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."
Training and Engagement Specialist Svetlana Vikhlyantseva with assistance from Reserve interns Faith Causey, Madi Meadows, and Julie-Anna Duffey created packets of seeds for the fall native pollinators program to supply Franklin County residents with native plant seeds through the seed library program.
On August 12, the Coral Protection and Restoration Program, along with The Reef Institute, hosted the Florida’s Coral Reef Restoration & Recovery (FCR3) Initiative Implementation Meeting. Established in 2023, the FCR3 Initiative aims to support the long-term recovery of at least 25% of Florida’s Coral Reef by 2050 through the development of infrastructure, technology, workforce capacity and logistics.
The Friends of Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves citizen support organization hosted their first quarterly social event at Beech Kombucha, a craft kombucha brewery, tasting room and botanical garden. The TBAP manager gave an update on preserve activities, followed by a knot tying workshop. As most attendees are outdoor people, there was much enthusiasm for learning some very useful knots.