Florida Keys and South Florida Ecosystem Connectivity Team

cormorants on a mangrove stump
These cormorants are hanging out on mangroves, which are specially adapted to survive in saltier water. Their tangled root systems help break waves in tidal ecosystems, reducing erosion and allowing sediment to settle out of the water. Nutrient exchange and calm waters near mangroves also provide excellent nurseries for a variety of marine organisms. Photo Credit: David J. Ruck/NOAA

The Florida Keys are part of a complex hydrological system that is influenced by waters from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, as well as the Greater Everglades ecosystem, which includes Lake Okeechobee and its headwaters, The Everglades Agricultural Area, Water Conservation Areas, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park and mainland south Florida. As such, Keys' water quality is highly influenced by factors that originate outside the islands and waters of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The Florida Keys Sanctuary Advisory Council and Water Quality Protection Program have created a joint working group for the purpose of facilitating multi-agency and stakeholder collaboration related to Everglades restoration and other regional issues of importance to water quality, habitats and living marine resources within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Objectives

  • Inform and engage members of the SAC, WQPP and the Florida Keys community in South Florida Ecosystem Restoration by providing regular updates at meetings, facilitating dialogue, and generating recommendations that can be made on behalf of the SAC and WQPP to decision makers.
  • Ensure the interests of the FKNMS are represented in South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force and other relevant decision-making processes by staying involved in ongoing activities, including opportunities for public participation and engagement, and providing direct input from the SAC and WQPP to the NOAA Task Force representatives and other relevant agencies and decision makers as needed.
  • Facilitate regular participation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District at working group, SAC and WQPP meetings to allow information sharing and dialogue.
  • Provide a platform for collaboration between members of the SAC, WQPP and Florida Keys community on South Florida Ecosystem Restoration and other South Florida regional issues of mutual interest and most urgent importance to the Florida Keys.

Members

Advisory Council Lead: Jerry Lorenz

Advisory Council/WQPP Steering Committee Representatives:

  • Erinn Muller, SAC (Research and Monitoring)
  • Chris Bergh, WQPP Steering Committee
  • Shelly Krueger, SAC (Education and Outreach)/WQPP Steering Committee
  • Kelly Cox, SAC (South Florida Ecosystem Restoration)/WQPP Steering Committee

Community Experts:

  • Suzy Roebling, Citizen at Large
  • Steve Friedman, Upper Keys Fishing Guide
  • Mike Goldberg, Key Dives/Islamorada Conservation and Restoration Education (I.CARE)
  • Emma Haydocy, Surfrider Foundation
  • Steve Davis, Everglades Foundation
  • Cara Capp, National Parks Conservation Association
  • Matt Semcheski, College of the Florida Keys
  • Paul Julian, Everglades Foundation
  • Raechel Littman, Florida Bay Forever
  • Phanor Montoya Maya, Coral Restoration Foundation
  • Will Benson, WorldANGLING
  • Brian McCadie, SAC (Charter Sports Fishing, alternate)

Agency Advisors:

  • Gina Ralph, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
  • Christopher Madden, South Florida Water Management District
  • Nicholas Parr, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
  • Luke McEachron, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
  • Adam Gelber, Office of Everglades Restoration Initiatives
  • Steven Blackburn, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Tylan Dean, National Park Service

FKNMS Staff Lead: Karen Bohnsack

Schedule

Beginning May 2021, meetings of the Connectivity Team will be held every other month on the 3rd Tuesday, from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM.

To join these meetings virtually via the Google Meet Platform:

Log-in online at: meet.google.com/jvp-qzzp-gxx (recommended) or join by phone: 225-414-2291; PIN: 776-665-531.

Meeting #18: Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Note: In 2025 we will update the meeting schedule; a new website update will be requested once that schedule is finalized. For now, Meeting #18 will stay as the last posted date.

Meeting Notes

Meeting #1: Tuesday, March 18, 2021

Other Materials

Meeting #2: Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Meeting #3: Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Meeting #4: Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Meeting #5: Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Meeting #6: Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Meeting #7: Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Meeting #8: Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Meeting #9: Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Meeting #10: Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Meeting #11: Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Meeting #12: Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Meeting #13: Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Meeting #14: Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Meeting #15: Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Meeting #16: Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Meeting #17: Tuesday, September 17, 2024