FEMA Species Focus Area
On January 11, 2011 the United State District Court, Southern District of Florida approved a settlement (Case No 90-10037-CIV-MOORE) between the National Wildlife Federation, Florida Wildlife Federation, and Defenders of Wildlife (Plaintiffs) VS Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (Defendants) concerning the protection of endangered species in the Florida Keys.
The settlement requires that local governments in the Florida Keys participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) adopt a revised floodplain management ordinance in compliance with the terms of the settlement and the Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion (BO) dated December 14, 2010.
The Settlement also adopts Species Focus Area Maps and Species Assessment Guides and obligates local governments (City of Marathon) to implement a program to assess the impacts of proposed development in consideration of the species location maps and associated species guides.
The City of Marathon has begun implementing the Assessment Program.
The City is obligated to review and assess all permit applications. This review will be made quickly and as seamlessly as possible so that your permit application is approved expeditiously. In very rare instances review may take additional time. When you receive your permit you will be required, particularly for properties that are on the new species focus area list, to sign an acknowledgement statement as part of permit issuance. Otherwise, you will be provided brochures concerning the endangered species potentially located in the Middle Florida Keys.
Many of the habitats for these endangered species are critical for natural floodplain function as well. These include beach berms, hammock, as well as mangroves and wetlands. Wetland ecologists have already documented the following environmental benefits wetlands provide:
- Water purification
- Flood protection
- Shoreline stabilization
- Groundwater recharge and stream flow maintenance
Wetlands also provide a habitat for fish and wildlife, including endangered species. Not all wetlands provide all of these benefits, and how your particular wetland works depends on its location and type. Please help us keep natural areas undisturbed and report any illegal dumping or clearing.
A map of habitat types can be found by following this link: Map of Habitat Types
Or you can submit for a Letter of Current Site Condition to find out more information regarding a parcel that includes the following items:
- SFHA
- FIRM information including Community and panel numbers, date of FIRM, and flood elevations
- Historical or repetitive loss areas
- Sensitive lands, endangered species, or natural functioning habitats
- CBRA Zones
The City will make all of the necessary information available on its web-site for those who will need it for permit submittal/review, land transactions, or other professional consulting needs.
