MassGIS' standardized assessors’ parcel mapping data set contains property (land lot) boundaries and database information from each community's assessor.The data were developed through a competitive procurement funded by MassGIS. Each community in the Commonwealth was bid on by one or more vendors and the unit of work awarded was a city or town. The specification for this work was Level 3 of the MassGIS Digital Parcel Standard.This feature service contains three feature classes and one table.Map service also available.See the datalayer page for full details.

December 1995, June 2001

Seagrass beds are critical wetlands components of shallow marine ecosystems along the Massachusetts coastline. Seagrass beds provide food and cover for a great variety of commercially and recreationally important fauna and their prey. The leaf canopy of the seagrass bed calms the water, filters suspended matter and together with extensive roots and rhizomes, stabilizes sediment. Seagrasses are often referred to as "Submerged Aquatic Vegetation" or SAV. This distinguishes them from algae, which are not classified as plants by biologists (rather they are often placed in the kingdom protista), and distinguishes them from the "emergent" saltwater plants found in salt marshes.

In Massachusetts, the dominant SAV is Zostera marina or eelgrass. The other species found in the embayments of the Massachusetts coast is Ruppia maritima, commonly called “widgeon grass,” which is present in areas of less salinity along Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay. Widgeon grass, found in the upper reaches of embayments, has a thread-like morphology that makes it difficult to identify using remotely sensed data. It can only be identified and located by on-site survey.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) began a program to map the state's SAV resources in the early 1990s and since 1995 the MassDEP Eelgrass Mapping Project has produced multiple surveys of SAV along the Massachusetts coastline, as listed here:

PhaseProject YearsProject Area11995Entire MA Coast22001Coast-wide MA Coast except Elizabeth Islands (Gosnold) and Mount Hope Bay32006/07Selected embayments, coast-wide including Elizabeth Islands42010-20132010 - South Shore of Cape Cod: Woods Hole to Chatham, selected embayments, Pleasant Bay;2012 - North Shore, Boston Harbor, South Shore to Provincetown;2013 - Buzzards Bay, Elizabeth Islands, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket52015-20172015 - South Shore of Cape Cod, Pleasant Bay, Nantucket;2016 - North Shore, Boston Harbor, South Shore to Canal;2017 - Buzzards Bay, North Shore of Cape Cod, Elizabeth Islands and Martha's Vineyard62019-20232019 - South Shore of Cape Cod, Pleasant Bay, North Shore of Nantucket2020 - Martha’s Vineyard, Buzzards Bay and Elizabeth Islands 2021 - Cape Cod Bay (Provincetown through Duxbury) 2022 - South Shore, Boston Harbor, North Shore (Marshfield through Rockport)2023 - Cape Ann to the New Hampshire border (Essex through Newburyport)

View full metadata

Also see the map service.

The MassDEP Wetlands service comprises two feature types, polygons (areas) and arcs (lines). The attribute codes in the polygon layer describe different types of wetland environments and the arc attributes describe line types based on adjacent polygon types or arcs defined as hydrologic connections.

This map service displays the data based on the generalized categories in the POLY_CODE and ARC_CODE fields. The 2005 MassDEP Wetlands layers provide a medium-scale representation of wetland areas of the state. Wetland areas consist of open water, vegetated wetlands, and coastal landforms. The hydrologic connection arcs provide a medium scale representation of linear features (less than 50 feet wide) that appear to contain flowing water (either intermittently or perennially) and flow into, out of, or between mapped wetland polygons. Hydrologic connections may consist of rivers, streams, ditches, culverts, swales, or other water conveyance features.

Please see MassGIS' metadata for more details.A feature service is also available.

April 2025

The Fire Stations layer shows the point locations of 789 Fire stations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) GIS Program in cooperation with the Regional Planning Agencies and participating communities created the data as part of the development of Homeland Security Data Layers.More details...Feature service also available.

The Massachusetts Statewide LiDAR from 2005 has been classified to show high elevations in Central and Western Massachusetts. The Digital Elevation Model has been classified as follows:Elevations below 1,700 feet are light blueElevations between 1,700 and 2,199 feet are light greenElevations between 2,200 and 3,000 feet are brownElevations greater than 3,000 feet are white. To view the full Massachusetts Forest Action Plan, click here. *For source data information, please see credits.

