Central Gulf Coast Plain Biosphere - Apalachicola, Florida, USA
N 29° 43.919 W 084° 59.727
16R E 693871 N 3290769
The Central Gulf Coast Plain Biosphere Reserve is located in northwest Florida, USA. It comprises Apalachicola Bay, including the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. The visitor center is located in Apalachicola, Florida.
Waymark Code: WMP5NQ
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 07/05/2015
Views: 21
The Central Gulf Coast Plain Biosphere Reserve has a diverse variety of ecosystems and wildlife habitats within its boundaries, offering a nice range of options for visitors to the area. There are beautiful barrier island beaches for those wishing to access them. Trails through hardwood forests offer another opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the area and learn what species use them. The area is sparsely populated by people and it offers a great place to get away from it all. Well worth a visit.
"This biosphere reserve is situated on the coast of the northwestern part of the Florida Peninsula within the Apalachicola River floodplain. It comprises Apalachicola Bay which is one of the most productive estuarine systems in the northern hemisphere. There are typical estuarine and coastal formations with river channels, slough, backwaters, bay islands and swamp hardwood forests. The Apalachicola Basin has the highest species density of amphibians and reptiles in all of North America (north of Mexico).
The Apalachicola Reserve, which is part of the biosphere reserve, is involved in various research and monitoring projects. It is also active in resource management, particularly in land acquisition and a prescribed burning program to restore upland areas.
Increased demand for water by large upstream cities and agriculture now puts pressure on the floodplain ecosystem. People in the area make their living mainly from fishing industry and tourism."
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"Because Florida established the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve before developers had a chance to do irreparable harm to the land around the [Apalachicola] bay, scientists have high hopes that the sanctuary will last into the foreseeable future. In 1983, Florida State University biology professor Robert J. Livingstone finished a twelve-year study of the Apalachicola Bay system and produced Resource Atlas of the Apalachicola Estuary, a work meant to guide county officials on the best ways of preserving the area's water system without completely eliminating all development. Because the bay is one of more than forty sites in the Florida Aquatic Preserve Program, some of its lands have been set aside forever for preservation and conservation. In addition, the area is protected under state designations as Aquatic Preserve, Outstanding Florida Waters, and Class II Shellfish Harvesting Waters. A portion of it is designated as an Area of Critical State Concern. It has also been designated as an EPA Gulf of Mexico Ecological Management Site and as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations UNESCO."
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