Eelgrass Beds 2009 Set: This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery. Data have been summarized in a technical report: Tiner, R., K. McGuckin, M. Fields, N. Fuhrman, T. Halavik, and A. MacLachlan. 2010. 2009 Eelgrass Survey for Eastern Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Program, Northeast Region, Hadley, MA. National Wetlands Inventory report. 16 pp. plus Appendix. This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery.

Eelgrass Beds 2002 Set: Field Verification of Eelgrass beds, located in the Long Island Sound, Eastern shore of Connecticut from Clinton Harbor to the Rhode Island State border, Fishers Island NYS and Eastern portion of the Northshore of Long Island NYS. Interpretation and identification of Eelgrass beds located in the Long Island Sound Eastern Connecticut shoreline, Fishers Island NYS and the Northshore of Long Island NYS. Generated from 1:20,000 True Color Aerial Photography, 6/18/02.

Eelgrass Beds 2009 Set: This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery. Data have been summarized in a technical report: Tiner, R., K. McGuckin, M. Fields, N. Fuhrman, T. Halavik, and A. MacLachlan. 2010. 2009 Eelgrass Survey for Eastern Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Program, Northeast Region, Hadley, MA. National Wetlands Inventory report. 16 pp. plus Appendix. This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery.

Eelgrass Beds 2009 Set: This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery. Data have been summarized in a technical report: Tiner, R., K. McGuckin, M. Fields, N. Fuhrman, T. Halavik, and A. MacLachlan. 2010. 2009 Eelgrass Survey for Eastern Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Program, Northeast Region, Hadley, MA. National Wetlands Inventory report. 16 pp. plus Appendix. This data layer was created by the Conservation Management Institute, Virginia Tech University for the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. The project area encompasses the eastern end of Long Island Sound, including Fishers Island and the North Fork of Long Island. It includes all coastal embayments and nearshore waters (i.e., to a depth of -15 feet at mean low water) bordering the Sound from Clinton Harbor in the west to the Rhode Island border in the east and including Fishers Island and the North Shore of Long Island from Southold to Orient Point and Plum Island. The study area includes the tidal zone of 18 sub-basins in Connecticut: Little Narragansett Bay, Stonington Harbor, Quiambog Cove, Mystic Harbor, Palmer-West Cove, Mumford Cove, Paquonock River, New London Harbor, Goshen Cove, Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme Shores, Connecticut River, Willard Bay, Westbrook Harbor, Duck Island Roads, and Clinton Harbor, and two areas in New York: Fishers Island and a portion of the North Shore of Long Island. Delineations of 2009 eelgrass beds were completed using 1:20,000 true color aerial photography flown at low tide on 7/14/2009 and 7/15/2009. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern New England-New York Bight Coastal Program Office in October, November, and December 2009 with 193 field sites checked. The 2009 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2006 NAIP 1 meter true color imagery.

Eelgrass Beds 2006 Set: This data layer was created by the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Region 5. Delineations of 2006 eelgrass beds were completed on the eastern Connecticut shoreline to the Rhode Island border. Fisher Island, Plum Island, and the northern shore of Long Island, New York were also included in this work. Spring 2006 True Color aerial photography was taken at a scale of 1:20,000 and used for detemining location and delineation of eelgrass beds. Extensive field work was conducted by the USFWS Region 5 Southern Coastal Zone program in September, October and November, with 290 field sites. The 2006 photography was scanned and geo-rectified using 2004 ADS 1/2 meter true color imagery. This dataset contains point data for eelgrass verification field work completed in 2006 by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Field work was conducted during September, October and November of 2006. The resulting information was used extensivley in the creation of the accompanyng polygonal eelgrass dataset.

Eelgrass Beds Historic Set: Historic Eelgrass Points is a 1:24,000-scale, point feature-based layer that depicts the locations of historic eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) in Long Island Sound, the Connecticut River, the Quinnipiac River and other bays, harbors and waterbodies in Connecticut's coastal area. It also includes several points located along the north shore of Long Island. There are a total of 131 point features, the majority of which are located east of the Connecticut River. Point features in this layer are compiled from two major sources: 1) the polygon feature label points in the Historic Eelgrass Beds polygon layer representing sources with a mapping component; and 2) additional points that were based on historic literature review that had no mapping component. Source information including source description and collection date for each point is described in the layer's table data. Feature locations are inexact. Because of the variety of source maps and methods used for their automation, this coverage should be considered to have limited spatial accuracy and is appropriate for general uses only. Actual data collection ranged from 1873 through 1996. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated. It does not represent current conditions. Historic Eelgrass Bed Polygons is a 1:24,000-scale, polygon feature-based layer that depicts the locations of historic eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) in Long Island Sound and the Niantic River, as well as in other bays, harbors and waterbodies in Connecticut's coastal area. It also includes several points located along the north shore of Long Island. There are a total of 52 polygon features, all of which (except the Long Island points), are located within or east of the Niantic River. This layer can be used with Historic Eelgrass Points. This layer does not represent current conditions. Rather, it depicts historic eelgrass bed locations that were observed and defined either cartographically or narratively over the course of many years and from various sources. The dates of each source's data collection are noted in the attribute table. Feature locations are inexact. Because of the variety of source maps and methods used for their automation, this information should be considered to have limited spatial accuracy and is appropriate for general uses only. The data was taken from maps of various scales and projections that were drawn between 1905 and 1996. These maps were reduced to approximately 1:24,000 scale and adjusted for best fit; eelgrass areas were redrafted onto USGS Topographic Quadrangle maps for digitizing. In order to create a single polygon coverage, areas were considered to represent a maximum extent of eelgrass beds. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated.

