This data collection comprises seasonal distribution maps and model outputs of selected seabird, pinniped and cetacean species off the Pacific coast of Washington. The maps were developed by predicting relative density using associative models linking at-sea species observations with environmental covariates. Seabird, pinniped and cetacean observations were compiled from federal, state and NGO monitoring programs with data between 1995 and 2014. Environmental covariates were processed from long-term archival satellite, oceanographic and hydrographic databases. Selected species include: Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus), Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata), Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata), Common Murre (Uria aalge), Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), Northern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), Pink-footed Shearwater (Puffinus creatopus), Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus), Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). Summer season (April to October) predictions were developed for all species. In addition, winter season (November to March) predictions were developed for Rhinoceros Auklet, Common Murre and Black-footed Albatross. The collection includes multiple geospatial model outputs for each species and season combination. Data are grouped into seabird, pinniped and cetacean datasets, and each dataset includes its own data documentation record.

Sandy ocean beaches are a popular recreational destination, often surrounded by communities containing valuable real estate. Development is on the rise despite the fact that coastal infrastructure is subjected to flooding and erosion. As a result, there is an increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is compiling existing reliable historical shoreline data along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii under the National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. There is no widely accepted standard for analyzing shoreline change. Existing shoreline data measurements and rate calculation methods vary from study to study and prevent combining results into state-wide or regional assessments. The impetus behind the National Assessment project was to develop a standardized method of measuring changes in shoreline position that is consistent from coast to coast. The goal was to facilitate the process of periodically and systematically updating the results in an internally consistent manner.

This data set is a compilation of modeled seabird prevalence predictions for a selection of species including Razorbill (Alca torda), Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis), Wilson’s Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus), Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus), and all auks (Alcidae), and relative abundance of cetaceans including humpback whale (megaptera novaeangliae), right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis), and fin whale (Balaenoptera musculus). These data were generated to improve the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary management plan review and coastal zone management decisions in the Gulf of Maine and surrounding area. These geospatial data sets are part of a large compilation of data provided in the referenced NCCOS (2006) technical memorandum.