FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION

TITLE: FINAL DESIGNATION OF CRITICAL HABITAT IN FLORIDA FOR THE RICE RAT - 2005

Geodataset Name:       RICE_RAT_CH_SEP05
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Polygon
Feature Count:         59
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This layer identifies designated critical habitat for the Rice Rat under the Endangered Species Act.
DATA SOURCE(S):                    U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, South Florida Ecological Services Office
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     24000
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida
PUBLICATION DATE: 20030930 TIME PERIOD OF CONTENT: 20090905 DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.fgdl.org/metadataexplorer/explorer.jsp

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: RICE_RAT_CH_SEP05.DBF
ITEM NAME WIDTH TYPE
OBJECTID
4 OID
Shape
4 Geometry
ACRES
8 Double
KEY_NAME
20 String
SPECIES
9 String
DESCRIPT
18 String
FGDLAQDATE
36 Date
AUTOID
4 Integer
SHAPE.AREA
0 Double
SHAPE.LEN
0 Double

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item
Item Description
OBJECTID Internal feature number.

Shape Feature geometry.

ACRES Area of Habitats in acres

KEY_NAME User-Defined

SPECIES The species the dataset describes

DESCRIPT Based on KEY_NAME

FGDLAQDATE The date GeoPlan aquired the data

AUTOID Unique ID added by GeoPlan

SHAPE.AREA Area in meters

SHAPE.LEN Perimeter in meters


USER NOTES:
The shapefile was exported to an ArcInfo coverage.  The coverage was checked 
using ArcEdit (ArcInfo 8.2).  The coverage was checked for dangles, and they were 
removed if discovered.  The lines also had all splits removed.  The coverage was then 
built and exported back to a shapefile.
The topology was checked completely.  The attributes created by ArcInfo were deleted.  
XTools 2.2 was used to create and update the attributes "AREA" and "ACRES".  The 
user-defined attribute field "KEY_NAME" was added for including the names of the islands.
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within
the original data.
Description from 58 FR 46034  1993
Rice Rat (Oryzomys palustris natator ( O. argentatus)).

Monroe County, Florida: Little Pine Key, Water Keys, Big Torch Key, Middle Torch Key
, Summerland Key north of U.S. Highway 1, Cudjoe Key north of U.S. Highway 1, Johnston 
Key, Raccoon Key, and Lower Saddlebunch Keys, south of U.S. Highway I but not including 
lands in T. 67 S., R. 27 E., Section 8 and north 1/5 of Section 17.  Included are all lands and 
waters above mean low tide. Within these areas the major constituent elements that are known 
to require special management considerations or protection are mangrove swamps containing 
red (Rhizophora mangle), black (Avicennia germinans), and white (Laguncularia racemosa) 
mangroves, and buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus); salt marshes, swales, and adjacent 
transitional wetlands containing saltwort (Batis maritima), perennial glasswort (Salicornia 
virginica), saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), sea ox-eye (Borrichia frutescens), keygrass 
(Monanthochloe littoralis), and coastal dropseed (Sporobolus virginicus); and fresh 
water marshes containing cattails (Typha domingensis), saw-grass (Cladium jamaicense), 
and cordgrass (Spartina spp.).

The original data layer "rice_rat-ch.shp"  had an error in it where the area south of US1 
was included in the critical habitat area. This was corrected in this file.

Geographic Information System (GIS) data for the designation of critical habitat of the Rice Rat:
These GIS data and their associated coordinates are not the definitive source for determining 
the critical habitat boundaries for the Rice Rat.  As noted in the final rule, the textual unit 
descriptions constitute the legal source for determining the critical habitat boundaries.  
Users of these GIS data are cautioned to refer to the final textual unit descriptions 
provided in the final rule as the definitive source in determining critical habitat areas.  
Additionally, interested parties are encouraged to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service for a definitive finding of whether a location is within critical habitat.

Horizontal accuracy is within the national map accuracy standards for 1:24,000 GIS data.

NA

These data are final critical habitat areas for the Rice Rat. These data are to be used only 
in the context of the definition and purpose of critical habitat.  This primarily relates to Section 
7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act.  These data may be used for planning and 
land management purposes.  They are not to be used for legal survey use.  NOTE: The legal 
boundaries are described in the Federal Register language (see supplemental information).

The Florida Geographic Data Library is a collection of Geospatial Data
compiled by the University of Florida GeoPlan Center with support from
the Florida Department of Transportation. GIS data available in FGDL is
collected from various state, federal, and other agencies (data sources)
who are data stewards, producers, or publishers. The data available in
FGDL may not be the most current version of the data offered by the
data source. University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no guarantees
about the currentness of the data and suggests that data users check
with the data source to see if more recent versions of the data exist.

Furthermore, the GIS data available in the FGDL are provided 'as is'.
The University of Florida GeoPlan Center makes no warranties, guaranties
or representations as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the data
provided by the data sources. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center
makes no representations or warranties about the quality or suitability
of the materials, either expressly or implied, including but not limited
to any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular
purpose, or non-infringement. The University of Florida GeoPlan Center
shall not be liable for any damages suffered as a result of using,
modifying, contributing or distributing the materials.

A note about data scale: 

Scale is an important factor in data usage.  Certain scale datasets
are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes.
Please be sure you are using the best available data. 

1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
county level.
1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such
as property parcel boundaries.
1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
multi-county or regional level.
1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
regional or state level or larger.

Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be
considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data
before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been
made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional
information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact
section of this documentation. For more information regarding
scale and accuracy, see our webpage at:
http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

REFERENCES:


DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
Based on descriptions in the 58 FR 46034. The source data layers for county 
boundaries, major roads, and the public land surveys were used to create the 
polygon shapefile.
Process Date: 8/20/2005

Polygon shapefile was converted to an ArcInfo coverage for a logical consistency check. Process Date: 8/30/2005
The polygon ArcInfo coverage was converted back to a shapefile. The field attributes added by ArcInfo were deleted. The Attributes "Area" and "Acres" were created and updated by XTools 2.2. The attribute fields "Area" and "Acres" were then restructured using XTools 2.2 so that "Area" is an integer and "Acres" has only one decimal. Process Date: 8/30/2005
Metadata imported and then edited using ArcCatalog. Process Date: 8/30/2005
The attribute field "KEYS_NAME" was added. This attribute field is the name of each key (island), and was input manually. Process Date: 8/30/2005
Dataset copied. Process Date:
GeoPlan downloaded the data in October 2009 via the USFWS Critical Habitat portal in NAD_1983_HARN_Albers projection. - Renamed dataset from rice_rat-critical_habitat to rice_rat_ch_sep05 - Deleted area and perimiter fields - Added and calculated acres field - Added species field - Added a DESCRIPT field based key name. - Added FGDLAQDATE based on date FGDL acquired the data. Process Date: 20091103
Data imported to ArcSDE and exported as a shapefile. Process Date: 20091119
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
USFWS
South Florida Ecological Services Office, 1339 20th Street
Vero Beach, Florida
32960
772-562-3909

http://criticalhabitat.fws.gov/ george_dennis@fws.gov George Dennis & Barry Wood

FGDL CONTACT:
Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

Contact FGDL: 

      Technical Support:	        http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
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