Emplacement des grandes infrastructures, de ressources, projets pétroliers et gaziers au Nunavut, Territoires du Nord-Ouest et du Yukon. Les données et les cartes sont pour des fins d'illustration seulement.

Location of Major Infrastructure, Resource, Oil and Gas Projects in Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon. Data and maps for illustrative purposes only. Users understand that, although all efforts have been made to accurately and exhaustively compile, locate and classify projects, the authors do not guarantee the accuracy and/or the comprehensiveness of the data and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. CanNor does not assume responsibility for errors or omissions. In support of this initiative, proponents and partners are encouraged to contact CanNor should they identify any errors or omissions.

PURPOSE: This Archer fiord data is associated with a larger program ArcticCORE, which was created to fulfill knowledge gaps and develop long term protection in the extremely remote Tuvaijuittuq region. The main objectives of this expedition were to improve our comprehension of the key drivers for productive capacity, diversity and ecosystem structure in areas connected to Baffin Bay and Tuvaijuittuq, including Archer fiord. DESCRIPTION: ArcticCORE is a 5-year broader program aiming to characterize Tuvaijuittuq’s unique ecosystem and its influence and connectivity with the adjacent ecosystems to inform sustainable management and conservation initiatives in Tuvaijuittuq and the eastern Arctic. In an Arctic Ocean with rapidly declining sea ice, Tuvaijuittuq area retains the oldest and thickest sea ice, and can act as a refuge for ice-dependent species. This program aims to characterize the Arctic marine ecosystem and establish baseline measurements for future comparisons in the region. From 2023, water collection was carried out at four stations throughout Archer Fiord and analyzed for primary productivity, chlorophyll a, phytoplankton flow cytometry and phytoplankton taxonomy down to the lowest identifiable level. These data will contribute to a better understanding of the key drivers for productive capacity, diversity and ecosystem structure in Archer fiord. Characterization of these upstream areas are relevant for an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management in Baffin Bay, a priority for DFO and an intrinsic part of mandated activities, as they influence the ecosystem and fisheries resources downstream.

Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories is one of the most important areas for inland breeding gulls and terns (larids) in northern Canada. Numerous rocky islands on the North Arm provide breeding habitat for a number of colonially-nesting larid species. Great Slave Lake is the only known breeding site for Caspian Terns in the Northwest Territories and the North Arm is the northernmost known breeding range for the species in North America. Given its importance to a variety of migrating, nesting and staging birds, various portions of the area have been recognized as; a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site, an Important Bird Area, and an International Biological Program site. This dataset contains results from surveys of active larid breeding colonies from between 1986 and 2010 on the portion of the North Arm west of Yellowknife. Most data were collected through ground surveys, with travel by boat, between mid June to early July. Information recorded at each colony included species, numbers of nests, clutch size, presence of chicks, and habitat characteristics (vegetation cover). The majority of larid colonies were located on islands along the northeastern shoreline. The southwest shoreline saw limited use by nesting larids due to the reduced number and different characteristics of the islands in that area. The most regularly occurring species were Herring Gull, Mew Gull, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, and Caspian Tern. Results of these surveys have been published in the report “Gull and Tern Breeding Colonies on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories: 1986-2010 (Woodard, Fournier, and Robertson, 2013). Woodard, P.F., M.A. Fournier, and M.O. Wiebe Robertson. 2013. Gull and Tern Breeding Colonies on the North Arm of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories: 1986-2010. Technical Report Series No. 526, Canadian Wildlife Service, Yellowknife, NT. More details are available in the metadata document for download. CWS-North DatasetID: 071_0

