Connecting Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay and its celebrated waters include and are surrounded by hundreds of iconic structures and historic ecological and cultural sites that are not usually seen or understood as part of a larger interconnected network of national heritage treasures. The Bay itself works as an aquatic pathway linking these historic sites, bridging time periods and cultures.

As part of a multi-pronged approach to connect the Bay’s diverse historic, cultural, and natural resources to these larger throughlines of American history, we are initiating a feasibility study to designate Biscayne Bay as a National Heritage Area (NHA) in conjunction with the National Park Service.

Biscayne Bay is understood (and protected) today primarily as an environmental resource, home to many of Miami’s iconic marine species and wildlife. By designating Biscayne Bay as a National Heritage Area, we aim to facilitate the recognition of Biscayne Bay as a nationally important landscape whose expansive role in the cultural, architectural, infrastructural, maritime, and archaeological histories of South Florida have influenced the development of American heritage and national identity for generations. Listing the Bay as an NHA will celebrate and uplift the Bay’s overlapping socioeconomic uses and unique ecological history, and by doing this, we’ll inspire greater environmental consciousness and local pride in Miami’s shared aquatic park.