Administrative and political boundaries (boundaries) Legal land descriptions for the NWT.

The “Terrestrial Ecoregions of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecoregions. An ecoregion is a subdivision of an ecoprovince and is characterized by distinctive regional ecological factors, including climate, physiography, vegetation, soil, water, and fauna. For example, the Maritime Barrens ecoregion (no. 114) is one of nine ecoregions within the Newfoundland ecoprovince.

This file is made up of several types of boundaries being Municipal, Development Area Regulations, Land Claims Final Agreement, Self Government Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, Local Area Plans, and Community Plans. Some areas have more than one boundary for different purposes. The boundaries chosen and shown here are the most current from our inventory.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

The “Terrestrial Ecozones of Canada” dataset provides representations of ecozones. An ecozone is the top level of the four levels of ecosystems that the National Ecological Framework for Canada defines. The framework divides Canada into 15 terrestrial ecozones that define its ecological mosaic on a sub-continental scale. Ecozones represent an area of the earth’s surface as large and very generalized ecological units. These units are characterized by interactive and adjusting abiotic and biotic factors.

The Plains, Northern, Foothills Boundary feature class contains polygon features representing Department of Energy Regional Boundaries for the Province of Alberta.

Ecoregions of Yukon, 2014 is an update to the Yukon portion of the 1995 National Ecological Framework (NEF) described in Ecoregions of Yukon (Smith et al 2004). Because of people's familiarity with the 1995 NEF, and its use in management and planning, these ecoregion revisions attempted to retain the 1995 divisions unless there were compelling reasons to change them. In Yukon there were several compelling reasons to revise the 1995 NEF: 1) capitalize on availability of digital inventory and knowledge and improve or adjust the 1995 mapping as necessary, 2) harmonize stratification along jurisdictional borders, 3) incorporate line work updates to the Soil Landscape polygons by Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) happening concurrently, and 4) include Yukon revisions in a national update of NEF ecozones across Canada - led by Environment Canada (CCEA 2017).Mapping the ecoregions of Yukon is largely a top-down process and the divisional hierarchy is nested. The lowest level of the hierarchy is the Soil Landscapes of Canada unit (Soil Landscape Component, or SLC). SLCs are organized according to a uniform set of national soil and landscape criteria that are based on permanent natural attributes. SLCs polygons are not published in this release. Ecozones, ecoregions and ecodistricts are subdivisions at the continental scale of climatic zones; attention to physiography increases as map scale increases. There are many reasonable ways to distinguish Yukon ecoregions. Ecoregions are delineated principally on abiotic features, such as bedrock geology, glacial history and physiography, and so are relatively stable (i.e. enduring) over time. While considering changes to the 1995 NEF, the project team continued to recognize major physiographic and climatic distinctions. At the ecozone level the team included a stronger regional climate element and related the ecozone level to the bioclimate framework.The Ecoregions of Yukon concept is used for broad scale management applications. Its structure helps define ecologically relevant management units at various scales. The Ecoregions of the Yukon Territory (Smith et al. 2004) describes Yukon's ecozones and ecoregions represented in the 1995 NEF (ESWG 1995). This reference continues to be a useful and relevant resource the Ecoregions of Yukon, 2014. For a fulsome treatment of the updates in the Ecoregions of Yukon, 2014 please refer to the report "Ecoregions of Yukon: Revisions to the Yukon portion of the National Ecological Framework." (McKenna, K, J. Meikle and N. Flynn 2014).Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

Parks Canada’s National Program for Ecological Corridors was initiated to strengthen the network of protected areas across Canada through the creation of ecological corridors. To achieve this goal, Parks Canada sought out to develop tools for a common approach on the scientific and governance aspects of corridor creation and management. The National Priority Areas for Ecological Corridors (NPAECs) were developed using a scientific framework for national-scale prioritization of where ecological corridors are most urgently needed. Improving or maintaining ecological connectivity in these areas will greatly benefit biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. The NPAECs were identified based on a methodology that is multivariate, data driven, national in scale, and spatially explicit at a coarse resolution. The Criteria for Ecological Corridors in Canada provide a common approach to ensure ecological corridors are managed and stewarded to maintain or restore effective ecological connectivity, while upholding Indigenous stewardship values. They are derived from the internationally recognized International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Guidelines on Connectivity and adapted to the Canadian context. The NPAECs geographic data layer, the list of datasets used to identify them, the Criteria and their accompanying guidance can be found below. More details and context about both program elements are available on the Program’s webpage (https://parks.canada.ca/nature/science/conservation/corridors-ecologiques-ecological-corridors).

Ecological Reserves are part of a network of Designated Areas. The goal of the network is to create and maintain a comprehensive, dynamic and accessible data set (digital map) that accurately defines land areas in Saskatchewan that have various levelUnique ecological reserves that are designed to protect representative areas of natural landscapes and to conserve biological diversity.

Surveyed Borders are an Administrative Land Object that represents the spatial limits of a jurisdiction that is created and managed as a separate entity within the ICM database. In the original ICM dataset from NRCAN, this feature class is called Administrative Boundaries. Administrative Boundaries are available for the Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut and may include International, Provincial and Territorial boundaries. This cadastral framework provides a parcel base of properly structured vector data designed and suited for Geographical Information System (GIS) application and can be used for land management purposes. This data set is not be used for defining boundaries. Administrative decisions should be based on legal documents and legal survey plans.Distributed from [GeoYukon](https://yukon.ca/geoyukon) by the [Government of Yukon](https://yukon.ca/maps) . Discover more digital map data and interactive maps from Yukon's digital map data collection.For more information: [geomatics.help@yukon.ca](mailto:geomatics.help@yukon.ca)

The Ecological Land Mass (ELM) classification was established through the 2020 National Interest Land Mass (NILM) Update. ELM lands describe ecological corridors that have inherent natural values and that protect Species at Risk (SAR) and their habitats. The classification identifies lands to protect in perpetuity through planning and partnership efforts. ELM was derived from two separate analyses - the Ontario side from the AECOM natural linkages analysis (2012) and the Quebec side from Del Degan, Masse (DDM) ecological corridors analysis (2012). Adjustments were made as appropriate.