Alternative Text Description for Smalltooth Sawfish Section 7 Consultation Area

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map shows the Section 7 Consultation Area for Smalltooth Sawfish in Florida waters under the Endangered Species Act. The map identifies geographic areas where NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office recommends Federal action agencies conduct Section 7 consultations due to the spatial and temporal occurrence of this endangered species. The consultation area encompasses Florida's coastal and marine waters where smalltooth sawfish life stages, behaviors, and critical habitat occur.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the entire state of Florida and its surrounding coastal waters. Major cities labeled include Jacksonville in the northeast, Tallahassee in the panhandle, Gainesville in north-central Florida, Orlando and Lakeland in central Florida, Tampa and St. Petersburg on the west coast, Palm Coast and Palm Bay on the east coast, Cape Coral on the southwest coast, Miami in the southeast, and Everglades National Park in the far south. The consultation area includes waters along Florida's entire coastline, encompassing both the Gulf of America on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Apalachicola National Forest is visible in the panhandle region, and Dry Tortugas National Park and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge are labeled near the Florida Keys.

KEY INSIGHTS

The Smalltooth Sawfish consultation area follows Florida's entire coastal perimeter, extending offshore into adjacent marine waters. The consultation zone encompasses the complete Gulf of America coastline from the panhandle through the Florida Keys, and the entire Atlantic coastline from the Keys northward past Jacksonville. A notable pattern is the continuous coastal coverage with no gaps along the shoreline, indicating that smalltooth sawfish habitat extends along Florida's entire coast. The interior of Florida, including central regions around Orlando and Lakeland, shows no consultation area designation, clearly distinguishing the species' coastal and marine habitat from inland areas. The consultation area extends particularly far offshore in southern Florida and around the Keys, suggesting important habitat in these deeper waters.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Smalltooth Sawfish Consultation Area

The thematic layer depicts the geographic extent where Section 7 consultations are recommended for smalltooth sawfish.

Smalltooth Sawfish Area (purple crosshatch pattern)

Appearance:

The consultation area is shown with a purple or pink crosshatch pattern consisting of diagonal lines forming a mesh or grid texture, outlined with a solid purple boundary line.

Distribution:

The consultation area forms a continuous band along Florida's entire coastline, extending into offshore waters. Coverage includes the Gulf of America coast, the Atlantic coast, and waters surrounding the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas.

Notable locations:

The consultation area encompasses all major coastal metropolitan regions including Jacksonville, Palm Coast, Miami, Cape Coral, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and the Florida Panhandle. The designation extends around the southern tip of Florida through the Keys and includes both Everglades National Park's coastal areas and Dry Tortugas National Park.

Spatial patterns:

The consultation area maintains consistent proximity to the coastline throughout Florida, extending offshore to varying distances. The offshore extent appears greatest in southern Florida and the Keys region, while maintaining closer proximity to shore along portions of the panhandle and northeast coast. The boundary creates a clear distinction between designated coastal/marine consultation areas and non-designated interior upland areas.

Overlapping Patterns

The consultation area boundary closely follows the coastline and extends into estuarine and nearshore marine environments, creating a transitional zone between terrestrial Florida and offshore waters where smalltooth sawfish may occur.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map provides guidance for Federal action agencies making Endangered Species Act Section 7 consultation determinations. The consultation areas are developed using best available scientific and commercial information and professional judgment from NOAA Fisheries. Due to data limitations, activities outside the depicted consultation area but within proximity to major waterways or coastlines may still affect smalltooth sawfish, particularly in small tributaries, shallow areas near marshes, or locations not captured at this map scale. Federal action agencies are encouraged to request technical assistance from NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office to verify species presence or absence when making consultation determinations. The layer represents areas within the species range but may not include areas of extralimital occurrence.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

This dataset is provided by NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office (SERO) and contains guidance for Federal action agencies in consideration of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act. The areas are developed using best available scientific and commercial information regarding spatial and temporal occurrence of smalltooth sawfish life stages, behaviors, and critical habitat in the Southeast Region. Users with more recent information not reflected in the consultation area data are encouraged to contact NMFS at nmfs.ser.esa.consultations@noaa.gov. Data source layer name: CA_NMFS_POLY_SEP24.

Definition Query:

The displayed data is filtered to show only records where SPNAME = 'SMALLTOOTH SAWFISH', representing a specific subset of the broader Section 7 Consultation Areas dataset that covers multiple species.

Scale Information:

The map shows a statewide view of Florida appropriate for regional planning and consultation area identification. This scale is suitable for determining whether Federal actions fall within consultation areas, though finer-scale verification may be needed for projects in small waterways or tributaries.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087).

Time Period of Content:

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

Limitations:

Due to data limitations, the consultation areas may lack spatial resolution to capture action areas in very small tributaries, shallow areas near marshes, or locations away from major waterways. Activities outside a consultation area but within certain proximity to designated areas may still affect the species. The NOAA Southeast Region encourages technical assistance requests to verify presence or absence of listed species when making consultation determinations.

Map Coverage:

The map covers the entire state of Florida and adjacent coastal waters in both the Gulf of America and Atlantic Ocean. The broader NOAA Southeast Region includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, plus waters of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone from the North Carolina/Virginia 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.