ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY INDEX: EAST FLORIDA

INTRODUCTION 8C) Sheltered Riprap An Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) database has been 8D) Sheltered Rocky, Rubble Shores developed for the marine and coastal areas of East Florida. The Area 9A) Sheltered Tidal Flats of Interest (AOI) includes the following marine, coastal and 9B) Vegetated Low Banks estuarine water bodies: Atlantic Ocean from the Georgia - Florida border to Spanish River Park in Boca Raton, Florida; St. Marys River 9C) Hyper-Saline Tidal Flats and Amelia River (Fort Clinch SP); Nassau Sound, Nassau River, 10A) Salt- and Brackish-water Marshes South Amelia River, Back River (Amelia Island); Sawpit Creek, 10B) Freshwater Marshes Clapboard Creek, Simpson Creek, Mud River, Fort George River (Big Talbot and Little Talbot Islands); St. Johns River; Intracoastal 10C) Swamps Waterway; Guana River, Lake Ponte Vedra, Tolomato River (St. 10D) Scrub-Shrub Wetlands Augustine); Matanzas River, San Sebastian River, Salt Run 10F) Mangroves (Anastasia State Park); Pellicer Creek (Marineland); Halifax River, Rose Bay, Strickland Bay, Spruce Creek, Trumbull Bay (Daytona Each of the shoreline habitats are described on pages 10-18 in Beach); Ponce de Leon Inlet, Indian River North (Smyrna Beach); terms of their physical description, predicted oil behavior, and Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River (Canaveral National Seashore, response considerations. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge); Indian River (Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge); St. Lucie River, Peck Lake (Jensen SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES Beach); Loxahatchee River, Jupiter Inlet (Jupiter); Little Lake Worth, North Palm Beach Waterway, Earman River, Palm Beach Inlet; Lake Biological information presented in this atlas was collected, Worth Lagoon (Palm Beach); Gulf Stream (Delray Beach); and Lake compiled, and reviewed with the assistance of biologists and Rogers, Lake Wyman (Boca Raton). resource managers from the following agencies: The ESI database is a compilation of information from three main • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) categories: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) SHORELINE HABITAT MAPPING • St. John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD) The original ESI shoreline and classification were re-examined • National Park Service (NPS), Canaveral National Seashore and fully updated using the sources and methods described below. • United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), including The East Florida shoreline was derived from the integration of the National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Continually Updated Shoreline Product (CUSP, 2001-2016); the • NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission – Fish and • eBird Wildlife Research Institute (FWC-FWRI) shoreline (2004-2006) and • National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) the 2012 South Florida shoreline; marshes and mangroves data from FFWC (2017); land use/land cover (LULC) data provided by Florida • United States Geological Survey (USGS) Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI, 2008-2016); and the U.S. Fish and • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Kennedy Space Center dataset (2014). The shoreline was updated as necessary by manual • Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) digitization at 1:4,000 from BING Bird’s Eye and Aerial imagery (2009-2017), ESRI Basemap World Imagery (2013-2016), and Google • Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Earth aerial imagery (2017). The most recent shoreline was utilized Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves where available. • Jacksonville University The intertidal shoreline habitats were classified based on the FFWC • Loxahatchee River District marshes and mangroves data; FNAI LULC wetland polygons; USFWS NWI wetland polygons; and low-altitude oblique and nadir The above organizations provided the majority of the biological aerial imagery from BING Bird’s Eye, BING Aerial, ESRI Basemap, information included in the atlas. Other participating organizations and Google Earth. will be featured in the sources table and cited in the metadata accompanying the digital product. To determine the sensitivity of a particular intertidal shoreline habitat, the following factors are integrated: KEY FEATURES ON ESI MAPS 1) Shoreline type (substrate, grain size, tidal elevation, origin) 1) Animal and plant species that are at risk during oil spills and/ 2) Exposure to wave and tidal energy or spill response are represented in the database by polygons 3) Biological productivity and sensitivity and points. 4) Ease of cleanup 2) Species have been divided into groups and subgroups based on Prediction of the behavior and persistence of oil in intertidal their behavior, morphology, taxonomic classification, and spill habitats is based on an understanding of the dynamics of the coastal vulnerability and sensitivity. The icons below reflect this environments, not just the substrate type and grain size. The grouping scheme. intensity of energy expended upon a shoreline by wave action, tidal currents, and river currents directly affect the persistence of MARINE MAMMAL HERPETOFAUNA stranded oil. The need for shoreline cleanup activities is determined, Dolphin Alligator in part, by the slowness of natural processes in removal of oil stranded on the shoreline. The potential for biological injury and Manatee Amphibian/Snake ease of cleanup of spilled oil are also important factors in the ESI ranking. Generally speaking, areas exposed to high levels of Whale Turtle physical energy, such as wave action and tidal currents, and low biological activity rank low on the scale, whereas sheltered areas TERRESTRIAL MAMMAL FISH with associated high biological activity have the highest ranking. The list below includes the shoreline habitats delineated for East Small Mammal Fish Florida, presented in order of increasing sensitivity to spilled oil. BIRD INVERTEBRATE 1A) Exposed, Rocky Shores Diving Bird Bivalve 1B) Exposed, Solid Man-made Structures 2A) Exposed, Wave Cut Platforms (Bedrock/Mud/Clay) Gull/Tern Crab 3A) Fine- to Medium-grained Sand Beaches Passerine Crayfish/Lobster 3B) Scarps and Steep Slopes (Sand) Pelagic Shrimp 4) Coarse-grained Sand Beaches

5) Mixed Sand and Gravel (Shell) Beaches Raptor BENTHIC HABITATS 6A) Gravel Beaches Shorebird Coral/Hardbottom/Reef 6B) Riprap 7) Exposed Tidal Flats Wading Bird SAV 8A) Sheltered Scarps (Bedrock/Mud/Clay) Waterfowl 8B) Sheltered, Solid Man-made Structures

East Florida- Page 1 3) Polygons are color-coded in the ArcMap project based on Jackson- the species composition of each feature, as shown below: Gerry ville 904-256- West Indian Jacksonville Pinto Univers 7338 manatee ELEMENT COLOR ity Birds/Nests Green East Florida Lance 305-361- NOAA Miami marine Fish Blue Garrison 4488 mammals Invertebrates Orange *Note: this list is not meant to represent all marine mammal Marine mammals Brown experts for the region. Terrestrial mammals Brown Major Data Sources Used: Marine Mammals Reptiles/Amphibians Red FWC. 2019. Manatee synoptic survey data. Vector digital data. Benthic habitats Purple FWC. 2012. Manatee distribution surveys. Vector digital data. 4) There is a Resources at Risk number (RAR#) associated with NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Endangered and each polygonal or point feature. The RAR# references a Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for Endangered North table in the database that contains species names (common Atlantic Right Whale. Vector digital data. and scientific) associated with the feature. Roberts, J.J., B.D. Best, L. Mannocci, E. Fujioka, P.N. Halpin, D.L. Palka, L.P. Garrison, K.D. Mullin, T.V.N. Cole, C.B. Khan, W.A. 5) Also associated with each species in the table is the state (S) Mclellan, D.A. Pabst and G.G. Lockhart. 2016. Habitat-Based and federal (F) protected status as threatened (T), Cetacean Density Models for the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of endangered (E), as well as concentration, seasonality, and Mexico. Scientific Reports 6(1):22615. doi: 10.1038/srep22615 life-history information. Federal listings are provided by the USFWS and NOAA. State listings are provided by FWC. OBIS - SEAMAP - seamap.env.duke.edu 6) Feature level source information is included for each BIRDS species within each RAR#, meaning there is a link to a table containing both a Geographic (G Source) and a Seasonality Birds displayed in this atlas include: diving birds, gulls, terns, (S Source). Full bibliographic information is included for passerines, pelagic birds, raptors, shorebirds, wading birds, and each source in the Sources Table. waterfowl. Species that are federally and state listed, and coastal nesting, roosting, and migratory/wintering staging locations are MARINE MAMMALS specifically emphasized. Bird occurrence information displayed in this atlas is based on information gathered at workshops and via Marine mammals depicted in this atlas include whales, phone/email correspondence with local resource experts from FWC, dolphins, and manatees. Species that are federally and state listed, NPS, USFWS, USGS, NASA, and Indian River Lagoon Aquatic and those that are vulnerable to oiling and response activities, are Preserves. Additional hardcopy and digital sources are listed below specifically emphasized. Marine mammal occurrence and and included in the metadata. seasonality information displayed in this atlas are based mainly on information gathered at workshops and via phone/email Shorebirds – Piping plover (FT, ST) and Wilson’s plover correspondence with local resource experts from FWC, NOAA, wintering distributions were mapped based on USGS Piping Plover NMFS, and Jacksonville University. Additional hardcopy and Winter Census data for 2011 and 2016. A 50 m onshore/offshore digital data sources are listed below and included in the metadata. buffer was used to map these species along coastal areas. Species counts are listed as the maximum number that was observed across North Atlantic right whale - The most sensitive cetacean mapped the two survey years (2011 and 2016). Data from 2016 were shared in this atlas is the North Atlantic right whale (FE, SE). The Eastern before being fully QA/QC’ed and should be considered coast of Florida is an extremely important habitat for wintering and preliminary. These data sets were supplemented with information migrating right whales and is known calving habitat for this species. provided in hardcopy documents and by local resource experts. Right whales tend to avoid waters shallower than about 10 m and are not typically found in depths greater than 25 m. Digital data FWC Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) data adapted for this atlas provided by FWC and federally designated critical habitat areas included data on solitary beach nesters, colonial nesters, rooftop were used to map North Atlantic right whale. nesters, and roving chicks for select shorebirds, diving birds, gulls, and terns with survey years spanning 2011-2018. Due to the large West Indian manatee - Digital data and expert knowledge number of point locations (> 10,000 records), the decision was made, provided by FWC and Jacksonville University were used to map the in consultation with resource experts, to consolidate some points West Indian manatee (FE, SE). This species is frequently observed into polygonal shoreline buffers for ease of viewing. Due to the FSD in the Intracoastal Waterway, but may be present throughout all including multiple years of data, often a range of concentrations was inshore waters and within a mile of the shoreline during the spring, depicted (UP TO XXX NESTS or BIRDS), especially in areas where summer, and fall months. A number of cold weather thermal points were consolidated into buffer polygons. In other cases, refuges were mapped based on FWC data and were cross- mostly where single points are shown, ‘UP TO’ the maximum value referenced with USFWS data and verified by FWC staff. Cold recorded at a site over the years surveyed is displayed in the weather thermal refuges can contain large concentrations of concentration field. manatees during cold weather events between the months of December and March. Additional shorebird information, particularly for non-breeding and wintering shorebirds, was acquired from eBird. eBird hotspot Humpback whale – Digital data and expert knowledge provided data include counts of individual species from citizen scientists at by FWC were used to map humpback whale. This species has more locations that are considered the best locations for birding. This data limited presence as compared with the North Atlantic right whale, supplements funded surveys conducted by State and Federal but it has potential in all marine waters out to the shelf slope during partners that lack complete spatial and temporal coverage of all the months of December to March. species using coastal habitats (mostly beaches and flats) and waters Other non-listed marine mammals – Mapped distributions of non- (mostly estuaries and rivers). High counts per hotspot per species T/E marine mammals were based on habitat modeling predictions are summarized in bins of ‘10s’, ‘100s’, 1000s’, or 10,000s’. Hot spots from the CetSound program (Roberts et al., 2016) and include were combined spatially in locations where they were very close observational data obtained from OBIS-SEAMAP. together for ease of visual display. Diving birds, gulls and terns – Survey data on locations of diving Expert contacts for East Florida marine mammals* are: birds, gulls, and terns were provided by various agencies via Name Agency City Phone Species shapefiles, spreadsheets, primary literature, and expert local knowledge, and was supplemented with information from eBird. In North general, data from the various data sources were compiled and Atlantic right Tim St. 727-502- either mapped to habitat, park, or refuge, or specific locations, per FWC whale and Gowan Petersburg 4743 expert recommendations. Additional source information is humpback provided in the accompanying data tables and metadata. whale Colonial waterbird nesting areas – FWC, Indian River Aquatic 727- Andrea St. West Indian Preserves, and NASA Kennedy Space Center provided nesting data FWC Krzystan Petersburg 502- manatee for colonial waterbirds. FWC provided a compilation of nesting 4733 data collected by USFWS, FWC, and FL DEP from 2011 to 2018. 727-896- Indian River Aquatic Preserves provided data from 2015 to 2019. Holly St. West Indian FWC 8626 NASA Kennedy Space Center provided data from 2010 to 2019. Edwards Petersburg manatee x4745 Each nesting colony location was mapped as a nest point. The maximum number of nesting pairs observed for each species for each colony during the time period of available data was reported

