The dataset has been used for the Great Lakes Conservation Blueprint Project for Aquatic Biodiversity. It can be used for: * research and aquatic species inventories * environmental impact and monitoring * watershed based resource planning and management * fisheries and other aquatic analysis Official GEO title: Aquatic Ecosystems Classification: Great Lakes Basin - Coast, Streams, Lakes and Wetlands

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.

This dataset was created to: * better understand the state of the shoreline * track changes over time * identify priority areas for restoration The dataset provides important information for fish and wildlife habitat assessments. This includes identification of significant fish and wildlife areas and habitats like wetlands, woodlands, spawning habitat and biological productive areas. The dataset contains 2 spatial files: * a vector linear layer representing shoreline reaches * another vector polygon layer capturing shoreline and near-shore structures

This spatial dataset represents the locations of aquatic resource area (ARA) line segments derived from corresponding line features in the Ontario Hydro Network. ARA line segments may represent a portion of a water body or an entire water body (such as a lake, river or stream). Attributes for each location may include: * physical characteristics such as water temperature and depth * fish species The ARA data classes are the authoritative source for generic spatial data related to fish species in Ontario. The data can be used for: * forest and fisheries management planning * municipal planning * natural heritage and land use planning * issuing work permits under the [Public Lands Act](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90p43), 1990 * issuing licenses under the [Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/97f41), 1997 * fulfilling public information requests There are additional sensitive data related to provincially tracked species and species at risk that are not available as part of this open data package. Distribution of sensitive species data is approved on a need-to-know basis. Requests should be sent to [geospatial@ontario.ca](mailto:geospatial@ontario.ca).

This dataset series contains line, point & polygon features delineating hydrology. It is a combination of a number of data sets that are a part of Vicmap Hydro. Datasets in the series are listed below. See their metadata entries for more detailed metadata. Features include (but are not limited to); rivers, lakes, dams, reservoirs, marinas, and desalination plants. Watercourse Network 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATERCOURSE); Water Point 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_POINT); Water Area (polygon) 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_AREA_POLYGON): Water Area Fuzzy (polygon) - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_AREA_FUZZY): Water Structure Point 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_STRUCT_POINT); Water Structure Line 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_STRUCT_LINE); Water Structure Area (polygon) 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_WATER_STRUCT_AREA_POLYGON); Navigation Line 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_NAVIGATION_LINE); Navigation Point 1:25,000 - Vicmap Hydro (HY_NAVIGATION_POINT);

Ontario Integrated Hydrology (OIH) data is used to generate watersheds and support provincial-scale hydrology applications including: * watershed generation * hydrologic modelling * watercourse network analysis Four key datasets are represented in each data package: * stream network (Enhanced Watercourse) * hydrology-enforced digital elevation model [DEM ] (Enforced DEM) * flow direction grid (Enhanced Flow Direction - EFDIR) * raster representation of the stream network (StreamGrid) __Technical information__ For the first time, OIH data is complete for the entire province making it possible to create a watershed for any location in Ontario. This includes areas flowing in from neighbouring provinces and Minnesota with the following exceptions: * points on the international border that drain to Lake Superior, south of Pigeon River * points on the international border that drain the Great Lakes connecting channels and St. Lawrence River stateside * points along the Ottawa River that drain from Quebec __Special note: North West package__ The North West package contains hydrography data for the entire Rainy River Basin, an area which straddles the international border between Canada and the United States. The data stateside originates from the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) as of February/March 2014. This data has been harmonized with the Ontario Hydro Network (OHN) to create the Enhanced Watercourse and Integrated Waterbody layers found within the North West package. For more information on when the data was initially extracted and incorporated, refer to these fields stored in the attribute table of each vector layer in the geodatabase: * Effective Date (EFF_DATE) * Geometry Update Date (GEO_UPD_DT) The data stateside is a static snapshot of NHD intended to support regional modeling. Please refer to the [United States Geological Survey (USGS)](https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/ngp/national-hydrography) website for the most current version of NHD. Data is updated after the completion of major updates to source data (such as OHN and/or the Provincial DEM).