In partnership with the University of Florida Conservation Clinic, an experiential learning program for students in the Levin College of Law, Florida Sea Grant established a legal program with the mission of providing legal analysis and services to support the efforts of coastal communities and stakeholders to manage and protect their coastal and baywater resources. Florida’s coastal habitats and protected species, such as sea turtles and manatees, are under threat from increasing waterway and waterfront uses. Many coastal communities and management organizations lack the resources to fully understand the myriad jurisdictional legal issues that underpin waterway and waterfront planning and management. During 2019 and 2020, the Florida Sea Grant Legal Program helped the City of Crystal River transfer ownership of submerged lands adjacent to Three Sisters spring run, a manatee sanctuary. These efforts support the City’s baywater management planning to reduce boater congestion and anchoring in seagrass areas near the spring head and elsewhere in King’s Bay, Florida’s most urbanized spring. In addition, an analysis of state and local coastal park management processes is helping the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to protect sea turtles in these managed areas.
