FAQs | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Coastal Barrier Resources System: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Coastal Barrier Resources Act?

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) of 1982 designated relatively undeveloped coastal barriers coastal barriers
Learn more about coastal barrier landforms.

Learn more about coastal barriers along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts as part of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS), and made these areas ineligible for most new federal expenditures and financial assistance. The CBRS was expanded in 1990 to include areas along the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The three purposes of this law are to minimize the loss of human life; wasteful expenditure of federal revenues; and damage to fish, wildlife, and other natural resources associated with coastal barriers.

When President Reagan signed CBRA into law, he characterized it as a program that meets a national problem with less federal involvement. The law leverages the free market to achieve its goals. The law does not prohibit or regulate development but reduces federally funded incentives for new development in hurricane- and erosion-prone areas, where building puts people in harm’s way and may not otherwise be economical.

What is the Coastal Barrier Resources System?

The Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) is a geographic system, established by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982, that consists of undeveloped coastal barriers and other areas located on the coasts of the United States that are depicted on maps that are enacted into law by Congress and maintained by the Department of the Interior through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service). . The CBRS was renamed the “ John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System
Learn more about the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, which was established under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982.

Learn more about John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System ” by Pub. L. 106-167 in 1999 to honor the late Senator Chafee.

Where are the CBRS units located?

CBRS units are located in 24 states and territories along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico coasts. There are no CBRS units along the Pacific coast. View the official CBRS maps.

Why are there no CBRS units along the Pacific coast?

In 1990, Congress directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study the possibility of expanding the CBRS to the Pacific Coast (excluding Alaska) through Section 6 of the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act (Pub. L. 101-591). We completed a report to Congress in 2000, mapping 195 undeveloped coastal barriers in California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. We evaluated whether including these areas in the CBRS would be aligned with the intent of the Act. We found that most of these qualifying areas were either owned by the military or already protected.

Additionally, our study found that Pacific coastal barriers do not experience the same natural hazards as the barriers along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Hurricanes and tropical storms, which frequently impact the Atlantic, are rare on the Pacific coast. Instead, erosion, seismic activity, and coastal riverine flooding pose more significant threats to human life along the Pacific coast. Given these notable differences between the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and the Pacific coast, we did not recommend including the eligible mapped areas in the CBRS. Our 2000 report to Congress indicated that to achieve the Act's desired effects along the Pacific coast, the legislation and defining criteria would need to be revised to address the unique geological, climatic, and biological characteristics of the region.

What are the differences between System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas (OPAs)?

The CBRS includes two types of units: System Units and Otherwise Protected Areas (OPAs).

System Units are predominantly composed of privately owned areas, although they may also contain areas that are held for conservation and/or recreation. Most new federal expenditures and financial assistance, including federal flood insurance, are prohibited within System Units. Consultation is required for federally funded projects and activities within System Units.

OPAs are predominantly composed of conservation and/or recreation areas, although they may also contain private areas that are not held for conservation and/or recreation. OPAs are denoted with a “P” at the end of the unit number. The only federal spending prohibition within OPAs is on federal flood insurance, and there is an exception for park-related structures. Consultation is not required for federally funded projects and activities within OPAs.

What agency is responsible for administering CBRA?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary agency responsible for administering CBRA. We maintain and update the official maps of the CBRS. Additionally, every federal agency that makes expenditures and provides financial assistance within the CBRS has responsibilities for complying with CBRA, including consulting with the Service before making expenditures within the CBRS.

How was the CBRS originally mapped?

The CBRS boundaries were originally drawn using a set of objective criteria and mapping protocols following a years-long inventory process conducted by the Department of the Interior in the early 1980s. This process involved reviews of aerial photography, on-the-ground inspections, several public information sessions, and two comment periods. These maps were adopted by Congress through the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982. You can find a description of the original mapping process in our 1982 Report to Congress. The CBRS has since been expanded, and we have reports describing those subsequent efforts available in our library.

Are federal permits allowed for activities and projects within the CBRS?

CBRA does not prohibit federal regulatory actions or authorizations, such as the issuance of permits (e.g., under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, section 10(a)(1)(A) or 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act).

Additionally, CBRA does not prohibit federal financial assistance for environmental studies, planning, and assessments that are required incident to the issuance of permits or other authorizations under federal law.

Has CBRA been successful?

Studies have shown that CBRA has been highly successful in achieving its objectives, which are to keep people out of harm’s way, save taxpayer dollars, and protect important habitat for fish and wildlife. The law is estimated to have saved over $9 billion in federal disaster aid and is projected to save billions more into the future as climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change exacerbates existing hazards along our coasts. One study found that the CBRS significantly reduces flood claims to the National Flood Insurance Program, generating an estimated savings for the Federal Government of $930 million per year. Development rates within the CBRS are about 75-83 percent lower than those outside of the CBRS, with density levels similar to parks and wildlife refuges. Parcels within the CBRS are significantly less likely to be armored with hardened structures such as seawalls. These reductions in development and shoreline armoring result in better habitat and more resilient beaches.

How does a CBRS designation benefit coastal communities?

A study published in Nature Climate Changein 2024 identified numerous benefits to communities within and adjacent to CBRS units. These benefits include natural amenities, flood protection, and increased property tax revenues in areas adjacent to the CBRS (without reducing property tax revenues within the CBRS). Learn more about this and other studies examining the effectiveness of CBRA.

If an area is already a park or is zoned for conservation, then what is the value of the CBRS designation?

When CBRA was enacted, Congress listed among its findings that “certain actions and programs of the Federal Government have subsidized and permitted development on coastal barriers and the result has been the loss of barrier resources, threats to human life, health, and property, and the expenditure of millions of tax dollars each year,” and that “a program of coordinated action by Federal, State, and local governments is critical to the more appropriate use and conservation of coastal barriers” (16 U.S.C. 3501(a)(4) and (5)). In accordance with these Congressional findings, a CBRS designation gives an area an additional layer of protection by discouraging future development.

Areas established under federal, state, or local law, or held by a qualified organization, primarily for wildlife refuge, sanctuary, recreational, or natural resource conservation purposes (if in existence at the time of CBRS designation) are typically included within OPAs. This prohibits new federal flood insurance for any new structures not related to the park, which helps ensure continued protection in the event that the land is sold or its owner decides to change its use.

All other areas, including those subject to certain regulations and/or zoning designations (which may be subject to change), are typically included within System Units rather than OPAs. This is consistent with guidance developed by the Department of the Interior’s Coastal Barriers Task Force in 1982. For additional information on this issue, please see page 18 of our 2016 report to Congress on the Digital Mapping Pilot Project.