Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory (SEI) Project Boundaries (STE_SEI_PROJECT_BOUNDARIES_SVW) contain boundaries (study areas) and attributes describing each SEI project (project level metadata), and includes links to the locations of other data associated with the project (e.g. reports, polygon datasets, plot files). This layer is derived from the [STE_TEI_PROJECT_BOUNDARIES_SP](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/1313fac7-2ea1-4c6b-995b-bd421b7ec3c6) layer by filtering on the PROJECT_TYPE attribute. Project types include: SEI, TEMSEI, TEMSET, SEIWHR and NEMSEI. SEI project boundaries should be used in conjunction with SEI detailed inventory polygons which identify and map rare and fragile terrestrial ecosystems in a given area for the purpose of encouraging land-use decisions that will ensure the continued integrity of these ecosystems. SEI inventory polygons with full Resources Information Standards Committee (RISC) attributes can be accessed through the [Terrestrial Ecosystem Information (TEI) Data Distribution Packages](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/8fd15e4e-e7b1-4566-81d1-1ff8947bfd46). SEI inventory polygons with simplified and amalgamated (concatenated) RISC attributes can be accessed through the [Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory (SEI) Detailed Polygons with Short Attribute Table Spatial View](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/b00fd09f-ebe1-4b52-9717-6ef9c243d52e). **Current version**: v12 (2026-06-22)

Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory (SEI) Detailed Polygons (STE_SEI_ATTRIBUTE_POLYS_SVW) contains SEI inventory polygons with key and amalgamated (concatenated) attributes derived from the Resource Inventory Standards Committee (RISC) standard attributes. This layer is derived from the [STE_TEI_ATTRIBUTE_POLYS_SP](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/f2cd2cc3-5f58-481c-bf3c-64934acb6fad) layer by filtering on the PROJECT_TYPE attribute. Project types include: SEI, TEMSEI, TEMSET, SEIWHR and NEMSEI. SEI identifies and maps rare and fragile terrestrial ecosystems. Ecosystems mapped may include (but are not limited to) older forests, woodlands, coastal bluffs, herbaceous and sparsely vegetated ecosystems, grasslands, riparian ecosystems and wetlands. SEI methods include manual air photo interpretation or theming of other Ecosystem Mapping, each supported by selective field checking. SEI Detailed Polygons should be used in conjunction with [SEI Project Boundaries](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/5a5680fa-29e0-4ad2-b2ce-ff0dabc1f666) which contain boundaries (study areas) and attributes describing each project (project level metadata), plus links to the locations of other data associated with the project (e.g., reports, polygon datasets, plotfiles, legends). SEI inventory polygons with full RISC attributes can be accessed through the [Terrestrial Ecosystem Information (TEI) Data Distribution Packages](https://catalogue.data.gov.bc.ca/dataset/8fd15e4e-e7b1-4566-81d1-1ff8947bfd46). **Current version**: v12 (2026-06-22)

Layer that includes the known information on potential haul-out sites for the harbour seal and gray seal in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence according to a literature review of documents produced between 1978 and 2000.Additional InformationPotential haul-out sites for the harbor seal and gray seal were produced according to a literature review of the following documents:Andersen, A. et M. Gagnon. 1980. Les ressources halieutiques de l'estuaire du Saint-Laurent. Rapp. can. ind. sci. halieut. aquat., 119: iv + 56 p.Argus Groupe-Conseil inc. 1992. Synthèse et analyse des connaissances relatives aux ressources naturelles du Saguenay et de l'estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent. Parc marin du Saguenay. Service canadien des parcs, région du Québec.Biorex. 1995. Cartographie des ressources halieutiques et de leurs habitats dans l'estuaire moyen du Saint-Laurent. Rapport au ministère des Pêches et des Océans, Région du Québec, Division de la gestion de l'habitat du poisson. 36 p. + annexes. Biorex. 1996. Base de données géoréférencées sur les ressources halieutiques et leurs habitats : estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent et fjord du Saguenay. Rapport au ministère des Pêches et des Océans, Région du Québec, Division de la gestion de l'habitat du poisson. Volume 1 : 38 p. + annexes et Volume 2 : 34 p. + annexes.Chevrier, V. 1994. Cartographie des habitats du poisson aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Rapport technique no. 1. Réalisé en collaboration avec le M.P.O., Attention Frag'Îles et la M.R.C. des Îles-de-la-Madeleine. 24 p. + 1 ann. + 36 cartes.Comité de la zone d'intervention prioritaire (ZIP) de la Côte-Nord du golfe. 1999. Inventaire des habitats côtiers et marins sensibles de la Basse-Cote-Nord : Rapport final, présenté à Pêches et Océans Canada par le Comité ZIP Côte-Nord du Golfe. 126 p.Comité de protection de la santé et de l'environnement de Gaspé inc. (C.P.S.E.G.). 1996.Communication personnelle par Carol Fournier, MPO. 1999. Communications personnelles par Gosselin, J-F-. 1996. Desaulniers, J. 1989. Étude des populations de pinnipèdes de l'Archipel-de-Mingan et relation entre l'activité de chasse au phoque et la sécurité publique 1987 à 1989. Parcs Canada. Région du Québec. Service de la conservation des ressources naturelles.Enquêtes auprès des pêcheurs. 1995.Lavigne, P.-J. 1978. La chasse estivale du phoque dans le Saint-Laurent. Rapport non publié. 65 p. Pêches et Océans Canada, Région du Québec.Lesage, Véronique. 2000. Communication personnel.Lesage, V., M. O. Hammill, and K.M. Kovacs. 1995. Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) and Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) abundance in the St. Lawrence estuary. Can. Manuscr. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2307: iii + 19 p.Naturam Environnement inc. 1996. Caractérisation physique et biologique de l'habitat du poisson du secteur de Pointe-aux-Outardes. Realisé pour le compte de la Corporation du Parc régional de Pointe-aux-Outardes. 196 p.

