August 13, 2021 — The Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed adding 10,012 coastal acres to a national roster of lands covered by certain federal protections.
While relatively modest, the proposed addition of wetlands and aquatic habitat in parts of Florida and South Carolina marks the Biden administration’s first effort to expand the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System.
The proposed expansion, which requires congressional approval, also follows the Biden administration’s reversal of a Trump administration policy that opened the door to federal funding of sand mining and other projects on the designated coastal barrier lands.
The Coastal Barrier Resources System consists of relatively undeveloped coastal barriers along the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Great Lakes, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico that are depicted on a set of FWS maps.
Barrier islands protection coastal communities and infrastructure and serve as important habitats for many coastal and marine species.
“The impacts of sea level rise and storm surge due to climate change will greatly increase both the risk associated with developing coastal barriers and the value of these areas for fish and wildlife habitat and as cost-effective buffers to protect mainland communities against coastal storm damage,” FWS has noted.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 prohibits federal funding for activities like flood insurance, road construction and dredging on relatively undeveloped coastal areas.
Development still can occur in areas added to the CBRS provided that private or other nonfederal parties cover the full cost.