Partial Approval of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Restoration Blueprint Leaves Room for Future Harm

For greater than a century, Audubon has been a number one voice for conservation within the Florida Keys—from establishing the Key West Nationwide Wildlife Refuge in 1908 to guard birds from the plume commerce, to advocating for the creation of Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park to safeguard vital habitat from growth.

This legacy continues at present at our Everglades Science Heart in Tavernier, the place we conduct cutting-edge analysis on Florida Bay, straight informing water administration choices that impression the Larger Everglades Ecosystem and the Florida Keys.

Audubon has been a key stakeholder within the Florida Keys Nationwide Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) since its creation, working to guard the varied habitats these species rely on.

When the chance arose to replace the FKNMS guidelines for the primary time since 1997, Audubon engaged at each step. Our scientists, native consultants, and advocates actively participated, guaranteeing science-based protections. This was a extremely collaborative initiative involving state companions just like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee, federal companions like NOAA and the Nationwide Park Service, in addition to myriad nonprofits and leisure consumer teams. All advised, the method acquired greater than 80,000 public feedback by means of 70 public conferences, demonstrating widespread neighborhood assist.

The Blueprint’s closing outcomes strengthened protections for nesting islands, mangroves, and seagrass beds, guaranteeing these assets can assist birds and fisheries. By defending the pure heritage of the Florida Keys— the spine of its economic system—the Blueprint supplied a preventing probability in opposition to future challenges. Sadly, Governor DeSantis rejected the plan’s protections inside state waters pending the resolutions of state sovereignty points.

The plan superior for approval was a common sense compromise that balanced the enter of leisure customers and useful resource advocates, in addition to state and federal enter as co-managers of the Sanctuary. Audubon is disillusioned that the complete Restoration Blueprint was not accepted—birds and fish don’t discriminate between federal and state waters, and so our administration of this weak place must be equally seamless. Whereas we’re glad to see parts of the plan go into impact in federal waters, the rest is vital to the Keys’ weak and declining assets.

The State of Florida cares deeply about these assets, together with the Keys’ water high quality, marine life, and the one barrier reef within the continental United States. We’re optimistic that the remaining conservation measures within the plan can earn state approval. Their implementation is urgently wanted.

65% of the marine sanctuary lies inside state waters— the Keys want the state’s management to get the stability of this plan throughout the end line. We’re assured that they will and they’re going to.

This text was printed within the State of the Everglades Report/Spring 2025 edition