Like most people in the Keys, I am frequently out enjoying the waters of our sanctuary. The boundary begins at the mean high tide water line on land and extends outward, capturing 3,800 square miles in all. Nearly all of it is accessible for our enjoyment, which is by design, as national marine sanctuaries are not meant to be museum pieces observed from a distance. They are here to be enjoyed and envied. Visitors are lured to the Keys, in one way or another, by the beauty and bounty of our sanctuary, and their economic impact is estimated at $2.9 billion annually. When you add commercial seafood revenue and local spending on recreational water activities, that figure tips beyond $3 billion. Literally, figuratively and financially, there’s a lot on the line. Small areas of sanctuary waters need additional protection for specific reasons, and are managed by zone regulations. NOAA’s Restoration Blueprint, the next generation of sanctuary regulations, will propose adding more of these small places while also returning some to general use. We are walking a tightrope, balancing compatible use with sustainability to ensure this irreplaceable resource is available for future generations. Recently retired Florida Marine Patrol Officer Bobby Dube was on the beat in the Keys when the sanctuary was established in 1990, and remembers the grumblings on the street and at the docks about the government coming to take over the Keys' way of life. As he rode off into retirement last year, Dube says he can’t imagine where the Keys would be today without the efforts of the sanctuary. Partners like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are critical to administering such a large area and, in many ways, it’s a community effort. While Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary co-manages the sanctuary with the State of Florida, our family includes a “village” of practitioners who are raising and outplanting corals; stewards like the sanctuary’s Foundation Chapter and United Way of Collier and the Keys distributing funds and educating our children; community champions who make up the Sanctuary Advisory Council; and you. Welcome to the family. Welcome to your sanctuary.
Sarah Fangman Superintendent
SAVE SPECTACULAR
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