Coastal barriers are inherently storm-prone and dynamic systems located at the interface of land and sea. Undeveloped coastal barriers coastal barriers
Learn more about coastal barrier landforms.
Learn more about coastal barriers and their associated aquatic habitat (including wetlands, marshes, estuaries, inlets, and nearshore waters) provide numerous benefits to the economy and society. However, development of these areas puts people in harm’s way and disrupts the natural movement and functions of the barriers, degrading fish and wildlife habitat and increasing shoreline erosion.
With the passage of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) in 1982, Congress recognized that certain actions and programs of the Federal Government have historically subsidized and encouraged development on coastal barriers, and the result has been the loss of natural resources; threats to human life, health, and property; and the expenditure of millions of tax dollars each year. When President Reagan signed this legislation into law, he emphasized its dual impact: “This legislation will enhance both wise natural resource conservation and fiscal responsibility. It will save American taxpayers millions of dollars while, at the same time, taking a major step forward in the conservation of our magnificent coastal resources."
CBRA and its amendments removed the federal incentive to develop many of these areas by designating relatively undeveloped coastal barriers along the Atlantic, Gulf of America, Great Lakes, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico coasts as part of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System
Learn more about the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, which was established under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982.
Learn more about John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). Today the CBRS includes 942 geographic units encompassing 3.8 million acres of land and associated aquatic habitat in 24 states and territories. With some exceptions, most new federal expenditures and financial assistance are prohibited within the CBRS. CBRA does not regulate or prohibit the development of coastal barriers, but rather leverages market mechanisms to promote conservation. Development can still occur within these areas, provided that private developers or other non–federal parties bear the full cost.
The CBRS includes two types of units, “System Units” and “Otherwise Protected Areas” (OPAs). System Units generally comprise areas that were relatively undeveloped and mostly privately owned at the time of their designation within the CBRS. Most new federal expenditures and financial assistance, including flood insurance, are prohibited within System Units. OPAs are predominantly comprised of conservation and/or recreation areas such as national wildlife refuges, state and national parks, local conservation areas, and private conservation areas, though they may also contain privately owned areas not held for conservation and/or recreation. The only federal spending prohibition within OPAs is on federal flood insurance. There are a total of 592 System Units (comprising 1.4 million acres) and 350 OPAs (comprising 2.4 million acres).
Federal funds may be spent within System Units for certain excepted activities following consultation with the Service. Examples of such activities include certain types of emergency assistance, military activities essential to national security, exploration and extraction of energy resources, and maintenance of existing federal navigational channels.
CBRA's goals are to:
- Conserve coastal habitat that supports a variety of fish and wildlife, including migratory birds, shorebirds, finfish, shellfish, manatees, and sea turtles
- Save taxpayer dollars by restricting federal subsidies to develop – and rebuild again and again – in places subject to storm surge and chronic erosion
Keep people out of harm’s way by discouraging development in risky areas where hurricanes strike first
A growing body of research indicates that CBRA has been successful in achieving its goals. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Coastal Research analyzed the economic benefits from CBRA and found that CBRA reduced federal coastal disaster expenditures by $9.5 billion between 1989 and 2013,and forecasts that additional savings will range between $11 and $108 billionby 2068. A 2024 study in Nature Climate Change found that the CBRS significantly reduces flood claims to the National Flood Insurance Program, generating an estimated savings to the Federal Government of an additional $930 million per year.
Below are links to CBRA and significant amendments. See Historical Changes to the CBRS for additional legislative and administrative actions that adopted revised maps.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 designated a set of 186 System Units encompassing about 453,000 acres along the Atlantic and Gulf of America coasts as part of the CBRS. This law directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare and submit a report to Congress containing: (1) recommendations for the conservation of fish, wildlife, and other natural resources; (2) recommendations for additions, deletions, or modifications to the CBRS; (3) a summary of comments received during the public comment period; and (4) an analysis of the effects, if any, that certain general revenue sharing grants have had on undeveloped coastal barriers coastal barriers
Learn more about coastal barrier landforms.
Learn more about coastal barriers .
The Coastal Barrier Improvement Act (CBIA) of 1990 reauthorized CBRA and expanded the CBRS by about 2.6 million acres, adding new units in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Great Lakes, and the Florida Keys, and enlarging some previously designated units along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The CBIA also designated a new category of lands called OPAs.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2000 reauthorized CBRA and directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to complete a Digital Mapping Pilot Project that includes digitally produced draft maps for up to 75 units and a report to Congress that describes the feasibility and costs for completing digital maps for all CBRS areas. This legislation also directed the Service to conduct an economic assessment of the effects of CBRA.
