River stage-specific GIS data layers depicting suitable connected habitat for Alligator Gar spawning in the lower Trinity River of Texas

This dataset features suitable habitat connected to the main channel (based on floodplain inundation) at discharges from 15,000 cfs to 100,000 cfs. The spatial extent for floodplain inundation modeling in the lower Trinity River was from Romayor, Texas, to approximately Moss Bluff, Texas. River sections were modeled using steady flow conditions. For the upper section, discharge and stage were both available for the two gages (Romayor USGS 08066500 and Liberty USGS 08067000). For the lower section, the Moss Bluff gage (USGS 08067100) is tidally-influenced, so gage height didn’t correspond to upstream changes in discharge. Depth rasters were exported from HEC-RAS 5.0.0. Since the lower section had large over- and underestimates, depth values were sampled along the intersection of the two modeled outputs and a constant value that minimized differences between the upper and lower section depths was added/subtracted to the lower section. The two sections were then clipped and mosaicked to provide stage-specific depth maps for habitat suitability modeling. Stage-specific Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) that combined suitable depth (0.2 m ≤ depth ≤ 2.0 m) with land cover were created for eight Landsat overpass dates from May through August, 2016.