This GIS data set represents the Wildlife Management Area system administered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). These data are intended as a general reference map only. More information on activities permitted in individual areas can be found from the links on FWC's Web site: http://www.myfwc.com/RECREATION/WMASites_index.htm

This GIS layer consists of points representing facilities of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, including the Main Headquarters, Regional Offices, Division of Wildlife, Freshwater Fisheries, and Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

This dataset consists of fisheries collection information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Division of Fisheries regional and field offices. The dataset was developed to identify and map freshwater species occurrences throughout Florida. These data are the results of data collection/processing by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for many federally funded fisheries projects. These data were compiled into a comprehensive and standardized fisheries database for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from various data programs and paper files. Collection location coordinates were based upon limited global positioning system (GPS) information, written information, the use of digital orthophoto quadrangles, digital raster graphic maps, and ArcView programs to obtain an estimated latitude and longitude for each fish collection site.

This hydrologic and landscape database was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Caloosahatchee and "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuges and contributing watersheds in Florida. The database was developed as an assessment and evaluation tool to use in examining refuge-specific hydrologic patterns and trends as related to water availability and water quality for refuge ecosystems, habits, and target species. The database includes hydrologic time series data, statistics on landscape and hydrologic time series data, and hydro-ecological metrics that can be used to assess refuge hydrologic conditions. The database is described in detail in Open File Report 2017-1018.

The Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) collects current occurrence information and reproductive data on 6 focal species of solitary nesting shorebirds (American Oystercatcher, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Snowy Plover, Willet, Wilson’s Plover) and 14 species of colonial nesting seabirds (Black Skimmer, Bridled Tern, Brown Noddy, Brown Pelican, Caspian Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Laughing Gull, Least Tern, Magnificent Frigatebird, Masked Booby, Roseate Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Sooty Tern). These species nest on beaches and sometimes rooftops along the Florida coast. The FSD also collects occurrence data on wintering species of shorebirds and seabirds using coastal habitat in Florida. The FSD is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and is maintained as a free online resource for information on Florida's shorebirds and seabirds.

This dataset shows confirmed Florida panther depredations from June 4,2004 through March 13, 2022. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) panther biologists maintain a database of reported interactions. The interactions are categorized into the six following types: Sighting, Encounter, Incident, Threat, Attack, and Depredations. Depredation data were isolated and placed in this separate dataset.

Mangrove inventory data from J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA collected in 2016 and 2017. Plot data includes X and Y downed dead wood count, mangrove species information and site descriptions. Tree data includes the three species found on the refuge: Avicennia germinans (Black mangroves), Laguncularia racemosa (White mangroves) and Rhizophora mangle (Red mangroves). They were inventoried for diameter at breast height (DBH), height, and dead status.

This shapefile contains the locations of calls from the public regarding specific human-black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus) interactions in the state of Florida. The data were limited to those records obtained from the Wildlife Incident Management System (WIMS) database maintained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and that were associated with a geographic coordinate.

This is the plant database for St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. The database is a compilation of published lists of plants for the refuge as well as site observations made between 1997 and 1999. The database contains 17 fields of information for each of the 596 plant species found on the refuge. These fields include: common name, genus, species, variety or subspecies, author citation, family, flowering characteristics, flowering date, life history, habitat, life form, origin, habitat description, status in Florida, wetland status, if the species is at risk, and the global rank for the species as described by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.

This hydrologic and landscape database was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and contributing watersheds in Florida and Georgia. The database was developed as an assessment and evaluation tool to use in examining refuge-specific hydrologic patterns and trends as related to water availability and water quality for refuge ecosystems, habits, and target species. The database includes hydrologic time series data, statistics on landscape and hydrologic time series data, and hydro-ecological metrics that can be used to assess refuge hydrologic conditions. The database is described in detail in Open File Report 2017-1018.

Original provider: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Dataset credits: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

Abstract: This dataset contains data from the geographic information system (GIS) shapefile of recovered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) carcass locations within Florida from April 1974 through to the latest spatially verified data presently available. Locations are based both on coordinates provided by field staff (gathered either by geographic positioning system [GPS] or by using navigation charts to ascertain latitudes and longitudes) and maps provided by the field staff. Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) GIS staff in the Marine Mammal subsection verify that the provided coordinates match the intent of the plotted location. Points representing carcass locations were entered into a GIS using a digital shoreline basemap taken largely from NOAA navigation charts (1:40,000) and from USGS quadrangles (1:24,000). The scale is considered to be 1:40,000.

Purpose: The primary use of this dataset is to display reported manatee carcass recovery locations and associated attributes, such as cause of death.

Supplemental information: Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) was known as the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI).

Counts were not available and filled with "1"; time was not available and filled with "00:00:00."

07/28/2021: Data up to Aug 2020 were added.

01/07/2019: Data up to May 2017 were added. Data format was changed. The previous contact was replaced with Andrea Krzystan.

04/04/2019: Data up to Dec 2017 were added.

