Coastal Critical Habitat Designations

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires the Federal government to designate critical habitat, areas of habitat essential to the species' conservation, for ESA listed species. This dataset is a compilation of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service designated critical habitat in coastal areas of the United States. Critical habitat is defined as: (1) Specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species at the time of listing that contain physical or biological features essential to conservation, which may require special management considerations or protection; and (2) specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by the species if the agency determines that the area itself is essential for conservation. See metadata for online linkages to reference full listings of proposed and final critical habitat areas.