Alternative Text Description for Green Sea Turtle Consultation Area

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map displays the Section 7 Consultation Area for Green Sea Turtle in the southeastern United States and adjacent waters. The map identifies marine and coastal areas where federal action agencies should conduct Endangered Species Act consultations due to the presence of Green Sea Turtle life stages, behaviors, or critical habitat. The consultation area encompasses extensive offshore waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America, as well as Florida's coastal waters.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the southeastern United States, focusing on Florida and surrounding waters. The geographic extent includes portions of Alabama, Georgia, and the Coastal Plain region to the north. Major cities labeled include Birmingham and Atlanta in the north, Montgomery in Alabama, Tallahassee and Jacksonville in northern Florida, Orlando in central Florida, Tampa on the west coast, and Miami on the southeast coast. The map extends southward to show Cuba, with Havana labeled, and eastward to the Bahamas, with Nassau labeled. The Atlantic Ocean appears to the east of Florida, and the Gulf of America lies to the west and south of Florida. The Yucatan Channel and Cancún are visible in the southwestern portion of the map.

KEY INSIGHTS

The Green Sea Turtle consultation area encompasses a vast expanse of marine waters surrounding Florida, forming a roughly circular pattern that extends well beyond Florida's coastline into both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of America. The consultation area notably excludes most of Florida's inland terrestrial areas, with the boundary closely following Florida's coastline with a green outline. The offshore consultation area extends several hundred miles from the Florida coast, creating a continuous marine zone that connects the Atlantic and Gulf of America waters around the southern tip of Florida. The consultation area also wraps around the Florida Panhandle coastline in the northwestern Gulf of America.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Green Sea Turtle Consultation Area

This layer represents the geographic area where NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office recommends federal agencies conduct Section 7 Endangered Species Act consultations for Green Sea Turtle.

Marine Waters (cross-hatched pattern with green outline)

Appearance:

The consultation area is depicted with a light blue fill overlaid with a diagonal cross-hatch pattern and bounded by a green outline.

Distribution:

The area covers extensive offshore waters surrounding Florida in both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America, extending from the northern Florida coast southward past the Florida Keys and westward across the Gulf of America.

Notable locations:

The consultation area encompasses waters adjacent to all of Florida's coastline, including areas near Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, and the Florida Keys. The offshore boundary extends significantly into international waters, reaching near Cuban waters and the Bahamas.

Spatial patterns:

The consultation area forms a broad arc around Florida, with a continuous marine zone that follows the coastline at varying distances offshore. The pattern suggests Green Sea Turtles utilize extensive offshore habitats throughout the region, not just nearshore waters. The inland boundary precisely traces Florida's coastline, indicating the consultation requirements are primarily for marine and coastal environments rather than terrestrial areas.

Florida Terrestrial Area (no pattern)

Appearance:

The Florida peninsula appears in beige/tan with no overlay pattern.

Distribution:

The unpatterned area covers most of Florida's interior land mass.

Notable locations:

This area includes central Florida around Orlando and much of the interior peninsula.

Spatial patterns:

The absence of the consultation pattern in inland Florida indicates that Green Sea Turtle consultation requirements apply primarily to coastal and marine environments rather than inland terrestrial locations.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map is designed to guide federal action agencies in determining when Section 7 consultation under the Endangered Species Act is recommended. The consultation areas represent locations where Green Sea Turtle life stages, behaviors, or critical habitat occur with sufficient frequency or importance to warrant consultation. Due to data limitations and map scale, areas outside the depicted consultation zone but in close proximity (such as small tributaries or shallow marsh areas) may still affect Green Sea Turtles. Federal agencies are encouraged to request technical assistance from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office to verify species presence or absence when making consultation determinations. The consultation areas are within the species range but may not include areas of extralimital occurrence.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

The data was developed by NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office using the best available scientific and commercial information and professional judgment to identify areas where listed species occur spatially and temporally. The dataset is intended for Section 7 Endangered Species Act consultation guidance.

Data source layer name: CA_NMFS_POLY_SEP24

Definition Query:

The map displays only records where SPNAME = 'GREEN SEA TURTLE', filtering the consultation area dataset to show specifically the Green Sea Turtle consultation zone rather than other listed species.

Scale Information:

The map shows a regional scale appropriate for understanding the overall extent of Green Sea Turtle consultation areas across the southeastern United States and adjacent waters. At this scale, fine-scale coastal features and small waterways may not be fully resolved.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087)

Time Period of Content:

This is version 2b of the consultation area dataset, dated September 2024 (SEP24).

Limitations:

Due to data limitations, consultation areas may lack the spatial resolution to capture all relevant locations, particularly in very small tributaries, shallow areas near marshes, or minor coastal features. Users are advised that activities outside but proximate to depicted consultation areas may still affect Green Sea Turtles. If more recent information is available that is not reflected in this dataset, users should contact NOAA at nmfs.ser.esa.consultations@noaa.gov.

Map Coverage:

The map extent covers the southeastern United States including Florida, portions of Alabama and Georgia, and adjacent Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of America waters. The coverage extends southward to include northern Cuba and westward to the Yucatan Channel, and eastward to include portions of the Bahamas. The NOAA Southeast Region jurisdiction includes the states of NC, SC, GA, FL, MS, AL, LA, TX, NM, OK, KS, NE, IA, MS, AK, TN, and KY, and waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the Atlantic Ocean from the NC/VA border through Florida, the Gulf of America, and the U.S. Caribbean.

The alternative text description of this map was AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies.