The Nature Coast is an informal, unofficial region of the U.S. state of Florida. The broadest definition of the Nature Coast includes the eight counties that abut the Gulf of Mexico along the Big Bend Coast defined by geologists: from west to east, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties.
Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park located on Garcon Point, south of Milton, in northwestern Florida. A small parking area, gazebo, and public access point are located on Dickerson City Road. Located on County Road 191, approximately one mile north of the intersection with County Road 281 and along both sides of the highway on Blackwater Bay.
Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The 720,000-acre (2,900 km2) Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, became the first national preserves in the United States National Park System when they were established on October 11, 1974. In 2008, Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus featured the preserve in a PBS documentary.
Anclote Key Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site, located on Anclote Key three miles (5 km) off Tarpon Springs along the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park is only accessible by boat. Amenities include primitive camping on the northern portion of the island as well as picnic pavilions and grills. Wildlife includes the American oystercatcher, bald eagle and piping plover. The park is unique in that a lighthouse, built in 1887, is on the southern end of the key in Pinellas County, Florida. Three Rooker Island, south of Anclote and part of the preserve, remains an important Gulf Coast beach-nesting bird sanctuary.
The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a U.S. National Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida. It comprises 46,000 acres (19,000 ha) of wetlands, waterways, and other habitats in northeastern Duval County. Managed by the National Park Service in cooperation with the City of Jacksonville and Florida State Parks, it includes natural and historic areas such as the Fort Caroline National Memorial and the Kingsley Plantation.
Crystal River Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, originally known as the Crystal River Buffer Preserve. The Preserve comprises 27,500 acres of salt marsh, tidal creeks, mangrove islands, hardwood forests, coastal scrub and pine flat woods.
Estero Bay Preserve State Park, the first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida, is a 10,000-acre (40 km2) Florida State Park located near Estero, between Fort Myers and Naples. It consists of the water, inlets, and islands along 10 miles (16 km) of Estero Bay. Activities include fishing, and boating, bicycling, canoeing, and wildlife viewing. Among the wildlife of the park are gopher tortoises, fiddler crabs, and bald eagles. The park is open from 8:00 A.M. until sundown year-round.
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park is an 18,000-acre (7,300 ha) Florida State Park located on six miles (10 km) of the St. Johns River in Lake and Seminole counties. The park forms a wildlife corridor to the Ocala National Forest along the Wekiva and St. Johns Rivers.
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park in Alachua County, Florida. It is located northwest of Gainesville, Florida on CR 232, just south of the town of Alachua.
St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park east of Port Salerno on the northern end of Jupiter Island and is accessible only by boat. Activities include snorkeling and scuba diving, swimming, sunbathing, fishing, and picnicking and wildlife viewing.
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is a 1,640-acre (6.6 km2) Florida State Park located in Santa Rosa Beach, ten miles (16 km) east of Destin, off U.S. 98, in northwestern Florida. The address is 7525 W. Scenic Highway 30A.
Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve is a Florida State Park, located about ten miles east of Dundee, off US 27. This region is part of the Atlantic coastal plain.
River Rise Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, located six miles north of High Springs, off U.S. Route 441 within O'Leno State Park. The name derives from it being where the Santa Fe River comes to the surface after having travelled underground for some distance beneath O'Leno State Park.
Savannas Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, located along much of the Atlantic Coast between Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach. Savannas Preserve also has a group of youth volunteers, the Junior Friends of Savannas Preserve State Park.
Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park is a 46,000-acre (190 km2) Florida State Park, composed of islands and land that surrounds Charlotte Harbor. It is part of the Southwest Florida Water Management District and protects the Gasparilla Sound/ Charlotte Harbor, Cape Haze, Matlacha Pass, and Pine Island Sound aquatic preserves. It is site 22 on southern section of the Great Florida Birding Trail and offers boating, paddling, fishing, and hiking.
Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, located 12 miles north of Jacksonville, west of Big and Little Talbot Islands.
In 1999, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve was designated in St. Johns and Flagler counties, Florida as a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) system. The GTM Research Reserve represents the east Florida sub-region of the Carolinian bioregion. It is one of 29 NERRs in 23 states and one territory. GTM is one of three NERRs in Florida, and is administered on behalf of the state by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Florida Coastal Office as part of a network that includes forty-one aquatic preserves, three NERRs, a National Marine Sanctuary, the Coral Reef Conservation Program and the Florida Oceans and Coastal Council.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government agency charged with environmental protection. It is under the nominal control of the governor.
North Florida is a region of the Southern U.S. state of Florida, comprising the northernmost part of the state. It is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regions, along with South Florida and Central Florida. It includes Jacksonville and nearby localities in Northeast Florida, an interior region known as North Central Florida, and the Florida Panhandle.
