Service Updates Coastal Barrier Resources System Maps for 6 States

Contact(s):

Christina Meister, [email protected], (703) 358-2284

Final revised maps for all John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (System) units in Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, 13 units in North Carolina, and one unit in New York are now accessible from the U.S.F.W.S.. The Coastal Barrier Resources Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to review and update the maps at least once every 5 years to reflect changes in coastal barriers from natural forces.

The updated maps were produced through a digital conversion plan in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In April 2014, the Service completed digitally converted maps for all CBRS units in Texas, Delaware, South Carolina, and one unit in Florida. Digitally converted maps for the entire system are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. The revised maps do not correct mapping errors affecting private property owners; such changes require a separate review effort and must be adopted by Congress through legislation.

The system was established in 1982 and is comprised of 856 geographic units that encompass approximately 3.2 million acres of relatively undeveloped coastal barrier lands located along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes coasts, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most new federal expenditures and financial assistance that encourage development are prohibited within the system, including federal flood insurance. However, development still can occur within the system, provided private developers or other non-federal parties bear the full cost, rather than the American taxpayers.

The revised maps and additional information about the Coastal Barrier Resources System can be found on the Service's website at www.fws.gov/cbra.