Former special forces divers will help restore a coral reef near Miami, in a conservation project involving the 2020 Super Bowl.
The initiative, announced Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis, is among a series of environmental projects planned in the run-up to the game, involving both the NFL and the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee’s conservation initiative called “Oceans to Everglades.”
Veterans of the nation’s special forces will work on a project — 100 Yards of Hope — to plant 100 yards of new coral in Biscayne Bay. The work will be done through the SEAL Association, the SEAL Veteran Foundation, and FORCE BLUE, which trains former Special Operations veterans for marine conservation work.
“100 yards of hope will be a year-long coral reef restoration project honoring the NFL’s 100th season and America’s military veterans,” DeSantis said at a news conference at Miami’s Frost Museum of Science. “Now the end zones have been planted and now Force Blue is ready to plant the field.”
The other initiative involves a new web page set up by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Floridascoralreef.org.
Florida’s coral reefs, the only barrier reefs in the continental United States, have been threatened by disease, overfishing, water pollution and climate change.
David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4535
