Corals at Sherwood Forest, Tortugas

It is my great privilege to welcome you to the home page for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary! The lure of the Florida Keys has attracted explorers, scientists, entrepreneurs, adventurers, and conservation-minded people for decades. Poets, song writers, playwrights, authors, and academics have long focused their imaginations and talents on the special environment, the people, and the place we know as the Florida Keys. It only takes a single visit to the Keys for one to realize it is indeed a very special place, worthy of our attention, care, and preservation.

To some of the more than 2 1/2 million annual visitors to the Keys it is Margarittaville, while others know it as America’s outpost in the Caribbean and home to this nation’s only living barrier coral reef. Perhaps some visitors simply see it as the southernmost point that they can reach by car in the continental United States, or the only "frost-free" community in North America. Regardless of why people are attracted to the Keys, it all serves to remind us how special the Keys really are and adds to the uniqueness of the area.

Coral Ledge in the Tortugas

In the electronic pages that follow, you will be able to explore, discover, and experience for yourself many of the natural, historical, and social qualities of the Florida Keys marine environment. The pages are filled with exciting information and details about the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary which was designated in November of 1990 to protect this special place. You can learn how the Sanctuary fits into the national system of national marine sanctuaries and the role of the Sanctuary in resource protection and conservation.

We have many exciting and innovative management programs in the Sanctuary that are designed to help protect and conserve the coral reefs, sea grass communities, hardbottom habitats, mangroves and the marine life that lives in these areas. If your interest is in education and outreach, marine protected areas, or perhaps research and monitoring, answers to your questions are at your finger tips.

Coral Ledge at Sherwood Forest

I encourage you to browse through our home page and discover for yourself the special place we know as the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Dive into these pages and learn for yourself what so many people have discovered about the Florida Keys. Be sure to bookmark the site so you can return from time to time to see what is new in America’s fabulous Florida Keys, the only tropical paradise in North America.

If you have any questions that aren’t answered in this web page, please feel free to e-mail us at floridakeys@nms.noaa.gov