Summary

Description

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife based on sensitivity to spilled oil. Coastal species that are listed as threatened, endangered, or as a species of concern, by either federal or state governments, are a primary focus. A subset of the ESI data, the ESI Threatened and Endangered Species (T&E) databases focus strictly on these species. Species are mapped individually. In addition to showing spatial extent, each species polygon, point, or line has attributes describing abundance, seasonality, threatened/endangered status, and life history. Both the state and federal status is provided, along with the year the ESI data were published. This is important, as the status of a species can vary over time. As always, the ESI data are a snapshot in time. The biology layers focus on threatened/endangered status, areas of high concentration, and areas where sensitive life stages may occur. Supporting data tables provide species-/location-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information. Human-use resources mapped include managed areas (parks, refuges, critical habitats, etc.) and resources that may be impacted by oiling and/or cleanup, such as beaches, archaeological sites, marinas, etc. ESIs are available for the majority of the US coastline, as well as the US territories. ESI data are available as PDF maps, as well as in a variety of GIS formats. For more information, go to http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/esi . To download complete ESI data sets, go to http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/esi_download .