Lake Ontario 2023 ESI: Threatened and Endangered Plant Habitats

Vector polygons representing threatened and endangered plant habitats in the U.S. portion of Lake Ontario. The data, part of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) for Lake Ontario, characterize sensitivity to oil spills and include associated tables with species-specific attributes. It was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill impact zones based on habitat sensitivity polygons.
• Mapping conservation areas for threatened and endangered plant species.
• Integrating species abundance and seasonality data for ecological studies.
• Analyzing coastal resource vulnerability in specific Lake Ontario bays and islands.

Strengths

• Data is part of the standardized Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) framework.
• Study area includes 13 named islands and 12 major bays in Lake Ontario.
• Polygon data is designed to be used with associated tables containing species-specific attributes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data coverage is limited to the United States portion of Lake Ontario.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely gathered through field surveys, remote sensing, or existing biological inventories for the ESI program.

Time Range

2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 22:25:37.806219; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United States portion of Lake Ontario, including specific islands and bays in New York.