"The Florida Reef, heralded in tourist come-ons as a “world-class natural wonderland waiting to be discovered,” is a vast and vibrant underwater world, extending from Atlantic Ocean waters north of Biscayne National Park, arcing south around the bottom of Florida, and swinging into the Gulf of Mexico where Dry Tortugas National Park is mostly submerged.
Its 350-mile length —also bordering Everglades National Park— make this the world’s third-largest barrier reef ecosystem, and the only living coral barrier bank reef in the continental United States. The corals create vital habitat for biodiversity, harboring complex structures that nourish, protect, and provide breeding areas for thousands of marine organisms. The submerged panorama is an economic powerhouse for the state of Florida, drawing millions of visitors to South Florida each year to swim, boat, and fish its waters.
But there’s a caveat: The Florida Reef, thousands of years in the making, is in trouble.
As the National Parks Traveler will explain in a series of upcoming stories, the reef is fighting for its very survival, beset by the trauma of climate change and warming water, commercial and recreational fishing, and drainage pollution coming from Florida’s canal system.
We investigate pollution flowing into Biscayne Bay and report on how political forces have stymied an update to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's management plan. We also report on the status of the proposed marine reserve within Biscayne National Park following a 2024 court order to create it."
Rita Beamish reports for National Parks Traveler February 4, 2026.
Advertisement 