November 2024

The 2022 Integrated List of Waters data is the spatial representation of the river, lake, and estuary segments assessed and summarized in the Massachusetts Year 2018 Integrated List of Waters report to the EPA developed pursuant to sections 305(b), 314, and 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act.Map service also available.

December 2017

This Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) data set, produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), contains areas designated as undeveloped coastal barriers in accordance with the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA), 16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., as amended. The boundaries used to create the polygons herein were compiled from the official John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System CBRS maps, which are accessible at the Service’s Headquarters office or https://www.fws.gov/program/coastal-barrier-resources-act/maps-and-data. These digital polygons are only representations of the CBRS boundaries shown on the official CBRS maps and are not to be considered authoritative. The Service is not responsible for any misuse or misinterpretation of this digital data set, including use of the data to determine eligibility for federal financial assistance such as federal flood insurance. As maps are revised, this data set will be updated with the new boundaries. CBRS boundaries viewed using the CBRS Mapper or the shapefile are subject to misrepresentations beyond the Service’s control, including misalignments of the boundaries with third party base layers and mis-projections of spatial data. The official CBRS map is the controlling document and should be consulted for all official determinations. Official determinations are recommended for all properties that are in close proximity (within 20 feet) of a CBRS boundary. For an official determination of whether or not an area or specific property is located within the CBRS, please follow the procedures found at https://www.fws.gov/service/coastal-barrier-resources-system-property-documentation. For any questions regarding the CBRS, please contact your local Service field office or email CBRA@fws.gov. Contact information for Service field offices can be found at https://www.fws.gov/our-facilities.Data Set Contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Natural Resource Program Center, GIS Team Lead, richard_easterbrook@fws.gov

This map service contains bridge data from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division (MassDOT) Bridge Inspection Management System (BIMS). The data is refreshed from the BIMS database on a biweekly basis. Included in this layer are: • MassDOT and municipally-owned structures with spans greater than 20 feet. These are categorized as National Bridge Inventory (NBI) structures. MassDOT inspects NBI bridges on a biannual basis. • MassDOT Highway and municipally-owned short span bridges with spans between 10 to 20 feet. These are categorized as “BRI” structures. The first complete Inspection of the short span bridge inventory is currently in progress. • MassDOT Highway and municipally-owned Culverts with spans of 4 to 10 feet. This category is incomplete and an inventory effort is underway. Structures under Federal, other State entities or Private ownership are not contained in this layer. Also excluded are minor non-highway structures such as pedestrian and bicycle overpasses. Access and Use Constraints The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall not be held liable for any errors in this data. This includes errors of omission, commission, errors concerning the content of the data, and relative and positional accuracy of the data. This data cannot be construed to be a legal document. Primary sources from which this data was compiled must be consulted for verification of information contained in this data.

August 2023

This Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) data set, produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), contains areas designated as undeveloped coastal barriers in accordance with the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA), 16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., as amended. The boundaries used to create the polygons herein were compiled from the official John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System CBRS maps, which are accessible at the Service’s Headquarters office or https://www.fws.gov/program/coastal-barrier-resources-act/maps-and-data. These digital polygons are only representations of the CBRS boundaries shown on the official CBRS maps and are not to be considered authoritative. The Service is not responsible for any misuse or misinterpretation of this digital data set, including use of the data to determine eligibility for federal financial assistance such as federal flood insurance. As maps are revised, this data set will be updated with the new boundaries. CBRS boundaries viewed using the CBRS Mapper or the shapefile are subject to misrepresentations beyond the Service’s control, including misalignments of the boundaries with third party base layers and mis-projections of spatial data. The official CBRS map is the controlling document and should be consulted for all official determinations. Official determinations are recommended for all properties that are in close proximity (within 20 feet) of a CBRS boundary. For an official determination of whether or not an area or specific property is located within the CBRS, please follow the procedures found at https://www.fws.gov/service/coastal-barrier-resources-system-property-documentation. For any questions regarding the CBRS, please contact your local Service field office or email CBRA@fws.gov. Contact information for Service field offices can be found at https://www.fws.gov/our-facilities.Data Set Contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Natural Resource Program Center, GIS Team Lead, richard_easterbrook@fws.gov