Eelgrass Beds 93-95 Set: Eelgrass Sample Points is a 1:24,000-scale, point feature-based layer that depicts the locations where eelgrass (Zostera marina) was either observed or where a location would be potentially favorable for future eelgrass growth. Sample points were taken along Connecticut's coast in Long Island Sound, and in major bays, harbors and rivers along the shoreline. The point features in this layer were compiled from field research using global positioning system (GPS) equipment. Feature locations were not always exact due to equipment failure or lack of satellite reception. In those cases, points were estimated from field notes. Some point locations were corrected based on field notes or hydrography and bathymetry conditions at the sample point location. The number of field points that were altered were as follows: In 1993, 32 of 290 points (11%); in 1994, 93 of 454 points (20%); in 1995, 37 of 105 points (35%). Data compilation occurred on 17 days between 7/21/1993 and 11/16/1995; exact dates of each source's data collection are noted in the attribute table. A total of 849 point locations were surveyed. The westernmost point is Frash Pond in Stratford, Connecticut and the easternmost point is the Pawcatuck River on the Connecticut/Rhode Island Border. Eelgrass was found at 484 locations and was described as either high, medium, or low density, or simply as present or absent. Eelgrass was absent at 365 locations. Publication of the datalayer was in 1997. This layer is not updated. This layer does not represent current conditions. Observed Eelgrass Beds is a 1:24,000 scale, polygon feature-based layer that depicts the locations of observed eelgrass beds in Long Island Sound, in major rivers, and within bays, harbors and other waterbodies along Connecticut's coast. The layer is based on information from the Eelgrass Sample Points layer. It represents conditions at a particular point in time (1993 to 1995). During the 1993-95 field seasons a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology led by Charles Yarish, equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS), SCUBA, and a 20' boat surveyed over 800 potential eelgrass locations. Their GPS coordinates and field notes were used to create a point coverage entitled Eelgrass Sample Points, which was plotted and checked on a 1:24000 scale base map of the Connecticut shore. These point locations, observations, and the nearshore bathymetry were then used to delineate areas representing both observed and potential eelgrass beds. Eelgrass beds were initially digitized at 1:24,000 scale, but have been edited and revised on screen at higher resolution. Keeping in mind the temporal and spatial variability of eelgrass, beds may vary in size, shape, and density from year to year. Feature locations may not always be exact due to equipment failure or lack of satellite reception. In those cases, points were estimated from field notes. It should be noted that the Observed Eelgrass Beds layer is not a complete dataset of all observed eelgrass sites in Connecticut and/or Long Island Sound. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated. It does not represent current conditions. There are 101 polygon features representing observed eelgrass beds in this layer. Geographic locations are as follows: westernmost areas: Clinton Harbor; easternmost areas: Little Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island waters. Observed beds range in size from .003 acre (131 sq. ft.) to 49 acres (2,136,608 sq. ft.). The total area of observed beds is 632.6 acres. Potential Eelgrass Beds is a 1:24,000 scale, polygon feature-based layer that depicts the locations of potential eelgrass beds in Long Island Sound, in major rivers, and within bays, harbors and other waterbodies along Connecticut's coast. The layer is based on information from the Observed Eelgrass Beds and Eelgrass Sample Points layers. It represents conditions at a particular point in time (1993 to 199

