Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection

This part of Florida's Gulf Coast is fringed by bays and inlets, low-energy expansive shallow salt marshes, creeks, mangrove swamps and barrier islands with miles of the whitest sand beaches found anywhere. Ideal for canoeing and kayaking, several Florida rivers empty into the Gulf of Mexico, the ninth largest body of water in the world and one of its most productive fisheries.

Since Colonial times, Americans have depended on the coastal areas for commerce, transportation, food supply, recreation and scenic beauty. By the late 1960s, more than half the nation's population was located near the coasts. User groups competed for access to the nation's coastal resources, and conflicts increased dramatically. Recreational anglers competed with their commercial counterparts. Resorts and residential developments limited the access previously enjoyed by local residents. Declining coastal water quality led to closings of shellfish beds and swimming beaches.