The Coastal Program is a voluntary, partnership-based, habitat conservation program located in 24 priority coastal areas along the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, and in the Caribbean. Within these areas, our conservation efforts are guided by a national strategic plan that integrates Service priorities with the shared conservation goals of conservation partners and stakeholders.
We deliver habitat conservation through locally-based staff who provide technical and financial assistance for habitat conservation planning and design, and implement habitat restoration and protection projects. Our success is in large part due to our staff who have an intimate knowledge of the natural resource issues and conservation challenges in local communities, which facilitates the development of long-term partnerships.
Our partnerships provide a framework to conduct landscape-scale conservation planning and to implement these plans through on-the-ground coastal habitat conservation. Through these partnerships, the Service can leverage its technical and financial resources with partner resources to maximize habitat conservation and benefits to federal trust and other priority species, including threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and interjurisdictional fish. For habitat improvement projects, our average financial leveraging ratio is $8 partner to $1 Coastal Program.
Our Core Values
to achieve voluntary habitat conservation by providing technical and financial assistance, in collaboration with partners, for the benefit of Federal trust species
Five major goals have been identified as core components of our vision for the Program:
- Conserve habitat for the benefit of priority fish and wildlife species.
- Broaden and strengthen partnerships
- Improve information sharing and communication.
- Enhance our workforce through training and development, and
- Increase accountability to measure progress toward DOI, Service, and Program strategic goals and ensure that our actions are efficient and effective.