The Coastal Barrier Reauthorization Act of 2005 (signed into law on May 25, 2006) reauthorized CBRA and directed the Service to finalize the Digital Mapping Pilot Project by: (1) providing a public comment period for the draft maps created through the pilot project (covering approximately 10 percent of the entire Coastal Barrier Resources System, CBRS), and (2) preparing a report to Congress that contains the final recommended digital maps and a summary of the comments received during the public comments period. The 2005 Act also directed the Service to create digital maps for the remainder of the CBRS.
The Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2018 adopted 35 revised maps produced by the Service depicting 59 CBRS units in Delaware, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The revised maps were produced by the Service through the Digital Mapping Pilot Project and other efforts. This legislation required the Service make digital versions of all of the CBRS maps available to the public and directed the Service to submit a report to Congress regarding the progress and challenges in the transition from paper to digital maps and a timetable for completion of the digitization of all maps related to the CBRS.
The Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm Act (signed into law on November 25, 2024) adopted 195 revised maps for 454 CBRS units in 13 states. The revised maps were produced by the Service through the Hurricane Sandy Remapping Project and other efforts. This legislation reauthorized and amended CBRA, making several significant changes to the law including directing the development of a real estate disclosure requirement for communities with CBRS units, requiring a scientific evaluation and report to Congress on the dynamics of coastal barrier ecosystems and their hazard impacts, and creating new exceptions for certain types of federally funded projects. This law added about 294,000 acres to the CBRS and constitutes the largest expansion of the CBRS since 1990.
Our Testimony
September 28, 2023 –Testimony of Matthew J. Strickler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior, Before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries On H.R. 5490, Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm Act; and H.R. 2437, To revise the boundaries of a unit of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System
Learn more about the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, which was established under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982.
Learn more about John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in Topsail, North Carolina, and for other purposes.
May 10, 2023 – Testimony of Matthew J. Strickler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior, Before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries On H.R. 524, To amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to create an exemption for certain shoreline borrow sites; H.R. 615; H.R. 2689; and H.R. 2872
June 15, 2022 - Testimony of Stephen Guertin, Deputy Director for Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, regarding S. 2194, S. ____, the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2022, S. 3069, and S. 3767.
June 22, 2021 - Testimony of Stephen Guertin, Deputy Director for Policy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, before the House Committee on Natural Resources, regarding H.R. 3764, the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act.
February 27, 2018 - Testimony of Gary Frazer, Assistant Director for Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, regarding H.R. 2947 and H.R. 4880.
April 8, 2014 - Testimony of Gary Frazer, Assistant Director for Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs, regarding H.R. 187, H.R. 277, H.R. 1810, H.R. 1811, H.R. 2057, H.R. 3226, H.R. 3227, H.R. 3572, and H.R. 4222.
October 25, 2011 - Testimony of Jim Kurth, Assistant Director of the National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs, regarding H.R. 2027 and H.R. 2154.
July 27, 2010 - Testimony of Greg Siekaniec, Assistant Director for National Wildlife Refuge System, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, regarding H.R. 5331.
April 6, 2006 - Testimony of Dr. Mamie Parker, Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding H.R. 138, H.R. 479, H.R. 1656, H.R. 3280, and H.R. 4165, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans.
November 8, 2005 - Testimony of Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Acting Special Assistant to the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding the Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2005, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans.
November 20, 2003 - Testimony of Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Chief, Division of Federal Program Activities, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
May 10, 2023 – Testimony of Matthew J. Strickler, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior, Before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries On H.R. 524, To amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to create an exemption for certain shoreline borrow sites; H.R. 615; H.R. 2689; and H.R. 2872
September 25, 2003 - Testimony of Clint Riley, Special Assistant to the Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding H.R. 154, H.R. 2501, H.R. 3056, and other bills, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
April 11, 2002 - Testimony of Cathleen Short, Assistant Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding H.R. 3470 and other bills, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.
May 11, 2000 - Testimony of Daniel Ashe, Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding H.R. 4070 and other bills, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Ocean.
May 6, 1999 - Testimony of Gary Frazer, Acting Assistant Director for Ecological Services, Fish and Wildlife Service, regarding H.R. 34, H.R. 535, H.R. 1489, and H.R. 1431, before the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans.