Aquatic Significant Habitats Summary [ds2756], Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE), version 3.0.
The Significant Aquatic Habitats dataset is one of the components of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) suite of aquatic conservation information.
The Significant Aquatic Habitats dataset provides a variety of information on aquatic habitats to help determine the likelihood of the presence of habitat or vegetation that are the focus of state, national, or locally legislated conservation laws, as well as significant habitat areas essential to the survival of specific species of conservation concern.
Aquatic habitat data are synthesized from information on vegetation and land cover, and species-specific habitat information. The number of significant habitats in a watershed is summarized in the Significant Aquatic Habitat Summary, and a reference to the original vegetation, landcover, or other datasets that map the significant habitat elements is provided for each watershed.The Aquatic Significant Habitats data set is expected to be used along with other ACE datasets to provide a robust assessment of the presence and relative importance of elements important for biodiversity conservation.
For more information, see the Aquatic Significant Habitats Factsheet at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=150855 .
About ACE 3.0:
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (CDFW) Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) is a compilation and analysis of the best-available statewide spatial information in California on biodiversity, rarity and endemism, harvested species, significant habitats, connectivity and wildlife movement, climate vulnerability, climate refugia, and other relevant data (e.g., other conservation priorities such as those identified in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), stressors, land ownership). ACE addresses both terrestrial and aquatic data. The ACE model combines and analyzes terrestrial information in a 2.5 square mile hexagon grid and aquatic information at the HUC12 watershed level across the state to produce a series of maps for use in non-regulatory evaluation of conservation priorities in California. The model addresses as many of CDFWs statewide conservation and recreational mandates as feasible using high quality data sources. High value areas statewide and in each USDA Ecoregion were identified. The ACE maps and data can be viewed in the ACE online map viewer, or downloaded for use in ArcGIS. For more detailed information see https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/Analysis/ACE and https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=24326 .
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