After initiating the rulemaking process more than a decade ago, change is afoot for North America’s only coral barrier reef tract. Nestled between the southern tip of Florida and the islands of the Florida Keys is Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, comprising more than 3,800 nautical miles of coral reef habitat, turquoise waters, and carbon storing mangroves and seagrass beds. The sanctuary is one of the most ecologically unique marine ecosystems in the world that supports both lifeways and livelihoods in the Florida Keys. Its economic value cannot be understated, contributing nearly $4.4 billion to the local economy annually and supporting more than half of all jobs in Monroe County.
Despite its incredible value, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is also an ecosystem in peril. The sanctuary has deteriorated significantly since its establishment in 1990 and faces grave threats from pollution, ocean acidification, disease, human pressures, and vessel groundings. All of these threats are compounded and multiplied by climate change, most clearly illustrated by marine heatwaves in the summers of 2023 and 2024 that led to mass coral bleaching throughout the ecosystem. Yet, we know that marine protected areas and the habitats they protect provide some of the greatest ecosystem services on the planet, including carbon sequestration.
In response to early threats to the sanctuary, NOAA conducted an initial review of the regulations, zoning, and management plan in 1997, followed by a formal comment period and scoping process in 2012. In 2019, NOAA published a draft environmental impact statement with an array of potential regulatory schemes and alternatives with a five month public comment period, followed by the publication of a draft rule and management plan in 2022 and a rigorous 100-day public comment process. Surfrider Foundation and its Florida Keys Chapter submitted formal comments in 2020 and 2022 to support adaptive management, sanctuary boundary expansion, and cruise ship discharge prohibition, spoke at countless public meetings, helped promote public awareness of the rulemaking process, and coordinated with coalition partners to advance mutual goals and urge the sanctuary to finalize the new rule and management plan. Today, NOAA released the final environmental impact statement for the Restoration Blueprint.
The final environmental impact statement and management plan include a range of important actions that will help protect the fragile resources of the Florida Keys in light of increasing climate impacts. In particular, Surfrider applauds the inclusion of the Tortugas region within the sanctuary’s expanded boundaries, the addition of wildlife management areas that support the protection of vital habitat and species, the prohibition of cruise ship discharges (other than cooling water), and the prioritization of adaptive management based in science. These actions enhance and expand protections in the sanctuary’s biologically unique and important habitats, and position NOAA and sanctuary managers to apply an adaptive mindset to managing this treasured ecosystem. The challenges of increasing ocean temperatures, acidification, and unforeseen emerging threats to the sanctuary are not going anywhere, and resource managers will need to continue to adapt to an evolving ecosystem in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Throughout development of the Restoration Blueprint, Surfrider also advocated for several provisions that were not included in the final plan. The final plan does not include Pulley Ridge in the sanctuary’s expanded boundaries, fails to apply the no wake/no motor zone to all sanctuary shorelines, and does not require a boater education program about sanctuary-specific protections and responsibilities. While inclusion of these actions would have enhanced the connectivity of some protections for the sanctuary, the final environmental impact statement and management plan ultimately establish vital improvements and protections for the sanctuary and its long-term management.
Surfrider Foundation and its Florida Keys Chapter celebrate this important step for a new era of management for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Today’s release of the final environmental impact statement begins a 30-day wait period before the agency can sign the final decision. After NOAA issues the final rule in January, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will have 45 days to assess the regulations and either accept them in whole, reject them in whole, or line-item veto parts that fall within state waters. At that point, the final Restoration Blueprint becomes law.
Surfrider urges approval of the final rule by Governor DeSantis once the review period has begun, and looks forward to engaging with NOAA and sanctuary staff to ensure implementation. Surfrider is also working at the regional level to improve the management of individual sanctuaries and at the federal level to support funding and strengthen the National Marine Sanctuary program. The United States currently has 15 marine sanctuaries and two marine monuments that conserve more than 620,000 square miles of ocean and Great Lakes waters. Learn more here.