Fort Pickens State Park Aquatic Preserve

About Fort Pickens State Park Aquatic Preserve

In the southwest corner of the Florida Panhandle is Fort Pickens State Park, a 34,000-acre reserve surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, Florida's Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Ocean.

The underwater area on the north side of the island is home to the Fort Pickens Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the United States, and several species are listed as endangered or threatened. This means that the reserve is home to a wide variety of fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians, as well as marine mammals and birds. The Community provides an important habitat for sea turtles that nest in shallow waters in a number of habitats such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic.

Such intensive use poses a threat to the area and integrated management of the reserve and its ecosystem is crucial to its long-term survival.

The proximity to the golf islands offers many recreational opportunities to the nature reserve and fishing, swimming, diving, boating and sightseeing are regular activities. Within the reserve is an archaeological underwater reserve, the USS Massachusetts, which offers excellent diving and fishing. The barrier islands offer a variety of leisure activities such as kayaking, canoeing, fishing and kayaking, as well as a range of educational and cultural events.

These activities are monitored annually by the Audubon Society as part of its efforts to protect birds and other wildlife in the region.

The Pensacola Pass, located in the middle of the nature reserve, allows the intrusion into the surrounding bay and thus keeps the water quality in good condition. The salt marshes and seagrass serve as nesting places for many bird species, fish, reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

Undisturbed sandy beaches provide habitat for a variety of endangered species such as sea turtles and sea lions. Passports also allow for the required life span of many invertebrate species, as well as the breeding and feeding grounds of a number of other species.