07/28/2016: March - June 2015 data were added. The data were downloaded from http://geodata.myfwc.com/datasets/ba5b92ec509f48f38c61aa542e96236f_1 on 07/28/2016.

03/29/2016: 2011-2015 data were added. The data were downloaded from http://geodata.myfwc.com/datasets/ba5b92ec509f48f38c61aa542e96236f_1.

11/11/2011: This dataset, originally containing data from 1974-early 2010, was updated to include data through December 2010 data.

07/21/2011: This dataset, originally containing data from 1974-2008, was updated to include 2009-2010 data.

This data set contains sensitive human-use data for Designated Critical Habitats, Management Areas, National Forests, National Park Service properties, Parks, and Wildlife Refuges for the Florida Panhandle. Vector polygons in this data set represent management areas. Location specific type and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for the Florida Panhandle. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the SOCECON (Socioeconomic Resource Points and Lines) data layer, part of the larger Florida Panhandle ESI database, for additional human-use information.

The CAGES program (Comparative Assessment of Gulf Estuarine Systems) is designed to examine the differences between estuarine ecosystems and investigate why some are more productive than others. The program focuses on estuarine areas important to commercial fisheries and includes data on commercial finfish and invertebrate species, as well as other species commonly captured in trawl sampling. This Florida dataset is a subset of the CAGES Relational Database which is a compilation of fishery-independent data contributed by natural resource agencies of the Gulf States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). This data set includes trawl and associated hydrographic data collected under the Fisheries-Independent Monitoring (FIM) Program, part of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC). Trawl data were used to calculate CPUE (catch per unit effort) at each station for the years 1989 through 2005.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for manatees and bottlenose dolphins in [for] South Florida. Vector polygons in this data set represent marine mammal distributions. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set comprises a portion of the ESI data for South Florida. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

This GIS data layer contains polygon features for Florida Beach names. The classification of features is based upon guidelines for developing digital ESI (Environmental Sensitivity Index) atlases and databases. The ESI classification was performed 06/1993.

This shapefile contains the locations of black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus)captures in the state of Florida, where the end result of the capture activity did not result in the death of the animal (i.e. bear released on-site or relocated, or a cub taken into temporary holding for later release into the wild). The data were limited to those records obtained from the Wildlife Incident Management System (WIMS) database maintained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and that were associated with a geographic coordinate.

The data used for this project were available upon request from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). FWRI may be contacted at 100 8^th Ave Southeast St Petersburg FL 33701 USA, and by phone at 1+(727) 896-8626.

