Southwest Florida Ecological Characterization: an ecological atlas

The purpose of the Southwestern Florida Ecological Characterization study is to compile existing information about the biological, social and physical sciences for the Gulf coastal counties of Florida from Pasco County to Monroe County, including the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas (see map of the study area that follows). The Southwest Florida Ecological Atlas consists of composite overlay topic information with sixteen base maps to produce a total of 80 maps, and volume of map narratives. Federal and State decision makers, among others, may use these maps and narratives for coastal planning and management, and in planning for Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas development. This study is one of a series of characterizations of coastal ecosystems being produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Additional studies include the Chenier Plain of Louisiana and Texas, the sea islands of Georgia and South Carolina, the rocky coast of Maine, and coast of northern and central California, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), the Texas barrier islands, and Mobile Bay (Alabama).