Federal Consistency
The Florida Coastal Management Program (FCMP) prepares annual updates to the 24 Florida Statutes on which the program is based. The FCMP coordinates consistency review activities with state agency partners, federal agencies, and applicants seeking federal financial assistance and certain federal permits. The FCMP maintains informational materials and procedural guidelines and conducts training workshops for those entities involved in consistency reviews.

Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program
The Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP) is a federally funded land acquisition program to assist states in protecting ecologically important coastal areas. The Florida Coastal Management Program developed Florida’s CELCP plan in consultation with state agency partners and NOAA. The CELCP plan will be used to determine which parcels are proposed for acquisition when federal funds are made available.

BlueWays
The Florida BlueWays project presents ecological, human use and management information in a GIS format to provide an integrated, place-based description of competing uses in the coastal ocean and estuarine environment. The project is a useful tool for analyzing use patterns and trends in coastal areas and to support the development of innovative, coordinated measures to protect resources. The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s BlueWays tool was applied to the Recreational Boating Characterization for Tampa and Sarasota Bays in analyzing recreational surface water use.

Final CZMA Section 309 Assessment and Strategies FY 2011–2015
In accordance with Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Florida Coastal Management Program assessed the status of nine coastal resource issues and the changes related to the issues that occurred since the previous Section 309 assessment was prepared in 2006.  The assessment identifies strategies developed through extensive consultation with FCMP partner agencies that will be completed with Section 309 funds during the 2011–2016 period.

Indicator Development
In 2000, the Florida Coastal Management program produced a catalog of ecological and human use data titled Florida Assessment of Coastal Trends (FACT 2000).   FACT 2000 not only presented indicator data, but also provided valuable discussion of trends and interrelationships. FACT 2000 provided information for strategic planning and has been used extensively by coastal managers throughout Florida. Since 2003, the Florida Coastal Management Program has been participating in the development of the National Coastal Management Performance Measurement System, a national indicator initiative led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to quantify the effectiveness of the Coastal Zone Management Act. The Florida Coastal Management Program collects and reports data for the six categories of performance measures (coastal habitats, coastal hazards, coastal water quality, coastal dependent uses and decision-making). As the Florida Coastal Management Program continues to participate in the federal initiative, it will also develop information to be incorporated in a future update of FACT.

Beach Access Guide
The Florida Coastal Management Program is updating the Beach Access Guide it published in 1985. In addition to adding new information and expanded content, the information will be available online in late 2011.

Waterfronts Florida Program
Many of Florida's traditional waterfronts have seen dramatic economic and social changes in the last two decades. Today many communities are interested in revitalizing their waterfronts - areas that have experienced neglect and deterioration over the years. The Waterfronts Florida Program designates three communities biennially to receive training, innovative technical assistance, and limited financial assistance as they develop and implement revitalization plans. The Department of Economic Opportunity’s Waterfronts Florida Partnership Program assists designated communities in organizing, visualizing, and implementing locally-based plans.

Beach Access Sign Program
The Florida Coastal Management Program produces and distributes uniform beach access signs free of charge to local governments across the state.

Beach Warning Flag Program
The Florida Coastal Management Program provides warning flags for use by Florida’s beachfront communities.

Rip Current Awareness Program
Many visitors to the beach are not experienced in swimming in the surf and are vulnerable to rip currents and other hazards. The Florida Coastal Management Program is working with the NOAA National Weather Service to increase the public’s awareness of the dangers of rip currents and how to protect themselves by providing rip current signs and other educational materials to Florida’s coastal communities, schools and businesses.

[back to top]