STE_TEI_ATTRIBUTE_POLYS_SP contains Terrestrial Ecosystem Information (TEI) polygons with key and amalgamated (concatenated) attributes derived from the RISC (Resource Inventory Standards Committee) standard attributes. These describe the physical and biological characteristics of ecosystems at a landscape level. TEI currently includes Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping (TEM), Predictive Ecosystem Mapping (PEM), Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory (SEI), Terrain Mapping (TER), Wetland Mapping (WET) and Soil Mapping (SOIL). Mapping methods include manual air photo interpretation and modeling supported by limited field checking. **Current version**: v12 (2026-06-22)

Production of a layer that includes the known information on seaweed medium to high density areas in the Chaleur Bay, the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence according to a literature review of documents produced between 1995 and 1999.Additional InformationSeaweed density areas were produced according to a literature review of the following documents:Mariculture de Percé inc. 1995. Essai d'augmentation de la biomasse du homard "Récifs artificiels", Rapport no 95, Programme d'essai et d'expérimentation halieutiques et aquicoles.Lemieux, C. 1995. Acquisition de connaissances des habitats côtiers dans la région de Rimouski (1995). Rapport du Groupe-Conseil GENIVAR présenté au Ministère des Pêches et des Océans du Canada, Division de la Gestion de l’Habitat du Poisson, 52 pages + 2 annexes.Belzile, L., Lalumière, R., Cloutier, O. et J.F. Martel. 1997. Inventaire des laminaires dans la Baie des Chaleurs entre Miguasha et Bonaventure. Rapport conjoint Groupe-conseil Génivar inc. et Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du sud de la Gaspésie pour le compte de Pêches et Océans Canada, Québec. 13 pagesVaillancourt, M.-A. et C. Lafontaine. 1999. Caractérisation de la Baie Mitis. Jardins de Métis et Pêches et Océans Canada. Grand-Métis. 185 p.Calderón, I. 1996. Caractérisation de la végétation et de la faune ichtyenne de la baie de Sept-Îles. Document réalisé par la Corporation de protection de l'environnement de Sept-Îles pour Pêches et Océans Canada. 26p. + 5 annexes.Calderón, I. 1996. Caractérisation des habitats du poisson de la baie de Sept-Îles - Phase II. Corporation de protection de l'environnement de Sept-Îles. 37 pages.

Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) are areas within Canada's oceans that have been identified through formal scientific assessments as having special biological or ecological significance when compared with the surrounding marine ecosystem.Failure to define an area as an EBSA does not mean that it is unimportant ecologically. All areas serve ecological functions to some extent and require sustainable management. Rather, areas identified as EBSAs should be viewed as the most important areas where, with existing knowledge, regulators and marine users should be particularly risk averse to ensure ecosystems remain healthy and productive.Why are EBSAs identified?EBSA information is used to inform marine planning, including environmental assessment and the siting of marine-based activities, by:- Informing and guiding project-specific or regional environmental assessments;- Informing and guiding industries and regulators in their planning and operations, for example: EBSAs have been acknowledged and referred to (often as "Special Areas" or "Potentially Sensitive Areas") in oil and gas related assessments;- EBSA information has been provided to proponents of submarine cable projects to be used for route planning purposes;- Informing and guiding Integrated Oceans Management (IOM) process within five Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) and twelve marine bioregions;- Serving as a basis for the identification of Areas of Interest (AOIs) and of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) (individually and in the context of planning bioregional networks of MPAs).How are EBSAs identified?The process used to identify EBSAs is generally comprised of two phases. The first phase involves compiling scientific data and knowledge of a marine area's ecosystems - notably fish species, marine mammals, sea birds, marine flora, marine productivity, physical and chemical conditions and geology. "Knowledge" includes experiential knowledge of long-time uses of the areas. In some cases (e.g., in the Arctic), substantial efforts are taken to collect traditional knowledge on ecosystems and environmental conditions from community members, fish harvests, hunters and individuals whose knowledge of the study area complement often helps fill scientific data gaps.In the second phase, the available information for a marine area (e.g. a bioregion) is assessed against five nationally-established science-based criteria including:- Uniqueness: How distinct is the ecosystem of an area compared to surrounding ones?- Aggregation: Whether or not species populate or convene to the study area?- Fitness consequence: How critical the area is to the life history of the species that use it (e.g. is it a spawning or feeding ground)?- Naturalness: How pristine or disturbed by human activities is the study area?- Resilience: What is the ability of the ecosystem to bounce back if it is disturbed?Progress to date and next stepsEBSAs have been identified for large portions of Canada's Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as well as most of the Arctic oceans. EBSAs will continue to be identified in priority areas as resources become available to carry out the process. The boundaries or locations of existing EBSAs may be modified to reflect both new knowledge and changing environmental conditions.

Wooded areas of interest and particular ecosystems or habitats covered by the Interim Control Regulation (RCI) Nature plan amended by Regulation 1274-2.attributs:mb_ID - Identifier of the wooded environmentCOHABparticular - Presence of a particular ecosystem or habitat - Presence of a particular ecosystem or habitat (Yes/No) INFORCI - Additional information on the Interim Control Regulation**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

__The link: *Access the data directory* is available in the section*Dataset Description Sheets; Additional Information*__.The original ecoforest map of the third inventory is made from aerial photographs as well as several other products to inform the photointerpreter (forest interventions, information concerning natural disturbances, data from previous inventories, etc.). This map shows the various forest and ecological characteristics of the forest territory and corresponds to the forest profile up to the year in which the aerial photograph was taken. To learn more about ecoforest stratification parameters, simply consult Chapter 3 of the document [*Ecoforest Mapping Standards — Third Ecoforest Inventory (MRNF, 2009) *] (https://mrnf.gouv.qc.ca/documents/forets/inventaire/norme-cartographie-ecoforestiere.pdf). __Note that__ the original ecoforest map of the third inventory has been complete since 2003 and that no new cartographic information has been added since then. Note, however, that improvements were made to the dataset format in 2025.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

Inventory of building footprints in the City of Rouyn-Noranda.**This third party metadata element was translated using an automated translation tool (Amazon Translate).**

High-resolution map of leading tree species distribution for Canada’s forested ecosystems (2019). Leading tree species map produced from a 2019 Landsat image composite, geographic and climate data, elevation derivatives, and remote sensing derived phenology following the framework described in Hermosilla et al. (2022). Regional classification models were generated based on Canada’s National Forest Inventory using a 150x150 km tiling system. The leading tree species are defined by representing the most voted tree species from the Random Forests classification models (i.e. the class with the highest class membership probability).The data represents leading tree species of Canada's forested ecosystems in 2019. An image compositing window of August 1 ± 30 days was used to generate the best-available-pixel (BAP) image composites utilized as source data for the classification.The science and methods developed to generate the information outcomes shown here, that track and characterize the history of Canada’s forests, were led by Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada, developed within the framework of Canada’s National Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring System (NTEMS), partnered with the University of British Columbia, augmented by processing capacity from Digital Research Alliance of Canada.For an overview on the data, image processing, and methods applied, as well as information on independent accuracy assessment of the data, see Hermosilla et al. (2022) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113276When using this data, please cite as: Hermosilla, T., Bastyr, A., Coops, N.C., White, J.C., Wulder, M.A., 2022. Mapping the presence and distribution of tree species in Canada’s forested ecosystems. Remote Sensing of Environment 282, 113276.