FGDC CMECS News Release

Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard
Receives Federal Approval
(June 4, 2012)—The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) today approved the Coastal and Marine Ecological
Classification Standard (CMECS) as the first-ever comprehensive federal standard for classifying and describing
coastal and marine ecosystems.

CMECS Provides a Common Language
CMECS offers a simple, standard framework and
common terminology for describing natural and human
influenced ecosystems from the upper tidal reaches of
estuaries to the deepest portions of the ocean. The
framework is organized into two settings,
biogeographic and aquatic, and four components,
water column, geoform, substrate, and biotic. Each
describes a separate aspect of the environment and
biota. Settings and components can be used in
combination or independently to describe ecosystem
features. The hierarchical arrangement of units of the
settings and components allows users to apply CMECS
to the scale and specificity that best suits their
interests. Modifiers allow users to customize the
classification to meet specific needs.

CMECS Meets a Broad Set of Needs
The design of CMECS aspires to meet the needs of many users, including coastal resource managers and
planners, development interests, engineers, mappers, and researchers from government, industry, and
academia. The system was also developed to address applications on scales ranging from local and regional
to national and beyond.

Practical Applications







Ecosystem inventory and mapping
Coastal and marine spatial planning
Marine Protected Area selection,
evaluation, and assessment
Resource management and monitoring
Conservation status assessment
Habitat modelling

CMECS Reflects Wide Stakeholder Input
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NatureServe, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey have worked with over a hundred scientists and coastal
managers to develop and implement the standard. CMECS has been implemented in projects in a variety
of geographies. A rigorous four month public and peer review process led to consideration and
response to more than 800 individual comments from 31 individuals and organizations.

Sample Pilot Study Locations:
 Narragansett Bay, RI
 Long Island, NY
 Chesapeake Bay, MD
 Florida Bay, FL
 Mobile Bay, AL
 Redfish Bay, TX
 Northern Gulf of Mexico
 Columbia River, OR
 Humboldt Bay, CA
 Southeastern Alaska

CMECS Is a Dynamic Content Standard
The use and application of CMECS will improve our knowledge of marine ecosystems and may bring to
light other necessary additions and adjustments to the standard. Users will be encouraged to provide
suggestions about possible changes to CMECS, which will follow a regular peer review and revision cycle.
Protocols and tools for this process are currently in development.

CMECS is Ready to Use
Documentation for the standard is available for downlaod at www.csc.noaa.gov/benthic/cmecs. A
searchable online catalog of CMECS units and their descriptions is available at www.cmecscatalog.org .
For more information contact: NOS.CSC.CMECS_IG@noaa.gov