Frequently Asked Questions

Providing quicker turn-around times and increased flexibility for clients.

Feedback is welcomed, as Parks looks to constantly improve the service we provide our customers.

There are several reasons why.

• FWMIS focuses mainly on information relating to vertebrates (e.g., birds, fish) while ACIMS focuses on information for invertebrates (e.g., insects) and plants.
• The two databases have different methodologies because they measure different things.

The new process allows you to access information as soon as you need it, and provides the necessary information required for most purposes including Environmental Field Reports.

If you require the PDF report, please provide the rationale for your request through the online data request form (after first confirming occurrences within your area of interest) and ACIMS will evaluate and respond to your request within 10 to 15 business days, or will advise of an approximate timeline.  Such requests will be addressed in a priority fashion, based on demonstrated need. 

The new process is described in the: ACIMS Data Requests Process.

Under the new process we will require users to answer ‘yes’ to a disclaimer before downloading the data. This removes the need to sign a data user agreement to obtain general data.

However, obtaining certain data may still require additional documents/approval, etc,. ACIMS staff will ascertain the need for this based on the data found.

There are only a few software packages that can read shapefiles properly, and they are usually somewhat costly and technical. Examples are Arcview 3.2, ArcMap 9.3, MapInfo 8.0, etc.

If you do not have software that can read shapefiles or have trouble using it, use the Google Maps option.

Check the shapefiles, ACIMS Data Search Map and/or downloadable files by area. 

If red, orange or green shapes are displayed, check the shapefile and/or table of results for names of element occurrences and/or protected areas found.  Check the FAQ’s for next steps. 

If there is additional information not available in the shapefiles, table of results and/or downloadable files, sent a data request detailing required information using the web form web form.

The on-line initiatives are currently under review. We welcome feedback on it and suggestions on how we may improve our service to Albertans.

Send a request to ACIMS using the Feedback form, describing specific steps taken to get the problem, what the expected result was, and what the actual result was.

Maybe you do not have software on your computer capable of reading the files. Shapefiles can only be read with certain kinds of software, such as Arcview and MapInfo. (See FAQ # 5.)

"Non-sensitive element occurrences" are locations (i.e. occurrences) of species or communities that are rare (or of conservation concern for some other reason) and for which there are no restrictions regarding public access to location data (beyond the existing External Data Use Guidelines all users must agree to before downloading GIS files from our on-line system).

"Sensitive element occurrences" are also locations of species that are rare (or of conservation concern) but in these instances the precise location details cannot be distributed without due cause. In most cases these locations are not freely available because the species are legally listed under the Alberta Wildlife Act, or under the federal Species at Risk Act, or are of particular concern to Alberta Fish & Wildlife.

It is important to recognize that the term "sensitive" applies only to the spatial data. It is not to be confused with the Alberta General Status Rank designation of Sensitive (assigned by Fish & Wildlife) or with a specific ACIMS/NatureServe status rank (Srank) that is applied to a species or community. The term "sensitive" also does not imply an assesment of viability of the occurence in question, or the vulnerability of the environment at a given location to perturbation.

The EFR process depends on the kind of development that is proposed for this location, and the legislation that defines permitted development . As a result, it is best to check with the appropriate government agency, by request. Consult the diagram below .

 

Where is your activity application for:
Provincial Parks Act Wildland Provincial Park Provincial Park Provincial Recreation Area	Public Lands Act Natural Areas Heritage Rangelands
Provincial Parks Act disposition application (1 page | 255 kb) Environmental Field Report (8 pages | 1.2 mb)	Application for surface dispositions Environmental Field Report

 

Environmental Field Report It is important to check URL locations regularly, as the process can change and the individual ministries are responsible for their own content.

• Alberta Parks EFR process details
• Sustainable Resource Development EFR process

NOTE: Alberta Parks is not responsible for content and/or links to other ministries/non-GoA URLs.

No Element Occurrences:

If no element occurrences (sensitive or non-sensitive) and/or no Provincial Protected Areas were found in your area, no further request is needed for most results, however please note this does not indicate that occurrences do not exist in this area, the absence of records could indicate that very few inventories/surveys have been done in this part of the province.
Record search as follows, in case proof of search is needed at some future point:

• Print the ‘Search ACIMS Map’, by pressing the ‘Print Page’ button, printing the web page as a pdf, or taking a screen capture  (it may be ‘Prt Scn’ or something similar)
• Save/archive the file (or paste the image into a raster/bitmap software (i.e Microsoft Paint, or Apple Paintbrush) if taking screen capture)
• Be sure ‘today’s date’, ‘date file was updated’ and ‘legal land location’ are clearly visible in the image file.
• Save file, and retain records as needed – ACIMS does not require this file to be sent to us unless we request it.

Non-Sensitive Element Occurrences are found:

If Non-Sensitive Element Occurences are found, archive the results as below, no further actions are needed.

• Print the ‘Search ACIMS Map’, by pressing the ‘Print Page’ button, printing the web page as a pdf, or taking a screen capture  (it may be ‘Prt Scn’ or something similar)
• Save/archive the file (or paste the image into a raster/bitmap software (i.e Microsoft Paint, or Apple Paintbrush) if taking screen capture)
• Be sure ‘today’s date’, ‘date file was updated’ and ‘legal land location’ are clearly visible in the image file.
• Save file, and retain records as needed – ACIMS does not require this file to be sent to us unless we request it.

