U.S. Department of Commerce | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | National Marine Fisheries Service

NMFS Strategic Plan 

2009 - 2013

Conserving Habitat for the Future

NOAA Habitat Program NOAA

Letter from the Director

I am pleased to present the 2009-2013 Strategic Plan for 

the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) components 

of the NOAA Habitat Program, which includes the Office of 

Habitat Conservation and the Habitat Conservation Divisions 

in each of the six NMFS Regional Offices. This Plan is a 

blueprint for action to guide the direction and priorities of the 

program over the next five years. It identifies specific goals, 

objectives, and strategies to accomplish our mission to 

protect and restore coastal and marine habitats. 

The NOAA Habitat Program has a critical and challenging 

mission to protect, conserve and restore habitats for a 

broad range of societal benefits. These include conserving 

habitat for living marine resources such as commercial and 

recreational fisheries and protected species, increasing the 

resiliency of coastal communities, providing for the public’s 

use and enjoyment, and supporting the biodiversity on 

which marine and coastal ecosystems depend.

This Plan was developed with input from external 

stakeholders including representatives from regional 

fishery management councils, fishing industry and seafood 

processing groups, environmental non-governmental 

organizations, and state and local agencies. The goals and 

objectives were developed with stakeholder comments 

in mind, and uses the expertise and input of a variety of 

NOAA programs. This effort expanded strategic discussions 

among many NOAA offices and identified areas for future 

collaboration. The Plan also considers the recommendations 

from the recently completed external program evaluation 

of the NOAA Habitat Program coordinated by the National 

Academy of Public Administration. 

Our next step is to develop specific actions and 

timetables for achieving the strategic goals and 

objectives laid out in this Plan. Our strategic 

actions will be updated as needed to reflect 

new national priorities and changes in the many 

pressures that impact coastal and marine habitats, 

includeing climate change.

It took teamwork and collaboration to produce 

this Plan, and it will take the same to achieve the 

challenging vision that we have laid out for ourselves 

healthy and self-sustaining coastal and marine 

habitats that support vital ecosystem functions, 

including abundant living marine resources, human 

uses, and resilient coastal communities. Only by 

working together can we efficiently and effectively 

respond to the significant existing and emerging 

pressures impacting the nation’s valuable coastal 

and marine habitats. 

Patricia A. Montanio

Director

Office of Habitat Conservation

National Marine Fisheries Service
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

The role of the 

NOAA Habitat Program 3

Vision 5

Mission 5

Guiding Principles 6

Our Strategic Plan

Goal 

Protect coastal and marine habitats 

to sustain ecosystem health, function, and 

key services to communities and the nation. 8

Goal

Restore degraded coastal and marine habitats 

to enhance ecosystem health, function, and 

services to communities and the nation. 10

Goal

Expand science-based knowledge 

to assess, protect and restore coastal 

and marine habitats. 12

Goal

Promote Stewardship to protect and

restore coastal and marine habitats. 13

Moving Forward 

N O A A H a b i t a t P r o g r a m

Conserving Habitat for the Future

Introduction

Coastal and marine habitats are some of the most 

biologically rich and economically valuable areas on Earth. 

They provide a range of critical and valuable benefits to our 

nation, playing an essential role in the reproduction, growth, 

and sustainability of commercial and recreational fisheries 

and protected species, providing recreational opportunities 

for the public’s use and enjoyment, protecting life and 

property by helping to buffer coastal communities against 

natural hazards such as storms, coastal flooding, sea level 

rise, and tsunamis and supporting the biodiversity on which 

marine and coastal ecosystems depend. They are also 

fundamental to the commercial and recreational fishing, 

boating, tourism, and other coastal industries that provide 

more than two million jobs and over $250 billion dollars 

in economic activity in 2006 (Fisheries Economics of the 

United States, 2006).

Human activities have significantly altered coastal and marine 

habitats over time. Valuable habitats continue to be degraded 

and lost or are made inaccessible due to coastal development, 

land-based pollution, fishing gear impacts, invasive species, 

dams and other blockages that restrict access for migratory 

fish species, and reductions in the amount and delivery of 

freshwater to estuaries. The degradation and loss of these 

habitats have significant economic, social, and environmental 

consequences. Given the continuing trend for populations 

to concentrate near the coasts, the pressures and potential 

impacts on coastal and marine habitats will only increase. 