This dataset corresponds to daily snow cover percentage at 1km resolution grid over land areas of Canada from 2006-2010. The data are subsampled by 4km to reduce data volumes and considering the geolocation uncertainty of the input satellite imagery. The daily maps are generated by assimilation of daily cloud screened NOAA AVHRR satellite imagery and Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) snow depth analysis snow depth and density fields within an off-line version of the CMC daily snow depth model. The snow depth model is modified to include snowpack reflectance model and a surface radiative transfer scheme that relates vegetation and snowpack reflectance to top-of-canopy bi-directional reflectance. A logistic vegetation phenology model is used to parameterize temporal dynamics of canopy leaf area index. A per-pixel particle filter with a 30 day moving window is applied to assimilation observations corresponding to 1km resolution visible band directional reflectance and normalized difference vegetation index and 24km CMC daily snow depth and monthly snow density fields. The assimilation is forced using daily air temperature and precipitation fields. Validation of the datasets has been performed by comparison to MODIS snow cover maps and in-situ snow depth stations across Canada. Validation suggests similar accuracy to MODIS snow cover products over relatively flat terrain. Validation over mountainous regions is ongoing.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Northern Canada Scoter Survey used helicopters to survey breeding scoters in 5x5 km (25 km²) plots in six study areas across Northern Canada in the Northwest Territories (NT), Manitoba (MN) and Québec (QC) from 2017-2019. Populations of North American breeding scoters appeared to be in decline, albeit with a large degree of uncertainty around population size estimates and trends due to challenges related to surveying this group of sea ducks. The main goal of the survey was to address the major monitoring gap for scoters in Canada, as most traditional waterfowl surveys do not cover their breeding range or late nesting phenology. In addition to targeting three species of scoter, the survey targeted other sea duck species including scaup, mergansers and Long-tailed Ducks. Complete bilingual metadata including detailed survey design, protocols and data dictionaries is available in downloadable files. Note: A version of this dataset was published January 2025 (Record Name: Scoter Experimental Surveys, NT, MB, QC, 2017-2019 / Inventaires Expérimentaux de Macreuses, NT, MB, QC, 2017-2019, Identifier: 9cddead7-1dc8-4379-afc5-0275b7449bd5). This published version includes the same observation and plot data as the previous version but also includes more detailed survey conditions data, and has been formatted to the schema of QWAC-QSC (Quantifying Waterfowl Across Canada database - Base de données sur la Quantification de la Sauvagine au Canada). See the parent record for "Waterfowl Surveys in Canada" (Identifier: 0af7faf5-495c-4074-9cf6-7dc12e6bfe3f) for more information.

The Government of Canada acquired a national image coverage from the Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT 4 - 5) satellites that includes four multispectral bands in the visible to shortwave infrared region at 20m spatial resolution. Five years from 2005 - 2010 were necessary to image all of Canada under clear-sky conditions, while acquisition anniversary dates were less important provided the data were imaged during the snow-free period. These data were downloaded from the GeoBase Orthoimage 2005 - 2010 dataset (http://www.geobase.ca/geobase/en/data/imagery/imr/description.html) and used to map 2005 - 2010 land cover south of treeline. Northern Canada has not currently been remapped since circa 2000 due to technical challenges associated with land cover variability and image acquisition dates relative to short summers. This land cover product includes 16 generic classes based on plant functional and a minimum mapping unit of 20m. Radiometric normalization was applied to balance images acquired near mid-summer during the 'peak-of-season' temporal window. The combined Enhancement and Classification by Progressive Generalization methods were used to classify large-area balanced mosaics over twenty mapping zones. Image interpretation was guided using high resolution imagery and other content in Google Earth. Knowledge of land cover spectral signatures, field experience and published reports were also used to assist interpretation in many regions. Remaining images acquired outside the peak-of-season window in early spring or late fall were subsequently classified using decision trees trained on data from overlapping classified peak-of-season images. Accuracy was assessed using ground truth data acquired during several field campaigns conducted with other government departments such as Parks Canada and the Geological Survey. This sample was enhanced using points interpreted in Google Earth as described above to provide a more even spatial coverage of Canada. Overall accuracy assessed at 71% using 1566 reference points, more than half of which were acquired in the field. When assessed using only land cover that was homogeneous within 3 by 3 pixels to account for potential geolocation errors, accuracy increased to 85% for 349 points that were biased towards easily classified classes such as water.

