Jun 15, 2026
Several new and updated data products have been released under the Culture and Recreation data topic, including maps of parks and reserves and data from the states related to boating activity.
NROC and the Northeast Ocean Data Portal team are collaborating with state, regional, and national recreational boating and fishing associations to identify important locations and infrastructure that support recreational activities and tourism. Engagement with these industry members resulted in recommendations to add locations of boat ramps and other public access points as well the locations of boating pumpout facilities across the New England states. The Portal now leverages datasets directly from each New England state to display these features. As the data are updated by the states, the Portal will automatically reflect those changes.
The Portal also includes updated maps displaying the locations of parks, reserves, historic sites, and other properties that support coastal recreation, conservation, and tourism. NROC leveraged The Nature Conservancy’s Secured Lands database, which was compiled from many sources and updated by TNC in 2024. Parks and reserves are organized on the Portal by whether the property is owned or managed by federal agencies, states, local municipalities, private entities, Tribes, or other groups. The user can click on any location to obtain additional information about the site, including the name of the park or reserve, the site owner, and how the site is preserved. The Portal shows the ownership/stewardship status for properties within 10km of the coast from Maine to New York.
These updates represent a significant start to updating maps and data to show areas that are important for recreation and tourism in the Northeast. With this update, older data reflecting recreational boating and fishing activities were moved to an “Archived Boating Data” folder. The datasets moved to this folder were developed in 2012-2013 and may no longer represent current activities. However, the data may still be useful for studies of activity change over time or as a general reference.
NROC continues to work with the recreational boating and fishing communities to better understand important use and activity patterns and develop related maps and data for the Portal.