What wetlands and other aquatic resources currently exist in my area of interest?

Planners can use EcoAtlas to explore interactive maps of existing streams and wetlands within a project footprint and across the watershed. The California Aquatic Resources Inventory (CARI) basemap provides this information, with a toggle to view statewide wetland classifications or more detailed regional classification systems where available. In areas with historical ecology mapping, an additional layer shows the extent of past habitat resources, supporting comparisons between current and historical conditions.

The Landscape Profile Tool summarizes the amount, distribution, and condition of aquatic resources in any user-defined area — such as a project footprint, watershed, or other boundary. Where historical data exist, it also includes information on past aquatic resources. Profiles can be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF with a date and time stamp for documentation. Most EcoAtlas geospatial datasets are also available for download, allowing planners to conduct further desktop analysis.
These tools support data-driven planning by helping identify all mapped aquatic resources, including rare wetland types. Such information can guide decisions on whether resources should be protected, enhanced, or potentially re-created to address historic losses, ensuring that wetland restoration and mitigation projects are grounded in a comprehensive watershed perspective.

Use the Landscape Profile Tool for summarizing aquatic resources

How will my project contribute towards the No-Net-Loss policy?

You can use outputs from the Landscape Profile Tool to understand the percentage of wetlands in the area of interest (project footprint or the watershed) that will be impacted by a construction or maintenance project (e.g. filled and permanently lost), or what percentage of wetlands in the area of interest a new habitat project will create or enhance. The proposed area of wetland impact or area of wetland creation can simply be compared to the summarized acres of wetlands (by wetland type) within the area of interest.

In addition, the project’s contribution to No-Net-Loss can be visualized. Viewing the “Ecological Restoration based on Habitat Projects” tab within the Landscape Profile reveals a bar graph that shows the acres of loss, creation/establishment, and restoration/re-establishment for the area of interest. The graph is based upon habitat project information that has been entered into Project Tracker, with a link to each project as shown below the bar graph.

View a fact sheet and learn more about tracking long-term net change in wetland quantity.

How will my project interact with other nearby habitat projects?

Knowing where other habitat projects are located within the watershed, whether they are proposed, in planning, in construction, or completed, is critical during project planning. You can visualize their locations using the “Habitat Project” layer. This layer visualizes Project Tracker data by overlaying the project areas on the map. The information is also summarized in the Landscape Profile Tool. In the map view, each habitat project can be clicked on, taking the user to the project’s information page, which includes the project status, type, area, contacts, habitat types, project events, funding, and any associated CRAM assessments. This information allows you to consider how planned or existing restoration and/or mitigation projects might affect your project, and how your project might affect others.

Learn more about visualizing habitat projects in EcoAtlas

Where are there opportunities for new restoration/mitigation projects?

EcoAtlas can assist in exploring and identifying potential locations for new project development.

Overlaying multiple map layers helps identify suitable locations for new restoration or mitigation projects. For example, the CARI mapping shows existing aquatic resources, while the Landscape Profile tool highlights the abundance of each wetland type. The Project Tracker, CIWQS project layers, and RIBBITS Mitigation Bank layer reveal where projects already exist, where they could be expanded, and where gaps remain. The CPAD layer indicates public lands and conservation easements, pointing to collaboration opportunities. The CRAM layer assesses stream and wetland condition, helping distinguish areas suitable for restoration (low condition) versus conservation or protection (high condition). The Hydric Soils layer shows saturated soil types based on SSURGO, for identifying areas that could support wetland habitats. Finally, the Beneficial Uses layer identifies streams and wetlands that support specific beneficial uses, allowing planners to target projects accordingly.

Explore restoration opportunities using the multiple EcoAtlas tools and layers

What wetland condition information exists in my area of interest?

Wetland conditions can be evaluated by viewing available data employing the California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) for streams and wetlands in EcoAtlas. CRAM is a well-established standard field method that assesses the overall ecological health of a stream or other wetland type resulting in numerical scores ranging between 25 (poorest possible condition) and 100 (best possible condition). You can access and visualize any publicly reported CRAM assessments within your project footprint or in its immediate surrounding area or watershed. Using the “Wetland Condition (CRAM)” tool, you can filter the visible assessments on the map based on wetland type, project name, Index Score, or assessment year. For example, you can filter on Vernal Pool Systems if you are only interested in viewing other vernal pool condition scores.

Visualize the CRAM condition data layer

How can I summarize the overall ecological condition of streams and wetlands in my area of interest?

Stream and wetland conditions can be summarized (and downloaded) for an area of interest using the “Condition Profile” within the Landscape Profile Tool, which summarizes available CRAM condition data, California Stream Condition Index (CSCI) data, and Riparian Management recommendations. CRAM scores can also be viewed on a cumulative distribution function (CDF) curve, which shows the estimated proportions of streams or wetlands that have a specific CRAM score (or lower) with a known level of confidence. The CDF also simplifies CRAM scores by showing them in three health classes: Good, Fair, and Poor. Plotting CRAM scores on a CDF allows the planner to answer questions such as:

• Are the wetlands in my project footprint in Good, Fair, or Poor condition?
• How do the wetlands in my project footprint compare to the condition of wetlands in the watershed or across the ecoregion?
• Are the wetlands in my project footprint in a low percentile needing restoration, or a high percentile warranting protection?
• Given the expected future condition of the wetlands after the project is completed, will they contribute towards improving condition within the watershed?

Generate a Condition Profile report and review a project’s CRAM condition scores on a CDF

How can I use CRAM scores to evaluate and plan restoration/mitigation actions within my restoration/mitigation project?

Within a restoration/mitigation project footprint, baseline (or pre-project) CRAM assessments can be used to characterize and understand existing overall ecological conditions before the project begins. By drilling down to the underlying Attribute and Metric Scores you can systematically see what aspects of wetland form and functions are in fair or poor condition, to help focus and plan restoration actions that increase complexity and improve overall ecological conditions within the project footprint. You are also able to see aspects of condition that may be outside of your control, e.g. adjacent urban development. At a watershed scale, you can better understand how your individual project might contribute towards improving condition across the watershed. For example, if all depressional wetlands within the watershed are deficient in their physical habitat, the restoration project could specifically design their depressional wetland to have good physical habitat condition.

Explore CRAM attribute and metric scores for planning

How is my project ecologically connected to other habitat projects?

Evaluating wetland habitat connectivity involves intensive geospatial calculations to characterize the distribution of wetland patch sizes and nearest neighbor distances. These analyses have been completed at the HUC12 scale based on CARI. You can explore the landscape connectivity among wetlands in your greater project area using the “Connectivity Profile” within the Landscape Profile Tool. This Profile can help you evaluate and consider the potential impacts (either positive or negative) that your project might have on the distribution of habitat patch sizes or the distances among habitat patches in the region.

Understand the usefulness of the Connectivity Profile

What kinds of water quality and toxicity data exist in my area of interest?

EcoAtlas provides access and the ability to download water, sediment, and habitat parameters hosted in CEDEN that could be helpful ancillary information to consider when planning or evaluating wetland restoration/mitigation projects. Three map-based layers give you access to interactively visualize sediment toxicity, water toxicity, and a number of water, sediment, and habitat quality parameters for existing monitoring sites. You can select a station code and download its associated data as a .csv file. In addition, the Contaminant Data Download and Display Tool (CD3) provides even more flexible access to view, chart, and download data hosted by CEDEN.

Visualize detailed water quality and toxicity data in EcoAtlas