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in the ESI. Overall, species mapped using colonial waterbird Name Agency City Phone Species datasets include: anhinga, black-crowned night-heron, brown Aquatic pelican, cattle egret, double-crested cormorant, glossy ibis, great Preserves blue heron, great egret, green heron, little blue heron, reddish egret, roseate spoonbill, snowy egret, tricolored heron, white ibis, wood USFWS Hobe 561-523- Birds of stork, and yellow-crowned night-heron. Christine Sound 7362 Hobe Eastwick Sound Waterfowl – Waterfowl data for East Florida were mapped from NWR FWC 1999-2003 mid-winter waterfowl surveys, the most recent *Note: this list is not meant to represent all bird experts for the comprehensive surveys that have been conducted in the state. For region. reporting species and concentrations, counts were binned into 1s, 10s, 100s, 1,000s, or 10,000s. Species were assigned to wetland and Major Data Sources Used: Birds water areas within the scope of the survey route descriptions. eBird. 2020. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and Numbers from wintering surveys are likely underestimates, abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. because surveys do not necessarily occur during each species’ Available at: http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed: February 2020). months of peak abundance. FWC waterfowl data were supplemented with data from eBird, particularly in areas that FNAI. 2019. Element occurrence polygon data layer, vector digital contained eBird bird hotspots. data. Atlantic Ocean seabirds – Species lists and seasonalities of FWC. 2003. Florida Midwinter Waterfowl Inventory (1999-2003), nearshore and offshore seabirds in the Atlantic Ocean were spreadsheet. compiled from studies and reports from the USGS, Bureau of Ocean FWC. 2011. Marsh bird survey (2010-2011), spreadsheet. Energy Management, and primary literature. FWC. 2015. Salt marsh songbird survey (2014-2015), spreadsheet. Raptors – Bald eagle nest survey data (2016) were provided by FWC. Nest locations were mapped as points. Osprey are ubiquitous FWC. 2016. Bald eagle nests (2016), vector digital data. throughout the area; therefore, they were mapped only where FWC. 2017. Black rail survey (2016-2017), spreadsheet. specific expert knowledge or survey data were available, although they can occur in appropriate habitats (coastal wetlands) FWC. 2018. Wading bird colonies (2010-2018), spreadsheet. throughout the study area. Crested caracara (FT, ST), Florida FWC. 2019. Breeding shorebirds and roving shorebird chicks from burrowing owl (ST), Everglade snail kite (FE, SE), and southeastern Florida Shorebird Database, vector digital data. American kestrel (ST) were mapped from FNAI element occurrence data. FWC. 2020. Marsh wren and seaside sparrow heat maps, hardcopy maps. Secretive marsh birds – Distributions of black rail, clapper rail, king rail, least bittern, marsh wren, and seaside sparrow were FWC. 2020. Wintering sparrows areas, vector digital data. provided by FWC as a compilation of three separate FWC surveys: Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserves. 2020. Bird monitoring a saltmarsh songbird survey in 2014-2015, a black rail survey in database (2015-2019), spreadsheet. 2016-2017, and a marsh bird survey from 2010-2011. All surveys were conducted during breeding months, except for marsh wren Maehr, D.S. and H. Kale, II. 2009. Florida’s Birds: A Field Guide and which were documented as wintering. Species locations were Reference. Pineapple Press, Sarasota, FL. 359 pp. assigned by buffering survey points and restricting the resulting Michel, J. (ed.). 2013. South Atlantic Information Resources: Data polygons to ESI wetland areas. Concentration areas for marsh wren, Search and Literature Synthesis. US Department of the Interior, Nelson’s sparrow, saltmarsh sparrow, and seaside sparrow were Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Gulf of Mexico OCS provided by FWC, and they were mapped as polygons. Region, New Orleans, LA. OCS Study BOEM 2013-01157. Rare birds – Florida scrub-jay (FT, ST) was mapped to the NASA. 2020. Kennedy Space Center nesting wading birds (2010- boundaries of Canaveral National Seashore and Hobe Sound NWR, 2019), spreadsheet. based on expert knowledge. Additional Florida scrub-jay occurrences were mapped as polygons from the FNAI Element O’Connell, A.F., B. Gardner, A.T. Gilbert, and K. Laurent, 2009, Occurrence dataset. Compendium of Avian Occurrence Information for the Continental Shelf Waters along the Atlantic Coast of the United Note that locations of nesting, wintering, and/or migratory States, Final Report (Database Section - Seabirds). Prepared by sites, species composition within polygons, and particularly the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Beltsville, MD. concentration values are based on a compilation of observations U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, and Bureau made over multi-year periods and are not meant to accurately of Ocean Energy Management Headquarters, OCS Study reflect ‘current’ conditions in the case of an event. Survey limitations BOEM 2012-076. and adjustments in protocols over the years, changes in shoreline geomorphology (particularly on small/ephemeral islands), weather, USGS. 2011. International Winter Plover Census, vector digital data. and other ecological factors contribute to the condition of nesting USGS. 2016. International Winter Plover Census (preliminary), colonies and migratory or other bird concentrations at any given vector digital data. time. Also, note that bird concentrations vary throughout the multi- month nesting, migratory, and wintering periods listed in the Wallace, R.R. and R. Wigh. 2007. Pelagic birds of the southern South seasonality table. Please contact local resource experts in the event Atlantic Bight. North American Birds 61:198-207. of a spill or if data are to be used for any reason other than spill planning or response. HERPETOFAUNA Expert contacts for East Florida birds* are: Herpetofauna depicted in this atlas include threatened, endangered, and rare species and coastal species of ecological Name Agency City Phone Species concern. Birds of Sea turtles – Green (FT, ST), hawksbill (FE, SE), Kemp’s ridley Kristen 321-267- Canaveral NPS Titusville (FE, SE), leatherback (FE, SE), and loggerhead (FT, ST) sea turtles Kneifl 1110 x14 National were included in this atlas. Both nesting and in-water presence Seashore polygons are displayed. Birds of Kennedy Florida’s outer sand beaches are important nesting habitat for 321-861- Kennedy Eric Stolen NASA Space loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles, and occasional 6324 Space Center nesting habitat for Kemp’s ridley and hawksbill sea turtles. Nesting Center can occur during any of the months between March and November Amy FWC- 352-334- Marsh for the five species listed. Data that represent documented nesting Gainesville Schwarzer FWRI 4201 birds from 2014 to 2018 were provided by FWC as part of their Statewide Gainesville 352-334- Birds of Nesting Beach Survey program. Vector polygonal data for nesting Janell Brush FWC 4202 East FL locations were transferred to 50 m shoreline buffers to standardize Andrew FWC- Gainesville 352-334- Birds of representation of beach nesting habitat. Concentrations of “LOW”, Cox FWRI 4241 East FL “MED”, and “HIGH” for beach nesting areas were taken from density classifications calculated by FWC for green, loggerhead, and Adrienne Ocala 352-620- Colonial FWC leatherback sea turtles. Quartile break values at 25 and 75 percent of Doyle 7732 waterbirds the observations were used to assign each species’ density category, USFWS Jackson- 904-731- Shorebirds Billy Brooks with low representing densities at or below the 25th quartile, ville 3136 medium being densities between the 25th and 75th quartiles, and FL DEP Ft. Pierce 772-429- Birds of high representing density values greater than the 75th. Matthew 2995 Indian In-water sea turtle distributions were mapped using expert Anderson River knowledge from FWC sea turtle biologists. Loggerhead and green Lagoon