Layer: Florida Wildlife CorridorSource: University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation PlanningDate Created: 2021Summary: The Florida Wildlife Corridor (layer name Florida_Wildlife_Corridor_2021.shp): This vector layer was created from the original raster grid 2021 version of the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) by combining the Priority 1, Priority 2, and Priority 3 values in the raster layer and converting to a shapefile using the Raster to Polygon command with the simplify option to remove the jagged edges of the original raster layer, reduce file size, and the make conversion to a kml file feasible. The Florida Wildlife Corridor is now part of a new state law intended to protect the corridor through enhanced land protection planning and funding. The Florida Wildlife Corridor is defined in the state law as The Florida Wildlife Corridor represents the most important opportunities to protect a functionally connected statewide system of public and private conservation lands essential for protecting Florida's native biodiversity, water resources, and other ecosystem services while providing a sustainable natural resource economy including a variety of resource-based recreational activities.The FEGN guides OGT ecological greenway conservation efforts and promotes public awareness of the need for and benefits of a statewide ecological greenways network. It is also used as the primary data layer to inform the Florida Forever and other state and regional land acquisition programs regarding the location of the most important wildlife and ecological corridors and large, intact landscapes in the state. The FEGN identifies areas of opportunity for protecting a statewide network of ecological hubs (large areas of ecological significance) and linkages designed to maintain large landscape-scale ecological functions including priority species habitat and ecosystem services throughout the state. Inclusion in the FEGN means the area is either part of a large landscape-scale “hub”, or an ecological corridor connecting two or more hubs. Hubs indicate core landscapes that are large enough to maintain populations of wide-ranging or fragmentation-sensitive species including black bear or panther and areas that are more likely to support functional ecosystem services. Highest priorities indicate the most significant hubs and corridors in relation to completing a functionally connected statewide ecological network, but all priority levels have conservation value. FEGN Priorities 1, 2, and 3 are the most important for protecting a ecologically functional connected statewide network of public and private conservation lands, and these three priority levels (P1, P2, and P3) are now called the Florida Wildlife Corridor as per the Florida Wildlife Corridor legislation passed and signed into law by the Florida Legislature and Governor and 2021, which makes protection of these wildlife and ecological hubs and corridors a high priority as part of a strategic plan for Florida’s future. To accomplish this goal, we need robust state, federal, and local conservation land protection program funding for Florida Forever, Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, Natural Resources Conservation Service easements and incentives, federal Land and Waters Conservation Fund, payments for ecosystem services, etc.Limitations Mapped corridors represent opportunity areas within which a linkage could be maintained; not all of the area identified in a corridor is necessarily required in order to protect a functional linkage. There are specific wildlife corridor design criteria that should be consulted during the process of designing functional corridors to facilitate protection of habitat, wildlife movement, and ecosystem services. The FEGN boundaries are general and based on land cover and related habitat and other ecological priority data and not parcels, so designing land protection projects based on private ownerships of willing landowners must necessarily involve comparisons with the FEGN model result boundaries along with functional design decisions that determine how much land is needed in what configuration to ensure protection of all or part of a functional corridor represented by a proposed land protection project. Therefore, a land ownership does not necessarily need to be entirely within the FEGN to potentially be significant for large landscape and corridor conservation. It is also possible that land adjacent or near an FEGN boundary could also be part of a functional landscape/corridor protection project based on project site design and plans. Not all local or regional (multi-county) potential corridors are identified in the FEGN, as this model has a statewide to regional focus. Local identification of potentially important ecological/wildlife corridors should also include identification of local and regional riparian (stream) networks, contiguous swaths of natural and semi-natural land between existing conservation lands, or other known wildlife or ecological corridors that may not all be included within the FEGN. However, based on the limitations discussed above, the FEGN is intended to identify and represent the most important statewide to regional corridors throughout Florida.Private lands identified in the FEGN may be good candidates for voluntary land acquisition programs, other public and private conservation programs, mitigation or conservation banks, or for use of innovative land planning such as conservation design, rural clustering, conservation easements, transfer of development rights, all of which seek to conserve significant natural resources. FEGN priorities represent important ecological stewardship opportunities for Florida but are not intended as an additional encumbrance on landowners other than such protections as may already be afforded by federal, state, or local laws. The FEGN was created using input data consistent with 1:5,000 to 1:64,000 map scale resolutions. Such data are of sufficient resolution for state and regional scale conservation planning. They are not appropriate for use in high accuracy mapping applications such as property parcel boundaries, local government comprehensive plans, zoning, DRI, site plans, environmental resource or other agency permitting, wetland delineations, or other uses requiring more specific and ground survey quality data, and the FEGN is not intended for any such uses.The FEGN analysis, maps and data were developed for state and regional conservation planning purposes and are not intended, nor sufficient, to be the basis for local government comprehensive plans, environmental resource or agency permitting decisions or any other form of regulatory decision-making.These data are likely to be regularly updated and it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the most recent available version of the database.Data should not be transferred to a third party, in data or map form, without noting these disclaimers and also citing the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning as the source of these data, and the FEGN is not intended to be used for commercial purposes. In addition, we encourage all users to direct other interested parties to the Center for Landscape Conservation Planning website to download data versus sharing data directly. Users also need to be aware that the FEGN is developed using multiple statewide land use / land cover data that were developed through the years 2010-2020. Therefore, users can expect that some more recent land use changes may not be reflected in the FEGN data layer. Furthermore, because of the scale issues discussed in above, developed land uses could also occur in areas identified in the FEGN due to associated spatial error with 1:5,000 to 1:64,000 scale data. Furthermore, narrow gaps such as roads in very narrow areas of developed lands (less than 120 meters in width) sometimes are incorporated into the FEGN through the modeling process to reflect potential landscape-scale ecological connectivity that potentially can cross roads and other narrow gaps. The user must recognize this when reviewing and using the FEGN data especially for any local to regional applications.For more information https://conservation.dcp.ufl.edu/fegnproject/

Field sampling occurred at locations within Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge on three transects along the natural salinity gradient of increasing salinity to the coastal south. We used three replicates per tier (east-west) for a total of nine sampling sites. Sites were approximately 1300 m apart in all directions. Sampling events occurred every 3–4 weeks from January to May for 7 sampling events in 2015 and 5 in 2016. These dates were selected to capture signals of the natural variation in water levels and salinity that occur during the transition from the wet season to the dry season. Fish traps were deployed at each of the nine sites and then retrieved the following day, allowing 24 hours soak time. Two minnow traps (Gee Minnow Trap; 22.9 x 44.5 cm, 0.6 cm mesh, 1.9 cm diameter opening) and two Breder traps (15 cm x 15 cm x 30 cm, 12 mm opening width, 15 cm opening height) were placed at each sampling site because the two trap types have the potential to catch different fish species.

This hydrologic and landscape database was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and contributing watersheds in Florida and Georgia. The database was developed as an assessment and evaluation tool to use in examining refuge-specific hydrologic patterns and trends as related to water availability and water quality for refuge ecosystems, habits, and target species. The database includes hydrologic time series data, statistics on landscape and hydrologic time series data, and hydro-ecological metrics that can be used to assess refuge hydrologic conditions. The database is described in detail in Open File Report 2017-1018.