Environmental assessment workbench

From a county list
to a field-ready review.

Start with listed vertebrates for your Florida county. Compare the county screen with a project-specific USFWS IPaC list, then document habitat, field observations, and the sources behind your assessment.

County listed-vertebrate screen

This dated FNAI snapshot includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals with federal endangered/threatened or Florida listed status. Plants, invertebrates, and natural communities are excluded from this working view. A county record does not establish presence on your property.

Loading county records… If unavailable, use the FNAI links below.

Dated FNAI county snapshot. Verify current status with FWC and USFWS.
SpeciesGroupFederalFlorida

E = endangered; T = threatened; FE / FT = federally endangered / threatened as recorded in the Florida column; ST = state-designated threatened; DL = delisted; — = no status in this source. Source columns can disagree during updates: reconcile against current agency lists. Records listed only as proposed, candidate, under-review or similarity-of-appearance are excluded unless independently state-listed.

The FNAI export includes tracked vertebrates beyond this listed-only view. Worksheet habitat and occurrence fields are intentionally blank for professional review. This tool does not generate an official IPaC list or an effects determination. Bald eagles have a separate map layer because legal protection is not limited to threatened and endangered listings. A vertebrate-only work scope does not remove other applicable project review requirements.

The source packet for an EA

1. Project footprint & wetlands

Record the project boundary, parcel source, aerial date, NWI classifications, soil map units and hydric components. Keep mapped wetland acreage separate from parcel-clipped impacts and agency-approved wetland lines.

NWI, soils, FEMA, terrain & parcels ↗

2. Listed wildlife & habitat

Save the FNAI county list and retrieval date. Define the project and action area in USFWS IPaC for an official list. Match each listed vertebrate to habitat present, survey evidence, and the next review step; an empty map is not a finding of absence.

USFWS IPaC ↗
FWC listing status ↗

3. FNAI site context

County tracking records are a broad screen. Use the Biodiversity Matrix for documented, historic, likely, and potential occurrences near the site. Request an FNAI data review when the project needs more detailed occurrence information.

FNAI Matrix & data requests ↗

Consultation areas & field follow-up

Florida panther

The map displays USFWS Panther Focus Area polygons, including connectivity context north of the Caloosahatchee River. Focus areas help flag review needs; they are not a complete current consultation boundary or evidence of panther presence. Confirm the project’s consultation scope with USFWS.

USFWS focus-area metadata ↗

Florida bonneted bat

Use the 2024 revision’s consultation-area map alongside its separate critical-habitat and assumed-presence information. The current live consultation boundary is not connected here. The linked guidance provides the official map; a 2019 boundary would miss the revision.

USFWS consultation map & guidance (PDF) ↗

Eagles & burrowing owls

FWC eagle areas on the map describe 1998–2017 nesting records, not current nest locations. Pair them with a current field review. Florida burrowing owl appears in county lists where recorded; assess suitable habitat and use current FWC species guidance.

FWC eagle guidance ↗
FWC species plans ↗

Make the assessment traceable

  1. Desktop methods: document each dataset, version, retrieval date, search extent and coordinate system.
  2. Existing conditions: describe land cover, FLUCCS mapping where used, hydrology, soils, elevation and adjacent land uses. FWC CLC is a separate classification and is not automatically a project FLUCCS map.
  3. Field methods: record survey date, weather, transects, access limits, observed habitat and evidence. Separate preliminary reconnaissance from protocol surveys.
  4. Results: build a species table with common/scientific name, state/federal status, habitat, occurrence potential, observations, and follow-up. Explain uncertainty rather than inventing absence.
  5. Attachments: retain maps, official species correspondence, source exports, photographs and impact calculations. Site-specific permits and agency decisions control the final conclusions.

Workflow reference: a public Jones Edmunds assessment in the May 2011 NCFRPC packet (PDF) illustrates desktop review followed by field investigation. Its historic species statuses are not used in this tool. Wetland Agent is not affiliated with Jones Edmunds.