East Florida - Page 3 sea turtles using migratory channels along Florida’s coast are Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon – Atlantic (FE, SE) and shortnose frequently found in water less than 3 m in depth and are more likely (FE, SE) sturgeon both may occur in the St. Marys and St. Johns to be struck by ships or caught in nets. River systems. The St. Marys River is designated critical habitat for Diamondback terrapins – Due to concerns over poaching, Atlantic sturgeon. Neither species is thought to reproduce in the St. occurrence points for diamondback terrapin were generalized to Johns River; however, they may be found there and transiting large areas covering habitat that terrapins are known to use. They through oceanic waters. were mapped in salt- and brackish-water marshes (ESI 10A Nassau grouper – Nassau grouper (FT, ST) were mapped based polygons) as well as tidal channels, bays, and lagoons that were on information from NMFS (2013) that indicated that sporadic adjacent to marshes. Occurrence data came from two sources, a catches have occurred in the southern portion of the atlas area. compilation database of terrapin surveys maintained by FWC and Giant manta ray – Giant manta ray (FT, ST) were mapped based incidental catch data from fishery independent monitoring on sightings data provided by NOAA’s Protected Resources conducted by FWC. Depending on water temperatures, it is likely Division. that terrapins are buried in the mud from December through February during brumation. Terrapins may nest on upland areas Atlantic Ocean fish – Oceanic areas were divided into regions by that border marshes along tidal channels, bays, and lagoons. depth and geography, and species for the purpose of mapping Nesting in northern Florida occurs from April through June. Two offshore distributions of fish species, including reef fish and highly subspecies of diamondback terrapin, the Carolina diamondback migratory species. terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin centrata); and the Florida east coast Data on occurrence and abundance of reef fish were obtained terrapin (M. t. tequesta), occur within the atlas. Florida east coast from (1) NOAA’s Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI) terrapin is restricted to areas south of the St. Johns River, but the sampling data for the years 2013-2019 and (2) the multi-agency Carolina diamondback can be found throughout northern Florida’s Southeast Reef Fish Survey data from 1990-present. Species of east coast. interest were assigned to polygons representing general areas based on depth contours. Corresponding seasonality information was Other herpetofauna – FNAI data and expert knowledge from added based on the SAFMC Ecospecies database. resource experts were used to map other federal and state threatened and endangered species, as well as rare species (see Data on highly migratory species were included based on species list for details) of ecological importance. essential fish habitat designations for these species. Species and corresponding life history stages were assigned to the ocean Expert contacts for East Florida reptiles* are: polygons which overlapped with their EFH descriptions. Name Agency City Phone Species Nearshore and estuarine fish species – Fishery independent monitoring data were provided by FWC to map common estuarine Diamond- Traci 352-328- and inshore species. Monthly and overall estimates of catch per unit FWC Gainesville back Castellon 7052 effort (CPUE) and probability of capture from 2013 to 2017 were terrapin generated for each species by gear type by geographic zone. In areas 904-696- with less comprehensive sampling, additional years of surveys were Allen Foley FWC Jacksonville Sea turtles 5904 included back to 2009. Economically and ecologically important species were retained in the dataset if they occurred in more than Simona St. 727-892- 10% of the samples in a given zone across the entire dataset. FWC Sea turtles Ceriani Petersburg 4119 Monthly presence was determined by whether a species was found to occur in greater than 10% of catches across gear types for a given Luciano St. 727-896- FWC Sea turtles geographic area. Soares Petersburg 8626 For the nearshore area out to 20 m depth, fish species St. 727-502- Robert Hardy FWC Sea turtles distributions and seasonalities were created using data from the Petersburg 4741 SEAMAP program Inner Strata Sampling Data of the ASMFC. *Note: this list is not meant to represent all reptile experts for the Fishery-independent sampling for the Inner Strata Sampling region. program is conducted in roughly three months out of the year, April, July, and October; however, sampling in practice strays into Major Data Sources Used: Herpetofauna many of the preceding and following months. Data used for the ESI FNAI. 2019. Element occurrence polygon data layer, vector digital included the years 2009-2018, and the frequencies of species caught data. were used to determine monthly presence/absence. Presence within a month was determined by the same 10% frequency cut-off as was FWC. 2019. Statewide Nesting Beach Survey program, 2014-2018, used with FWC fishery independent sampling data. Sampling vector digital data. months were used as proxies for the season within which sampling FWC. 2019. Diamondback terrapin observations, vector digital occurred. Thus, if a species was found to be present in April, it was data. assumed to be present in March and May; likewise, this was done for June and August (July), and September and November TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS (October). The following terrestrial mammals were included in this atlas: Freshwater fish – Freshwater fish species were mapped based on Anastasia Island beach mouse (FE, SE), southeastern beach mouse survey data conducted by FWC. Surveys were targeted at (FT, ST), and Sherman’s fox squirrel. Beach mice were mapped community composition by use of electrofishing. Fish mapped using expert knowledge from resource experts, and beach mice and primarily include recreationally targeted freshwater species. Sherman’s fox squirrel occurrences from the FNAI element occurrence dataset were included. Expert contacts for East Florida fish* are: Species/ Name Agency City Phone Expert contacts for East Florida terrestrial mammals* are: Programs Name Agency City Phone Species Atlantic Andrew NOAA St. 727-824- and Panama 850-767- Beach Jeff Gore FWC Herndon Fisheries Petersburg 5367 shortnose City 3624 mice sturgeon Terry 386-758- Beach FWC Lake City Adam NOAA St. 727-209- Smalltooth Doonan 0525 mice Brame Fisheries Petersburg 5958 sawfish *Note: this list is not meant to represent all terrestrial mammal Tim FWRI St. 727-896- Estuarine experts for the region. MacDonald Petersburg 8626 fish Jeremiah NOAA St. Thomas, 786-514- Major Data Sources Used: Terrestrial Mammals Reef fish Blondeau SEFSC USVI 2149 FNAI. 2019. Element occurrence polygon data layer, vector digital Eric 352-800- Freshwater FWC Eustis data. Sawyer 5001 fish Calusa St. 727-551- Giant FISH NOAA Horn Petersburg 5782 Manta Ray Fish species depicted in this atlas include select marine, *Note: this list is not meant to represent all fish experts for the estuarine, and freshwater species. Species of conservation interest, region. commercial or recreational importance, or ecological importance are emphasized. Fish polygons were created based on survey Major Data Sources Used: Fish information, digital data, and expert opinion provided primarily by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 2019. Southeast area resource experts at FWC and NOAA. monitoring and assessment program, South Atlantic inner strata sampling data, 2009-2018. Arlington, VA. Online database.

