SF Bay Eelgrass 45m Buffer (BCDC 2020)

<div style='text-align:Left;'><p style='margin-top:0in; background-image:initial; background-position:initial; background-size:initial; background-repeat:initial; background-attachment:initial; background-origin:initial; background-clip:initial;'><span style='font-family:inherit, serif;'>This layer is a 45-meter growth buffer
surrounding the maximum extent of eelgrass (green layer called &quot;SF Bay Eelgrass&quot;) surveyed in San
Francisco Bay. Eelgrass beds are highly dynamic and the exact location and
extent of eelgrass beds can change across seasons and years. Thus, the purpose
of the 45-meter growth buffer, as described in the</span> National Marine Fisheries Service's LTMS Programmatic Essential
Fish Habitat consultation is to account for areas between eelgrass patches,
temporal variation in bed extent, and potential bed expansion. In cases where a
dredge project intersects with the 45-meter growth buffer direct impacts to
eelgrass may occur and therefore assessment, minimization, and mitigation
measures may be required on a project-by-project basis.  A pre-dredge eelgrass area and density survey is
required 30 days prior to the start of dredging and should be submitted to the
LTMS permitting agencies. </p><p><span>Methods for creating this layer are as follows: </span></p><p style='margin:1 1 1 20;'><span>Downloaded Baywide Eelgrass
Surveys for 2003, 2009, and 2014 by Merkel &amp; Associates, Inc. (Merkel) from San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) <a href='https://www.sfei.org/data/eelgrass-survey-gis-data#sthash.pbS8XJq7.qd8ONQus.dpbs' rel='nofollow ugc' target='_blank'>website</a>. </span>Obtained Richardson Bay
2019 eelgrass survey from Merkel. Loaded all layers into ArcGIS Pro © ESRI and re-projected
all data to NAD 1983 UTM Zone 10N. Used Buffer tool to develop a single
multipart shapefile with a 45-meter buffer of the input layers. Imported the
Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership (PMEP) Estuary Extent
layer and clipped the 45-meter buffer over terrestrial areas based on the PEMP
Estuary Extent. Some minor adjustments were made where the buffer layer
resulted in fragments on land or behind levees.<br /></p></div>