Description: This coverage was developed from field surveys conducted on the mainstem and selected tributaries of the Aroostook, Dennys, Ducktap, East Machias, Kennebec, Machias, Passagassawakeag, Penobscot, Pleasant, Presumpscot, Saco, Sheepscot, St. George, Tunk and Union Rivers in Maine by staff of the Maine Dept. of Marine Resources - Division of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat. These surveys were conducted to identify important Atlantic salmon habitat including spawning and rearing areas. The majority of the survey data was collected using Trimble Pro, Pro-XL and GeoExplorer3 receivers and survey files were differentially corrected to provide 2-5 meter accuracy. Surveys for some reaches were collected with minimal or no GPS control points and the attributes were overlaid on a stream centerline created using either a GPS-acquired line, a line derived from MEGIS/USGS 1:24,000 hydrography data, or a line drawn as a centerline based on MEGIS digital orthophotography. The dataset includes information on habitat categories and areas, and an indication of spawning and rearing potential. This data is referred to as Level 3, or detailed habitat survey data, to be contrasted with the Level 2 habitat data which contains the most detailed data for individual habitat units.
Description: Since 1976, islands have been surveyed periodically (not annually) for seabirds. Seabird nesting islands (SNI) are defined as an island, ledge, or portion thereof in tidal waters that has 25 or more documented nests, adult seabirds associated with nests, or combination thereof (single species or aggregate of different species) in any nesting season since 1976 provided that the island, ledge, or portion thereof continues to have suitable nesting habitat. In addition, seabird nesting islands are also defined as an island, ledge, or portion thereof in tidal waters that has one or more documented nests of a seabird that is a Maine endangered or threatened species in any year since 1976 provided that the island, ledge, or portion thereof, continues to have suitable nesting habitat.
Copyright Text: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Description: Deer Wintering Areas (DWAs) are forested areas used by deer when (a) snow gets more than 12 inches deep in the open and in hardwood stands, (b) the depth that deer sink into the snow exceeds 8 inches in the open and in hardwood stands, and (c) when mean daily temperature is below 32 degrees Farenheit. This data set includes DWAs in organized townships that qualify as Significant Wildlife Habitat under Maine's Natural Resources Protection Act as mapped by MDIFW Regional Biologists.
Copyright Text: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Description: ZONES_POLY contains polygons of Maine Land Use Planning Commission's protection and development zones at 1:24000 scale.
Copyright Text: Original coverages were developed by Maine Land Use Planning Commission. Conversion to SDE done by Northern Geomantics, March 2002. Credits should always be given to the data source and/or originator when the data is transferred or printed.
Description: This layer represents Inland Waterfowl / Wading bird Habitat (IWWH), a Significant Wildlife Habitat defined under Maine's Natural Resources Protection Act (NRPA; http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docstand/nrpapage.htm). IWWHs with a high or moderate rating meet the Significant Wildlife Habitat definition and are protected under NRPA. Low-rated IWWHs are NOT included in this layer because they do not meet the definition and are not protected under NRPA. Boundaries and attributes of polygons in organized townships were updated in 2008 by MDIFW staff using recent (2001-2007), high-resolution (<=1 m), color orthoimagery. For most polygons, multiple images from different years and seasons were used. Polygons in unorganized townships were mapped by MDIFW regional staff in the 1990s from lower-resolution orthoimagery, various wetland data sets, and field visits or via an automated process developed by Heather Rustigian and William Krohn (USGS Biological Resources Division) using statewide digital NWI (National Wetlands Inventory) data, aerial imagery, and hydrology data. Each IWWH boundary includes a 250-foot upland zone around the wetland perimeter. Upland zones were edited to exclude areas of intensive development, slivers crossing major roads into non-wetland habitat, and shorelines >250 ft from a vegetated, non-forested wetland on a Great Pond. Changes to polygon boundaries and IWWH ratings are occasionally made based on a field visit by an MDIFW regional biologist. The last such modification was made 2012-08-22.
Copyright Text: Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) Wildlife Resource Assessment Section, Habitat Group; MDIFW Wildlife Management Section, Regional staff; Heather L. Rustigian and William B. Krohn, University of Maine, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (for polygons mapped in unorganized townships) .
Description: Locations of rare plants and rare and exmplary natural community and ecosystem types in Maine as mapped by the Maine Natural Areas Program (MNAP), Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Data are mapped at 1:24K or larger scale.