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Ecospecies database. Major Data Sources Used: Invertebrates http://saecospecies.azurewebsites.net/Home/About. Accessed FNAI. 2019. Element occurrence polygon data layer, vector digital January 2020. data. FWC. 2019. Florida’s Inshore Saltwater Fisheries-Independent Monitoring Stratified-Random Sampling Records (2009-2017), FWC. 2019. Florida’s Inshore Saltwater Fisheries-Independent vector digital data. Monitoring Stratified-Random Sampling Records (2009-2017), vector digital data. NMFS. 2013. Nassau Grouper, Epinephelus striatus (Bloch 1972), Biological Report. 117 pp. FWC. 2019. Oyster Habitats Florida, 1992-2019. Vector digital data. NOAA Fisheries. 2017. Final Amendment 10 to the 2006 FWC. 2019. Horseshoe crab spawning beaches survey, 2018-2019, Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery spreadsheet. Management Plan: Essential Fish Habitat and Environmental Assessment. NOAA Fisheries Office of Sustainable Fisheries, BENTHIC HABITATS Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division. 442 Benthic habitats mapped in the ESI atlas include seagrass, coral pp. and hard-bottom communities, and deep sea coral. NOAA Fisheries. 2018. Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative survey data, 2013-2018. Deep sea coral habitat – Predictive models showing habitat suitability for 18 species of deep sea corals were provided by the Southeast Reef Fish Survey. 1990-present. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. All http://www.seamap.org/Reef%20fish.html. Accessed January species were combined and mapped as ‘deep sea coral’ in the ESI 2020. atlas. Areas that had a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ likelihood of containing deepwater corals are combined into the ESI concentration ‘highly INVERTEBRATES likely’. Areas that are categorized as having ‘medium-low’ to Invertebrates depicted in this atlas include select marine and ‘medium’ likelihood are combined into the ESI concentration estuarine species of commercial, ecological, and/or conservation ‘potential’. The species aggregated as ‘deep sea corals’ include value. Crabs, oysters, and shrimp support valuable commercial Lophelia pertusa, Madrepora spp., Madracis spp., Callogorgia spp., and/or recreational shellfisheries along the Florida coast. Bebryce spp., Hypnogorgia spp., the families Ellisellidae, Gorgoniidae, Paramuriceidae, Plexauridae, the orders Alcyonacea, Nearshore and estuarine species – A few main sources of data were Scleractinia (except Oculina spp.), and Antipatharia. Additionally, used to depict invertebrate distribution and seasonality. These coral points from the NOAA Deep Sea Coral Database were include interviews with resource experts from the Florida Fish and mapped as 500 m buffered polygons. Only coral points from the Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), fishery-independent sampling same taxa as those from the predictive model were included in the data provided by FWC, and vector digital data on oyster reef atlas. Points that had accuracies greater than 1000 m or had survey locations provided by FWC. dates older than 50 years were excluded. Pink and brown shrimp were mapped to bays and estuaries Nearshore coral habitat – Nearshore coral habitat was provided based on survey data from Florida’s Inshore Saltwater Fisheries- by FWC as part of their Unified Reef Map v2.0. All classes in the Independent Monitoring Stratified-Random Sampling Records. Unified Reef Map that corresponded to some kind of coral or Monthly and overall estimates of catch per unit effort (CPUE) and hardbottom habitat were included. In an effort to simplify the probability of capture from 2013 to 2017 were generated for both classifications, some of the Unified Reef Map classes were species by gear type by geographic zone. In areas with less aggregated into single ESI classifications. These groupings are listed comprehensive sampling, additional years of surveys were in the table below: included back to 2009. Monthly presence was determined by whether a species was found to occur in greater than 10% of catches ESI Classification Unified Reef Map Classes across gear types for a given geographic area. Coral Patch Reef Individual or Aggregated Patch Reef Blue crabs are relatively common throughout the study area Aggregate Reef Aggregate Reef, Spur and Groove and were mapped based on unpublished literature and expert opinion provided by Claire Crowley (FWRI). Spiny lobster were Hardbottom Reef Ridge, Colonized Pavement mapped based on expert opinion provided by Tom Matthews Scattered Coral and Rock Scattered Coral/Rock (FWRI). Calico scallop and hard clam distributions were mapped based on expert opinion provided by Steve Geiger (FWRI). Acropora and Orbicella corals – Corals that are listed with state or Horseshoe crab spawning beaches were mapped using FWC federal protection statuses were mapped in the ESI. These include survey data from 2018 and 2019. A polygonal buffer was drawn boulder star coral (Orbicella franksi, FT, ST), mountainous star coral around ESI 3A shoreline on either side of each survey location. The (Orbicella faveolata, FT, ST), lobed star coral (Orbicella annularis, FT, maximum number of horseshoe crabs counted across the two ST), elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata, FT, ST), and staghorn coral survey years was reported for each spawning beach. (Acropora cervicornis, FT, ST). The three Orbicella species were mapped as 50 m buffers around survey points using data provided Oyster reefs were mapped using digital data provided by FWC by FWC as part of their Florida Reef Resilience Program's and represent a compilation of mapping efforts across the state. Reef Disturbance Response Monitoring (2005-2018). Acropora palmata and 2 polygons that were less than 125 m in size were removed from the A. cervicornis were mapped as Acropora spp. in the ESI using data ESI. Classes of oyster reef in the ESI include “Present” and from FWC’s Acropora Priority Sites dataset. “Potential”, which represent live or restored oyster beds (Present), and dead oyster beds that could serve as future habitat (Potential). Seagrass – Seagrasses are a vitally important habitat within the Oyster reefs mapped in the ESI are not the only reefs that could estuaries and bays of Florida, forming the basis of a rich, diverse, occur in coastal areas, but represent the majority of reefs present. and productive ecosystem. The species of seagrass that are most abundant within the purview of the East Florida ESI are shoal grass Black Creek crayfish (ST) was mapped using data from FNAI’s (Halodule wrightii), turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum), and manatee Element Occurrence dataset. grass (Syringodium filiforme). Additionally, three other species are found sparsely, and primarily in the Indian River Lagoon: star grass Expert contacts for East Florida invertebrates* are: (Halophila engelmannii), paddle grass (Halophila decipiens), and Species/ Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii, FT, ST). The most significant Name Agency City Phone Program seagrass beds are found in the Indian River Lagoon, which suffered significant die-offs in 2011 due to deadly algal blooms, but have Ryan FWC- St. 727/896- Shrimp seen recovery in recent years. In order to capture the potential Gandy FWRI Petersburg 8626 recovery of these important habitats, a compilation of five years of Kara FWC- St. 727-502- Oysters mapping data (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017) was used, with Radabaugh FWRI Petersburg 4986 concentrations of ‘continuous’ and ‘patchy’ indicating areas with Calico greater than 50% coverage of seagrass and areas with less than 50% Steve FWC- St. 727-502- scallops and coverage, respectively. South of Indian River Lagoon, seagrass was Geiger FWRI Petersburg 4918 hard clams mapped from a compilation dataset provided by FWC, in which mapped seagrass reflects data from the most recent survey for any Horseshoe Claire FWC- St. 727-502- given area, spanning surveys dates from 2007 to 2015. crabs and Crowley FWRI Petersburg 4899 blue crabs Johnson’s seagrass – Johnson’s seagrass (FT, ST) was mapped from three data sources: the NOAA designated critical habitat, Tom FWC- 305-289- Spiny Marathon expert knowledge of seagrass range, and survey maps produced by Matthews FWRI 2330 lobster the Loxahatchee River District. Note that surveys for Johnson’s *Note: this list is not meant to represent all invertebrate experts seagrass are not comprehensive and that any seagrass beds south of for the region. the mouth of Turkey Creek in Palm Bay in the Indian River Lagoon have the potential to contain Johnson’s seagrass.

East Florida - Page 5 Expert contacts for East Florida benthic habitats* are: Access: Vehicular and/or foot beach access points were provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission – Fish and Species/ Name Agency City Phone Wildlife Research Institute (FWC – FWRI). Program Paul FWC St. 727-243- Seagrass Airport/Heliport: Locations of airports and heliports were provided Carlson Petersburg 7251 by FWC – FWRI. Lori Morris SJRWMD Palatka 386-329- Indian River Anchorage: Locations where commercial vessels can be anchored 4544 Lagoon offshore were provided by FWC – FWRI. seagrass Aquaculture: Locations of aquaculture sites that may be impacted Adam NMFS St. 727-209- Johnson’s by oiling, natural disaster or cleanup activity were provided by Brame Petersburg 5958 seagrass FWC – FWRI. Rob Ruzicka FWC St. 727-892- T/E corals Archaeological Site: Sensitive archaeological sites were provided Petersburg 4127 by the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Jennifer FWC St. 305-676- T/E corals Army Corps of Engineers: Spatial data for the U.S. Army Corps of Stein Petersburg 3252 Engineers (USACE) permitting sections were downloaded from the Paul FWC St. 727-243- Seagrass University of Florida Geoplan center. Carlson Petersburg 7251 Artificial Reef: Artificial reef data were provided by FWC – FWRI. *Note: this list is not meant to represent all benthic habitat Beach: Locations of recreational beaches used for activities such as experts for the region. swimming, sun-bathing, fishing, etc., were provided by FWC – Major Data Sources Used: Benthic Habitats FWRI. FWC. 2009. Acropora Priority Sites, vector digital data. Boat Ramp: Designated public boating access sites were provided by FWC – FWRI. FWC. 2015. Seagrass Habitat in Florida, vector digital data. Coast Guard: U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) sectors were provided by FWC. 2018. Florida Reef Resilience Program's Disturbance the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard stations were provided by Response Monitoring (2018). 2005-2018. Unpublished data, FWC-FWRI. spreadsheet. County: County boundaries were provided by FWC – FWRI. FWRI. 2019. Unified Florida Coral Reef Tract Map v2.0, vector digital data. Critical Habitat: Designated Critical Habitat was mapped for Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata), NOAA NMFS. 2000. Designated Critical Habitat: Critical Habitat Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta for Johnson’s Seagrass, vector digital data. caretta), North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), Johnson’s St. Johns River Water Management District. 2017. The Indian River seagrass (Halophila johnsonii), Snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis Lagoon (IRL) Seagrass Mapping Project - Union coverage of five plumbeus), and the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Data monitoring years (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), vector digital were provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) SE data. Regional Office. Critical wildlife areas in Florida were also included with this dataset and were provided by FWC-FWRI. HUMAN-USE RESOURCES Diving: Recreational diving or snorkeling sites were provided by The human-use resources shown in this atlas were extracted FWC – FWRI. from the ESI GIS data compiled for this region. The extracted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Facility: This dataset features were mapped at scale of 1:50,000 and appear on the maps represents facilities required to file a Risk Management Plan (RMP) referenced by a number. For example, Map 1 will show the human- due to the presence of extremely hazardous substances that may use features in conjunction with the ESI shoreline. result in a chemical accident. The data were provided by USEPA. Management areas such as wildlife refuges and state parks are Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region: This dataset mapped as polygons. Where the feature is a known point location shows jurisdictional boundaries for EPA Region IV and was (e.g., marinas, airports, water intakes), the specific location is provided by U.S. EPA. displayed. Some resources were mapped as linear features. Equipment: Storage locations for oil-spill cleanup equipment were Human-use numbers (HUNUM)s can be found in the provided by FWC – FWRI. accompanying data tables for point, line, and polygon features mapped. The HUNUM may provide more information (i.e., name, Essential Habitat: Coral, coral reef, live hard bottom, and shrimp contact) for that particular resource. The types of human use Essential Fish Habitats and Habitat Areas of Particular Concern resources mapped in this atlas are depicted below. were provided by FWC – FWRI. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region: Access Heliport Jurisdictional boundaries for FEMA Region IV were provided by FEMA. Airport Historic Wreck Historic Wreck: Locations of abandoned or derelict vessels of Anchorage Lock and Dam historical significance were provided by NOAA.

