Department of ENR/ITI Administrative Boundaries

This data set includes the locations of all known seabird colonies along the coast of British Columbia, and provides a compilation of the population estimates of seabirds breeding at those colonies since 1980, and historical estimates prior to 1980 for some colonies. It does not include an estimate of the numbers of juvenile birds or non-breeders in the population. The rationale for developing this inventory was the recognized need for a product that could assist with: coastal zone and conservation area planning; emergency response to environmental emergencies and identifying areas of potential interactions between seabirds and anthropogenic activities. In addition, the data used to develop the document provides a baseline to compare with future seabird population estimates in order to measure the impacts of shifts in composition, abundance and/or distribution of prey, and climatic and oceanographic changes. The database is not a substitute for on-site surveys usually required for environmental assessment. Here we present data on the breeding colony population estimates of the 17 species of seabirds (including two storm petrels, three cormorants, one gull, and eight alcids) and one shorebird (Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani) that breed on the coast of British Columbia. Over 5.5 million colonial birds are currently estimated to nest at 649 sites (Rodway et al. 2024). Five species (Cassin's Auklets Ptychoramphus aleuticus, Fork-tailed Storm-petrels (Hydrobates fucatus), Rhinoceros Auklets Cerorhinca monocerata, Ancient Murrelets Synthliboramphus antiquus, and Leach's Storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous), comprise the vast majority of that population, although Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani), Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba), and Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens), nest at the most sites. Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), which nest on the mossy limbs of mature and old-growth trees within the coastal forests, are not included in this database, due to their dispersed nesting habit. The population estimates presented in this database are compiled from the results of several surveys. Many of the seabird breeding colonies in British Columbia have been known for more than 50 years, but because of the remoteness of the sites, visits to them have been rare. The majority of the data are the results of comprehensive inventories of colonial nesting seabirds along the British Columbia coastline conducted between 1974 and 1977 by the British Columbia Provincial Museum (BCPM; now Royal British Columbia Museum ) and between 1980 and 1989 by the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada (CWS). The goal of the BCPM surveys was to explore the entire BC coast to identify seabird nesting sites. Reliable, quantitative data were gathered on the breeding populations of all surface-nesting seabird species and rough estimates of population sizes were made for burrow-nesting species. The goal of the CWS survey program was to establish baseline estimates of breeding populations of burrow-nesting species in BC using standardized survey techniques to allow future comparisons and monitoring of those populations. During the 1980s, repeat surveys of surface-nesting species were also conducted by CWS in most regions of the BC coast. A few colonies on small remote islands were not visited during those surveys. Therefore, for some colonies the most current population estimates are from the first complete survey of the BC coastline, carried out by the Royal British Columbia Museum in the mid 1970’s. Since 1989, surveys have been conducted by CWS on some alcid, cormorant and gull colonies along the BC coast, and results have been included in the dataset (data entry ongoing). As well as data from CWS surveys, we have attempted to obtain recent data from all other sources including Parks Canada, Transport Canada, the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, the City of Vancouver, the Bamfield Marine Station, and the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society. Since 2000, inventories of nesting Black Oystercatchers have been conducted in some regions of the coast by Parks Canada and partners (Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve) and results have been included in the dataset (data entry ongoing). A long time series of nesting Black Oystercatcher data collected by Laskeek Bay Conservation Society in the Laskeek Bay area of the East Coast of Moresby Island has also been included in this dataset.

The Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) is the authoritative source of data on protected and conserved areas in Canada. The database consists of the most up-to-date spatial and attribute data on marine and terrestrial protected areas in all governance categories recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs, or conserved areas) across the country. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are also included if they are recognized as protected or conserved areas. CPCAD adheres to national reporting standards and is freely available to the public. CPCAD is compiled and managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), in collaboration with federal, provincial, territorial, and other reporting authorities that provide the data. The database contains combined data from all these Canadian reporting authorities, who have determined that their areas meet the Canadian criteria as protected or conserved areas. CPCAD is used by a wide range of organizations, including governments, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), academia, land managers, industry, and the general public. CPCAD supports many of the Government of Canada’s priorities including Canada’s national reporting on protected areas, Canada’s international reporting on protected areas as a result of Canada’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and Canada’s protected areas program by providing baseline information. More detailed information on CPCAD is available by downloading the User Manual. The data is current as of the date of the most recent revision. For prior years, please reach out to scf-geocarto-cws-geomapping@ec.gc.ca.

The Canadian National Wetlands Inventory (CNWI) is a comprehensive, publicly available national geodatabase developed by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), in collaboration with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, academia, Indigenous groups, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). It consists of the best available wetland mapping data, along with its metadata, published in a standardized manner. The CNWI is continuously updated through the compilation of existing data and the acquisition of new high-resolution datasets to address coverage gaps, with an emphasis on peatlands and coastal wetlands, which are key habitats for greenhouse gas (GHG) sequestration. ECCC plans to use the CNWI to train and validate machine-learning algorithms to delineate and classify wetlands at a national scale and to measure trends over time. This will directly support Canada’s Nature-Based Climate Solutions by informing biodiversity conservation, guiding climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, and supporting GHG emissions reporting. The CNWI was initially released in February 2024 with 13 source datasets. In June 2025, the Inventory was updated to include 14 additional datasets. Collectively, these 27 source datasets comprise approximately 12.1 million wetland polygon features, covering a total area of roughly 640,000 square kilometers across ten provinces and territories (BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, PE, ON, QC, SK, YT). These source datasets were cross-walked into a standardized CNWI classification schema, which is based on two foundational documents: the Canadian Wetland Classification System (National Wetlands Working Group, 1997) and the Canadian Wetland Inventory Data Model (2016). The CNWI Schema contains five major wetland classes (Bog, Fen, Swamp, Marsh, and Shallow/Open Water) and eight subclasses (Rich Fen, Poor Fen, Organic Swamp, Mineral Swamp, Organic Marsh, Mineral Marsh, Shallow Water, and Open Water). Non-conforming wetlands can be categorized into three groups: Peatland, Mixed, and Unclassified. For more information on the CNWI and the related database, please refer to the CNWI User Manual and other supporting documents that accompany this publication. The User Manual provides detailed information on how data are collected, managed, and distributed to meet CNWI data standards.

Prospecting Permits

The Boreal Caribou data Package includes layers that are used for Boreal Caribou Range Planning in the NWT. This includes fire history, human disturbance, range planning regions as well as the 2020 Resource Selection Function layers for all seasons. Data sources and contact information can be found within each layer's metadata.

A database of verified tornado tracks across Canada has been created covering the 30-year period from 1980 to 2009. The tornado data have undergone a number of quality control checks and represent the most current knowledge of past tornado events over the period. However, updates may be made to the database as new or more accurate information becomes available. The data have been converted to a geo-referenced mapping file that can be viewed and manipulated using GIS software.

A database of verified tornado occurrences across Canada has been created covering the 30-year period from 1980 to 2009. The tornado data have undergone a number of quality control checks and represent the most current knowledge of past tornado events over the period. However, updates may be made to the database as new or more accurate information becomes available. The data have been converted to a geo-referenced mapping file that can be viewed and manipulated using GIS software.

Established Protected and Conservation Areas in the NWT

Proposed Protected and Conservation Areas in the NWT