Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Final Management Plan for the Tortugas Ecological Reserve
Haskell BD, Leeworthy VR, Wiley PC, Beuttler TM, Haflich MR, Delaney J, Richards BL, Franklin E. 2000. Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and Final Management Plan for the Tortugas Ecological Reserve. U.S. Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Ocean Service; Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
The National Ocean Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working in cooperation with the State of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the National Marine Fisheries Service, proposes to establish a 151 square nautical mile “no-take” ecological reserve to protect the critical coral reef ecosystem of the Tortugas, a remote area in the western part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The reserve would consist of two sections, Tortugas North and Tortugas South, and would require an expansion of the Sanctuary boundary to protect important coral reef resources in the areas of Sherwood Forest and Riley’s Hump. This action is necessary to comprehensively protect some of the healthiest and most diverse coral reefs in the Florida Keys. Without the protection that will be provided by the proposed no-take and no-anchoring regulations, this deep water coral reef community would continue to be degraded by activities such as anchoring and fishing. Degradation of this special part of the ecosystem jeopardizes its integrity in addition to the ability of Americans to experience and learn from a relatively healthy coral reef ecosystem. In 1997, the Sanctuary implemented a groundbreaking marine zoning plan featuring a network of 23 no-take areas classified as ecological reserves, sanctuary preservation areas and special use areas. These areas protect much of the critical shallow reef habitat. Figure 1 shows the 23 existing no-take areas along with the existing 27 Wildlife Management Areas. While an ecological reserve was proposed to be established at that time for the Tortugas region, it was not established because of public comments indicating that the proposed boundaries did not include the most significant coral reef resources and would cause serious economic harm to commercial fishermen. Instead, the Sanctuary’s final management plan called for a collaborative initiative bringing together all stakeholders to determine the area of the Tortugas that needed zoning protection and the degree of protection needed. This Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Final Supplemental Management Plan (FSEIS/SMP) has been prepared for the proposed Tortugas Ecological Reserve and supplements the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Management Plan (FEIS/MP) for the FKNMS accordingly. Much of the discussion of the Sanctuary, its resources, and its goals in this document references the FEIS/MP.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Haskell, Benjamin; Leeworthy, Vernon; Wiley, Peter; Beuttler, Theodore; Haflich, Mark; Delaney, Joanne; Richards, Benjamin; Franklin, Erik
- Date of Issue
- 2000-11
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Ocean Service; Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
- Units
- DRTO
- Keywords
- background information, Conservation, ecological reserve, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Management, marine habitat, no-take, Proposal, Tortugas