Aquaculture Management Area Lock and Dam: Data for lock and dam systems were provided by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. Archaeological Site Marina Management Areas: A total of 27 management areas including National Estuarine wildlife management, state forests, and conservation areas were Army Corps of Engineers Research Reserve provided by Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). Marina: Point locations depicting public marinas were provided by Artificial Reef National Park FWC – FWRI. Beach Park National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR): Boundaries for the Boat Ramp Port Guana - Tolomato - Matanzas NERR were provided by USFWS and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Coast Guard Rail Route National Park: Boundaries for National Park classified lands County Recreational Fishing include memorials, monuments, preserves, and seashores. Data were provided by National Park Service (NPS). Critical Habitat Repeated Measurement Site Park: A total of 31 state parks were provided by Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). Diving Road Port: Major port location data were provided by FWC – FWRI. EPA Facility Staging Rail Route: Locations of railways were provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railway Administration. EPA Region State Equipment State Protected Area Recreational Fishing: Point locations depicting public recreational fishing access sites were provided by FWC – FWRI. Essential Habitat Water Intake Repeated Measurement Site: Repeated measurement sites where oceanographic data is routinely recorded were obtained from FEMA Region Wildlife Refuge NOAA National Data Buoy Center (NDBC).

East Florida– Page 6

Road/Bridge: Bridges were provided by the Florida Department of different phases of the project. Mark White, GIS Director, was Transportation (FDOT). Project Manager. Shoreline habitat mapping was conducted by Jennifer Horsman, Katy Beckham, and Lee Diveley. The biological Staging: Oil spill response equipment staging areas were provided and human-use data were collected and compiled onto base maps by FWC – FWRI) by Lauren Szathmary, Lincoln Smith, and Christine Boring. Lee State: The Florida State Line boundary was provided by FWC – Diveley, Katy Beckham, and Jeff Dahlin entered, processed, and FWRI. produced the GIS data. Wendy Early and Joe Holmes created the final documents. State Protected Area: State protected areas such as aquatic preserves, wildlife and fishery management areas were provided by APPROPRIATE USE OF ATLAS AND DATA Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and FWC – FWRI. This atlas and the associated database were developed to provide summary information on sensitive natural and human-use Water Intake: Water intakes were provided by FWC – FWRI. resources for the purposes of oil and chemical spill planning and Wildlife Refuge: A total of six National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) response. Although the atlas and database should be very useful for fall within the ESI atlas. Locations of NWRs were provided by other environmental and natural resource planning purposes, it USFWS. should not be used in place of data held by FWC, FWC-FWRI, SJRWMD, USFWS NWRs, NPS, FNAI, NMFS, NOAA, NASA, FL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM DEP, USGS, FL DEP, Jacksonville University or other agencies. Likewise, information contained in the atlas and database cannot be The entire atlas product is stored in digital form in a Geographic used in place of consultations with natural and cultural resource Information System (GIS) as spatial data layers and associated agencies, or in place of field surveys. Also, this atlas should not be databases. The format for the data varies depending on the type of used for navigation. information or features for which the data are being stored. Under separate cover is a metadata document that details the data dictionary, processing techniques, data lineage, and other descriptive information for the digital data sets and maps that were used to create this atlas. Below is a brief synopsis of the information contained in the digital version. Refer to the metadata file for a full explanation of the data and its structure.

SHORELINE CLASSIFICATIONS The ESI shoreline habitat classification is stored as lines and polygons with associated attributes. In many cases, a shoreline may have two or three different classifications or colored lines on the shoreline. These multiple classifications are represented in the database by ESI#1/ESI#2, where ESI#1 is the landward-most classification and ESI#2 is the seaward-most classification. In addition to the line features, tidal flats (ESI=7, ESI=9A), marshes (ESI=10A, ESI=10B), swamps (ESI=10C), scrub-shrub wetlands (ESI=10D), and mangroves (ESI=10F) are also stored as polygons.

SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES Biological resources are stored as points and polygons. Associated with each feature is a unique identification number that is linked to a series of data tables that further identify the resources. The main biological resource table consists of a list of species identification numbers for each site, the concentration of each species at each site, a mapping qualifier, and identification codes for seasonality and source information. This data table is linked to other tables that describe the seasonality and life-history time periods for each species (at month resolution) for the specified map feature. Other data tables linked to the first table include: the species identification table, which includes common and scientific names; the species status table, which gives information for state and/or federal threatened or endangered listings; and the source database, which provides source metadata at the feature-species level (specific sources are listed for each species occurring at each mapped feature in the biology feature classes).

HUMAN-USE FEATURES Human-use features are represented as points, lines, or polygons. The resource name, the owner/manager, a contact person, and phone number are included in the database for management areas, and socio-economic points when available. All metadata sources are documented at the feature level.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. Timyn Rice, State SSC, assisted greatly in all aspects of the project’s completion served as contract and technical manager for the project. Timyn Rice, Christi Santi, Ryan Druyor, Latosha Thompson, Chris Boland, and other FWRI staff contributed significantly to the project, as did many other individuals from state and federal agencies and other organizations. Access to aerial photography was provided by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and NOAA. The biological and human-use data included on the maps were provided by numerous individuals and agencies, including: FWC, FWC-FWRI, SJRWMD, USFWS NWRs, NPS, FNAI, NMFS, NOAA, NASA, FL DEP, USGS, FL DEP, Loxahatchee River District, and Jacksonville University. Staff at these agencies contributed a vast amount of information to this effort, including first-hand expertise, publications, maps, and digital data. At Research Planning, Inc. (RPI) of Columbia, South Carolina, numerous scientific, GIS, and graphic staff were involved with

East Florida - Page 7 SPECIES LIST

Common Name* Scientific Name* Common Name* Scientific Name* BENTHIC BIRDS, cont. CORAL SHOREBIRD, cont. Acropora spp. Acropora spp. Sanderling Calidris alba Boulder star coral Orbicella franksi Semipalmated plover Charadrius semipalmatus Coral and rock - Semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla Coral patch reef - Short-billed dowitcher Limnodromus griseus Deep sea coral - Solitary sandpiper Tringa solitaria Lobed star coral Orbicella annularis Spotted sandpiper Actitis macularia Mountainous star coral Orbicella faveolata Stilt sandpiper Calidris himantopus HARDBOTTOM Western sandpiper Calidris mauri Hardbottom reef - Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus REEF White-rumped sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis Aggregate reef - Willet Tringa semipalmata Wilson's plover Charadrius wilsonia SAV Wilson's snipe Gallinago delicata Johnson's seagrass Halophila johnsonii Seagrass - WADING Black rail Laterallus jamaicensis BIRDS Black-crowned night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis DIVING Clapper rail Rallus longirostris American white pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Florida sandhill crane Antigone canadensis pratensis Anhinga Anhinga anhinga Glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus Brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis Great blue heron Ardea herodias Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Great egret Ardea alba Pelicans Pelecanus spp. Green heron Butorides virescens Red-throated loon Gavia stellata King rail Rallus elegans GULL_TERN Least bittern Ixobrychus exilis Black skimmer Rynchops niger Little blue heron Egretta caerulea Black tern Chlidonias niger Reddish egret Egretta rufescens Bridled tern Onychoprion anaethetus Roseate spoonbill Platalea ajaja Brown noddy Anous stolidus Sandhill crane Grus canadensis Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia Snowy egret Egretta thula Common tern Sterna hirundo Tricolored heron Egretta tricolor Forster's tern Sterna forsteri White ibis Eudocimus albus Gull-billed tern Gelochelidon nilotica Wood stork Mycteria americana Gulls - Yellow-crowned night-heron Nyctanassa violacea Herring gull Larus argentatus WATERFOWL Laughing gull Leucophaeus atricilla American coot Fulica americana Least tern Sternula antillarum American wigeon Anas americana Royal tern Thalasseus maximus Black scoter Melanitta americana Sandwich tern Thalasseus sandvicensis Black-bellied whistling-duck Dendrocygna autumnalis Sooty tern Onychoprion fuscatus Blue-winged teal Anas discors Terns - Bufflehead Bucephala albeola PASSERINE Canvasback Aythya valisineria Florida scrub-jay Aphelocoma coerulescens Cinnamon teal Anas cyanoptera Marsh wren Cistothorus palustris Common gallinule Gallinula galeata Nelson's sparrow Ammodramus nelsoni Gadwall Anas strepera Saltmarsh sparrow Ammodramus caudacutus Goldeneye Bucephala spp. Seaside sparrow Ammodramus maritimus Greater scaup Aythya marila PELAGIC Green-winged teal Anas crecca Audubon's shearwater Puffinus lherminieri Hooded merganser Lophodytes cucullatus Black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata Lesser scaup Aythya affinis Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Great shearwater Puffinus gravis Mottled duck Anas fulvigula Northern gannet Morus bassanus Northern pintail Anas acuta Parasitic jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus Northern shoveler Anas clypeata Pomarine jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator White-tailed tropicbird Phaethon lepturus Redhead Aythya americana Wilson's storm-petrel Oceanites oceanicus Ring-necked duck Aythya collaris Ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis RAPTOR Scaup Aythya spp. Bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus Waterfowl - Crested caracara Caracara cheriway Wood duck Aix sponsa Florida burrowing owl Athene cunicularia floridana Florida snail kite Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus FISH Osprey Pandion haliaetus Southeastern American kestrel Falco sparverius paulus FISH SHOREBIRD Albacore Thunnus alalunga American avocet Recurvirostra americana Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus American golden-plover Pluvialis dominica Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae American oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus Black-bellied plover Pluvialis squatarola Bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus Black-necked stilt Himantopus mexicanus Black drum Pogonias cromis Dunlin Calidris alpina Black grouper Mycteroperca bonaci Greater yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Black sea bass Centropristis striata Killdeer Charadrius vociferus Blacknose shark Carcharhinus acronotus Least sandpiper Calidris minutilla Blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus Lesser yellowlegs Tringa flavipes Blue marlin Makaira nigricans Long-billed dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus Blue runner Caranx crysos Marbled godwit Limosa fedoa Blue shark Prionace glauca Pectoral sandpiper Calidris melanotos Bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus Piping plover Charadrius melodus Bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix Purple sandpiper Calidris maritima Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Red knot Calidris canutus rufa Bonefish Albula vulpes Red phalarope Phalaropus fulicarius Bonnethead Sphyrna tiburo Red-necked phalarope Phalaropus lobatus Bowfin Amia calva Ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres Bull shark Carcharhinus leucas

