Gulf Islands National Seashore Information & Gulf Islands National Seashore Links at HealthHaven.com

Gulf Islands National Seashore
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)

Location	Escambia / Santa Rosa / Okaloosa counties, Florida, and Jackson / Harrison counties, Mississippi, USA
Nearest city	Pensacola, FL Pascagoula, MS
Coordinates	30°21′52″N 86°58′3″W / 30.36444°N 86.9675°W / 30.36444; -86.9675Coordinates: 30°21′52″N 86°58′3″W / 30.36444°N 86.9675°W / 30.36444; -86.9675
Area	135,457.89 acres (548.1786 km²) 99,083.64 acres (400.9773 km²) federal
Established	January 8, 1971 Established: January 8, 1971
Visitors	1,689,400 (in 2005)
Governing body	National Park Service

Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. Islands along the Alabama coast were originally considered for inclusion, but as of 2006 none is part of the national seashore.

Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Pensacola

The Florida portion of the seashore features offshore islands with sparkling white sand beaches, historic fortifications, and nature trails. Mainland features near Pensacola, Florida, include the Naval Live Oaks Reservation, beaches, and military forts. All Florida areas are accessible by automobile.

The Mississippi portion of the seashore features sparkling beaches, historic sites, wildlife sanctuaries, islands accessible only by boat, bayous, nature trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds. The 4,080 acres (16.5 km²) Gulf Islands Wilderness offers special protection within the seashore to parts of Petit Bois and Horn Islands.

Considerable damage to public infrastructure occurred as a result of the 2004 and 2005 Atlantic hurricane seasons which has not been repaired. Visitation to the seashore dropped from 4,939,771 people in 2003 to only 1,689,400 in 2005. However, on May 22, 2009 the road was reopened to vehicular traffic.

1 Islands
2 Administrative history
3 Visitor centers
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Islands

Principal islands in the seashore (from east to west):

Horn Island

[edit] Administrative history

The national seashore was authorized on January 8, 1971, administered by the National Park Service. The wilderness area was designated on November 10, 1978.

[edit] Visitor centers

Fort Barrancas, Warrington, Florida
Naval Live Oaks Visitor Center and Park Headquarters Building, Gulf Breeze, Florida
Davis Bayou Temporary Visitor Contact Station, 3500 Park Road, Ocean Springs, Mississippi
Fort Pickens, Pensacola, Florida - closed due to hurricane damage in 2004 and 2005

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e United States National Lakeshores and National Seashores

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore • Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore • Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore • Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Assateague Island National Seashore • Canaveral National Seashore • Cape Cod National Seashore • Cape Hatteras National Seashore • Cape Lookout National Seashore • Cumberland Island National Seashore • Fire Island National Seashore • Gulf Islands National Seashore • Padre Island National Seashore • Point Reyes National Seashore

Protected Areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne National Park • Dry Tortugas National Park • Everglades National Park

National Monuments and Memorials	Castillo de San Marcos National Monument • Fort Matanzas National Monument • De Soto National Memorial • Fort Caroline National Memorial

National Forests	Apalachicola • Choctawhatchee • Ocala • Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr • Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee • Caloosahatchee • Cedar Keys • Chassahowitzka • Crocodile Lake • Crystal River • Egmont Key • Florida Panther • Great White Heron • Hobe Sound • Island Bay • J.N. 'Ding' Darling • Key West • Lake Wales Ridge • Lake Woodruff • Lower Suwannee • Matlacha Pass • Merritt Island • National Key Deer • Okefenokee • Passage Key • Pelican Island • Pine Island • Pinellas • St. Johns • St. Marks • St. Vincent • Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary • Big Cypress National Preserve • Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve • Canaveral National Seashore • Gulf Islands National Seashore • Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve • Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve • Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

