Overview
Coastal wetland systems are important transitional habitats that provide essential functions and value. They support healthy fisheries, protect shorelines from erosion, reduce flooding, protect water quality, and provide essential fish and wildlife habitat. This data set establishes a baseline of those habitat features and documents changes over time.
Data are produced through partnerships with state agencies to meet their needs. While typically tied to land cover mapping that NOAA conducts as part of its Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP), these data map additional habitat categories within tidal areas, at a scale that provides more spatial detail than the more generic land cover products.