See full Data Guide here. This layer includes polygon features that depict protected open space for towns of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) project, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Land Acquisition and Management. Only parcels that meet the criteria of protected open space as defined in the POSM project are in this layer. Protected open space is defined as: (1) Land or interest in land acquired for the permanent protection of natural features of the state's landscape or essential habitat for endangered or threatened species; or (2) Land or an interest in land acquired to permanently support and sustain non-facility-based outdoor recreation, forestry and fishery activities, or other wildlife or natural resource conservation or preservation activities. Includes protected open space data for the towns of Andover, Ansonia, Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Canaan, Clinton, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bridgewater, Bolton, Brookfield, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Colchester, Colebrook, Columbia, Cornwall, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, Derby, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Eastford, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Franklin, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hampton, Hartford, Hebron, Kent, Killingworth, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Monroe, Montville, Morris, New Britain, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, New Hartford, Newington, Newtown, Norfolk, North, Norwich, Preston, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stonington, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Pomfret, Portland, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Salisbury, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Sterling, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Union, Vernon, Wallingford, Windham, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, West Hartford, Westbrook, Weston, Wethersfield, Willington, Wilton, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, and Woodstock. Additional towns are added to this list as they are completed. The layer is based on information from various sources collected and compiled during the period from March 2005 through the present. These sources include but are not limited to municipal Assessor's records (the Assessor's database, hard copy maps and deeds) and existing digital parcel data. The layer represents conditions as of the date of research at each city or town hall. The Protected Open Space layer includes the parcel shape (geometry), a project-specific parcel ID based on the Town and Town Assessor's lot numbering system, and system-defined (automatically generated) fields. The Protected Open Space layer has an accompanying table containing more detailed information about each feature (parcel). This table is called Protected Open Space Dat, and can be joined to Protected Open Space in ArcMap using the parcel ID (PAR_ID) field. Detailed information in the Protected Open Space Data attribute table includes the Assessor's Map, Block and Lot numbers (the Assessor's parcel identification numbering system), the official name of the parcel (such as the park or forest name if it has one), address and owner information, the deed volume and page numbers, survey information, open space type, the unique parcel ID number (Par_ID), comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, and acreage. This layer does not include parcels that do not meet the definition of open space as defined above. Features are stored as polygons that represent the best available locational information, and are "best fit" to the land base available for each.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's (CTDEP) Permanently Protected Open Space Phase Mapping Project Phase 1 (Protected Open Space Phase1) layer includes permanently protected open space parcels in towns in Phase 1 that meet the CTDEP's definition for this project, the Permanently Protected Open Space Mapping (CT POSM) Project. The CTDEP defines permanently protected open space as (1) Land or interest in land acquired for the permanent protection of natural features of the state's landscape or essential habitat for endangered or threatened species; or (2) Land or an interest in land acquired to permanently support and sustain non facility-based outdoor recreations, forestry and fishery activities, or other wildlife or natural resource conservation or preservation activities.

Towns in Phase 1 of the CT POSM project are situated along the CT coast and portions of the Thames River and are the following: Branford, Bridgeport, Chester, Clinton, Darien, Deep River, East Haven, East Lyme, Essex, Fairfield, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Hamden, Ledyard, Lyme, Madison, Milford, Montville, New Haven, New London, North Branford, North Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Orange, Preston, Shelton, Stamford, Stonington, Stratford, Waterford, West Haven, Westbrook, Westport.

For the purposes of the project a number of categories or classifications of open space have also been created. These include: Land Trust, Land Trust with buidlings, Private, Private with buildings, Utility Company, Utility Company with buildings, Federal, State, Municipal, Municipal with buildings, Conservation easement, and non-DEP State land. The layer is based on information from various sources collected and compiled during the period from August 2002 trhough October 2003. These sources include municipal Assessor's records (the Assessor's database, hard copy maps and deeds) and existing digital parcel data. The layer represents conditions on the date of research at each city or town hall.

The Protected Open Space Phase1 layer includes the parcel shape (geometry), a project-specific parcel ID based on the Town and Town's Assessor lot numbering system, and system-defined (automatically generated) fields. In addition, the Protected_Open_Space_Phase1 layer has an accompanying table containing more detailed information about each parcel's collection, standardization and storage. This table is called Protected Open Space Phase1 Data and can be joined to Protected Open Space Phase1 in ArcMap using the parcel ID (PAR_ID) field. Detailed information includes the Assessor's Map, Block and Lot numbers (the Assessor's parcel identification numbering system), the official name of the parcel (such as the park or forest name if it has one), address and owner information, the deed volume and page numbers, survey information, open space type, the project-specific parcel ID number (Par_ID), comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, acreage collected during site reconaissance and the data source. This layer does not include parcels that do not meet the definition of open space as defined above. Features are stored as polygon feature type that represent the best available locational information, i.e. "best fit" to the land base available for each.

