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Ecosystem Mapping

Since 2000, the Island Trust Fund and the Islands Trust have been working together on an ecosystem mapping project for the Gulf Islands and the islands of Howe Sound. This project mapped both natural and modified ecosystems across the entire landscape of the major islands in the Islands Trust Area.

The Islands Trust Fund has used the information in these maps to create a regional conservation plan for the Islands Trust Area. Regional conservation planning is a process to identify conservation priorities in the context of large ecological systems and human use of the landscape. It is a regional vision for conservation and a program for its implementation. For more information visit the Islands Trust Fund's Conservation Planning page.

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Software Required

Make sure you have the free Adobe© Acrobat Reader and either FireFox 1+ or Internet Explorer 6.0, on your computer.

If you are having problems viewing the maps or associated files please see our Viewing Documents page for information.

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Methodology, Metadata, Limitations and Definitions

We recommend downloading and viewing the following documentation prior to reviewing and/or providing comments on the ecosystem maps.

The documents below provide information on how the maps were created, the limitations of the maps (based on the year, quality and accuracy of the air photo), as well as the definitions of the ecosystem classes and subclasses.

For more technical information, see the links below.

 

Metadata is information about a geographic dataset. It describes the "who, what, where, when, why, and how" of every aspect of a specific map layer.

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Viewing and Downloading the Maps

Please ensure that you have read the methodology, metadata, limitations and definitions to assist you with interpreting the maps prior to viewing, dowloading, or printing.

Some maps have been broken down into smaller sections for ease of use or for associated islands. For example, the Denman Island Ecosystem Map has been split into North and South sections.

The 'associated tables' provide information by polygon number. Please use the associated tables to find out more about the subclass and the size of the polygon you are interested in.

What is a Polygon?

A polygon represents a unique area of the landscape. On an Islands Trust Ecosystem Map, the boundary of a lake is shown as a blue polygon and a section of old growth forest is shown as a dark green polygon (Ecosystem Classification Legend).

What is an Associate Island?

An associated island is a smaller or lesser island that is part of a local trust area. The Islands Trust area includes 13 major islands and over 450 smaller islands. Some examples of associate islands are: Prevost Island, Piers Island or the Secretary Islands.

Ecosystem Classifications

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Disclaimer

All data herein are provided without warranty of any kind. The user assumes the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the data. No guarantees of accuracy or precision are made and the Islands Trust and the Trust Fund Board do not accept liability for any damages or misrepresentation caused by inaccuracies in the data, nor is there responsibility assumed to maintain the data in any manner or form or for any period of time.

Natural features can be complex to describe and often change in position or character over time. As a result, the maps contained on this site are representations only, and are not necessarily positionally accurate or definitively correct.

Lot boundaries displayed on these maps have evolved from a variety of data sources and are under constant update and refinement. The lot boundaries on these maps cannot be considered to have consistent positional accuracy and are best viewed as general guidelines only.

Users must be aware of these conditions and bear sole responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors, scale, resolution, rectification, positional accuracy, development methodology, time period, environmental and climatic conditions, and other circumstances specific to these data.

In no event shall the Islands Trust or the Trust Fund Board be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages of any kind, including, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits or benefits arising out of use of or reliance on the data.

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Quick Links

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