East Florida - Page 8

Common Name* Scientific Name* Common Name* Scientific Name* FISH, cont. INVERTEBRATES, cont. FISH, cont. BIVALVE, cont. Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus Quahog Mercenaria spp. Cobia Rachycentron canadum CRAB Dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus Blue crab Callinectes sapidus Finetooth shark Carcharhinus isodon Horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus Florida gar Lepisosteus platyrhincus CRAYFISH Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus Black Creek crayfish Procambarus pictus Gag Mycteroperca microlepis Giant manta Manta birostris LOBSTER Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus Gray snapper Lutjanus griseus SHRIMP Gray triggerfish Balistes capriscus Brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus Graysby Cephalopholis cruentata Pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum Great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda Great hammerhead Sphyrna mokarran MARINE MAMMALS Greater amberjack Seriola dumerili Kingfishes Menticirrhus spp. DOLPHIN Lane snapper Lutjanus synagris Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus Lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Longnose gar Lepisosteus osseus Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus Mackerels Scomberomorus spp. Rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis Mahogany snapper Lutjanus mahogoni MANATEE Mangrove rivulus Kryptolebias marmoratus West Indian manatee Trichechus manatus Menhaden Brevoortia spp. WHALE Mullet Mugil spp. Beaked whales - Mutton snapper Lutjanus analis Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae Nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum Kogia spp. Kogia spp. Oceanic whitetip shark Carcharhinus longimanus Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Permit Trachinotus falcatus North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus Red grouper Epinephelus morio Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus Red snapper Lutjanus campechanus Redbreast sunfish Lepomis auritus TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS Redear sunfish Lepomis microlophus Sailfish Istiophorus platypterus SMALL MAMMAL Sand tiger Carcharias taurus Anastasia Island beach mouse Peromyscus polionotus phasma Sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus Sherman's fox squirrel Sciurus niger shermani Scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini Southeastern beach mouse Peromyscus polionotus Scamp Mycteroperca phenax niveiventris Sheepshead Archosargus probatocephalus Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum Silver seatrout Cynoscion nothus Skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis * Threatened and endangered species and species of special concern Smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata are designated by underlining Snook Centropomus spp. Snowy grouper Hyporthodus niveatus Southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma Spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna Spot Leiostomus xanthurus Spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus Swordfish Xiphias gladius Tarpon Megalops atlanticus Tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier Vermilion snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens Wahoo Acanthocybium solandri Warmouth Lepomis gulosus Warsaw grouper Hyporthodus nigritus White marlin Kajikia albida Yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares Yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus HERPETOFAUNA ALLIGATOR American alligator Alligator mississippiensis AMPHIBIAN Striped newt Notophthalmus perstriatus SNAKE Eastern indigo snake Drymarchon couperi Florida pinesnake Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus TURTLE Diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin Gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus Green sea turtle Chelonia mydas Hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata Kemp's ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii Leatherback sea turtle Dermochelys coriacea Loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta INVERTEBRATES BIVALVE Calico scallop Argopecten gibbus Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica

East Florida - Page 9

SHORELINE DESCRIPTIONS

EXPOSED, ROCKY SHORES ESI = 1A

DESCRIPTION • Exposed bedrock, often forming cliffs with an extended platform offshore • The rock surface can be highly irregular, with numerous cracks and crevices • Sediment accumulations are uncommon and usually ephemeral, because waves remove the sediment • Less than 0.1% of shoreline PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Any oil that is deposited is rapidly removed from exposed faces, although oil persistence is related to the incoming wave energy • The most resistant oil would remain as a patchy band at or above the high-water line RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS

• Cleanup is usually not required • Access can be difficult and dangerous • Washing techniques with ambient water are only effective while oil is still fresh

EXPOSED, SOLID MAN-MADE STRUCTURES ESI = 1B

DESCRIPTION • These structures are solid, man-made structures such as seawalls, revetments, piers, and port facilities • Many structures are constructed of concrete, wood, or metal • Often there is no exposed substrate at low tide, but multiple habitats are indicated if present • They are built to protect the shore from erosion by waves, boat wakes, and currents, and thus are exposed to relatively high- energy processes • Attached animals and plants are sparse to moderate • Present in highly developed industrial and port areas and scattered along residential waterfronts PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil is held offshore by waves reflecting off the steep, hard surface in exposed settings RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Oil readily adheres to the dry, rough surfaces, but it does not adhere to wet substrates • High-pressure water spraying may be conducted to: • The most resistant oil would remain as a band at or above the - remove persistent oil in crevices; high-tide line - minimize aesthetic damage; and - prevent chronic leaching of oil from the structure

• Access is mostly from the water side

EXPOSED WAVE-CUT PLATFORMS (BEDROCK/MUD/CLAY) ESI = 2A DESCRIPTION • The intertidal zone consists of a flat rock bench of highly variable width • There may be a perched beach of sand- to boulder-sized sediments at the base of the scarp • The platform surface is irregular and tidal pools are common • Small accumulations of gravel can be found in the tidal pools and crevices in the platform • Attached organisms are hardy and used to strong wave action PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil will not adhere to the rock platform, but rather be transported across the platform and accumulate along the high-tide line • Oil can penetrate in beach sediments, if present RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS

• Cleanup is usually not required, except where the oil accumulates at or above the high-tide zone • Where the high-tide area is accessible, it may be feasible to remove thick oil accumulations and oiled debris • Access can be difficult

East Florida - Page 10

FINE- TO MEDIUM-GRAINED SAND BEACHES ESI = 3A

DESCRIPTION • These beaches are flat to moderately sloping and relatively hard packed • They are composed of predominantly quartz sand and there can be heavy accumulations of wrack present • They are utilized by birds and turtles • Upper beach fauna include ghost crabs and amphipods; lower beach fauna can be moderate, but highly variable • They are generally areas of high recreational use PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Light oil accumulations will be deposited as oily swashes or bands along the upper intertidal zone • Heavy oil accumulations will cover the entire beach surface at low tide; oil will be lifted off the lower beach with the rising tide • Maximum penetration of oil into fine- to medium-grained • Manual cleanup is advised to minimize the volume of sand sand is about 10-15 centimeters removed and requiring disposal, particularly for non-amenity beaches • Burial of oiled layers by clean sand typically will be less than 30 centimeters • Mechanical sand sifters may be effective on oil in the form of non-sticky tarballs and patties • Biological impacts include temporary declines in infauna, which can affect important shorebird foraging areas • All efforts should focus on preventing the mixing of oil deeper into the sediments by vehicular and foot traffic RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Mechanical reworking of lightly oiled sediments from the • These beaches are among the easiest shoreline types to clean high-tide line to the upper intertidal zone can be effective • Cleanup should concentrate on removing oil and oily debris along outer beaches from the upper swash zone once oil has come ashore • Traffic through dunes should be limited, to prevent contamination of clean areas and disturbance of habitat and birds

SCARPS AND STEEP SLOPES (SAND) ESI = 3B DESCRIPTION • This shoreline type occurs where sandy bluffs are undercut by waves or currents and slump • Some scarps are fronted by narrow beaches, if the erosion rates are moderate and episodic • Trees growing at the top of these slopes are eventually undercut and the logs can accumulate at the base of the scarp • Biological utilization by birds and infauna is low • Prevalent near topographic highs along canals and rivers PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Any stranded oil will concentrate at the high-water line and may penetrate sandy sediments • Oil will also adhere to the dry surfaces of any woody debris that has accumulated at the base of the scarp • Burial risk is low except when slumping of the bluff occurs • Closely supervised manual labor should be used so that the RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS minimal amount of material is removed during cleanup • In most cases, cleanup is not necessary because of the short residence time of the oil; sorbents can be deployed to recover oil being mobilized from the shore • The need for removal of oiled sediments and debris should be carefully evaluated because of the potential for increased erosion

