Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
GTM Research Reserve

Headquarters building

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve - Map

Location St. Johns and Flagler Counties, Florida, USA
Nearest city St. Augustine
Coordinates 29°59′17″N 81°20′49″W / 29.988°N 81.347°W / 29.988; -81.347Coordinates: 29°59′17″N 81°20′49″W / 29.988°N 81.347°W / 29.988; -81.347[1]
Area 73,352 acres (29,685 ha)
Established 1999
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/gtm/

Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR) on Florida's First Coast is part of a network of 28 protected coastal areas along the United States coast from Alaska to Puerto Rico, The National Estuarine Research Reserve System. This program is a partnership between NOAA and the US coastal states with the goal of protecting estuarine lands and water.[2]

Description

The Reserve is over 73,352 acres (29,685 ha) of salt marsh and mangrove tidal wetlands. It includes oyster beds, tidal lagoons, critical habitat and offshore seas spanning St. Johns County and Flagler County. This estuarine ecological system produces a rich abundance of marine life including numerous commercially and recreationally valuable forms of sea life. The upland areas include pine flatwoods, maritime hammock, coastal strands and dunes, and mangroves. (GTMNERR) stretches from Summer Haven in the south all the way to Ponte Vedra Beach in the north, which is over 30 miles.[3]

GTM Research Reserve Environmental Education Center

The GTM Research Reserve Environmental Education Center, operated by the Friends of the GTM Reserve, is located at 505 Guana River Road in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The center features interpretive exhibits about the estuary system and the reserve, aquariums, classrooms, teaching and working laboratories, an auditorium and an outdoor amphitheater. Education programs focus on the importance of estuarine ecosystems.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (NOAA)". protectedplanet.net.
  2. ↑ "The National Estuarine Research Reserve System". Retrieved 2007-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Guana - Tolomato - Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve". Retrieved 2007-01-27.

External links


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