This dataset is a combination of landscape unit, biogeoclimatic zone/subzone/variants and Cariboo Chilcotin Land Use Plan (CCLUP) leading group type (PineGroup or FirGroup) used to roll up seral stage assessments in the Cariboo Natural Resource Region. Refer to the **Cariboo Regional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Update Note #2: Amalgamation of Small NDT-BEC Units in Relation to Assessment of Seral Objectives and Old Growth Management Area Planning** and **Cariboo Regional Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Update Note #3: Definition of the Fir Group and Pine Group for Purposes of Seral Stage Assessments within NDT 4 of the Cariboo-Chilcotin** (see below under "Related Links") for more information on how seral stage assessment amalgamation units are derived.

This dataset is used for national and coarse-scale provincial reporting such as analyses of climate, demographics and watersheds.

The Environmental Studies Research Fund (ESRF) Regions are legally described in Part I and Part II of the Schedule in the Environmental Studies Research Fund Regions Regulations in the Canada Petroleum Resources Act. This data collection is for illustrative purposes only and includes:• 1 dataset illustrating ESRF prescribed regions 1 to 31 as they are described in the ESRF Regions Regulations.• 1 dataset illustrating the areas where levies are no longer applied to ESRF prescribed regions. These areas include lands that are described in the ESRF Regions Regulations but have since been devolved to the Government of Yukon or the Government of Northwest Territories as part of the 2003 Yukon Devolution and 2014 Northwest Territories Devolution, respectively. Once the Yukon Act and Northwest Territories Act came into effect, lands subject to devolution were no longer considered frontier lands or Canada lands, and therefore no longer subject to ESRF levies under the Canada Petroleum Resources Act. The geospatial extents used in this dataset represent those identified in the Devolution Agreements. Future updates to Part II, section 3 of the Schedule in the ESRF Regions Regulations will reflect the Yukon and Northwest Territories Devolutions.• 3 maps (National, North, South).• 1 table compiling the historical levies for each ESRF prescribed region.Context:The Environmental Studies Research Fund (ESRF) is a research program which sponsors environmental and social studies designed to assist in the decision-making process related to oil and gas exploration and development on Canada's frontier lands. The ESRF is directed by a 12-member Management Board which includes representation from the federal government, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSOER), the oil and gas industry, and the public. The ESRF is administered by a secretariat which resides in the Offshore Management Division in Natural Resources Canada.Since 1987, the ESRF has received its legislative mandate through the Canada Petroleum Resources Act. The ESRF regions are described in the Environmental Studies Research Fund Regions Regulations. As well, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada–Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation and Offshore Renewable Energy Management Act provide legislative direction in the southern ESRF regions.Funding for ESRF is collected annually through levies paid by lease-holding oil and gas companies active in a specific ESRF region. In accordance with the legislation, levies are recommended by the Management Board to the Ministers of Natural Resources and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs for approval. Levies in the southern regions in areas governed by an offshore Accord are subject to final approval by the respective offshore regulator (i.e., the C-NLOPB, or the CNSOER). Levies are calculated by multiplying the levy rate of a region by the number of hectares of land under lease.The ESRF has sponsored studies on biodiversity; environmental effects and monitoring; social and economic issues; ice, icebergs, and ice detection; oil spill research and countermeasures; sea bottom ice scour; sediment transport; Indigenous Knowledge; and waves.

Ecodivisions are areas of broad climatic and physiographic uniformity, defined at the continental level.

