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."
Nature journaling can provide another way to gather qualitative data on a field trip. A gale recently made a water quality data collection boat trip impossible for a visiting high school class. By remaining flexible, the education department was able to do a land-based version of the trip. Most of the data is collected using the YSI and other traditional equipment.
On April 10-12, the Coral Reef Conservation Program and its Citizen Support Organization, Friends of Our Florida Reefs, participated in the annual Tortuga Music Festival’s Conservation Village on Ft. Lauderdale Beach.
Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve (EBAP) staff have been hard at work processing the macroalgae samples collected as a part of February seagrass monitoring. Drift algae abundance is assessed in every monitored seagrass quadrat. In 2016, EBAP began collecting drift algae samples at a subset of repeat quadrat locations. These samples give EBAP important information on species composition, seasonal changes in drift algae biomass and trends over time.