Coastal Habitat Integrated Mapping and Monitoring Program (CHIMMP)

Salt marshes and mangroves provide valuable ecosystem services to coastal communities in Florida. Coastal wetlands 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 cause fragmentation of salt marshes and loss of acreage where hardened shorelines, coastal development, and other obstacles prevent the landward migration of salt marsh vegetation. Mangrove distribution is also changing and mangrove forests are encroaching into marsh habitats in response to climate change 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) was funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s funding support of Florida’s State Wildlife Grants Program. The goals of CHIMMP included bringing together representatives from mapping and monitoring programs across the State in order to increase communication, minimize duplicate efforts and identify data gaps, needs, and priorities. Three CHIMMP workshops were held at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida in April 2014, September 2015, and January 2017 to bring together coastal wetland scientists and managers from across Florida.

Learn more about the CHIMMP workshops.

Workshop participants and CHIMMP partners collaborated to write a statewide technical report that was published in 2017. This report summarizes regional mapping and monitoring programs for salt marshes and mangroves as well as the status of coastal wetlands in Florida.