Phase 1 of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) Project was accomplished by a contractor using only a querying process to identify open space. The contractor obtained assessor's data from the various towns and created programs to cull open space parcels strictly by query processes. We have found many errors and omissions in the data, but at this point in the project we cannot revisit all the coastal towns. Therefore, this data is being sent with a disclaimer for accuracy. You are welcome to use it but not to publish it. Please note that we do not include any water company parcels despite them being listed as part of our criteria because we must first obtain written clarification and clearance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

We have since changed our data collection method for Phase 2 of this project. DEP staff now visit each town hall and thoroughly research the land records. The project is expected to be complete by 2010.

Connecticut Historic Shoreline Wetlands:

1880s NOS T-Sheet Shoreline Features is a 1:10,000-scale, line feature-based layer that includes information depicting historic shoreline features and wetland boundaries for areas of coastal Connecticut during the 1880s. The layer depicts information found on topographic survey sheets (T-sheets) from the US Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), a predecessor to the National Ocean Service (NOS). The layer represents conditions at a particular point in time. The layer does not depict current conditions. The layer includes ground condition features such as approximate shoreline, shoreline, wetland shoreline, wetland upland boundaries, wetland interior boundaries, man-made shoreline, jetties/breakwaters/groins, and piers/ramps/docks. Semi-submerged marshes, referred to here as "low marshes," ocurring where it is possible to discern marsh-like features waterward of the shoreline are also included. Off shore and riverine islands and rocks may be included depending on the quality of their depiction on the t-sheet. It does not include any non shoreline-centric elements that may have been depicted on the t-sheets such as buildings, roads, bridges, etc., nor does it include other off-shore features like sandbars, mud flats, tidal flats, etc. Features are line locations that represent the approximate location of shoreline features and wetland boundaries. Shoreline, as depicted on the T-sheets that pre-date 1927, reference an approximation of Mean High Water (MHW). Although MHW is technically determined by averaging the height of the high water line, (HWL) the landward extent of the last high tide over a 19 year lunar cycle, USC&GS topographers appoximated MHW by familarizing themselves with the tidal conditions in a given area and noting the assorted physical characteristics of the beach. (For a more complete description of this and other shoreline indicators, the reader is directed to the following article: "Historical Shoreline Change: Error Analysis and Mapping Accuracy," Crowell, M., Leatherman, S., and Buckley, M. Journal of Coastal Research, Vol 7, No. 3, 1991, pp 839-852.) Attribute information is comprised of codes to identify individual features, encode shoreline feature type information, and cartographically represent (symbolize) shoreline features on a map. These codes were derived in part from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center (CSC) Historic Digital Shoreline Capture project and modified by the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to address the inclusion of wetland areas. This data was compiled at 1:10,000 scale. This data is not updated. Purpose: 1880s NOS T-Sheet Shoreline Features is 1:10,000-scale data. It depicts the location of historic shoreline features and wetland boundaries for all of coastal Connecticut with the exception of the area of New Haven Harbor from the West River in West Haven to the New Haven/East Haven town boundary. The features also extend slightly beyond the Connecticut state lines into Rye, New York and Westerly, Rhode Island. Use this layer to display historic shoreline and wetlands. Since this data may be considered a crucial element in land use planning, determination of boundary extents, performing change studies for erosion and accretion examinations and other types of decision making this layer may also be used for analytic purposes. Use this layer with other 1:10,000-scale map data such as any other NOS T-sheet Shoreline or Wetland layers. Not intended for maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:10,000 scale (1 inch = 833.33 feet.)

