page_title: Environment of Florida
section_title: Parks
hierarchical_section_title: Environment of Florida / Parks
context_page_description: The state of Florida in the U.S.A. has a mild subtropical climate. Because of that, millions of people have settled in the once rural state over the last hundred years. Florida's population increases by about 1,000 residents each day. Land development and water use have changed the state, mostly by draining the wetlands that once covered most of the peninsula.
  Much of Florida is made of karst limestone with water-filled caves and sinkholes, which provide homes to many species of aquatic life, some of which only live in Florida. As more and more people move to Florida, they use up the water in the underground caves. When a cave has no more water, it will sometimes collapse, forming a sinkhole, which can hurt animals, people, and buildings.
  For a long time, the state has been trying to restore the Everglades. In 2000, Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a $7.8 billion, 30-year project aimed at preserving and restoring the region and its unique combination of environments.
context_section_description: Areas under control of the National Park Service include:
  Big Cypress National Preserve, near Lake Okeechobee
  Biscayne National Park, in Miami-Dade County south of Miami
  Canaveral National Seashore, near Titusville
  Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, in St. Augustine
  De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton
  Dry Tortugas National Park, at Key West
  Everglades National Park in Southern Florida
  Fort Caroline National Memorial, at Jacksonville
  Fort Matanzas National Monument, in St. Augustine
  Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Gulf Breeze
  Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, in Jacksonville
  Areas under the control of the USDA United States Forest Service include:
  Apalachicola National Forest along the east bank of the Apalachicola River,
  Choctawhatchee National Forest near Niceville,
  Ocala National Forest in Central Florida, and
  Osceola National Forest in Northeast Florida.
  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service is responsible for one sanctuary:
  Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
caption: The beach at Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys
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