Plan Could Boost Resilience of North Florida Estuary and Famous Oyster Bay

Florida’s long-beleaguered Apalachicola Bay and its famous oysters will benefit from a plan to better protect the bay, along with surrounding waters and lands, against threats ranging from development to rising seas and extreme weather.

An updated, five-year management plan—a joint state-federal effort—covers nearly 250,000 acres in a region designated as the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve.  The North Florida reserve is second largest in a national system of 30 such environmentally valuable reserves granted special protections for long-term research, monitoring, education, and stewardship. The United Nations has recognized the area as a significant biosphere region.

The Florida reserve encompasses 52 miles of the lower Apalachicola River and its flood plains, several barrier islands with white-sand beaches visited by tourists from around the world, and most of Apalachicola Bay, which once provided 10% of the nation’s harvested oysters. But numerous factors—including changes in water flows, harvesting pressure, declining reef habitat, increasing numbers of predators, pollution, warming temperatures, and hurricanes—contributed to a steep decline in oyster populations, prompting state officials to halt harvesting in late 2020. Separate oyster and bay recovery plans are underway.

The updated reserve management plan, completed in June 2024 under the auspices of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), prioritizes future environmental conditions and how to overcome numerous threats, including:

• Oil spills and increasing or worsening droughts, hurricanes, and wildfires that can have long-term impacts on the bay, watershed, and many species.

• Water flow changes that alter the timing and amount of freshwater entering the bay, which has affected several species, including oysters. The changes stem from water use upstream, land use changes, modified river channels, and dams.

• Polluted runoff, contaminated groundwater, loss of critical habitats, and eroding shorelines due to increased coastal development.

The plan meets standards for climate-ready management that include identifying and preparing for environmental threats while providing the ability to adapt to changes and events. It outlines steps to prepare for warming temperatures by identifying and monitoring ecosystem changes while educating communities and fostering collaboration among community leaders, scientists, and others. 

The plan also calls for proactively addressing anticipated environmental impacts to ensure that the region’s ecosystems are healthy enough to adapt to those changes. A healthy, resilient Apalachicola Bay will also help adjacent communities by absorbing floodwaters, reducing erosion, and providing other ecosystem services. Communities can thrive when nature is resilient to changing conditions.

The Apalachicola reserve faces many future risks. By shoring up this natural treasure and restoring its once-thriving oyster fishery, NOAA and Florida environmental officials will bring benefits to communities and economies.

Chad Hanson leads Pew’s work to develop and implement science-based conservation policies and plans in the Southeast United States.