Freshwater Atlas (Data Access)
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Accessing Freshwater Atlas (FWA) Data
FWA data is availeble to View and or Download through various means desciribed below.
Viewing
- Navigate through FWA data with the help of an application based on WMS standards. Create your own maps and views by combining FWA data with other GeoBC data.
N.B. FWA data being generally dense, their display is only made possible at scales greater than 1:75k.
Download
Get FWA and Provincial data From:
- Geographic Data Discovery Service (Metadata) This service enables you to discover geographic data available from the Province of B.C.
- BCGW British Columbia Geographic Warehouse search using the Data Distribution Service. The Freshwater Atlas data set is availeble from the BCGW in an ARC_SDE format in BCAlbers projection. Key to the FWA Dataset in the BCGW
- The
also provide direct access to GeoBC data through WMS, following Open GeoSpatial Consortium (OGC) standards: - FWA (Freshwater Atlas) 2009 WMS URL -

- Base Mapping WMS URL

How to Connect:
Included are example instructions on how to connect to our WMS services using ArcMap and Google Earth. Please refer to the appropriate viewing application documentation if using an alternative viewer. Note that the illustrations here may differ from the versions of software you may have installed on your desktop. - GeoBC Gateway to provincial geographic information and services.
Get National Hydrographic data from:
Get access at no cost to the National Hydro Network (NHN) datasets, metadata and Work Units.
- Search
- FrontCounter BC
- GeoBC BC's Geographic Gateway
- Crown Land Management
- First Nations Initiatives Division
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Outside North America, please call ++1-604-586-4400
FrontCounter BC is a one stop service for clients of provincial natural resource ministries and agencies. Staff can help you with the licenses and permits you need to start or expand a business related to mining, forestry, agriculture, water, land, aquaculture and many others.
Virtual FrontCounter BC gives clients the ability to apply on-line for authorizations. You can update the application you are working on, attach maps and documents to your application, submit and pay for your application and track your online applications.
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GeoBC integrates, manages and delivers provincial geographic information to governments, businesses, and citizens
GeoBC’s products and services enable citizens, clients and partners to discover, view, download, analyze, integrate and create geographic data to support their business activities.The Gateway proivdes a window to data and information sources managed by various ministries and agencies in the natural resource sector.
The allocation and management of Crown land and coastal marine resources plays a key role in expanding and diversifying the economy, sustaining environmental values, and promoting the health and well-being of all British Columbians.
ILMB administers, allocates, adjudicates, documents and manages Crown land tenures for a number of land programs. As well, ILMB is responsible for promoting adventure tourism, coordinating permitting processes for clean energy projects, creating opportunities to develop and market some Crown land parcels, and developing and implementing land and coastal marine plans and agreements.
Click here for more information on Crown Land Management
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In 2008, the BC Government committed to improving consultation and respectful engagement with First Nations. Benefits of this work—to government, First Nations, proponents, and the public—include enhancing meaningful government-to-government relations with First Nations, creating a positive investment climate by providing certainty and predictability, and reducing the heavy consultation workload for all parties.
The First Nations Initiatives Division (FNID), a division of the Integrated Land Management Bureau, is leading a shift in business to the “Virtual integration” of aboriginal relations. Virtual Integration is a government initiative to implement common, policies, procedures and tools across all the natural resource agencies. FNID works with all Natural Resource Agencies to deliver Virtual Integration through two main business lines:
- Coordinating interagency consultation with First Nations, comprising i) an aligned policy framework, ii) regional economic development priority setting, including shared business planning and resource sharing, and iii) coordinating multi-authorization project consultation.
- Negotiating strategic agreements with First Nations that will improve the Province’s investment climate, reduce the consultation volume for all parties, create enduring forums for government-to-government engagement and achieve the goals of the Transformative Change Accord.
http://www.newrelationship.gov.bc.ca/agreements_and_leg/trans_change_accord.html
GeoBC also provide direct access to GeoBC data as themed KML files to be loaded into Google Earth for viewing.