1880s NOS T-Sheet Wetland Polygon Features is a 1:10,000-scale, polygon feature-based layer that includes information depicting historic wetlands for areas of coastal Connecticut during the 1880s. The layer depicts information found on topographic survey sheets (T-sheets) from the US Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), a predecessor to the National Ocean Service (NOS). The layer represents conditions at a particular point in time. The layer does not depict current conditions. The layer includes ground condition features such as wetland areas, interior wetland uplands, and interior wetand waterbodies. Semi-submerged marshes, referred to here as "low marshes," ocurring where it is possible to discern marsh-like features waterward of the shoreline are also included. Off shore and riverine islands and rocks may be included depending on the quality of their depiction on the t-sheet. It does not include any non wetland-centric elements that may have been depicted on the t-sheets such as buildings, roads, bridges, etc., nor does it include other off-shore features like mud flats, tidal flats, etc. Features are polygon locations that represent the approximate location of wetland areas and internal wetland features such as uplands or waterbodies. Shoreline, as depicted on the T-sheets that pre-date 1927, reference an approximation of Mean High Water (MHW). Although MHW is technically determined by averaging the height of the high water line, (HWL) the landward extent of the last high tide over a 19 year lunar cycle, USC&GS topographers appoximated MHW by familarizing themselves with the tidal conditions in a given area and noting the assorted physical characteristics of the beach. (For a more complete description of this and other shoreline indicators, the reader is directed to the following article: "Historical Shoreline Change: Error Analysis and Mapping Accuracy," Crowell, M., Leatherman, S., and Buckley, M. Journal of Coastal Research, Vol 7, No. 3, 1991, pp 839-852.) Attribute information is comprised of codes to identify individual features, encode wetland feature type information, and cartographically represent (symbolize) wetland features on a map. These codes were derived in part from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center (CSC) Historic Digital Shoreline Capture project and modified by the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to address the inclusion of wetland areas. This data was compiled at 1:10,000 scale. This data is not updated. Purpose: 1880s NOS T-Sheet Wetland Polygon Features is 1:10,000-scale data. It depicts the location of historic wetland features for all of coastal Connecticut with the exception of the area of New Haven Harbor from the West River in West Haven to the New Haven/East haven town boundary. The features also extend slightly beyond the Connecticut state lines into Rye, New York and Westerly, Rhode Island. Use this layer to display historic wetlands. Since this data may be considered a crucial element in land use planning, determination of boundary extents, performing change studies for erosion and accretion examinations and other types of decision making this layer may also be used for analytic purposes. Use this layer with other 1:10,000-scale map data such as any other NOS T-sheet Shoreline or Wetland layers. Not intended for maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:10,000 scale (1 inch = 833.33 feet.)

The Coastal Area layer is a 1:24,000-scale, polygon feature-based layer that includes the land and waters that lie within the Coastal Area as defined by Connecticut General Statute (C.G.S.) 22a-94(a). Activities and actions conducted within the coastal area by Federal and State Agencies (i.e., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), DEP regulatory programs, and state plans and actions) must be consistent with all of the applicable standards and criteria contained in the Connecticut Coastal Management Act (C.G.S. 22a-90 to 22a-113). A subset of the Coastal Area, the Coastal Boundary, represents an area within which activities regulated or conducted by coastal municipalities must be consistent with the Coastal Management Act. As defined in this section of the statutes, the Coastal Area includes the land and water within the area delineated by the following: the westerly, southerly and easterly limits of the state's jurisdiction in Long Island Sound; the towns of Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Shelton, Milford, Orange, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Deep River, Chester, Essex, Old Saybrook, Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Waterford, New London, Montville, Norwich, Preston, Ledyard, Groton and Stonington. This layer includes a single polygon feature defined by the boundaries described above. Attribute information is comprised of an Av_Legend to denote the coastal area. Data is compiled at 1:24,000 scale. This data is not updated.