Sensitive Element Occurrences:

If Sensitive Element Occurrences are found, generally no further steps are needed – record the information as necessary.

If information is needed for specific locations of sensitive information, send a data request to ACIMS with details of associated projects, need for data, etc.  ACIMS does not generally give out locations of sensitive information due to data agreements.  ACIMS will review requests and respond as appropriate.

If after using the ACIMS Search map a location falls within or adjascent to a provincial protected area, the next steps depend on each unique situation.  The following provides general guidelines, if unsure please submit feedback request.

• if commercial and/or industrial activity is required within the provincial protected area found, please check Parks Disposition Process
• If research activity is required within the provincial protected area found, please consult Parks On-line Permiting and Clearance system
• If no activity is required, but element occurrences (sensitive and/or non-sensitive) are found in the same location, then an ACIMS Data Request is required.
• If no further activity is required in the Park (for example, search is a general information check, or the proposed activity can be relocated beyond 100m of the Park boundaries), and no element occurrences exist, then no further steps are needed.  If unsure, check the systems noted above.

ACIMS added the ability to search and see Alberta Township System ‘Sections’ in September 2011. Check the table of results below the ACIMS Search map, it shows the section the Element Occurrence, or the Township containing and Element Occurrence, or the Protected Area with 100 metre buffer that intersects that section.

Here’s the wording to use when referencing ACIMS data used in figures, reports, etc.

Alberta Conservation Information Management System. 2010. Online data accessed (add date data accessed) . Alberta Tourism Parks and Recreation, Edmonton, Alberta.

Here are explanations for the projection of the element occurrence spatial files available for download, and information about the coordinate location within data request responses and shapefiles. Please note these shapefiles and coordinate information should be used by those experienced with spatial information knowledge and any questions to ACIMS will be referred back to this FAQ.

Projection Information for Element Occurrence Shapefiles:

General Name: 10TM NAD83 Datum: NAD 1983 Spheroid: GRS 1980 Prime Meridian: 0.0 Unit: Degree Projection: Transverse Mercator

False Easting: 500000.0 False Northing: 0.0 Central Meridan: 115 Scale Factor: 0.9992 Latitude of Origin: 0.0 Unit: Meter

Coordinate Information:

Coordinate points: The coordinates refer to the ‘centre’ of the element occurrence – if it’s a circular polygon, this is the logical centre. If its an irregular shape (like a crescent moon, or multiple polygons) the ‘centre’ may not be logical, or actually sit outside the polygon. The coordinates provided are for general reference only and should be used with caution.

EAST_10TM: The 10 TM (10 degree Transverse Mercator) Easting coordinate of the centre of the element occurrence.

NORTH_10TM: The 10 TM (10 degree Transverse Mercator) Northing coordinate of the centre of the element occurrence.

LAT: The measure of ‘Latitude’ of the centre of the element occurrence, in Degrees, Minutes, Seconds.

LONG: The measure of ‘Longitude’ of the centre of the element occurrence, in Degrees, Minutes, Seconds.

UTM_ZONE: The Universal Transverse Mercator Zone in which the majority of the element occurrence falls within. Alberta is covered by Zone 11 (114 – 120 degrees longitude) and Zone 12 (110-114 degrees longitude).

EAST_UTM: The Universal Transverse Mercator Easting coordinate of the centre of the element occurrence.

NORTH_UTM: The Universal Transverse Mercator Northing coordinate of the centre of the element occurrence.

Elements on the Tracking Lists are species or ecological communities that ACIMS is actively collecting information on and processing elements occurrences (eos) for because they are elements that current information suggests are rare or of conservation concern due to threats to populations or habitats or documented declines.

For example, whitebark pine is found throughout the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, but monitoring of populations has shown a considerable decline due primarily to white pine blister rust (a non-native species). So in 2006 this species was ranked as S2 and added to the vascular plant tracking list. For details on ranking methodology, go to www.natureserve.org

Elements on the Watch Lists are elements that are not currently considered as high conservation concern, but there is some information to suggest that they may become rare should there be significant alterations to the element’s habitats or population. Data are collected if submitted and stored for retrieval as necessary, but not entered into the databases as element occurrences.

An EO is an area of land and/or water in which a species or natural community is, or was, present. An EO should have practical conservation value for the Element as evidenced by potential continued (or historical) presence and/or regular recurrence at a given location. 

Consistency in EOs throughout the range of an element is achieved through the application of standard minimum data criteria and rules of separation specific to that element or group of similar elements.  Documentation on NatureServe’s EO methodology standards is available at: www.natureserve.org

Each polygon is an occurrence for a specific element at a specific location (although there may be several overlapping polygons in one spot). The size and shape of the polygon is determined by the data that were used to define and map the occurrence. Newer data for EOs are usually more specific and based on GPS-recorded locations. But many of the older occurrences were mapped using generalized information, such as a legal description to the section level. The more specific the information received, the more precise an occurrence can be mapped.