Geospatial resources provided by N-Tech.

The Air and Watershed Resource Management Contacts and Boundaries dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent the Air and Watershed Stewardship districts and the manager to contact with questions or concerns about environmental framework implementation and management response. This dataset was created to lend support to the Regulatory Assurance Division.

The Peat Application Area dataset depicts available land which may contain peat resources, and the requirement of a peat application in Alberta. Areas where peat exploration is not allowed due to environmental concerns such as the presence of waterbodies and rivers, trumpeter swan lakes, parks and protected areas, key wildlife and biodiversity areas, caribou zones, and HUC 8 watersheds with bull trout and arctic grayling were removed. This generalized product represents areas where a peat harvesting application can be submitted.

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Under the Recreation, Ecosystems, and Lands Program, The Recreation, Education, and Partnerships Unit Contact Boundaries dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent the Recreation, Education, and Partnerships districts of Alberta and who to contact for information within that district. The dataset is to help Government of Alberta Staff and external consultants to determine which Biologist is responsible for and has authority over each region.

The Aquifer Vulnerability Index (AVI) is a method of assessing the vulnerability of aquifers to surface contaminants in Alberta. An aquifer is a geological formation that is permeable enough to transmit sufficient quantities of water to possible to support the development of water wells. In the assessment of aquifer vulnerability to potential contamination, the depth to the aquifer and the types of geological materials above them are considered. For example, aquifers closer to the surface overlain with pervious surface materials are more vulnerable to contaminants, as compared to aquifers found deeper and covered with a thick layer of impervious material. The AVI ratings indicate the potential of surficial materials to transmit water withy contaminants to the aquifer over a period of time. This data was created in 2002 using ArcGIS.

This data was produced under contract for Alberta Forestry and Parks, Forest Management Branch in 2015-2016. Variables used were elevation, aspect, slope, landscape mesotopography (e.g. ridge, upper slope, etc). DEM was used where there was no LiDAR coverage, with a resolution of 25 m2 pixels. Canopy height was not included in this model because it was a product generated by LiDAR. In these files there is a report assessing accuracy of the models compared with field observation data. detailed accuracy data by township is available upon request.

The Grazing Rental Zones is comprised of two polygons which determine which zone a grazing disposition (GRL, FGL, GRP) is in. These zones are used to apply the rental rate that grazing leases (GRL), grazing licenses (FGL) and grazing permits (GRP) pay to the government of Alberta for use of public lands. The Public Lands Modernization (Grazing Lease and Obsolete Provisions) Amendment Act came into force January 1, 2020. Under the new rental rate framework (Ministerial Order 01/2020), there are now two grazing rental rate zones based on the transition of the boreal region of the province. The North Saskatchewan River is the dividing line between the south (Zone 1) and north (Zone 2).

A mineral restriction is in place to limit and define mineral exploration and development within the Alberta government's mandate to protect natural or historical sites and to manage mineral resources. Examples of mineral restrictions include Bird Sanctuary, Provincial Park, and Coal Mine Licence Area. Restriction types with different levels of surface access are the result of government policy and all are mineral or substance specific.

This project generated unique numerical codes at the pixel level to provide wall-to-wall coverage of 128 unique Catchment Structural Units (CSUs) codes based on land use-land cover (LULC), surficial geology, wetlands and slope across the Province. The Provincial CSU layer represents the quantification of combined structural influences at an individual pixel scale, as expressed by a specific numeric and text code. These codes reflect the geospatial layers used to represent catchment structure. The CSU data is presented at a pixel resolution of 20 x 20 m and five initial structural layers (i.e., land cover, land use, surficial geology, wetlands and slope). This resolution was chosen to balance detail with computational efficiency. Each class within the structural layers were assigned unique numeric codes of different orders of magnitude.