This repository links to external resources all related to the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve's Habitat Map - completed in 2025. Contact Kirsten Rhude with questions about the Habitat Map.
This product was funded by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative. It is a high resolution habitat map of the St. Louis River Estuary, covering 57,000 acres and the lower twenty-one miles of the St. Louis River.
- Viewable web map: To view the habitat map without downloading
- Downloadable map: The habitat map can be downloaded, along with the datasets and intermediate products used to develop the map at GeoData@Wisconsin
For detailed methodology, please refer to these GitHub repositories
- Phase I: Remote-sensing methodology. This step derived land cover from NAIP mosaic using the machine-learning algorithm U-Net
- Phase II: This step refined the output from Phase I using geospatial rules to derive the final habitat map
NRRI flew drone surveys at 4 sites in August and September 2024
- Bands: RGB (2cm resolution), and multispectral (including Red-edge and NIR at 4cm resolution)
- NDVI and surface model elevation derived
- Viewable web maps
- Link to download drone imagery from GeoData@Wisconsin
This resource can be downloaded from the Phase I Github, or directly at this link
This resource can be downloaded as part of the GeoData@Wisconsin package (Training_polys) that includes the final habitat map. This dataset includes:
- 1700 polygons from 2023 and 2024
- NERRS system, subsystem, class, and subclass
- Dominant species
- Invasive Species presence/absence for selected species (buckthorn, honeysuckle, cattail, yellow iris, purple loosestrife, and phragmites)
https://nerrssciencecollaborative.org/project/Veregin23/ All of the information in this Readme file (and more) can be found through the project webpage on the NERRS Science Collaborative site. That page also includes an overall project summary and details about the project team. Two links at the bottom of the project page include detailed descriptions of the datasets and final products (Data link) and methodology (Reports link)