Pepin et al. (2014) stated that three nested spatial scales were identified as relevant for the development of ecosystem summaries and management plans: Bioregion, Ecosystem Production Unit (EPU), and Ecoregion. A bioregion is composed by one or more EPUs, while an EPU consists of a combination of ecoregions, which represent elements with different physical and biological characteristics based on the analytical criteria applied. Pepin et al. (2014) reported on the consolidation of data and analyses of ecoregion structure for the continental shelf areas from the Labrador Sea to the mid-Atlantic Bight and provided recommendations on the definition of EPUs in the NAFO Convention Area. The results of two K-means clustering analyses (one geographically constrained and one un-constrained) and expert knowledge (including and considering location of ecoregions, knowledge of the distribution of major marine resources and fish stocks, and geographic proximity for delineation/definition of potential management units) served as guides for evaluation by NAFO’s (North Atlantic Fisheries Organization) working group on ecosystem science and assessments (WG-ESA). The final consensus from the discussions identified eight (8) major EPUs that can serve as practical candidate management units (from the 50 m isobaths, where research vessel data were available, seaward to the 1500 m isobaths) that consist of the Labrador Shelf (NAFO subareas 2GH), the northeast Newfoundland Shelf (subareas 2J3K), the Grand Banks (subareas 3LNO), Flemish Cap (subarea 3M), the Scotian Shelf (subareas 4VnsWX), Georges Bank (parts of subareas 5Ze and 5Zw), the Gulf of Maine (subarea 5Y and part of 5Ze) and the mid-Atlantic Bight (part of subarea 5Zw and subareas 6ABC). Southern Newfoundland (subarea 3Ps) was not included in the original analysis because fall survey data were unavailable. However, it was later added as an EPU after additional analysis of the fish community structure and trends using survey data from the spring, which indicated that this area is heavily influenced by the surrounding EPUs (NAFO 2015).The proposed candidate management units correspond to the EPUs that define major areas within the bioregions which contain a reasonably well defined food web/production system. The working group noted that the consensus solution represents a compromise that aims to define management units based on the boundaries of existing NAFO subareas that are appropriate for estimation of ecosystem and fishery production. References: NAFO. 2015. Report of the 8th Meeting of the NAFO Scientific Council (SC) Working Group on Ecosystem Science and Assessment (WGESA). 17-26 November 2015, Dartmouth, Canada. NAFO SCS Doc. 15/19.Pepin, P., Higdon, J., Koen-Alonso, M., Fogarty, M., and N. Ollerhead. 2014. Application of ecoregion analysis to the identification of Ecosystem Production Units (EPUs) in the NAFO Convention Area. NAFO SCR Doc. 14/069.

An ecoprovince is an area with consistent climatic or oceanography, relief and regional landforms. There one oceanic, two marine / terrestrial and seven terrestrial ecoprovinces occurring within British Columbia. Ecoprovinces are meant to be mapped at 1:2,000,000 for use in provincial state of the environment reporting

Ecodomains are areas broad climatic uniformity, defined at the global level

RHAs/Health Regions are geographic areas which are used to define populations and catchment areas for the administration and delivery of health services. This file provides RHA boundaries for cartographic and analytical purposes.Within Manitoba there are five Regional Health Authorities (or "RHAs") responsible for the delivery of health services in five specific areas of the province described in the legislation as "health regions." (In practice, the terms "health region" and "RHA" are often used interchangeably to describe these geographic areas.). This file contains boundaries for the health regions for each Regional Health Authority in Manitoba. Fields included (Alias (Field Name): Field description.) RHA Code (RHACODE): Two-digit numeric code which uniquely identifies a specific legislatively defined RHA RHA Name (RHAName): This field contains a simple name for each RHA, suitable for use as a label, in English. Nom de l'office régionale de la santé (RHANomFr): This field contains a simple name for each RHA, suitable for use as a label, in French. RHA Area - total (sq km) (RHAArea): The calculated geodesic area, in square kilometres, of the area within a given RHA's boundaries. RHA Area - excludes major lakes (sq km) (LandArea): The calculated geodesic area, in square kilometres, of the area within a given RHA's boundaries, with the area of major lakes excluded. For population density calculations, we recommend the use of this area value. The following major lakes have been excluded: Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, Lake Winnipegosis, and Cedar Lake.

An ecoregion is an area with major physiographic and minor macroclimatic or oceanographic variation. There are 43 ecoregion in British Columbia of which 39 are terrestrial. Ecodivsions are meant to be mapped at 1:500,000 for regional strategic planning

This dataset is used is used to determine the significance or status of wetland classes and certain other natural heritage features. It is also used to set targets for Wilderness Class Provincial parks, State of the Forest reporting and to study natural disturbance regimes.