Published

2026-02-06 12:48:54

0.1 Species feedback

Avery Paxton - NOAA Federal <avery.paxton@noaa.gov>:

One of my action items was to share the list of other marine mammals that the MST shows as occurring in the Eastern Gulf planning area (that’s where we focused our initial review) that don’t currently occur there. There were 12 more (13 if include walrus) of 44 marine mammals. Those included (with hyperlinks to the models in case helpful): Balaenoptera brydei (Bryde’s whale), Balaenoptera edeni (smaller Indian fin-whale), Cystophora cristata (hooded seal), Globicephala melas (round-headed porpoise), Halichoerus grypus (grey seal), Hyperoodon ampullatus (bottlie), Lagenorhynchus albirostris (white-beaked bottlenose), Mesoplodon bidens (North Atlantic beaked whale), (Pagophilus groenlandicus (harp seal), Phoca vitulina (harbor seal), Phocoena phocoena (harbor porpoise), and Sotalia guianesis (Guiana dolphin). Hope this helps some.

0.2 Species Approach ✨

Below are concise, actionable items for each species from the meeting—who should do it, what to do, why it matters, and recommended deadlines. I prioritized items discussed in the meeting (IUCN vs ESA handling, range masks, taxonomic issues, visualization/scale changes, and documentation/QA). I kept items short so you can copy them into a task tracker.

General rules to apply across species (do first / reuse):

  • Rule A (legal precedence)
    Use US ESA listing & Fish & Wildlife spatial products when a US ESA status or spatial footprint exists for the species/subpopulation inside the US EEZ. If explicitly “not listed” by US agencies, override IUCN status for US EEZ and default to suitability-only scoring. (Owner: Tim; implementer: Ben)

  • Rule B (non-ESA species)
    Where no US ESA listing exists, use IUCN range maps as mask; use suitability models (AquaMaps / SDMs) for score gradients inside that mask. (Owner: Tim; implementer: Ben)

  • Rule C (taxonomic/subspecies handling)
    Union subspecies into species-level footprint when subspecies distributions exist; use maximum ESA listing across subspecies. Track exceptions in an “exceptions log.” (Owner: Ben to implement; Tim to approve exceptions)

  • Rule D (visualization / UI)
    Default view = merged model only (remove display radio buttons for public briefings). Standardize color ramp to 0–100 consistent breaks across species. Document color legend in briefing notes. (Owner: Ben; due: maps-for-briefing deliverable)

  • Rule E (traceability + QA)
    For every species change, add an audit note: source(s) used, any overrides, date, who approved. Keep a CSV of overrides & rationale. (Owner: Ben to generate; Tim to review)

Deadlines:

  • Minimum maps for briefing (high-level maps for Secretary briefing): due next week (deliver merge-model maps clipped to US EEZ and color-standardized). (Owner: Ben; coordinate with Tim for narrative)

  • Decision package / mid-February: have analytical conclusions + documented exceptions ready for review. (Owner: Tim; implementer: Ben)

Species-specific action items

0.2.1 1) Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)

0.2.2 2/3) Balaenoptera brydei (Bryde’s whale) /Balaenoptera edeni (smaller Indian/‘Edeni’) — (Rice’s/Bryde’s/Taxonomic confusion)

0.2.3 4) Cystophora cristata (hooded seal)

0.2.4 5) Globicephala melas (long-finned pilot whale / round-headed porpoise — verify common name)

0.2.5 6) Halichoerus grypus (grey seal)

0.2.6 7) Hyperoodon ampullatus (northern bottlenose whale)

  • Hyperoodon ampullatus distribution (mammal: bottlie; mdl\_seq: 22829) from Merged Model | BOEM Marine Sensitivity

0.2.7 8) Lagenorhynchus albirostris (white-beaked dolphin / bottlenose note)

0.2.8 9) Mesoplodon bidens (North Atlantic beaked whale)

0.2.9 10) Pagophilus groenlandicus (harp seal)

0.2.10 11) Phoca vitulina (harbor seal)

0.2.11 12) Phocoena phocoena (harbor porpoise)

0.2.12 13) Sotalia guianensis (Guiana dolphin)

0.3 Lists

0.4 Scoring

MST scoring

US
score score, original US code description notes
100 90 EN Endangered
50 70 TN Threatened
20 MMPA marine mammal more legal issues with mammals than birds; incidental take retained
10 MBTA seabird incidental take removed
1 LC if listed, but not classifed as EN or TN
International
IUCN code description score, original score, old score
CR Critically Endangered 100 100 50
EN Endangered 80 50 25
VU Vulnerable 60 10 5
NT Near Threatened 40 5 2
LC Least Concern 20 1 1
DD Data Deficient 20 1 1

Questions to answer in the process:

  • What IUCN CR/EN species are not covered by NMFS/FWS listings?

