Coastal Habitat Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (CHIMMP)

Wide view of a salt marsh surrounded by mangroves.

Salt marshes and mangroves stabilize shorelines, filter surface water runoff, sequester large amounts of organic carbon, and provide important fisheries habitat. However, the statewide extent of coastal wetlands is shifting. Future sea-level rise is expected to fragment salt marshes and cause habitat loss where hardened shorelines and coastal development prevent the landward migration of salt marsh vegetation. Mangrove forests are expanding northward and landward due to less frequent freezing temperatures and sea-level rise. Thus, a coordinated statewide mapping and monitoring program was deemed necessary to better understand and protect Florida’s vulnerable coastal habitats and the numerous species that depend upon them.

The Coastal Habitat Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (CHIMMP) began in 2013 with support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grants Program. The goals of CHIMMP include bringing together representatives from mapping and monitoring programs across Florida in order to increase communication, minimize duplicate efforts, and identify data gaps, needs, and priorities. Multiple workshops have been held to bring together Florida’s coastal wetland scientists and managers.

Learn more about the CHIMMP workshops.

Coastal Habitat Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program Report

CHIMMP partners collaborated to write a statewide technical report that was published in 2017; the complete report is available below. This report summarizes regional mapping and monitoring programs and the status of coastal wetlands in Florida. Chapters from this report have been updated since that time. These updates are web-published below; once all chapters are updated, a second version of the technical report will be compiled and published.

View complete 2017 report