Habitat Protection

When we work to protect natural habitats, we are conserving important ecosystems and helping to ensure that living resources have enough healthy space to live, grow, and reproduce. Coastal and marine habitats are important because they provide food, water, and protection for birds, fish, insects, reptiles, marine mammals, and even some terrestrial mammals.

Many organisms use different habitat types throughout their life cycles. As juveniles, many fish and reptiles live in estuarine areas because the grasses and vegetation protects them from predators. As the juveniles get older, they may move to habitats further from shore to find food and space to swim. And, finally, as adults, many fish live off-shore and return to the estuaries to reproduce. It is important to protect many different habitats because so many different organisms have unique needs.

Healthy marine and coastal habitats also provide indirect benefits like clean coastal water, protect communities from storm damage and erosion, and even increase recreational opportunities.

What you can do

A healthy beach is not only beautiful to look at, but provides a home for coastal critters. Contact your local coastal or beach authority, local environmental group, or community center to find an established habitat protection program, or grab a group of friends and create your own habitat protection group!