This public map service contains points and polygons representing information from the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System (MACRIS) database and related records on file at the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC), including the Inventory of Historic Assets of the Commonwealth, National Register of Historic Places nomination forms, local historic district study reports, local landmark reports, and other materials. The MACRIS database and the layers within the MACRIS Maps web application are updated regularly as new information is submitted and added, and as the accuracy of earlier versions of the datalayer is improved. Three datalayers are being made available to the public: The Inventory Points layer contains the locations of buildings, burial grounds, structures, and objects (e.g. statues, monuments, walls). The points layer is symbolized to indicate the most common historic designation types: 1) National Register of Historic Places, 2) local historic district, 3) both National Register and local historic district, 4) Preservation Restriction, 5) Massachusetts Historic Landmark (MA/HL) and 6) inventoried but not designated with one of the previous designations. Less common designations are not symbolized in MACRIS, but are included in the Designations attribute field.The Inventory Areas polygon layer includes areas and districts symbolized in MACRIS in a similar manner to Inventory Points. Another polygon layer, Towns, possesses a binary “y” or blank field to indicate whether a town has a survey pending digitization. Please note that new and updated information is added to MHC files daily, and that there may be considerable lag time before this information is reflected in MACRIS or in MACRIS Maps. Map information for “completed” towns may not reflect the most current information on file with MHC. For additional information, users may consult the source records, forms and maps that make up the official Inventory of Historic and Archaeological Assets of the Commonwealth, on file at the MHC, Massachusetts Archives Building, 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, during weekday business hours. No appointment is needed. For directions, see https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/.See the metadata for more details.

These Surface Water Supply Protection Areas delineate those areas included in 310 CMR 22.00, the Massachusetts Drinking Water Regulations, as Surface Water Supply Protection Zones:

• ZONEA: represents a) the land area between the surface water source and the upper boundary of the bank; b) the land area within a 400 foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of the bank of a Class A surface water source, as defined in 314 CMR 4.05(3)(a); and c) the land area within a 200 foot lateral distance from the upper boundary of the bank of a tributary or associated surface water body.

• ZONEB: represents the land area within one-half mile of the upper boundary of the bank of a Class A surface water source, as defined in 314 CMR 4.05(3)(a), or edge of watershed, whichever is less. Zone B always includes the land area within a 400 ft lateral distance from the upper boundary of the bank of a Class A surface water source.

• ZONEC: represents the land area not designated as Zone A or B within the watershed of a Class A surface water source, as defined in 314 CMR 4.05(3)(a). More details...Map service also available.

Wellhead protection areas are important for protecting the recharge area around public water supply (PWS) groundwater sources. A Zone II is a wellhead protection area that has been determined by hydro-geologic modeling and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Drinking Water Program (DWP). In cases where hydro-geologic modeling studies have not been performed and there is no approved Zone II, an Interim Wellhead Protection Area (IWPA) is established based on DEP DWP well pumping rates or default values. Certain land uses may be either prohibited or restricted in both approved (Zone II) and interim (IWPA) wellhead protection areas.See metadata.Also see map service.

March 2025

August 2021

Level IV Ecoregions of the Continental United StatesThis U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) map layer depicts the Level IV Ecoregions throughout the continental U.S. Per EPA, "Ecoregions denote areas within which ecosystems (and the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources) are generally similar. They are designed to serve as a spatial framework for the research, assessment, management, and monitoring of ecosystems and ecosystem components...The ecoregions were identified by analyzing the spatial patterns and the composition of biotic and abiotic phenomena that affect or reflect differences in ecosystem quality and integrity." Eastern Florida FlatwoodsData Currency: Current Federal ServiceData modifications: NoneFor more information: Level III and IV Ecoregions of the Continental United StatesSupport documentation: MetadataFor feedback please contact: ArcGIScomNationalMaps@esri.comEnvironmental Protection AgencyPer USA.gov, "The Environmental Protection Agency protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations."