Abstract
South Florida’s marine environments are responsible for providing significant economic contributions and ecosystem services to the region. Many important and protected species inhabit Florida waters, such as corals and seagrasses. In addition to climate change-induced stressors, these ecosystems are threatened by increased coastal development and the resultant shoreline alteration. Environmental permitting ensures that state and federal agencies balance the interests of the public and adequately protect valuable marine resources while regulating permitted coastal activities. State and federal agencies are bound by distinct statutes, guidelines, and regulatory frameworks, which require different methods and types of marine data collection to make permit-related decisions. Due to these differences, permit applicants must pay close attention to data collection requirements prescribed by different agencies when multiple jurisdictions overlap. This report investigated, compared, and contrasted marine data collection requirements for coastal construction and restoration projects in South Florida among state and federal agencies. My research was informed by legislative, scientific, and regulatory research, as well as case studies of recently completed projects at Sandra Walters Consultants, Inc. (SWC), my host organization for the internship component of the MPS program. My findings are that marine data collection requirements are relatively concordant, with the most stringent marine data collection protocols coming from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. This report will serve as a resource for environmental permit applicants. It is also intended to serve as a research and field work planning tool to be utilized by SWC so that future data collection, data management, and environmental permitting efforts may be streamlined.