Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection
Waters that Work, Play and Live
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection manages more than 5.3 million acres of submerged lands and coastal uplands in Florida.
Much of Florida's distinctive character lies in the beauty of its coastline. The best of our coastal landscapes as well as several inland waters is set aside for protection as aquatic preserves. Florida's natural beauty is a major attraction for both tourists and residents. Ironically, these coastal and inland resources that draw people to Florida are potentially endangered by the increased population pressures. Aquatic preserves protect Florida's living waters to ensure they will always be home for bird rookeries and fish nurseries, freshwater springs and salt marshes, and seagrass meadows and mangrove forests.
These aquatic preserves — located throughout Florida — offer a window into the state's natural and cultural heritage. Local leaders long recognized and worked to protect these critically important and ecologically sensitive areas and in 1975, with growing appreciation for their environmental diversity and alluring beauty, Florida enacted the Aquatic Preserve Act. This Act brought together existing and future aquatic preserves under one management program to ensure "their aesthetic, biological and scientific values may endure for the enjoyment of future generations."
DEP Coral Protection and Restoration Program’s Restoration Projects Coordinator, Katie Gretter, participated in a multi-day, hands-on Coral Spawning and Propagation Course hosted by Nova Southeastern University. The course, developed and supported through Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative, aims to train the next generation of coral restoration specia
Staff from the Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves region coordinated with Florida Department of Transportation, the City of Pensacola, and Wildlife Graphics to install a new informational sign at Project GreenShores Site 2, highlighting the living shoreline project.
Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve staff recently joined Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff for the first documented release of the water hyacinth leafhopper (Megamelus scutellaris), a federally approved biological control agent used to help manage invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) populations on the Wekiva River.