See full Data Guide here. This layer includes polygon features that depict protected open space for towns of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) project, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Land Acquisition and Management. Only parcels that meet the criteria of protected open space as defined in the POSM project are in this layer. Protected open space is defined as: (1) Land or interest in land acquired for the permanent protection of natural features of the state's landscape or essential habitat for endangered or threatened species; or (2) Land or an interest in land acquired to permanently support and sustain non-facility-based outdoor recreation, forestry and fishery activities, or other wildlife or natural resource conservation or preservation activities. Includes protected open space data for the towns of Andover, Ansonia, Ashford, Avon, Beacon Falls, Canaan, Clinton, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bridgewater, Bolton, Brookfield, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Colchester, Colebrook, Columbia, Cornwall, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, Derby, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Windsor, Eastford, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Farmington, Franklin, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hampton, Hartford, Hebron, Kent, Killingworth, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Monroe, Montville, Morris, New Britain, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Milford, New Hartford, Newington, Newtown, Norfolk, North, Norwich, Preston, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stonington, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Pomfret, Portland, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Salisbury, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Sterling, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Union, Vernon, Wallingford, Windham, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Watertown, West Hartford, Westbrook, Weston, Wethersfield, Willington, Wilton, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, and Woodstock. Additional towns are added to this list as they are completed. The layer is based on information from various sources collected and compiled during the period from March 2005 through the present. These sources include but are not limited to municipal Assessor's records (the Assessor's database, hard copy maps and deeds) and existing digital parcel data. The layer represents conditions as of the date of research at each city or town hall. The Protected Open Space layer includes the parcel shape (geometry), a project-specific parcel ID based on the Town and Town Assessor's lot numbering system, and system-defined (automatically generated) fields. The Protected Open Space layer has an accompanying table containing more detailed information about each feature (parcel). This table is called Protected Open Space Dat, and can be joined to Protected Open Space in ArcMap using the parcel ID (PAR_ID) field. Detailed information in the Protected Open Space Data attribute table includes the Assessor's Map, Block and Lot numbers (the Assessor's parcel identification numbering system), the official name of the parcel (such as the park or forest name if it has one), address and owner information, the deed volume and page numbers, survey information, open space type, the unique parcel ID number (Par_ID), comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, and acreage. This layer does not include parcels that do not meet the definition of open space as defined above. Features are stored as polygons that represent the best available locational information, and are "best fit" to the land base available for each.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's (CTDEP) Permanently Protected Open Space Phase Mapping Project Phase 1 (Protected Open Space Phase1) layer includes permanently protected open space parcels in towns in Phase 1 that meet the CTDEP's definition for this project, the Permanently Protected Open Space Mapping (CT POSM) Project. The CTDEP defines permanently protected open space as (1) Land or interest in land acquired for the permanent protection of natural features of the state's landscape or essential habitat for endangered or threatened species; or (2) Land or an interest in land acquired to permanently support and sustain non facility-based outdoor recreations, forestry and fishery activities, or other wildlife or natural resource conservation or preservation activities.

Towns in Phase 1 of the CT POSM project are situated along the CT coast and portions of the Thames River and are the following: Branford, Bridgeport, Chester, Clinton, Darien, Deep River, East Haven, East Lyme, Essex, Fairfield, Greenwich, Groton, Guilford, Hamden, Ledyard, Lyme, Madison, Milford, Montville, New Haven, New London, North Branford, North Haven, Norwalk, Norwich, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Orange, Preston, Shelton, Stamford, Stonington, Stratford, Waterford, West Haven, Westbrook, Westport.

For the purposes of the project a number of categories or classifications of open space have also been created. These include: Land Trust, Land Trust with buidlings, Private, Private with buildings, Utility Company, Utility Company with buildings, Federal, State, Municipal, Municipal with buildings, Conservation easement, and non-DEP State land. The layer is based on information from various sources collected and compiled during the period from August 2002 trhough October 2003. These sources include municipal Assessor's records (the Assessor's database, hard copy maps and deeds) and existing digital parcel data. The layer represents conditions on the date of research at each city or town hall.

The Protected Open Space Phase1 layer includes the parcel shape (geometry), a project-specific parcel ID based on the Town and Town's Assessor lot numbering system, and system-defined (automatically generated) fields. In addition, the Protected_Open_Space_Phase1 layer has an accompanying table containing more detailed information about each parcel's collection, standardization and storage. This table is called Protected Open Space Phase1 Data and can be joined to Protected Open Space Phase1 in ArcMap using the parcel ID (PAR_ID) field. Detailed information includes the Assessor's Map, Block and Lot numbers (the Assessor's parcel identification numbering system), the official name of the parcel (such as the park or forest name if it has one), address and owner information, the deed volume and page numbers, survey information, open space type, the project-specific parcel ID number (Par_ID), comments collected by researchers during city/town hall visits, acreage collected during site reconaissance and the data source. This layer does not include parcels that do not meet the definition of open space as defined above. Features are stored as polygon feature type that represent the best available locational information, i.e. "best fit" to the land base available for each.

Phase 1 of the Protected Open Space Mapping (POSM) Project was accomplished by a contractor using only a querying process to identify open space. The contractor obtained assessor's data from the various towns and created programs to cull open space parcels strictly by query processes. We have found many errors and omissions in the data, but at this point in the project we cannot revisit all the coastal towns. Therefore, this data is being sent with a disclaimer for accuracy. You are welcome to use it but not to publish it. Please note that we do not include any water company parcels despite them being listed as part of our criteria because we must first obtain written clarification and clearance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

We have since changed our data collection method for Phase 2 of this project. DEP staff now visit each town hall and thoroughly research the land records. The project is expected to be complete by 2010.

This is a polygon GIS data layer showing the location and extent of various sidescan, multibeam and swath bathymetry surveys conducted by the USGS, Coastal and Marine Geology Program. Outlines of individual mosaic areas were combined to create one comprehensive layer that could be used to illustrate areas surveyed by USGS/CMGP seafloor mapping programs.