COARSE-GRAINED SAND BEACHES ESI = 4

DESCRIPTION • These beaches are moderate sloping, of variable width, and have soft sediments. These characteristics combine to lower their trafficability • Generally species density and diversity are lower than on fine- grained sand beaches PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • During small spills, oil will be deposited primarily as a band along the high-tide line • Under heavy accumulations, oil may spread across the entire beach face at low tide, though the oil will be lifted off the lower part of the beach with the rising tide • Penetration of oil into coarse-grained sand can reach 25 cm • Burial of oiled layers by clean sand can be as rapid as one tidal cycle and to depths of 60 cm or more • Burial to depths over one meter is possible if the oil comes • Biological impacts include temporary declines in infaunal ashore at the start of a depositional period populations, which can also affect important shorebird foraging areas

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RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Remove oil primarily from the upper swash lines • Activity in the oiled sand should be limited to prevent mixing • Removal of sediment should be limited to avoid erosion oil deeper into the beach problems • Use of heavy equipment for oil/sand removal may result in the • Mechanical reworking of the sediment into the surf zone may removal of excessive amounts of sand; manual cleanup and be used to release the oil without sediment removal mechanical sifters may be more effective

MIXED SAND AND GRAVEL (SHELL) BEACHES ESI = 5

DESCRIPTION • Moderately sloping beach composed of a mixture of sand and gravel (shell or limestone fragments); shell component comprises between 20 to 80 percent of total sediments • Because of mixed sediment sizes, there may be zones of pure sand or shell • Uncommon, present in erosional areas behind barrier islands PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • During small spills, oil will be deposited along and above the high-tide swash • Large spills will spread across the entire intertidal area • Oil penetration into the beach sediments may be up to 50 centimeters; however, the sand fraction can be quite mobile, and oil behavior is much like on a sand beach if the sand fraction exceeds about 40 percent • Burial of oil may be deep at and above the high-tide line, • Low-pressure flushing can be used to float oil away from the where oil tends to persist, particularly where beaches are only sediments for recovery by skimmers or sorbents. High- intermittently exposed to waves pressure spraying should be avoided because of potential for transporting contaminated finer sediments (sand) to the lower • In sheltered pockets on the beach, pavements of asphalted intertidal or subtidal zones sediments can form if there is no removal of heavy oil accumulations • Mechanical reworking of lightly oiled sediments from the high-tide zone to the upper intertidal zone can be effective in • Once formed, these asphalt pavements can persist for years areas regularly exposed to wave activity (as evidenced by RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS storm berms). However, oiled sediments should not be • Remove heavy accumulations of oil as soon as possible relocated below the mid-tide zone • All oiled debris should be removed • In-place tilling/excavation may be used to reach deeply buried • Sediment removal should be limited as much as possible oil in layers in the middle zone on exposed beaches

GRAVEL (SHELL) BEACHES ESI = 6A

DESCRIPTION • Gravel beaches in Florida are composed almost entirely of shell • They can be very steep, with multiple wave-built berms forming the upper beach • Shell beaches are common near oyster reefs and along the Intracoastal Waterway where spoil mounds have been reworked by boat wakes into steep shell berms • There are low densities of infauna because the coarse sediments drain out during low tide • They can occur as perched berms and washovers of shell atop wave-cut mud and marsh platforms and scarps • They are important roosting areas for shorebirds, especially when high tide floods adjacent marshes

PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Deep penetration of stranded oil is likely on wave-built shell • Sediment removal should be limited as much as possible berms because of their high permeability • Low-pressure flushing can be used to float fresh oil away from • There is less risk of oil penetration in the shell formed as lag the sediments for recovery by skimmers or sorbents deposits because of the lower permeability of the finer-grained • Mechanical reworking of oiled sediments from the high-tide sediments below line to the lower beach face can be effective in areas regularly • Deeply penetrated oil can leach out for long periods; thick oil exposed to wave activity; the presence of multiple storm layers can harden into asphalt pavements berms is evidence of wave activity • In-place tilling may be used to reach deeply buried oil layers RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS along the mid-intertidal zone on exposed beaches • Heavy accumulations of pooled oil should be removed quickly from the upper beach

• All oiled debris should be removed

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RIPRAP ESI = 6B

DESCRIPTION • Riprap structures are composed of cobble- to boulder-sized blocks of rock or concrete • Riprap structures are common along shorelines exposed to wave action (outer coasts, large bays and harbors, navigable channels) and are used for shoreline protection and tidal- inlet stabilization (jetties) • Attached biota are sparse to moderate PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil adheres readily to the rough surfaces of the blocks • Deep penetration of oil between the blocks is likely • Uncleaned oil can cause chronic leaching until the oil hardens RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • When the oil is fresh and liquid, high-pressure spraying and/or water flooding may be effective, making sure to recover all mobilized oil

• Heavy and weathered oils are more difficult to remove, requiring scraping and/or hot-water spraying • It may be necessary to remove heavily oiled blocks and replace them in high-use areas

EXPOSED TIDAL FLATS ESI = 7

DESCRIPTION • Exposed tidal flats are broad, flat, intertidal areas composed primarily of sand and minor amounts of shell • The presence of sand indicates that tidal currents and waves are strong enough to mobilize the sediments • They are usually associated with another shoreline type on the landward side of the flat, though they can occur as separate shoals • Biological utilization can be very high, with large numbers of infauna and heavy use by birds for roosting and foraging and by foraging fish • Present at tidal inlets, along the outer coast, and exposed areas of bays PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR

• Oil does not usually adhere to the surface of exposed tidal flats, but rather moves across the flat and accumulates at the RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS high-tide line • Currents and waves can be very effective in natural removal of • Deposition of oil on the flat may occur on a falling tide if the oil concentrations are heavy • Cleanup is very difficult (and possible only during low tides) • Oil does not penetrate water-saturated sediments • The use of machinery should be restricted to prevent mixing of • Biological damage may be severe, primarily to infauna, oil into the sediments thereby reducing food sources for birds and other predators

SHELTERED SCARPS (BEDROCK/MUD/CLAY) ESI = 8A

DESCRIPTION • This shoreline type is sheltered from wave activity and strong currents • The slope of the intertidal zone is generally moderate to steep (greater than 15°) with little width • Uncommon, located along man-made canals in bedrock or along creeks PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Stranded oil will persist because of low energy setting RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Low-pressure flushing at ambient temperatures is most effective when the oil is fresh and still liquid • Where the high-tide area is accessible, it may be feasible to remove heavy oil accumulations and oiled debris

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SHELTERED, SOLID MAN-MADE STRUCTURES ESI = 8B

DESCRIPTION • These structures are solid man-made structures such as seawalls, revetments, piers, and port facilities • Most of the structures are designed to protect a single lot, thus their composition, design, and condition are highly variable • Often there is no exposed beach at low tide, but multiple habitats are indicated if present • High densities of attached biota may be present at lower tidal elevations • Common in highly developed commercial and residential waterfront areas PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil adheres readily to rough surfaces, particularly along the high-tide line, forming a distinct oil band • If the oil is not removed, it may cause chronic leaching until the oil hardens • The lower intertidal zone usually stays wet (particularly if algae covered), preventing oil from adhering to the surface RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Cleanup of seawalls is usually conducted for aesthetic reasons or to prevent leaching of oil • Low- to high-pressure spraying at ambient water temperatures is most effective when the oil is fresh

SHELTERED RIPRAP ESI = 8C

DESCRIPTION • Riprap structures are composed of cobble- to boulder-sized blocks of rock or concrete • These structures are found inside harbors and bays in developed areas, sheltered from direct exposure to waves • High densities of attached biota may be present at lower tidal elevations • Common in highly developed commercial and residential waterfront areas PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil adheres readily to the rough surfaces • Deep penetration of oil between the blocks is likely • If oil is left uncleaned, it may cause chronic leaching until the oil hardens

RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Cleanup crews should make sure to recover all released oil • High-pressure spraying may be required to remove oil for • It may be necessary to remove heavily oiled blocks and aesthetic reasons and to prevent leaching of oil from the replace them in high-use areas structure

SHELTERED, ROCKY, RUBBLE SHORES ESI = 8D

DESCRIPTION • Relatively steep and narrow rocky shore that is covered by a veneer of angular rubble without any evidence of re-working by waves or sediment transport • The surface rubble is highly variable in size and packing, but there is always some permeability in the surface materials • Can co-occur with gravel beaches; the gravel beach can be either at the upper or the lower half of the intertidal zone, depending on the nature of the rock outcrop • This shoreline type is sheltered from significant wave activity and strong currents • They are uncommon, occurring along less than 1% of the shoreline

PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil tends to adhere to the upper intertidal zone where the rock surface dries out during low tide, and the algal cover is sparse • Manual removal of heavy oil is likely to leave significant • On solid bedrock surfaces, light oiling will occur as a surface residues, but may be useful for oil in crevices or sediment coating pockets • Heavier oil accumulations will pool and penetrate crevices in • Flushing techniques will be most effective when oil is still the surface rubble fresh and liquid • Where the rubble is loosely packed, oil can penetrate deeply, • Expect to increase temperature and pressure over time as the causing long-term contamination of the subsurface oil weathers

RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Thick accumulations of pooled oil should be of high priority for removal, to prevent re-mobilization and/or penetration

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SHELTERED TIDAL FLATS ESI = 9A

