Description: San Francisco baywide eelgrass layer with density attributes developed from data collected in October and November of 2009.This data was shared via email on December 14th, 2011 from NOAA.
Description: Very little is known about the distribution or characteristics of eelgrass beds within the Bay because while much attention has been paid to the management and restoration of marshlands, subtidal habitats such as eelgrass have generally escaped the consideration of resource managers. Although approximately 20,000 acres of deep and shallow bay habitats have been lost since the 1800's as a result of bay fill and sediment deposition, the need for management of subtidal resources has only recently become clear. In 2003, Caltrans and NOAA/Fisheries contracted with Merkel & Assoc iates, Inc. to map eelgrass location and density in San Francisco Bay. The baywide eelgrass theme is compiled from 56 source themes that were created from sidescan sonar data, visual observations, and GPS. This data was shared via email on December 14th, 2011. Data was missing metadata and is assumed to match the dataset described here: http://mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/website/portal/pies/meta/nmfs/merkel/ee_baywide_merge.htm