The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance report used GAP PAD-US data.
To highlight the national importance of our coasts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developed the State of the Coast (SOTC) web site that will foster increased awareness of the crucial importance of healthy coastal ecosystems to a robust U.S. economy, a safe population, and a sustainable quality of life for coastal residents. A product of the NOAA State of the Coast Report Series, the Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance highlights what we know about the Gulf region’s coastal communities, coastal economy, and coastal ecosystems, and how climate change might impact the Gulf coast. The report is an update to the original Gulf of Mexico at a Glance, published in June 2008, and is organized by the following interconnected themes: Communities, Economy, and Ecosystems.
Protected areas are described as areas in Gulf Coast Counties and Gulf of Mexico waters with widely variable purposes, legal authorities, managing agencies and levels of protection provided. They are meant to provide greater protection for natural or cultural resources within a specific geographic area. The Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), managed by the USGS Gap Analysis Program at the University of Idaho, provided NOAA with a aggregated geodatabase of all known land based protected areas in the region to compliment NOAA’s Marine Protected Areas Inventory. Figures 42, 43 and 44 clearly illustrate the locations of Land and Marine Protected Areas within the Gulf Coast Region and summarize the management, protection level and conservation focus of these protected areas.
Learn More: Read the report.
Citation: National Ocean Service, NOAA. 2011. The Gulf of Mexico at a Glance: A Second Glance. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.
Contact: Kristen Crossett (Kristen.Crossett(at)noaa.gov)