The NOAA Habitat Program made considerable progress 

in the past 10 years mitigating the negative impacts of 

these pressures. However, given the scope and complexity 

of the problems, significant declines in habitat quantity 

and quality continue in many coastal and marine habitats. 

There is a clear need to strengthen habitat protection and 

restoration programs and make them more efficient and 

effective through increases in authorities, resources, and 

improvements in focus.

Other challenges such as climate change and the demand 

for new sources of energy call for new approaches to 

manage and mitigate their potential negative impacts. 

These emerging issues are of particular concern because 

the potential impacts and consequences on already 

pressured coastal and marine habitats are not fully 

understood, nor is there full knowledge of the costs 

and strategies to address them. However, we know that 

potential impacts can be severe and wide-ranging in nature, 

and this brings an increased sense of urgency to efforts 

to find effective, long term solutions to protect and restore 

these finite coastal and marine habitats. Once habitats 

are damaged or lost it is difficult and costly to recover the 

services that they provide. Coordinated action is urgently 

needed to sustain healthy coastal and marine habitats and 

the communities and economies that depend on them. 

Challenge such as climate 

change and the demand 

for new sources of energy 

call for new approaches to 

manage and mitigate their 

potential negative impacts.

1
Valuable habitat continue to be degraded and lost or are 

made inaccessible due to coastal development, land-based 

pollution, fishing gear impacts, invasive species, dams 

and other blockages that restrict access for migratory 

fish species, and reductions in the amount and delivery of 

freshwater to estuaries. 

2
NOAA Habitat Program 

The NOAA Habitat Program directly supports 

the nation’s communities and economies by 

conserving, protecting and restoring coastal and 

marine habitats vital to producing the nation’s 

commercial and recreational fisheries, recovering 

protected species, supporting tourism worth 

billions of dollars annually, and protecting coastal 

communities from coastal storms and flooding.

The Program’s actions directly support NOAA’s 

ecosystem outcomes of: 

(1) healthy and productive coastal and marine 

ecosystems that benefit society; and, (2) a wellinformed public that acts as a steward of coastal 

and marine ecosystems (see Figure 1). The NOAA 

Habitat Program has three primary outcomes:

•	 Increased protection and 

conservation of habitats that support 

NOAA trust resources and support 

ecosystem health and production;

•	 Increased restoration of habitats that 

support NOAA trust resources to enhance the 

recovery of ecosystem health and production;

•	 Increased public awareness 

and stewardship of habitats that 

support NOAA trust resources through 

the involvement of stakeholders and 

enhancement of partnerships.

The primary NMFS mandates in support of these 

goals include the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act; Federal 

Power Act; Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act; 

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and 

Restoration Act (CWPPRA); Oil Pollution Act; and 

the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act. Activities 

conducted by dedicated staff at regional and 

national levels include:

•	 Protecting vital coastal and marine habitats 

from negative impacts of actions proposed 

through permit requests to federal and 

state agencies. In 2008, the Program 

conducted in 3,000 consultations to avoid, 

minimize, or compensate for negative 

impacts on habitats essential to the nation’s 

commercial and recreational fisheries.

•	 Protecting and restoring coastal habitats 

from the upper parts of watersheds 

to coastal wetlands and estuaries 

by providing technical and financial 

support to local communities and other 

partners. In the past 10 years, the 

Program has worked with thousands 

of communities and partners to protect 

over 60,000 acres of coastal habitats.

•	 Reducing adverse effects of fishing and 

non-fishing activities on valuable habitats 

in collaboration with regional fishery 

management councils, commissions, and 

resource management agencies. For 

example, since 2005 the Program has 

worked with fishery management councils to 

identify and protect hundreds of thousands 

of square miles of bottom habitat (including 

sensitive deep water corals) by closing large 

areas off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, 

Oregon and California to bottom trawling. 

