Management activities at Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves have been discontinued as of July 1, 2011.

Although the aquatic preserves will remain designated, all coastal education and resource monitoring programs at closed locations have been eliminated. The Northeast Florida Aquatic Preserves office serves two aquatic preserves: Fort Clinch Aquatic Preserve and Nassau River - St. Johns River Marshes Aquatic Preserve. These areas are no longer actively managed and the resource management, research and monitoring, and outreach and education programs at these aquatic preserves has ended. Permit review by DEP regulatory offices will still be active through the Northeast District office.

Although seven aquatic preserve offices remain open, it is not possible for the remaining staff to absorb the closed programs into the organizational structure.

The following page describes former management programs which will be restarted should revenue streams improve.

• Resource Management

  Our management activities were many and varied. We advised the Northeast District of the Department of Environmental Protection, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, St Johns River Water Management District, the City of Jacksonville, and Nassau County on proposed development projects that may impact water and environmental quality within the watersheds of the aquatic preserves. We had contributed our knowledge of local resources to address issues relevant to county comprehensive plans as well as assisting to develop management plans with our many partners in the protection of these valuable ecosystems and the species that depend on them. We were also active members of the Timucuan Shorebird Partnership and the First Coast Invasives Working Group and were a part of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network.

• Education and Outreach

  The outreach program has touched thousands of both youths and adults. Through participation in events throughout the year, in schools as well as public venues, staff teaught about these complex natural systems, stressing why they are important to all, and focus on what can be done individually to help protect Florida's unique natural heritage.

• Research and Monitoring

  Staff collaborated with state and local agencies, including Florida DEP, Northeast District; Talbot Islands State Park (Florida State Parks), Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve (National Park Service), US Army Corps of Engineers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the City of Jacksonville, The Nature Conservancy and local universities to carry out various monitoring projects. Some of these include long-term water quality monitoring, oyster reef mapping, shorebird census, diamondback terrapin nesting success evaluation, and flushing and hydrological modeling of the system.