The Program for Regional and International Monitoring (PRISM) was designed by biologists and researchers from the Canadian and United States Governments (Canadian Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) to address concerns about shorebird population declines first noted on migration surveys. To set population targets and understand the conservation and management concerns needed to conserve and recover shorebird populations we needed to first know how many shorebirds are actually present. Previous to Arctic PRISM, population size estimates for non-harvested species came from expert opinion supported by migration counts, where birds are dispersed widely and length of stay issues made converting counts to population size difficult, or from localized or aerial surveys on the non-breeding grounds where again, only a subset of the widely-dispersed, and continuously moving on a large-scale, birds could be surveyed. Next, we needed to know population trends, and their severity. To address these crucial information gaps, PRISM consists of four survey components: (1) Arctic breeding, (2) Migration, (3) Neotropical and (4) Tropical surveys. Although all four survey components have been initiated, the Arctic breeding survey component -- Arctic PRISM -- is the furthest into the design and implementation. The goals of the broader PRISM are to: 1. Estimate population size. 2. Monitor trends in population size. 3. Monitor shorebirds at stopover locations. 4. Determine distribution, abundance, and habitats utilized throughout the year. 5. Assist local managers in meeting shorebird conservation goals. Arctic PRISM is designed to address all of the broader PRISM goals except Goal 3. Arctic PRISM is comprised of three Tiers. Tier 1 is North American arctic-wide surveys conducted at a large number of sites to get statistically rigorous (unbiased), survey-based, species-specific population estimates for Arctic-breeding shorebirds (PRISM Goal 1). These surveys are referred to as the ‘rapid surveys’ as the methodology is to visit a plot (relatively) quickly and infrequently and cover a large survey study area (PRISM Goal 4). The Tier 1 surveys are conducted in Rounds to calculate population trends (PRISM Goal 2) and changes in distribution over time (PRISM Goal 4). There is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and US Geological Survey mirror to these surveys covering the Alaskan portion of the North American arctic. Tier 2 is ‘intensive surveys’ at a smaller number of non-random sites located in areas with known concentrations of shorebirds. The repeated, in-depth data collected at these long-term study sites provides annual information on the breeding biology of shorebirds that cannot be captured during the Tier 1 surveys, and provides a shorter-term assessment of site-specific population trends (PRISM Goal 2). At these sites are also where we monitor shorebird demographics and investigate potential causes of population declines. Tier 3 uses the Northwest Territories-Nunavut Bird Checklist Program (now with eBird) to non-systematically track changes in shorebird abundance and distribution across the Canadian Arctic (PRISM Goal 4). All three Tiers of Arctic PRISM are being used to inform conservation management (PRISM Goal 5) through use of the data in environmental assessment, species at risk (assessment, critical habitat), and protected areas (designation, monitoring) processes. While Arctic PRISM was originally designed with shorebirds in mind, early in the implementation we discovered the methodology would result in population size and trend estimates for nearly all of the non-colonial arctic-breeding birds. This dataset is contains the bird and habitat data collected as part of Arctic PRISM using the rapid survey methodology (and adjacent methodologies: non-systematic area search methodology and spaghetti transects methodology; primarily as part of Arctic PRISM Tier1) in the Canadian arctic (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik) from 1994 to the annotated data release cut-off. TIER1: RAPID SURVEY, NON-SYSTEMATIC AREA SEARCH AND SPAGHETTI TRANSECT METHODOLOGY We divided the Canadian arctic into strata comprised of region, subregion and GIS-derived habitat type. Within each stratum, a random sample of all available plots was selected to be surveyed (rapid surveys (methodology) of rapid plots (plot type). Plots were typically 300m x 400m or 400m x 400min size. Plots were surveyed during courtship through early incubation by observers walking systematically through the plot quickly on foot and recording all species present, and also completing an assessment of the habitat from a ground perspective. Similar survey methodologies (‘non-systematic area search’ (methodology) and ‘spaghetti transect’ (methodology)) were conducted in a less systematic method than the standard rapid survey (methodology) on plots of various sizes, typically reconnaissance plots (plot type) to help inform future rapid surveys (methodology) of rapid plots (plot type). Rapid surveys (methodology) were also done on intensive plots (plot type). These intensive plots (plot type) are non-randomly selected where birds are known to be breeding, and to capture a variety of species. Intensive surveys (method) of intensive plots (plot type), and other associated methodologies related to Arctic PRISM Tier 2, are not included in this dataset. For the detailed methodology used in Arctic PRISM, see Smith et al. 2025 or Bart and Johnston (eds) 2012. Smith, Paul A., Jonathan Bart, Victoria H. Johnston, Yves Aubry, Stephen C. Brown, Charles M. Francis, R. I. Guy Morrison, Lisa D. Pirie, and Jennie Rausch. 2025. Abundance and distribution of birds from comprehensive surveys of the Canadian Arctic, 1994–2018. Ornithological Applications, v. 127(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duaf050 Bart, Jonathan and Victoria H. Johnston (editors). 2012. Arctic shorebirds in North America: a decade of monitoring. Studies in Avian Biology Monograph Series No. 44, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 302pp. https://www.ucpress.edu/books/arctic-shorebirds-in-north-america/ These data were exported from the Arctic PRISM database on 2026-02-13. More details are available in the metadata document for download. CWS-North DatasetID: 007_1

This collection is a legacy product that is no longer maintained. It may not meet current government standards. Users of Atlas of Canada National Scale Data 1:15,000,000 (release of May 2017) should plan to make the transition towards the new CanVec product. The Atlas of Canada National Scale Data 1:15,000,000 Series consists of boundary, coast and coastal islands, place name, railway, river, road, road ferry and waterbody data sets that were compiled to be used for atlas small scale (1:15,000,000 to 1:30,000,000) mapping. These data sets have been integrated so that their relative positions are cartographically correct. Any data outside of Canada included in the data sets is strictly to complete the context of the data.

This collection is a legacy product that is no longer maintained. It may not meet current government standards. Users of Atlas of Canada National Scale Data 1:1,000,000 (release of May 2017) should plan to make the transition towards the new CanVec product. The Atlas of Canada National Scale Data 1:1,000,000 Series consists of boundary, coast, island, place name, railway, river, road, road ferry and waterbody data sets that were compiled to be used for atlas large scale (1:1,000,000 to 1:4,000,000) mapping. These data sets have been integrated so that their relative positions are cartographically correct. Any data outside of Canada included in the data sets is strictly to complete the context of the data.