•	 Protecting and restoring fish access to 

coastal rivers vital to fish reproduction and 

growth by providing technical, financial, and 

other support to remove barriers to fish 

passage. In 2008, the Program worked 

with government and non-government 

partners to remove dams and other barriers 

that restored access to over 600 miles of 

historic river habitat for fish passage to vital 

spawning and rearing habitats. Large-scale 

habitat benefits were derived through longThe Role of the

3
term relicensing agreements with the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for 

multiple private hydro-power generating stations.

•	 Conserving, protecting and restoring coastal 

wetlands and other habitats vital to fisheries 

and coastal economies and protecting coastal 

communities from coastal storms. Since 1997, 

the Program has led or participated in restoration 

of over 8,000 acres of coastal wetlands in 

Louisiana as part of the CWPPRA efforts to 

protect vital fisheries habitats and buffer coastal 

communities from storms and inundation.

•	 Protecting and restoring coastal and marine 

resources that are threatened or injured by 

oil spills, releases of hazardous substances, 

and vessel groundings. For example, at the 

end of 2008, 189 natural resource damage 

assessment cases had been settled generating 

more than $440 million to protect or restore 

thousands of acres of habitat and return 

valuable resources and services to the public.

By conserving coastal and marine habitats, the 

Program directly contributes to the goals of 

other NOAA Programs including protection and 

recovery of protected species, maintenance of 

sustainable fisheries, sustainable management 

of the nation’s coastal regions, and increased 

resiliency of coastal ecosystems and communities 

in a changing climate.

Habitat

Conservation

Actions &

Activities 

Foundational

Activities

Ultimate

Objectives 

Outputs

NOAA 

Outcomes

Intermediate

Outcomes

Healthy and Productive Coastal and 

Marine Ecosystems that Benefit Society

A Well-informed Public that Acts as a 

Steward of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

Requirements

& Drivers

Healthy Habitats

• Fish and Wildlife • Energy Policy Act of 2005 • Federal Power Act

Coordination Act

• Ecosystem Approach

• Promote Partnerships

• Watershed Assessments

• Proactive Protection • Regional Implementation

• Protect • Restore • Characterize and Assess • Promote Stewardship 

Activities

Mandates

Strategies

• NOAA Strategies • US Ocean Action Plan • Executive Orders • Multi-agency Agreements • Public Expectations

Drivers

• Cooperative Strategies • Balance Competing Uses

• Improve Public Understanding

Safe public use, recreation 

and enjoyment

Robust and sustainable fisheries, protected 

resources and other living marine resources

Protect life and property and 

enhance community resilience

Habitat 

Outcomes

• Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries 

Conservation and 

Management Act • Coastal Wetlands Planning, 

Protection, and Restoration Act • Oil Pollution Act • CERCLA

Programs &

Partnerships 

Habitat Protection Consultations

Community-based Restoration

Proactive Habitat Protection

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Program

Fish Passage

Marine Debris

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration

Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration

Invasive Species Prevention

Habitat 

Services

Increased public awareness 

and stewardship of habitats Increased restoration of habitats Increased protection and conservation of habitats

Figure 1. The mandates provided by over 30 legislative authorities, executive orders and agreements are the foundation 

for the activities, strategies, partnerships and program components that produce measurable habitat outcomes and 

services. These, in turn, support the broader outcomes of healthy and productive coastal and marine ecosystems and 

a well-informed public that acts as a steward of coastal and marine ecosystems identified in the NOAA Strategic Plan.

4
Our Vision 

Healthy and self-sustaining coastal and marine habitats that support vital 

ecosystem functions, including abundant living marine resources, human 

uses, and resilient coastal communities.

Our Mission

To protect, restore,and promote stewardship of coastal and marine habitats.

5
Guiding Principles 

•	 Use an ecosystem approach to conserve, 

protect, restore, and promote stewardship 

of coastal and marine habitats to produce a 

net increase of habitat and habitat value.

Future management efforts will be characterized by 

policy decisions that account for ecosystems, are 

long-term, fully integrate science with management, and 

recognize humans as integral to ecosystem functions 

and sustainability.

