January 2021 1 

Flood Risk and Endangered Species Habitat (FRESH) Web-based Mapping Tool 

Empowering Community Rating System Participating Communities 

Endangered Species and Habitat 

Identification Tool for CRS Communities

https://fema.gov/floodplain-management/endangerered-species-act/fresh-mapping-tool

Purpose

FEMA’s Flood Risk and Endangered Species Habitat (FRESH) Web-based mapping tool is an integral part to the 

National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7(a)(1) Conservation Action 

Program. The FRESH mapping tool helps build awareness, assist with identification of federally listed threatened 

and endangered species and designated critical habitats, and promote incentives or opportunities for NFIP 

participating communities to further incorporate conservation through NFIP implementation. FEMA’s FRESH 

mapping tool can be used to identify federally listed species ranges and critical habitats, along with Special Flood 

Hazard Areas (SFHA). The FRESH mapping tool enables users to visualize and analyze community-specific 

environmental data to achieve as much habitat and species conservation as possible to balance with social and 

economic needs.

Figure 1. Helping Communities Identify Where Threatened and Endangered Species Reside
Learn more at fema.gov January 2021 2 

FEMA Fact Sheet 

Functionality 

This interactive Web-based mapping tool empowers communities with the data needed to make informed decisions 

by allowing communities to overlay their NFIP regulatory floodplain (100-year floodplain/SFHA) with critical habitat 

and federally listed species range maps. Users can query analytics for their community or select a specific area to 

obtain an output of threatened and endangered species and habitats. 

Using FRESH, communities can visualize the relationship between their regulatory SFHA overlaid with threatened 

and endangered species, designated critical habitats, and species ranges to help inform local decisions that may 

affect the floodplain. Communities that engage in species and habitat conservation activities through the NFIP’s 

Community Rating System (CRS) Program (https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-communityrating-system) may benefit from NFIP premium discounts. 

Figure 2. FRESH Map Screenshot

Continuous Improvement

FRESH underwent a 90-day user testing period June-Sept 2019. All comments were evaluated for incorporation into 

the tool and User’s Guide with the purpose of making FRESH more user-friendly and useful to CRS communities. 

FEMA will continually review FRESH to ensure accuracy. Information provided on the data layers reflects the best 

available science. As FEMA has no control over the data obtained from authoritative federal sources, data will be 

periodically reviewed and expanded when possible to ensure they contain the intended information. 

FEMA plans to increase functionality with additional analyses, such as displaying what points a CRS community 

currently receives for certain CRS activities or identifying opportunities for undertaking additional activities that 

promote habitat and species conservation. In the future, users may also be able to add their own GIS data to FRESH 

allowing them to customize their visualizations for their community needs.