Boat ramp locations within the Columbia River Basin with associated recreational use, water quality measurements, and risk assessment data for zebra and quagga mussels

Aquatic invasive species are often transported between water bodies on boats or boat trailers, thus they are considered one of the primary vectors for new introductions of invasive species to a water body. This data set contains geographic positioning system locational data for boater access points, use data (i.e. recreational, fishing), water quality measurements (e.g. calcium concentrations, pH), risk assessment data, and other physical attributes (i.e. size, elevation) where available within the Columbia and Snake Rivers and throughout the Columbia River Basin. This work builds on an earlier body of work by Wells et al. 2011, Prioritizing Zebra and Quagga Mussel Monitoring in the Columbia River Basin (PDF link below), which provided much of the initial water quality, use information, and risk assessment data (categorical values for the risk of introduction and the risk of establishment). Updated information has been added by collecting additional data on use of water bodies, as well as combined categorical ranking methodology for identifying water bodies that may be high risk for both introduction and establishment of zebra and quagga mussels. This data is also related to a regional effort to contribute to the coordination of monitoring efforts for early detection of zebra and quagga mussels in the context of risk assessment data (CRBAIS weblink below). Data sets provided here include a service definition file, provided with a few reference layers within the region for viewing and an online map ( http://arcg.is/1LrNmBj) with some query options, a GIS shapefile (Child Item), and a tabular data set (csv file; Child Item). It is recommended that all users of this data thoroughly read the metadata files for data definitions, sources, and data limitations. It is recommended to use the online map link ( http://arcg.is/1LrNmBj) for a quick view of the data set and some basic query options. Once on the ArcGIS online map, to view all the data layers click the show contents of map and click again on the Boat ramps within the Columbia River Basin and click on each of the individual layers for more options.