a public agency. Coverage is of attributed polygons only; attributes are NHA numbers and names from COMAR 08.03.08, and the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangles upon which the original boundaries were manually drawn.
Description: The Sensitive Shorebird Areas dataset was developed to show all locations in the Maryland Coastal Bays that are sensitive for shorebirds. The dataset is an subset of the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) dataset. The polygons that were extracted from the NWI dataset were of the NWI_TYPE = E1UB4L and E2FLN. These wetland types represent specific types of subtidal and intertidal mud flats that are desireable to shorebirds. The polygons were further divided into four size classes each containing the same number of polygons. Larger areas were given a higher ranking than smaller areas.
Copyright Text: MD iMAP, National Wetlands Inventory Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Description: This file was created for the purposes of planning and analysis for the conservation of a group of species, called Forest Interior Dwelling Species (FIDS), known to require habitat conditions in the interior of forests for optimal reproduction and survival.Contact: MD Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service, Lynn Davidson, lynn.davidson@maryland.gov.
Copyright Text: MD iMAP, DNR - Wildlife and Heritage Service, Towson University, Center for GIS
nInterior
(
type: esriFieldTypeDouble, alias: Area of Forest Beyond Depth of 90 Meter Edge or Buffer, editable: true, nullable: true, defaultValue: null, modelName: nInterior
)