Parks	Amelia Island • Anastasia • Avalon • Bahia Honda • Bald Point • Big Lagoon • Big Talbot Island • Bill Baggs Cape Florida • Bulow Creek • Caladesi Island • Camp Helen • Cayo Costa • Collier-Seminole • Curry Hammock • Delnor-Wiggins Pass • Devil's Millhopper • Don Pedro Island • Eden Gardens • Egmont Key • Falling Waters • Faver-Dykes • Florida Caverns • Fort Clinch • Fort Cooper • Fort George Island • Fort Pierce Inlet • Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou • Gasparilla Island • George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier • Highlands Hammock • Hontoon Island • Hugh Taylor Birch • John D. MacArthur Beach • John Pennekamp Coral Reef • John U. Lloyd Beach • Jonathan Dickinson • Little Talbot Island • Long Key • Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson • Mike Roess Gold Head Branch • Navarre Beach • North Peninsula • O'Leno • Oscar Scherer • Ravine Gardens • River Bluff Picnic Site • Sebastian Inlet • Skyway Fishing Pier • St. George Island • St. Joseph Peninsula • Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center • Stump Pass Beach • Tomoka • Torreya • Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens • Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock • Lignumvitae Key • Washington Oaks State Gardens

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake • Lake Griffin • Lake June in Winter Scrub • Lake Kissimmee • Lake Louisa • Lake Manatee • Lake Talquin • Alafia River • Blackwater River • Econfina River • Guana River • Hillsborough River • Little Manatee River • Myakka River • Ochlockonee River • Silver River • Suwannee River • Blue Spring • De Leon Springs • Edward Ball Wakulla Springs • Fanning Springs • Homosassa Springs Wildlife • Ichetucknee Springs • Lafayette Blue Springs • Madison Blue Springs • Manatee Springs • Peacock Springs • Rainbow Springs • Troy Springs • Weeki Wachee Springs • Wekiwa Springs • Werner-Boyce Salt Springs

Recreation Areas	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek • Dead Lakes • Dunns Creek • Gamble Rogers Memorial • Grayton Beach • Henderson Beach • Honeymoon Island • Oleta River • Perdido Key • Ponce de Leon Springs • St. Andrews • Three Rivers

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum • Constitution Convention Museum • Forest Capital Museum • John Gorrie State Museum • Ybor City Museum • The Barnacle • Bulow Plantation Ruins • Dade Battlefield • DeSoto Site • Dudley Farm • Fort Foster • Fort Mose • Fort Zachary Taylor • Gamble Plantation • Indian Key • Koreshan • Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead • Natural Bridge Battlefield • Olustee Battlefield • Orman House • Paynes Creek • San Marcos de Apalache • Yellow Bluff Fort • Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins • Crystal River • Lake Jackson Mounds • Letchworth Mounds • Madira Bickel Mound • Mound Key • San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Anclote Key • Cedar Key Scrub • Charlotte Harbor • Crystal River • Estero Bay • Fakahatchee Strand • Grassy Lake • Hal Scott • Kissimmee Prairie • Lower Wekiva River • Paynes Prairie • Pumpkin Hill Creek • River Rise • Rock Springs Run • San Felasco Hammock • Savannas • Seabranch • St. Lucie Inlet • St. Sebastian River • Tarkiln Bayou • Topsail Hill • Tosohatchee • Waccasassa Bay • Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Gainesville-Hawthorne • General James A. Van Fleet • Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail • Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore • Big Shoals Public Lands • Blackwater River • Carl Duval Moore • Cary • Cottage Hill • Deep Creek • Etoniah Creek • Four Creeks • Goethe • Holopaw • Indian Lake • Jennings • John Bethea • Lake George • Lake Talquin • Lake Wales Ridge • Little-Big Econ • Matanzas • Myakka • Okaloacoochee Slough • Picayune Strand • Pine Log • Point Washington • Ralph E. Simmons Memorial • Ross Prairie • Seminole • Tate's Hell • Tiger Bay • Twin Rivers • Wakulla • Watson Island • Welaka • Withlacoochee

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Protected Areas of Mississippi

Federal

National Historical Parks	Natchez National Historical Park

National Military Parks	Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site · Shiloh National Military Park · Tupelo National Battlefield • Vicksburg National Military Park

National Trails	Natchez Trace Parkway • Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

National Wildlife Refuges	Bogue Chitto • Coldwater River • Dahomey • Grand Bay • Hillside • Holt Collier • Mathews Brake • Mississippi Sandhill Crane • Morgan Brake • Noxubee • Panther Swamp • St. Catherine Creek • Tallahatchie • Theodore Roosevelt • Yazoo

Other Protected Areas	Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve • Gulf Islands National Seashore