Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Israel ‘Parson’ Jones. The Jones family lived on Porgy Key in today’s Biscayne National Park for many decades. Finding answers about this African-American family—why they settled on Porgy Key, challenges to their survival, and the legacy that they left—was the joint effort of National Park Service staff, the Miami Community Partners group, and students from a local high school.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Elkhorn/Staghorn Listed. Staghorn and Elkhorn corals were historically the visual and ecological centerpiece of reefs throughout the Florida Keys, particularly in Biscayne National Park. In response to recent major declines in both Acropora species, they were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act—the first corals to make the list. Volunteers help the Park Service find and monitor Acropora colonies to aid in a recovery program for the species.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Staghorn Coral Nursery. After a state prohibition on collecting live rock in the 1980s, followed by a federal prohibition in 1997, live rock collectors in the Florida Keys began to lease plots to grow live rock. These collectors soon found corals, broken by heavy storms, settling on their small, live rock plots and growing!
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Nutrients in Florida Bay. Dr. Jim Fourquerean of Florida International University has been leading the way in conducting studies on the effects of various nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, on Florida Bay vegetation.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Tortugas Research Natural Area. Forty-six percent of Dry Tortugas National Park is designated as a “Research Natural Area (RNA)”—closed to fishing and anchoring. Resulting from documented declines in fish catches and the health of the coral reef, and intended to complement the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Tortugas Ecological Reserve, the RNA will help protect the park in a more pristine state.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Florida Bay Map & Guide. Over 10,000 acres of Florida Bay’s seagrass beds have been damaged or destroyed by powerboats, and many boats run aground in the bay, at great expense to the National Park Service and to boaters alike. This important program investigates the hazards of boating in the Bay and provides information on how to safely navigate its waters. The NPS publication, Florida Bay Map & Guide, is promoted.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Coral Seeding Study. A serious threat to the coral reef in Biscayne National Park is damage inflicted by boats of all sizes. Scientists from the park and the University of Miami are working to propagate corals under laboratory conditions to eventually be reintroduced onto patches of damaged reef.
Waterways is a series of mini-documentaries that explore the natural and cultural heritage of South Florida's public lands. Waterways is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and the following partners: South Florida National Parks Trust, Environmental Protection Agency and Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Sanctuary Buoy Team. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary staff have become world-renowned experts on mooring buoy design and maintenance.
Follow divers in the Puget Sound for a close-up view of the untreated stormwater pumped into the Puget Sound. In "Poisoned Waters," correspondent Hedrick Smith reveals startling new evidence that today's growing environmental threat comes not from the giant industrial polluters of old, but from chemicals in consumers' face creams, deodorants, prescription medicines and household cleaners that find their way into sewers, storm drains, and eventually into America's waterways and drinking-water. Watch "Poisoned Waters" on air and online beginning Apr 21 on PBS (check local listings).
More than three decades after the Clean Water Act, two iconic waterways—the great coastal estuaries Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay—are in perilous condition. With polluted runoff still flowing in from industry, agriculture, and massive suburban development, scientists fear contamination to the food chain and drinking water for millions of people. A growing list of endangered species is also threatened in both estuaries. As a new president, Congress, and states set new agendas and spending priorities, FRONTLINE correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the rising hazards to human health and the ecosystem, and why it's so hard to keep our waters clean.
