Critically Eroded Beaches in Florida
Submitted by Murshid_S on January 9, 2017 - 2:33pm
"Alligator Harbor is one of the world's largest feeding grounds for the Kemp's ridley turtle, which is the rarest and most endangered of all marine turtles. The area's abundance of blue crabs, jellyfish, shellfish and seagrass provide an important food source for all sea turtles. The unspoiled waters and beaches are valuable breeding and nesting grounds for marine sea turtles. Alligator Harbor, in addition to being a valuable natural resource, is also archaeologically rich with several Miccosukee/Seminole Indian artifacts and burial mounds surrounding the harbor."
The environment within the ANERR boundaries and on ANERR-managed land provides a wide variety of outdoor resource based recreational opportunities. Although ANERR does not coordinate recreation, it is an important activity within ANERR. These include fishing (salt- and freshwater), hunting, hiking, camping, nature study, birding, canoeing, kayaking, boating, shelling, beach activities, swimming and nature photography.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) accomplishes resource management by physically conducting management activities on the resources for which it has direct management responsibility and by influencing the activities of others within and adjacent to ANERR's managed areas and watershed. These activities and the resultant changes in environmental conditions affect the condition and management of the resources within their boundaries.
The Coastal Training Program (CTP) provides science-based knowledge, training, resources and technical assistance to individuals responsible for making decisions that affect the coastal resources so vital to our watershed, our economy and our way of life. We promote and facilitate community-based stewardship and conservation by engaging leaders, managers, professionals, business owners and residents in gaining knowledge of the reserve. We draw expertise from both federal and state levels, channeling it to the local community.
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Monitoring submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has shown particular promise in detecting specific factors that may influence both short- and long-term changes to nearshore aquatic ecosystems. This vegetation can serve as an important indicator to the health of an estuarine system. SAV also plays an important ecological role to the aquatic environment by providing food and habitat for waterfowl, fish, shellfish and invertebrates.
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