FWS Critical Habitat Screener — ESA Section 7 Site Check

Screen any set of coordinates against live USFWS Critical Habitat polygons (Final + Proposed) with a single API call per point. Get a grounded yes/no — in or near designated critical habitat, which species, Final vs Proposed status, listing status (Endangered/Threatened), the Federal Register citation, and an ESA Section 7 consultation flag — with a source citation on every row.

Data source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Critical Habitat ArcGIS FeatureServer (services.arcgis.com/QVENGdaPbd4LUkLV/.../USFWS_Critical_Habitat), queried live via server-side spatial (point + radius buffer) intersection. No scraping, no API key required.

Who it's for

• Environmental consultants & ESA/NEPA compliance teams doing early-stage site screening before a formal Biological Assessment.
• Real estate developers & land acquisition teams de-risking parcels before purchase or entitlement — a critical-habitat hit can add months of federal consultation to a project timeline.
• Renewable energy & infrastructure siting teams (solar, wind, pipeline, transmission) screening candidate routes/sites at scale.
• Title companies, lenders, and due-diligence platforms wanting an automatable ESA red-flag check alongside flood/wetland/zoning screens.
• AI agents / MCP tool chains doing automated environmental site diligence as one step in a larger permitting or acquisition workflow.

Example input

{
  "assets": [
    { "lat": 30.2649, "lon": -97.7714, "label": "Zilker Park, Austin TX" },
    { "lat": 34.05, "lon": -118.24, "label": "Los Angeles office" }
  ],
  "radiusMiles": 1,
  "includeProposed": true,
  "maxAssets": 500
}

Output fields (one row per hit; one CLEAR row for a point with no hits)

Field	Description
asset_label	Your name for the screened point, echoed back
asset_lat / asset_lon	Coordinates screened
radius_miles	Buffer radius used for the spatial query
in_critical_habitat	true/false/null (null = ERROR row)
species_comname / species_sciname	Species whose habitat this point intersects
spcode	USFWS internal species code
habitat_status	Final (legally designated) or Proposed
listing_status	Endangered or Threatened
fedreg	Federal Register citation for the designation
pubdate	Publication date (YYYY-MM-DD)
unitname	USFWS habitat unit name (often a generic placeholder — USFWS doesn't always populate a real name)
esa_consultation_flag	true when this point may trigger ESA Section 7 consultation
checked_at	UTC timestamp of the check
error	Populated only on invalid-input rows
disclaimer / source_url	Advisory notice + exact FeatureServer queried

Use as an MCP tool

This actor is discoverable and callable by AI agents (Claude, Cursor, etc.) via mcp.apify.com. Pass an array of {lat, lon, label} points and get back a grounded, cited in/near-critical-habitat verdict per point — clean input/output for chaining into larger site-diligence or permitting-research agent workflows.

FAQ

Does this actor need an API key? No — the USFWS ArcGIS service is public and keyless.

Does "no hit" mean the site is ESA-clear? No. It means no designated critical habitat intersects your search radius in USFWS's current dataset. It does not rule out occupied habitat, other regulated species, wetlands, or state-level protections. Always confirm with USFWS IPaC and/or formal Section 7 consultation before relying on this for permitting or transaction decisions.

What's the difference between Final and Proposed critical habitat? Final designations are legally in effect. Proposed designations are pending public comment and may change or be withdrawn — useful for forward-looking risk screening but not yet binding.

How is pricing calculated? $10 per 1,000 result rows ($0.01/row) — one row per species hit, or one row per clear point. No charge for actor start.

Can I screen a large portfolio? Yes — pass up to 2,000 points per run via maxAssets; each point queries the live ArcGIS service in sequence.