The NMFS office of habitat conservation: Protecting the habitats of living marine resources

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce, is responsible for the conservation of living marine resources (LMRs) and the habitats on which they depend. This responsibility is exercised by NMFS's Office of Habitat Conservation (OHC), which protects and conserves riparian, estuarine, and offshore habitats necessary to sustain NOAA trust resources, including fish, protected species, and associated communities. These activities are accomplished through reviewing licensing, permitting, legislative, and administrative activities; coordinating with regional fishery management councils on fishery management plans (FMPs); conducting habitat-related research; and creating special management plans for key waters and resources. In response to recommendations of several external reviews, the OHC is reorganizing the National Habitat Program. This article reviews the importance of marine habitat, the 125-year history of NMFS, the current status of its National Habitat Program, and elements of the new NMFS strategic plan for the program.