With the release of an environmental impact statement and management plan reflecting the highly-anticipated Restoration Blueprint for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), the Florida Keys are just months away from a comprehensive revision of the rules protecting the island chain’s delicate waters.
Made available to the public on the morning of Dec. 13, the document marks the culmination of more than a decade of work by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) staff and stakeholder partners, beginning in 2011 with a troubling condition report signaling the decline of several elements throughout the sanctuary.
Robust public comment periods with more than 80,000 submissions throughout 2019 and 2022, followed by a review period by a litany of enforcement, management and advisory agencies, have led to the final rule set to be published in mid-January. From there, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will have 45 days to review the proposed regulations with, as former Sanctuary Superintendent Sarah Fangman put it, “a sledgehammer or scalpel,” deciding whether to accept or reject them in full, or veto individual items affecting state waters…