An uncertain future awaits one of the nation’s most fragile marine protected areas after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a NOAA management blueprint finalized by the Biden administration that imposed new rules on state-owned waters within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
In a March 3 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the Republican governor said the federal management plan and its implementing regulations “repeal long standing references to the State of Florida’s sovereign right to manage marine life and sovereign submerged lands within the state’s jurisdictional waters” and would “prevent the expedited restoration of coral reefs using artificial habitats.”
As such, he said, the “designation documents and final rule are unacceptable, and therefore, shall not take effect in the area of the sanctuary lying within the seaward boundary of the State of Florida.”
The veto sets back years of work by NOAA, state and local leaders, and advocacy groups that have been trying to revise the sanctuary’s management plan to reflect current uses and environmental conditions, including threats from sea-level rise and warming oceans.