•	 Proactively engage stakeholder groups 

and communities to improve the results 

of our habitat conservation activities. 

Proactive and early engagement of stakeholders who are 

planning development projects or restoration efforts save 

money, reduce damage to the environment, and improve 

communication among management agencies and with 

the public. Proactive planning encourages management 

agencies and the public to give priority to protecting or 

restoring important habitats during project planning and 

licensing, and is an essential component of the ecosystem 

approach leading to environmentally-sustainable human 

uses.

•	 Encourage communities to become 

stewards for habitat conservation.

Successful habitat conservation depends on public 

stewardship. The chances for success increase when 

businesses and communities incorporate ecosystem 

and sustainable development principles into their planning and development processes. A prime example is 

fishing industry organizations that have worked with 

other stakeholders and fishery management councils 

to protect sensitive habitat areas.

•	 Form partnerships that 

promote habitat conservation.

Collaborative partnerships with federal, state, and 

local government agencies; non-governmental 

organizations; and the public maximize the benefits of 

habitat conservation programs. Partnerships improve 

protection and restoration success, with partners often 

serving as strong advocates for protecting, restoring, 

and conserving coastal and marine habitats and living 

resources.

•	 Employ the best available science to 

support conservation decisions.

Enhanced scientific understanding of ecosystem 

processes and services, including the socio-economic 

value of habitats, will improve ecosystem-based 

management of coastal and marine habitats.

6
Our Strategic Plan

Coastal development, growing energy demands, climate change, 

fishing and other extractive resource uses, blockages to fish 

migrations, and the need to maintain and improve water quality 

and quantity are significant challenges to protecting and restoring 

the nation’s coastal and marine ecosystems and the marine life 

that depends on them.

We will respond to these challenges through the following goals, 

objectives, and strategies that integrate planning, implementation, 

and evaluation

1. Recognize the critical need to strengthen existing and develop 

new partnerships to leverage scarce resources

2. Move the program toward more proactive and collaborative 

approaches to habitat conservation. This Plan provides the 

framework for improving protection and restoration of coastal 

and marine habitats into the future. 

7
OBJECTIVE 1

Identify priority actions through improved planning to 

protect habitat at a variety of scales (national, regional, 

watershed, and local).

Strategies:

•	 Participate in regional conservation planning 

with partners to set priorities for habitat 

protection activities at appropriate geographic 

scales (region, watershed, and local).

•	 Determine priority actions specific to coastal and 

marine habitats that are vital to managed fish stocks 

and protected species identified in Fishery Management 

Plans and Endangered Species Act Recovery Plans.

•	 Identify partnerships that augment our ability to 

address leading threats such as coastal development, 

energy development, and climate change.

•	 Develop standardized criteria to focus actions on 

protecting the most valuable and vulnerable habitats at 

meaningful scales (ecosystem, region, or watershed).

OBJECTIVE 2

 Increase protection of coastal and marine habitats 

by implementing more efficient and effective 

approaches to prevent, minimize, or mitigate impacts.

Strategies:

•	 Develop programmatic approaches to influence 

decisions by other state and federal agencies 

to increase the efficiency and effectiveness 

of interagency habitat consultations.

•	 Work with regional fishery management councils 

and other partners to integrate habitat protection 

into fishery management decisions, with an 

emphasis on protecting Essential Fish Habitat.

•	 Develop outcome-based targets for habitat protection.

OBJECTIVE 3

Develop new, innovative, and 

proactive approaches to conserve 

priority coastal and marine habitats.

Strategies:

•	 Strengthen legislative authorities and procedures to 

protect riverine, coastal, and marine habitats.

•	 Expand the scope of and resources for collaborative 

habitat protection efforts such as the Cooperative Habitat 

Protection Partnerships to increase the number and 

impact of proactive habitat conservation efforts led by 

local communities and stakeholder organizations. 

•	 Develop a new Habitat Climate Change Adaptation Program 

to support development and implementation of federal, 

state, local, and regional climate change adaptation plans.

•	 Work with partner organizations, including the National Fish 

Habitat Board and other stakeholder groups, to implement 

regional, ecosystem, and watershed scale plans that 

incorporate habitat protection and restoration activities.

