Baylands Habitat Map 2020 GIS Data

The Baylands Habitat Map 2020 represents the condition of the San Francisco Bay Baylands in the year 2020. It was published in April 2024. It was developed to meet the needs of the San Francisco Estuary Wetlands Regional Monitoring Program's (WRMP) by mapping habitat types for the purpose of monitoring regional change over time using primarily remote sensing data.
 

The Baylands Habitat Map 2020 (BHM2020) Is a fundamental component of the San Francisco Estuary Regional Wetlands Monitoring Program (WRMP), and serves as a common reference map to help coordinate baylands protection and restoration for all interests. It is intended to be used commonly by public agencies to visualize and track baylands projects in EcoAtlas. The creation of the Baylands Habitat Map was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund. The San Francisco Estuary Institute developed and refined the ruleset to produce the map through regular consultation and collaboration with the WRMP Geospatial Workgroup and WRMP Technical Advisory Committee. The dataset was developed using Object Based Image analysis and a rule based approach in Trimble eCognition and ESRI ArcGIS Pro software. The dataset was published in April 2024.

During the BHM2020 mapping effort, methods for differentiating one class from another were largely based upon relative tidal elevation, vegetation cover, and feature structure/shape. Tidal influence varies not only across the regions of the bay area, but also between bayland areas within that are constrained by levees and complex hydrological connections. To account for this variability and uncertainty, some flexibility in regard to modeled relative tidal elevation was required and adjustments based on spectral signature was necessary to accurately capture the habitats and extent of influence in areas with complex and varying tidal connections. More information can be found in the BHM2020 methods document.

The classification system used was developed in close coordination with WRMP staff and advisors and can be found more fully described in the WRMP Baylands Habitat Map 2020 Classification Key.