FEMA Media Library
LFD Date: July 25, 2023
FIRM Effective Date: Jan. 25, 2024
States: Arkansas
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) worked collaboratively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to utilize its authorities under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to further the conservation of threatened and endangered listed species pursuant to Section 7(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
FEMA’s Flood Risk and Endangered Species Habitat (FRESH) Web-based mapping tool is an integral part to the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(1) Conservation Action Program. The FRESH mapping tool helps build awareness, assist with identification of federally listed threatened and endangered species and designated critical habitats, and promote incentives or opportunities for NFIP participating communities to further incorporate conservation through NFIP implementation. FEMA’s FRESH mapping tool can be used to identify federally listed species ranges and critical habitats, along with Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA). The FRESH mapping tool enables users to visualize and analyze community-specific environmental data to achieve as much habitat and species conservation as possible to balance with social and economic needs.
July 31, 2024: Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.
As part of its efforts to implement Section 7(a)(1) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), together with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (known as “the Services”), conducted a pilot study to determine how to increase community participation in the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS)1 activities that protect threatened and endangered species.