FWS HQ ES National Wetlands Inventory Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]
Department of the Interior Full Details
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Full Details
- Title
- FWS HQ ES National Wetlands Inventory Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]
- Description
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(Service) is the principal Federal agency that provides information to the public on the extent and status of the Nation's wetlands. The Service's strategic plan for our vast national wetland data holdings is focused on the development, updating, and dissemination of wetlands data and information to Service resource managers and the public.This data set represents the extent, approximate location and type of wetlands and deepwater habitats in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These data delineate the areal extent of wetlands and surface waters as defined by Cowardin et al. (1979). Certain wetland habitats may be excluded because of the limitations of aerial imagery as the primary data source used to detect wetlands. These habitats include seagrasses or submerged aquatic vegetation that are found in the intertidal and subtidal zones of estuaries and near shore coastal waters. Some deepwater reef communities (coral or tuberficid worm reefs) have also been excluded from the inventory. These habitats, because of their depth, go undetected by aerial imagery. By policy, the Service also excludes certain types of "farmed wetlands" as may be defined by the Food Security Act or that do not coincide with the Cowardin et al. definition.
- Creator
- Department of the Interior
- Temporal Coverage
- Last modified 2023-01-31
- Date Issued
- 2023-01-26
- Rights
- The original wetland maps were produced as topical overlays using U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps as the base. Thus, the data are intended for use in publications, at a scale of 1:24,000 or smaller. Due to the scale, the primary intended use is for regional and watershed data display and analysis, rather than specific project data analysis. The wetlands data were neither designed nor intended to represent legal or regulatory products. These data were developed in conjunction with the Cowardin et al. publication (Cowardin, L.M., V. Carter, F.C. Golet, and E.T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States. U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. FWS/OBS-79/31). Alpha-numeric wetland codes have been developed to correspond to the wetland and deepwater classifications described in this publication. For more information on Wetland Codes visit: https://www.fws.gov/wetlands/Data/Wetland-Codes.html Note that coastline delineations were drawn to follow the extent of wetland or deepwater features as described by this project and may not match the coastline shown in other base maps.Data Limitations, Exclusions and Precautions The Service's objective of mapping wetlands and deepwater habitats is to produce reconnaissance level information on the location, type and size of these resources. The maps are prepared from the analysis of high altitude imagery. Wetlands are identified based on vegetation, visible hydrology and geography. A margin of error is inherent in the use of imagery; thus, detailed on-the-ground inspection of any particular site may result in revision of the wetland boundaries or classification established through image analysis. The accuracy of image interpretation depends on the quality of the imagery, the experience of the image analysts, the amount and quality of the collateral data and the amount of ground truth verification work conducted. Metadata should be consulted to determine the date of the source imagery used and any mapping problems. Wetlands or other mapped features may have changed since the date of the imagery and/or field work. There may be occasional differences in polygon boundaries or classifications between the information depicted on the map and the actual conditions on site. Exclusions - Certain wetland habitats are excluded from the National mapping program because of the limitations of aerial imagery as the primary data source used to detect wetlands. These habitats include seagrasses or submerged aquatic vegetation that are found in the intertidal and subtidal zones of estuaries and nearshore coastal waters. Some deepwater reef communities (coral or tuberficid worm reefs) have also been excluded from the inventory. These habitats, because of their depth, go undetected by aerial imagery.By policy, the Service also excludes certain types of "farmed wetlands" as may be defined by the Food Security Act or that do not coincide with the Cowardin et al. definition. Contact the Service's Regional Wetland Coordinator for additional information on what types of farmed wetlands are included on wetland maps.Precautions - Federal, state, and local regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over wetlands may define and describe wetlands in a different manner than that used in this inventory. There is no attempt, in either the design or products of this inventory, to define the limits of proprietary jurisdiction of any Federal, state, or local government or to establish the geographical scope of the regulatory programs of government agencies. Persons intending to engage in activities involving modifications within or adjacent to wetland areas should seek the advice of appropriate federal, state, or local agencies concerning specified agency regulatory programs and proprietary jurisdictions that may affect such activities. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. While the Service makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data provided for distribution, it may not have the necessary accuracy or completeness required for every possible intended use. The Service recommends that data users consult the associated metadata record to understand the quality and possible limitations of the data. The Service creates metadata records in accordance with the standards endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. As a result of the above considerations, the Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the data. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data in a manner consistent with the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the Service, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This applies to the use of the data both alone and in aggregate with other data and information.
- Access Rights
- Public
- Format
- Shapefile
- Language
- English
- Date Added
- August 11, 2023
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Cite and Reference
-
Citation
Department of the Interior (2023). FWS HQ ES National Wetlands Inventory Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]. . https://gis-fws.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/fws::fws-hq-es-national-wetlands-inventory-puerto-rico-and-virgin-islands (dataset) -
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