St. Martins Marsh and Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserves

"The St. Martins Marsh Aquatic Preserve is one of the best investments ever made by the State of Florida. Whether its a buffer to hurricanes' impacts, a producer of commercial and recreational fisheries or an ecotourism magnet, the preserve is the investment that keeps on giving generation after generation."

- Gary Maidhof, Citrus County Development Services Director

"The Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve epitomizes the Florida estuarine system; a natural dynamic system that has supported indigenous Floridians for millennia and continues today. These ecological systems provide the best opportunity to study the coastal strand and should continue to be the focus of our best conservation and protection efforts."

- Gary Ellis, Gulf Archeological Research Institute