Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River. The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken. This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). This dataset includes land cover polygons within a 10 km radius of the Chaudière-Appalaches administrative region within the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River. The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken. This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). This dataset includes land cover polygons within a 10 km radius of the Montréal administrative region.

Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River. The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken. This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). This dataset includes land cover polygons within a 10 km radius of the Capitale-Nationale administrative region within the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River. The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken. This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). This dataset includes land cover polygons within a 10 km radius of the Centre-du-Québec administrative region within the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Since 1988, the governments of Canada and Quebec have been working together to conserve, restore, protect and develop the St. Lawrence River under the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). One of the projects identified under the theme of biodiversity conservation is the development of an integrated plan for the conservation of the natural environments and biodiversity of the St. Lawrence River. The identification of priority sites for conservation has been the first step of this planning exercise. Conservation planning of natural environments requires a reliable, accurate and up-to-date image of the spatial distribution of ecosystems in the study area. In order to produce an Atlas of Priority Sites for Conservation in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, an updated cartography of the land cover of this vast territory was undertaken. This project required obtaining reliable information on the natural environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Although several land cover mapping projects have been conducted for specific types of habitats, it was particularly important to obtain a homogeneous product that would cover the entire territory and that would provide the most detailed information on its various thematic components: agricultural, aquatic, human-modified and forest environments, wetlands as well as old fields and bare ground. The methodology used to produce the land cover mapping of the St. Lawrence Lowlands thus relied mainly on combining and enhancing the best existing products for each theme. This project was made in collaboration with MDDELCC as part of the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP). This dataset includes land cover polygons within a 10 km radius of the Outaouais administrative region within the St. Lawrence Lowlands.

Long-term freshwater quality monitoring data for Rainy River / Lake of the Woods Watershed for the past 15 years or longer for nutrients, metals, major ions, and other physical-chemical variables are included in this dataset. Monitoring is conducted by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to assess water quality status and long-term trends, detect emerging issues, establish water quality guidelines and track the effectiveness of remedial measures and regulatory decisions. The information informs and supports the Fresh Water Action Plan.

Monitor variations in seabird numbers and colony size in the St. Lawrence system. Survey of over 20 species of seabirds and herons during the breeding season, in order to monitor population dynamics through time and space. Seabird populations are influenced by food abundance and quality. There is actually more than 1,000,000 birds from more than 20 different species that breed in nearly 1,000 active colonies. Plongeon du Pacifique/Pacific Loon/Gavia Pacifica, Plongeon catmarin/Red-throated Loon/Gavia stellata, Macareux moine/Atlantic Puffin/Fratercula arctica, Guillemot à miroir/Black Guillemot/Cepphus grylle, Guillemot marmette/Common Murre/Uria aalge, Guillemot de Brünnich/Thick-billed Murre/Uria lomvia, Petit Pingouin/Razorbill/Alca torda, Mouette tridactyle/Black-legged Kittiwake/Rissa tridactyla, Goéland marin/Great Black-backed Gull/Larus marinus, Goéland argenté/Herring Gull/Larus argentatus, Goéland à bec cerclé/Ring-billed Gull/Larus delawarensis, Mouette rieuse/Common Black-headed Gull/Larus ridibundus, Sterne caspienne/Caspian Tern/Sterna caspia, Sterne pierregarin/Common Tern/Sterna hirundo, Sterne arctique/ArcticTern/Sterna paradisaea, Sterne de Dougall/Roseate Tern/Sterna dougallii, Océanite cul-blanc/Leach's Storm-Petrel/Oceanodroma leucorhoa, Fou de Bassan/Northern Gannet/Morus bassanus, Grand Cormoran/Great Cormorant/Phalacrocorax carbo, Cormoran à aigrettes/Double-crested Cormorant/Phalacrocorax auritus, Eider à duvet/Common Eider/Somateria mollissima, Grand Héron/Great Blue Heron/Ardea herodias, Bihoreau gris/Black-crowned Night-Heron/Nycticorax nycticorax.

Attribute data table which contains survey effort values for each season, total bird density, species richness value, species at risk score, and grid cell importance score.

With the changing climate conditions, marine traffic along Canada’s coastal regions has increased over the past couple of decades and the need to improve our state of preparedness for oil-spill-related emergencies is critical. Baseline coastal information, such as shoreline form, substrate, and vegetation type, is required for prioritizing operations, coordinating onsite spill response activities (i.e. Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique [SCAT]), and providing information for wildlife and ecosystem management. Between 2010 and 2017, georeferenced high-definition videography and photos were collected for various study sites across coastal Canada. The study areas include Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie Delta channels and Banks Island in the western Canadian Arctic; James Bay, Hudson Bay, Nunavik, Resolute Bay, Victoria Strait, Baffin Island and Coronation Gulf in the eastern Canadian Arctic; Labrador, Bay of Fundy and Chedabucto Bay in Atlantic Canada and Kitimat, Haida Gwaii and Burrard Inlet in the northern Pacific. Data was collected during ice-free and low tide conditions (where applicable) between July and September. Low-altitude helicopter surveys were conducted at each study site to capture video of the shoreline characteristics. In addition to acquiring videography, ground-based observations were recorded in several locations for validation. Shoreline segmentation was then carried out by manual interpretation of the oblique videography and the photos aided by ancillary data. This involved splitting and classifying the shoreline vectors based on homogeneity of the upper intertidal zone. Detailed geomorphological information (i.e. shoreline type, substrate, slope, height, accessibility etc.) describing the upper intertidal, lower intertidal, supratidal and backshore zones was extracted from the video and entered into a geospatial database using a customized data collection form. In addition, biological characteristics like biobands, water features, fauna, human use etc. observed along the coast were recorded. The data was also validated through ground samples (when available) and a second interpreter QA (quality analysis) was performed on each dataset (excluding Nunavik) to ensure high quality and consistency. The final dataset contains segments ranging in length from 150 metres to 2500 metres. In total, from 2010 to 2017, within the 14 study sites, about 26,150 km of shoreline were mapped.