Eelgrass Beds Historic Set: Historic Eelgrass Points is a 1:24,000-scale, point feature-based layer that depicts the locations of historic eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) in Long Island Sound, the Connecticut River, the Quinnipiac River and other bays, harbors and waterbodies in Connecticut's coastal area. It also includes several points located along the north shore of Long Island. There are a total of 131 point features, the majority of which are located east of the Connecticut River. Point features in this layer are compiled from two major sources: 1) the polygon feature label points in the Historic Eelgrass Beds polygon layer representing sources with a mapping component; and 2) additional points that were based on historic literature review that had no mapping component. Source information including source description and collection date for each point is described in the layer's table data. Feature locations are inexact. Because of the variety of source maps and methods used for their automation, this coverage should be considered to have limited spatial accuracy and is appropriate for general uses only. Actual data collection ranged from 1873 through 1996. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated. It does not represent current conditions. Historic Eelgrass Bed Polygons is a 1:24,000-scale, polygon feature-based layer that depicts the locations of historic eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) in Long Island Sound and the Niantic River, as well as in other bays, harbors and waterbodies in Connecticut's coastal area. It also includes several points located along the north shore of Long Island. There are a total of 52 polygon features, all of which (except the Long Island points), are located within or east of the Niantic River. This layer can be used with Historic Eelgrass Points. This layer does not represent current conditions. Rather, it depicts historic eelgrass bed locations that were observed and defined either cartographically or narratively over the course of many years and from various sources. The dates of each source's data collection are noted in the attribute table. Feature locations are inexact. Because of the variety of source maps and methods used for their automation, this information should be considered to have limited spatial accuracy and is appropriate for general uses only. The data was taken from maps of various scales and projections that were drawn between 1905 and 1996. These maps were reduced to approximately 1:24,000 scale and adjusted for best fit; eelgrass areas were redrafted onto USGS Topographic Quadrangle maps for digitizing. In order to create a single polygon coverage, areas were considered to represent a maximum extent of eelgrass beds. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated.

The park is developing a protocol to monitor the extent of eelgrass beds through remote sensing.

This shapefile dataset was designed using polygons extracted from the Cartography of Coastal Ecosystems of Maritime Quebec geodatabase (2022, Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Management of Coastal Zones, Fisheries and Oceans Canada), described in the paragraph below. It consists of polygons with eelgrass and incorporates attributes describing the vegetation cover, the composition of the seagrass beds, the associated ecosystem name, the imagery data that allowed photo-interpretation and the presence or absence of field data. A unique sequence number associated with each polygon makes it possible to trace the paired polygon of the geodatabase of coastal ecosystems to attribute values not detailed in this shapefile. The study area includes all of the estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec, with the exception of certain sectors, including most of the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island, with the exception of villages of Kegaska, la Romaine, Chevery, Blanc-Sablon and Port-Menier. Some islands off the estuary and gulf coasts are part of the region covered, such as Île d'Orléans, Isle-aux-Coudres, Île Verte and Île Bonaventure. The Mapping of Coastal Ecosystems of Maritime Quebec was carried out jointly by the Laboratory for Dynamics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (LDGIZC) of the University of Quebec at Rimouski as part of the Coastal Resilience Project; and by the Fisheries and Oceans Canada team, as part of the Integrated Marine Response Planning Program (IMRP). A classification of coastal ecosystems was carried out on more than 4,200 km of coastal corridor, focusing on estuarine and maritime coasts of Quebec located between the limit of the upper foreshore and the shallow infralittoral (about 10m deep). The mapping method developed is based on semi-automated segmentation and a photo-interpretation of coastal ecosystems, using very high resolution multispectral photographs (RBVI) acquired between 2015 and 2020 by DFO. The classification of polygons is based on the assignment of predefined value classes for the biological and physical attributes under study (e.g., substrates, plant type, vegetation cover, geosystem, etc. ). Helicopter-born oblique photographs and field data helped to reduce the uncertainty associated with photo-interpretation. UQAR and DFO conducted field sampling campaigns targeting the mediolittoral (4,390 stations) and the lower mediolittoral and infralittoral zones (2,959 stations), respectively , which validated some of the attributes identified by photo-interpretation and provided detailed information on community structure . The geodatabase of the Mapping of coastal ecosystems is hosted and managed by UQAR on their SIGEC-Web cartographic platform: https://ldgizc.uqar.ca/Web/sigecweb Credits © DFO (2023, Fisheries and Oceans Canada) Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L., Pitre, L.D., Grégoire, B. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Cartographie des macrophytes estuariens et marins du Québec. Rapp. Tech. Can. Sci. halieut. Aquat. 3617 : v + 99 p. Grégoire, B., Pitre, L.D., Provencher-Nolet, L., Paquette, L. and Desjardins, C. 2024. Distribution d’organismes marins de la zone côtière peu profonde du Québec recensés par imagerie sous-marine de 2017 à 2021. Rapp. tech. can. sci. halieut. aquat. 3616 : v + 78 p. Grégoire, B. 2022. Biodiversité du relevé côtier Planification pour une intervention environnementale intégrée dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent (2017–2021). Observatoire global du Saint-Laurent. [Jeu de données] Jobin, A., Marquis, G., Provencher-Nolet, L., Gabaj Castrillo. M. J., Trubiano C., Drouet, M., Eustache-Létourneau, D., Drejza, S. Fraser, C. Marie, G. et P. Bernatchez (2021) Cartographie des écosystèmes côtiers du Québec maritime — Rapport méthodologique. Chaire de recherche en géoscience côtière, Laboratoire de dynamique et de gestion intégrée des zones côtières, Université du Québec à Rimouski. Rapport remis au ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements