Each state also has a Natural Heritage Inventory program that records occurrences of important species and current habitat extents; these offices can usually create a site-specific report (typically for a fee) identifying species known to be present or historically spotted on your site. See the Resources section for a link to the NatureServe list of U.S., Canadian, and Latin American Natural Heritage Programs. In the Documentation Toolkit you can see an example of Colorado’s Natural Heritage Program site-specific report.
The list of endangered and threatened species will not provide you with any data specific to your site. The next likely place to start more detailed research is your city or county website, or a local conservancy or environmental group.
As an initial step, search the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website. It provides a Species Report that lists all endangered (E) and threatened (T) species by state, including both plants and animals. See the Resources section for a link to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website, and see an example of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Report for Colorado in the Documentation Toolkit.
According to the Endangered Species Act, “Endangered species means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined by the Secretary (of the Interior) to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of this Act would present an overwhelming and overriding risk to man…Threatened species means any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.”
Determine whether your site is considered habitat for threatened or endangered species. Many people assume that their project is not located on threatened or endangered species habitat; however, you must do the research, as this is more common than you may think.
If the FEMA website does not provide digital data for your project location, check with your local municipality or county to see if they have a mapping program or if they can provide you with guidance on where to look. For example, the city of Boulder, Colorado provides an eMap service for the 100- and 500-year floodplain. See the example of the City of Boulder’s 100-year floodplain research in the Documentation Toolkit.
Go to the FEMA website and use their mapping tool (Map Viewer) to help you determine whether your project is in Zone A (the 100-year floodplain). See the example of FEMA 100-year floodplain research in the Documentation Toolkit. Use the following steps:
As an initial step, search for the 100-year floodplain on the FEMA website for your project address. Some states and counties have more information than others, and a number of locations are not accessible through FEMA’s digital mapping program. See the Resources section for a link to the FEMA Map Viewer website.
The 100-year floodplain, defined by FEMA, is the elevation to which a flood has a 1% chance of reaching or exceeding in a given year. (It is not the level of the most significant flood within a 100-year period.) So-called 100-year floods can occur many times within a 100-year period.
