These species ranges and critical habitats may differ from the “agency-official” location information available from FWS and NMFS, when the layer has been tailored for pesticide section 7 consultation or when USFWS/NMFS has not released the GIS data publicly (e.g. Area of Influence from USFWS IPAC). Using a watershed boundary to represent aquatic species is a common reason for tailoring a species for the purposes of pesticide consultation. For species under NMFS jurisdiction, these tailored ranges are not currently available for download. This dataset will be available to the public through NMFS’s website once metadata, use limitations, and other considerations have been completed. Public access to these data will be provided after completion of NMFS’s internal review and spatial data publication process, which includes review of metadata and use limitations. The untailored spatial data can be accessed in OCSPP’s companion species service, on the NMFS site, or by visiting the NMFS National ESA Critical Habitat Mapper. Although these files can be used to ascertain the general distribution of a species, NMFS recommends referring to listing documents, recovery plans, and status reviews as the sources of the best available information on threatened and endangered species under their jurisdiction.  

For the additional information on species including habitats, life history and up-to-date spatial data for range and designated critical habitats please see USFWS and NMFS websites. 

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered species and the habitats in which they are found. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service of U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NMFS/NOAA) lead federal implementation of the ESA, though they are supported by other federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Section 7 of the ESA directs all Federal agencies to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to ensure actions do not jeopardized the further existence of threatened and endangered species or adversely modify designated critical habitats. As part of the Section 7 coordination, federal agencies work with USFWS and NMFS to identify species found within the jurisdiction of the United States that could be affected by actions carried out by the Agency. 

Of note, the US EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is responsible for ensuring that Agency actions under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) are in compliance with ESA. OPP determines if ESA-listed species or their designated critical habitat may be affected by pesticide products. Pesticide products that “may affect” an ESA-listed species or its designated critical habitat may be subject to additional regulation. 

Species ranges represent anywhere an individual of the listed species could be found based on the best available information at the time of delineation. As defined in ESA, critical habitat delineates habitat characteristics in specific geographical areas and may be occupied or unoccupied by a threatened or endangered species at the time of listing. These areas must contain physical or biological features essential to conservation of a species and may require special management considerations or protection. Critical habitat may also include areas that are not currently occupied by the species but that may be needed for their recovery. Range areas represent more generalized habitat where species are or could be found based on the best available information. For some species, best available information is based on site specific surveys. For others, it will be historical location information based on political boundaries. These areas are, therefore, less geographically explicit than critical habitat. Consideration of both the species range and critical habitat ensures the conservation of the ecosystems upon which endangered and threatened species depend. 

To support EPA’s implementation of the ESA, critical habitat and range data found in this data service were obtained by the US EPA from the USFWS Environmental Conservation Online System (ECOS) database and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in in December 2023. This version of the data represents a static snapshot that is updated routinely. A companion service is synchronized with the ECOS database on a weekly basis.