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