Skeena Knowledge Trust Data Policy

Background

This Data Policy informs the data governance of the Skeena Knowledge Trust (SKT) and the approach to managing data hosted on the Skeena Salmon Data Centre (SSDC) and the Skeena Maps Portal (SMP).

Data Ownership and Licensing

The SKT adheres to the principles of OCAP© (Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession). Data owners maintain complete ownership of their data housed on the SSDC and/or SMP and set the terms and limitations on the reproduction and use of the data through the application of a data license. Data owners reserve the right to remove their materials from the SSDC and/or SMP at any time.

Criteria for Inclusion

Information on the SSDC must relate to salmon and salmon ecosystems in the Skeena River Watershed and Ocean Approaches. Information on land use development, climate change, salmon populations, salmon habitat, water quality, and hydrology are all considered to be relevant to assessing the health of salmon stocks and their habitat. For additional information on inclusion criteria, refer to the SKT Annual Knowledge Plan.

Datasets on the SMP consist of spatial datasets including map base layers as well as fish observations, restoration sites, etc. Provincial datasets on the SMP are usually clipped to northwest BC.

If you have any questions about the criteria or would like to request an exception, please contact us at info@skeenatrust.ca.

Data Standards

Datasets must originate from a credible source and be accompanied by sufficient metadata to describe the quality of the data provided and support the interpretation of the information. Efforts are needed to ensure datasets are complete and adequately described so that the information is reliable and can confidently be used to better understand salmon and salmon habitat in the Skeena River Watershed. The following are minimum data standards required:

1. Reports and documents should be finalized or reviewed versions and include the following metadata at a minimum:
   1. Author and/or organization
   2. Date of publication or latest modification
   3. Descriptions of data collection methodology and location information, any data processing or analysis, output, and interpretation
2. Field notes may be included as supplemental resources if appropriate
3. Data in spreadsheets and spatial data should be finalized or reviewed versions and accompany a descriptive report or be provided with enough metadata to provide readers with context and confidence in the accuracy and veracity of the data. Data in spreadsheets and spatial data should also be accompanied by metadata describing attributes and/or acronyms used.
4. Photos, videos, or imagery files should accompany a descriptive report or be relevant to a particular waterbody/partner organization and provided with metadata including
   image location, date taken, and content.
5. Maps should be finalized or reviewed versions and accompany a descriptive report or be provided with metadata including map author/organization, date,
   descriptions of any categorization or theming, data sources, and map projection.

File Types

The SSDC accepts URL hyperlinks, documents (pdf, doc), spreadsheets (csv, xlsx), images, zip folders, spatial datasets, and videos. Preview options are currently only available for pdf files.

The SMP currently only accepts spatial files in shapefile format.

File Size Considerations

Large data files, such as imagery, video footage, and complex spatial datasets or maps may be too large to upload to the SSDC or SMP directly. Please contact us at info@skeenatrust.ca for guidance on how these types of files may be added.

Uploading Information

Datasets may be uploaded to the SSDC by account holders or by SKT staff. Uploaders should adhere to the guidance provided in the Adding New Datasets in order to maintain consistency among datasets.

If you would like new datasets added to the SMP, please contact us at info@skeenatrust.ca.