The Federal Geographic Data Committee is conducting a public review of the draft Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard.  The CMECS is a framework for organizing scientific information about the marine and coastal environments of the United States. The CMECS provides a means of classifying ecological and habitat units using a common terminology. It provides a uniform protocol for identifying, characterizing and naming ecological units in support of monitoring, protection, and restoration of unique biotic assemblages, protected species, critical habitat, and important ecosystem components.

The FGDC Coastal and Marine Spatial Data Subcommittee, chaired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, developed the draft CMECS. The FGDC Coordination Group, comprised of representatives of Federal agencies, approved releasing this draft standard for public review at its July 20, 2010 meeting. The FGDC invites all stakeholders in coastal and marine ecology and management to comment on this standard to ensure that the standard meets their needs.

The draft CMECS may be downloaded at http://www.csc.noaa.gov/benthic/cmecs/CMECS_doc.pdf.

Comments must be submitted online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/22G2S67  no later than Monday, December 13, 2010.

For further information, contact Ms. Julie Binder Maitra, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Geographic Data Committee, jmaitra@fgdc.gov, 703-648-4627.