•	 Encourage greater use of pre-consultations, 

stakeholder education, and incentives to 

implement collaborative conservation approaches 

for priority coastal and marine habitats. 

GOAL

Protect coastal and marine habitats to sustain ecosystem health, 

function, and services to communities and the nation.

8
OBJECTIVE 4

Evaluate the effectiveness of habitat protection activities 

and approaches to management.

Strategies:

•	 Evaluate the effectiveness of NOAA’s consultation 

recommendations to other federal action agencies.

More than 3,000 permit actions are reviewed annually to minimize adverse impacts on Essential Fish Habitat. One 

of these reviews supported a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to deny a permit to mine sand and gravel 

offshore to re-nourish beaches in Winthrop , Massachusetts. This action protected offshore nursery and spawning 

ground used by Atlantic cod, a valuable commercial and recreational fish.

•	 Develop NOAA and partner capacity to evaluate the 

economic and ecological value of habitat types and assess 

the effectiveness of measures to protect important habitats.

•	 Refine program goals and performance metrics to improve 

program performance and increase program accountability 

by developing and comparing annual progress against 

longer term outcome-based targets for habitat protection.

9
OBJECTIVE 1

Identify priority habitat types and geographies 

to maximize the impact of restoration on 

communities, watersheds, and ecosystems.

Strategies:

•	 Engage in and represent NOAA restoration interests 

in local and regional conservation plans.

•	 Integrate recommendations of fishery management 

plans and recovery plans into restoration strategies.

•	 Ensure that restoration is a major component 

of climate change adaptation strategies.

•	 Develop outcome-based targets for habitat restoration.

•	 Develop decision-making frameworks 

for targeting priority geographies. 

•	 Expand NOAA and partner capacity for evaluating 

the economic and ecological value as well as 

technical feasibility of restoration activities.

OBJECTIVE 2

Expand restoration of priority coastal and 

marine habitats.

Strategies:

•	 Build on NOAA’s leadership in coastal restoration 

to expand the national capacity for restoration. 

•	 Foster strong national and regional partnerships, 

including Fish Habitat Partnerships established under 

the National Fish Habitat Action Plan, to implement 

restoration activities identified in conservation plans.

•	 Use the community-based restoration model 

to address coral recovery, fish passage, 

and shellfish and wetlands restoration. 

•	 Strengthen legislative authorities for the 

restoration of coastal and marine habitats.

•	 Provide engineering and design expertise 

to partners and funding recipients. 

•	 Provide training and develop tools to 

build partner and community capacity to 

restore coastal and marine habitats.

GOAL

Restore degraded coastal and marine habitats to enhance ecosystem 

health, function, and services to communities and the nation.

10
OBJECTIVE 3

Evaluate the effectiveness of NOAA restoration.

Strategies:

•	 Conduct pre-project monitoring to establish 

baselines for measuring project success.

•	 Monitor projects to evaluate overall restoration 

project success relative to stated goals.

•	 Evaluate and improve restoration techniques to 

enhance our ability to accomplish restoration.

•	 Refine program goals, implementation, and 

performance metrics to improve program 

performance and increase program 

accountability by developing and comparing 

annual progress against longer term outcomebased targets for habitat restoration.

Since 1996, nearly 2,000 restoration projects supported by the 

Habitat Program have restored more than 60,000 acres of habitat.

11
OBJECTIVE 1

Characterize and assess the abundance, distribution, 

and condition of coastal and marine habitats.

Strategy:

•	 Collaborate with other NOAA programs 

and partner organizations to:

- Identify indicators of ecosystem health;

- Establish baseline conditions and monitor 

 trends in habitat conditions;

- Improve knowledge of ecosystem 

 processes and services;

- Quantify habitat utilization by commercially 

 and recreationally important species;

- Establish socio-economic value of priority habitats; and

- Communicate science knowledge to fishery 

 management councils and other management agencies.

OBJECTIVE 2

Assess the causes and consequences of 

threats affecting coastal and marine habitats. 

