June 17, 2026

Florida’s staghorn and elkhorn corals once helped build the living reefs that protect coastlines, support fisheries, shelter marine life, and define Florida’s ocean heritage. Their functional extinction is a heartbreaking warning about what happens when climate change, pollution, and underfunded conservation collide. But this moment must also be a call to action: with fully funded coral recovery programs, science-based protections, and renewed commitment to the Endangered Species Act, Florida’s reefs can still have a fighting chance.