DESCRIPTION • Sheltered tidal flats are composed primarily of mud with minor amounts of sand and shell • They are present in calm-water habitats, sheltered from major wave activity, and are usually backed by marshes or mangroves • The sediments are very soft and cannot support even light foot traffic in many areas • Sheltered tidal flats can be sparsely to heavily covered with algae and/or seagrasses • They can have heavy wrack deposits along the upper fringe • Large concentrations of shellfish, worms, and snails can be found on and in the sediments

• They are heavily utilized by birds and fish for feeding • Common along channels and sheltered areas of the bays RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • These are high-priority areas necessitating the use of spill • Oil does not usually adhere to the surface of sheltered tidal protection devices to limit oil spill impact; deflection or flats, but rather moves across the flat and accumulates at the sorbent booms and open water skimmers should be used high-tide line • Cleanup of the flat surface is very difficult because of the soft • Deposition of oil on the flat may occur on a falling tide if substrate; many methods may be restricted concentrations are heavy • Low-pressure flushing, vacuum, and deployment of sorbents • Oil will not penetrate the water-saturated sediments, but could from shallow-draft boats may be appropriate for use under penetrate burrows or other crevices in muddy sediments heavy oiling • Biological damage may be severe

VEGETATED LOW BANKS ESI = 9B

DESCRIPTION • These habitats are either low banks with grasses or trees and tree roots exposed to the water • They can be flooded occasionally by high water • Present along upper canals and rivers PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • During low water stages there is little impact, with the oil coating a narrow band of sediment at the water level • During high water, the oil will cover and coat the grasses and base of trees • May cause loss of the grasses, but the trees should survive unless oil penetrates and persists in the substrate RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS

• Low-pressure flushing of oiled areas is effective in removing moderate to heavy accumulations of fresh oil • Low- to high-pressure flushing can be used to remove • Sorbent and containment boom should be placed on the water weathered oil from tree roots and trunks, if deemed necessary side of the cleanup operations to contain and collect oil in high-use areas outflow

HYPER-SALINE TIDAL FLATS ESI = 9C

DESCRIPTION • These are shallow brine ponds located between intertidal vegetation and upland • They are artificially inundated and contain waters with high salinity levels PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oiling could occur if a spill coincides with a high-water event or from an upland source • Oil can permeate into sediments and be highly persistent • Impacts to bird communities may be severe RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Sorbents booms may be used to prevent oil from entering the flats via adjacent creeks during high water

• Access will be very difficult

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SALT- AND BRACKISH-WATER MARSHES ESI = 10A

DESCRIPTION • These are grassy intertidal wetlands containing emergent, herbaceous vegetation • Width of the marsh can vary widely, from a narrow fringe to extensive areas; many have been extensively ditched • Sediments are composed of organic muds except on the margins of islands where sand is abundant • Exposed areas are located along bays with wide fetches and along heavily trafficked waterways • Sheltered areas are not exposed to significant wave or boat wake activity • Resident flora and fauna are abundant and diverse, with high utilization by birds, fish, and shellfish

PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil adheres readily to intertidal vegetation • Heavy accumulations of pooled oil can be removed by • The band of coating will vary widely, depending upon the vacuum, sorbents, or low-pressure flushing. During flushing, water level at the time oil slicks are in the vegetation; there care must be taken to prevent transporting oil to sensitive may be multiple bands areas down slope or along shore or eroding the marsh surface • Large slicks will persist through multiple tidal cycles and coat • Cleanup activities should be carefully supervised to avoid the entire stem from the high-tide line to the base vegetation damage • If the vegetation is thick, heavy oil coating will be restricted to • Any cleanup activity must not mix the oil deeper into the the outer fringe, although lighter oils can penetrate deeper, to sediments; trampling of the roots must be minimized the limit of tidal influence • Cutting of oiled vegetation should only be considered when • Medium to heavy oils do not readily adhere to or penetrate the other resources present are at great risk from leaving the oiled fine, wet sediments, but can pool on the surface or in burrows vegetation in place • Light oils can penetrate the top few centimeters of sediment

and deeply into burrows and cracks (up to 1 meter); heavy oils will thickly cover or pool on the sediment surface RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Under light oiling, the best practice is natural recovery; natural removal processes and rates should be evaluated prior to conducting cleanup

FRESHWATER MARSHES ESI = 10B

DESCRIPTION • These are grassy wetlands composed of emergent herbaceous vegetation • They occur upstream of brackish vegetation in the upper estuary and along creeks and rivers • Those along major channels are exposed to strong currents and boat wakes; smaller channels tend to be sheltered • Resident flora and fauna are abundant PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil adheres readily to the vegetation • The band of coating will vary widely, depending upon the water level at the time oil slicks are in the vegetation; there may be multiple bands • Most of the time, there will be a narrow band because of the small tidal range; the band can be very large during high- water events • If the vegetation is thick, heavy oil coating will be restricted to the outer fringe, although lighter oils can penetrate deeper • Medium to heavy oils do not readily adhere to or penetrate the fine, wet sediments, but can pool on the surface or in burrows RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Under light oiling, the best practice is natural recovery; natural removal processes and rates should be evaluated prior to conducting cleanup • Heavy accumulations of pooled oil can be removed by vacuum, sorbents, or low-pressure flushing • Cleanup activities should be carefully supervised to avoid vegetation damage • Any cleanup activity must not mix the oil deeper into the sediments; trampling of the roots should be minimized • Cutting of oiled vegetation should only be considered when other resources present are at great risk from leaving the oiled vegetation in place

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SWAMPS ESI = 10C

DESCRIPTION • Swamps consist of shrubs and hardwood forested wetlands, essentially flooded forests; vegetation is taller, on average, than 6 meters • The sediment tends to be silty clay with large amounts of organic matter • They are seasonally flooded, though there are many low, permanently flooded areas • Resident flora and fauna are abundant with numerous species • Common along upper sections of rivers PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil behavior depends on whether the swamp is flooded or not • During floods, most of the oil passes through the forest, coating the vegetation at the waterline, which changes levels throughout the flood event RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Oiled woody vegetation is less sensitive than grasses to oil coating • Under light oiling, the best practice is to let the area recover naturally • Some oil can be trapped and pooled on the swamp floodplain as water levels drop • Heavy accumulations of pooled oil can be removed by vacuum, sorbents, or low-pressure flushing. During flushing, • Penetration into the floodplain soils is usually limited because care must be taken to prevent transporting oil to sensitive of high water levels, saturated soils, muddy composition, areas down slope or along shore surface organic debris, and vegetation cover • Under stagnant water conditions, herding of oil with water • Large amounts of oily debris can remain spray may be needed to push oil to collection areas • During dry periods, terrestrial spills flow downhill and • Oily debris can be removed where there is access accumulate in depressions or reach water bodies • Any cleanup activity must not mix the oil deeper into the

sediments

SCRUB-SHRUB WETLANDS ESI = 10D

DESCRIPTION • Scrub-shrub wetlands consist of woody vegetation less than 6 meters tall including true shrubs, small trees, and trees and shrubs that are stunted due to environmental conditions • The sediments are silty clay mixed with organic matter • They are seasonally flooded, though there are many low, permanently flooded areas • Resident flora and fauna are abundant • Wrack accumulations can be very heavy PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • If there is a berm or shoreline present, oil tends to concentrate and penetrate the berm sediments or accumulated wrack and litter • Heavy and emulsified oils can be trapped in the thickets of dense young trees • Sorbent boom can be placed in front of oiled forests to recover • Oil readily adheres to tree trunks oil released naturally • Re-oiling from re-mobilized oil residues may cause additional • In most cases, no other cleanup activities are recommended injury over time • Where thick oil accumulations are not being naturally • Oiled trees start to show evidence of effects (leaf yellowing) removed, or pose risks to wildlife, low-pressure flushing or weeks after oiling; tree mortality may take months, especially vacuum may be attempted from the outer fringe for heavy oils • Woody vegetation should not be cut RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • It is important to prevent disturbance of the substrate by foot • Oiled wrack can be removed once the threat of oiling has traffic; thus, most activities should be conducted from boats or passed. Wrack can protect the vegetation from direct oil the use of walking boards contact

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MANGROVES ESI = 10F

DESCRIPTION • Mangrove wetlands are typically less than 6 meters tall • The sediments are silty clay mixed with organic matter • They are seasonally flooded, though there are many low, permanently flooded areas • Resident flora and fauna are abundant • Mangroves can grow in substrates that are sand, mud, or peat, often as a veneer over bedrock • Wrack accumulations can be very heavy • Mangroves are highly productive, serve as nursery habitat, and support a great diversity and abundance of animals and plants PREDICTED OIL BEHAVIOR • Oil can wash through mangroves if oil comes ashore at high tide • If there is a berm or shoreline present, oil tends to concentrate and penetrate the berm sediments or accumulated wrack and litter • Heavy and emulsified oils can be trapped in the thickets of red mangrove prop roots or dense young trees • Oil readily adheres to prop roots, tree trunks, and pneumatophores • Re-oiling from re-mobilized oil residues may cause additional injury over time RESPONSE CONSIDERATIONS • Oiled wrack can be removed once the threat of oiling has passed. Wrack can protect the vegetation from direct oil contact • Sorbent boom can be placed in front of oiled forests to recover oil released naturally • In most cases, no other cleanup activities are recommended • Where thick oil accumulations are not being naturally removed, or pose risks to wildlife, low-pressure flushing or vacuum may be attempted from the outer fringe • No attempt should be made to clean oil from the mangrove interior, except where access to the oil is possible from terrestrial areas • Woody vegetation should not be cut • It is important to prevent disturbance of the substrate by foot traffic; thus, most activities should be conducted from boats or the use of walking boards

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