0.5

0.6

0.8 Cross-cutting deliverables and tracking

Exceptions & overrides CSV: For species where we override IUCN with US ESA or vice versa, record species, dataset(s) used, reason, who approved, date. (Ben to produce; Tim to review). (Due: next week)
Standardized color ramp: implement single 0–100 scale with set breaks (e.g., 0–25–50–75–100 or agreed increments). Update map tiles and legend. (Ben). (Due: next week)
Merge-model default: remove public-facing display-layer radio buttons; allow advanced users to open sidebar with links to input layers only. (Ben). (Due: next week)
Audit write-up: short doc that lists each species and the single-line rule applied (ESA priority / IUCN mask / special taxonomic handling). This will feed the mid-Feb decision package. (Ben + Tim). (Due: mid-February)
Briefing-ready slide images: Generate high-level cumulative maps (flower plots, summary maps) that use merged, color-standardized tiles and include a brief legend + one-line note about the legal precedence rule. (Ben to deliver maps, Tim to craft 1–2 briefing bullets). (Due: next week for drafts; finalize mid-Feb)

Suggested immediate next steps (today → next 2 business days)

If you want, I can: 1) convert this into a CSV/tasks file ready for the createTasks tool; 2) draft the short audit template to attach to each species; or 3) produce the one-page justification paragraph Tim can include in the briefing explaining the ESA-vs-IUCN rule and the taxonomy/subspecies approach. Which would be most useful to you now?

0.9 One-page justification paragraph for the briefing

(use as cover note / methods paragraph)

We prioritized U.S. legal and management sources when building species sensitivity and distribution layers for the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Where a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) or NOAA spatial footprint or explicit ESA listing applies for a species or subpopulation inside the U.S. EEZ, that U.S. polygon and its legal status take precedence in masking and weighting for our merged model. If a species or subpopulation is explicitly recorded by the responsible U.S. agency as “not listed” or delisted for U.S. waters, we do not upweight the cell values based on global IUCN status for the U.S. EEZ — instead we revert to locally derived suitability (SDM/AquaMaps) values for scoring. For species with no applicable U.S. listing or spatial product, we use IUCN range maps to define distribution masks and use suitability model outputs (AquaMaps or peer SDMs) to provide within-mask gradients.

Taxonomy and subspecies: many marine taxa have been recently split or reclassified (e.g., Bryde’s/Rice’s/Bridyi forms), and source datasets use different taxonomic names. To avoid mistaken inclusion/exclusion we map and reconcile synonyms to a canonical scientific name and maintain an alias table. Where subspecies distributions exist we aggregate subspecies polygons into a species-level footprint for masking and take the maximum legal status across subspecies (i.e., if any subspecies is listed as endangered in U.S. waters, the species footprint inside the U.S. EEZ reflects that priority). All exceptions (taxonomic ambiguities, manual mask overrides, or where we intentionally depart from IUCN values) are recorded in an audit log that lists the source layers, the rationale for the override, and who approved it.

Visualization and traceability: For briefings we present a single, merged model view (no alternate input radio buttons) with a standardized 0–100 color ramp so map interpretation is consistent across species and geographies. For transparency we provide a short audit note with every species map summarizing: (1) the primary source(s) used (NOAA, FWS, IUCN, SDM), (2) whether a U.S. polygon/ESA listing overrode IUCN and why, (3) the date the map was produced, and (4) the approver. This approach balances scientific fidelity (preserving suitability gradients and peer SDM outputs) with legal defensibility (respecting U.S. listings and management footprints) and minimizes the potential for politically driven reinterpretation when maps are used in high-level decision documents.