Strategy:

•	 Collaborate with other NOAA programs 

and partner organizations to:

•	 Conduct baseline assessments of current threats;

•	 Quantify the impacts of threats on 

coastal and marine habitats;

•	 Identify and estimate the socio-economic 

impacts of habitat modifications;

•	 Predict future vulnerability of coastal and 

marine habitats to new threats;

•	 Predict the resiliency of habitats to recover 

from environmental disturbances;

•	 Develop capabilities to detect declining habitat 

health and strategies to mitigate factors that affect 

the health of coastal and marine habitats; and 

•	 Develop a Habitat Assessment Improvement 

Plan to incorporate habitat factors into fish stock 

assessments for improved fishery management.

GOAL

Expand science-based knowledge to more effectively assess, 

protect, and restore important coastal and marine habitats.

12
OBJECTIVE 1

Increase awareness of the importance of coastal and 

marine habitats and NOAA’s role in their protection and 

restoration.

Strategies:

•	 Develop and implement a plan to increase public awareness 

of ecological services and socio-economic value of habitats.

•	 Educate students and adults through handson training and partnerships with organizations 

involved in outreach and education.

OBJECTIVE 2

Increase action by government, communities, and 

individuals to ensure coastal and marine habitats are 

conserved for future generations.

Strategies:

•	 Establish partnerships with communities and 

organizations to incorporate natural habitats into 

hazard resilience plans, to mitigate human impacts, 

and to restore coastal and marine ecosystems.

•	 Transfer habitat protection and restoration technologies 

to the private sector, landowners, environmental 

groups, and government agencies.

•	 Expand environmental literacy programs such as the Chesapeake 

Network for Education of Municipal Officials (NEMO) that 

focus on educating local land use decision makers about the 

links between land use and natural resource protection.

•	 Strengthen environmental stewardship strategies 

across federal agencies through actions by interagency 

committees in which NOAA participates.

OBJECTIVE 3

Evaluate and refine effectiveness 

of stewardship strategies.

Strategies:

•	 Evaluate which strategies are most effective at 

increasing awareness, knowledge, and stewardship 

of habitat issues by constituents.

•	 Evaluate the effectiveness of education and partnership 

initiatives for enhancing habitat stewardship. 

GOAL

Promote stewardship through outreach and education 

leading to increased habitat conservation.

Since 1996, over 165,000 

volunteers have been involved 

in habitat restoration projects 

supported by the Program.

13
Moving Forward

This Strategic Plan is an important step forward in 

identifying and communicating the priorities of the NMFS 

component of the NOAA Habitat Program for the next 

five years. It will guide the development of more specific 

program priorities and actions to achieve greater results 

on the ground. 

The Program also recognizes the critical importance 

of performance measures as a tool to determine the 

success of its efforts, identify priority issues, track 

trends in habitat protection and restoration, quantify 

the effectiveness of management activities, and clarify 

existing and emerging resource needs to improve 

management. The Program is currently revising its 

performance measures to produce a comprehensive 

picture of the progress it is making toward its strategic 

priorities, following the recommendations contained in 

the recently completed external review of the Program 

by the National Academy of Public Administration.

The NOAA Habitat Program is committed to 

achieving the goals and objectives of this Strategic 

Plan. To be successful in reaching this ambitious 

and challenging vision, the program must work 

collaboratively with its partners, seek innovative 

solutions to ensure habitat services are maintained, 

adjust to new threats that are impacting coastal 

and marine habitats, and be flexible in updating its 

strategies to respond to emerging national priorities. 

To be successful in reaching this ambitious and challenging 

vision, the NOAA Habitat Program must work collaboratively 

with its partners, seek innovative solutions to ensure habitat 

services are maintained, adjust to new threats that are impacting 

coastal and marine habitats, and be flexible in updating its 

strategies to respond to emerging national priorities. 
U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Gary Locke

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and

Atmosphere and Administrator, National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration—NOAA

Dr. Jane Lubchenco

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries Service

James W. Balsiger, Ph D. (Acting)

www.nmfs.noaa.gov

National Marine Fisheries Service

1315 East West Highway, SSMC 3, F/HC

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

U. S. Government – 2009