Connecting Landscapes

Gulf of Mexico Corridors

Spanning from Tampa to Tallahassee, Florida’s “Wilderness Coast” along the Gulf includes 200 miles of protected shoreline, as well as one of the largest contiguous seagrass meadows in the United States and nearly a million acres of uplands threatened by development. Beyond the crowded beaches and oil rigs lies a hidden world brimming with more than 15,000 species, including fish, endangered sea turtles, manatees, whale sharks, coastal and sea birds and the critically endangered Rice’s whale. Preserving the richness of the Gulf’s marine life, safeguarding its migratory corridors and ramping up protection of land throughout the watershed is crucial for ensuring the survival of these unique and connected ecosystems.

Location

Gulf of Mexico

Films

Dear Tampa Bay
Lasting Hope (2028)

Project Goals

Our work aims to elevate the importance of marine migratory corridors, safeguard critical habitats, and inspire large-scale protection of the Gulf’s biodiversity and the communities sustained by it.

Beyond the crowded beaches and oil rigs lies a hidden world brimming with more than 15,000 species

To build support from lawmakers and the public for the expansion of protection for marine habitats from Texas to Florida, we are creating a series of short films focusing on vital ecosystems, including Florida’s Wilderness Coast and deep reefs along the continental shelf, and the migratory pathways of species including whale sharks, manatees, sea turtles, sperm whales and devil rays. Wildpath is also working on a new feature film, Lasting Hope featuring the conservation vision and legacy of marine conservation icon Dr. Sylvia Earle, who first fell in love with the ocean on Florida’s Gulf Coast. This film is planned to be released in 2028 for National Geographic and Disney+. These films will be paired with stunning photography to create impact campaigns seeking to engage communities, decision-makers, and national audiences through storytelling that highlights Gulf wildlife, culture, and the urgent need for conservation. With these efforts combined, we hope to elevate a vision of the Gulf as a place of resilience, wonder and lasting hope, and build momentum for expanding protection of these irreplaceable natural treasures.

Resources

Environmental filmmaker of ‘Dear Tampa Bay’ visits Eckerd College for film screening and discussion

  • Eckerd College
  • resource

Exploring climate challenges at Eckerd’s “Dear Tampa Bay” documentary screening

  • Triton Publications
  • resource
Films That Spark Change

Dear Tampa Bay

Learn More →
Photography with a Purpose

Stormwater Media Toolkit

Learn More →
Next Landscape

Sentinel Landscapes

Learn More →
An alligator lies on a log among bare tree stumps, the ghosts of a flooded forest, in a section of Florida's Oklawaha River normally flooded by the Rodman Reservoir.
20251228Oklawaha02197-full
Water flows out of the spillway for the dam that created Florida's Rodman Reservoir. The dam and reservoir are popular fishing spots but it severs the aquatic wildlife corridor that allowed fish, manatees and other aquatic wildlife to migrate freely between the St Johns, Oklawaha and Silver Rivers. The dam is older than its original designed life expectancy is considered a potential hazard to downstream communities.
The dessicated remains of rotting vegetation and the shells of freshwater mussels and snails blanket the exposed lake bed of Florida's Rodman Reservoir under looming shadow a cypress tree skeleton. Reservoir managers lower the water level in the Rodman Reservoir approximately every three years to manage invasive vegetation, but the drawdowns kill indescrimately. Higher water levels, created by impounding the Oklawaha River, are equally devastating to ecosystems, as evidenced by the lone cypress tree skeleton. Cypress trees can become stressed and die when water levels are artificially increased above natural levels.
A manatee glides above healthy aquatic grasses in Florida's spring fed Silver River. Manatees can't survive in water colder than 68F and must find warmer water with abundant vegetation to eat when ocean and river temperatures around Florida plummet below that threshold in winter. The dam built to create the Rodman Reservoir blocks most manatees from migrating into Silver River, but a small population has learned how to navigate the locks that allow boats to move upstream.
Photo by Jason Gulley. Algae blanket the entrance to Mammoth Spring, the headspring of the Silver River and the main attraction at Silver Springs State Park. Algae blankets like this one began appearing in springs across the state a few decades ago as concentrations of nutrient pollution from sewage and agricultural fertilizers soared. The algae choke out the native vegetation that is the foundation of healthy spring ecosystems in the same way that trees are the foundations of healthy forests.
Hundreds of manatees huddle to keep warm in the Tampa Electric Company's discharge canal on a cold winter morning. The power plant draws in salt water from Tampa Bay to cool equipment. The heated water is returned to the bay, where it attracts manateesfleeing cold water in the Gulf of Mexico. Manatees can't survive in water colder than about 20C and must find warm water to survive winter. While historically manatees went to warm water springs to survive winter, biologists estimate that at least 60% of the population now relies on power plants. This has created a conservation problem because many of these powerplants are being replaced by cleaner energy sources which require less, or no, cooling water and manatees learn from their mothers where to find warm water from their mothers - and return to the same sites every year. Biologists are trying to figure out how to wean manatee populations off power plants.

Who We Are

Our Impact

Get Involved