Delineation of Fresh, Intermediate, Brackish and Saline Marsh Types of the North Central Gulf of Mexico Coast

Conservation planners associated with the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks (GCPO) and Gulf Coast Prairie (GCP) Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCCs) require contemporary data on distribution and extent of coastal vegetation classes (i.e., fresh, intermediate, brackish and saline marsh types) to model habitat availability for priority taxa. To help meet these data needs, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation and collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via the Gulf Coast Joint Venture, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, the University of Louisiana- Lafayette, and Ducks Unlimited, Inc., has produced a seamless and standardized classification of marsh vegetation types indicative of salinity zones (fresh, intermediate, brackish, and saline).