"BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK, Fla. — In one direction, the view from the 65-foot-tall Boca Chita lighthouse in Biscayne National Park is an endless sea of shimmering Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.

In another, across Biscayne Bay, stands the Miami skyline, bedazzled with glassy skyscrapers and surrounded by the most densely populated region of the Sunshine State.

Beneath those views and unseen underwater, decades of pollution, controversial water management and land-use practices, and aging infrastructure have greatly compromised the water body locals refer to as Miami’s “blue heart.”

The bay, which also is being impaired by climate change’s warming ocean waters and more potent storms, in recent years has seen massive fish kills, deadly algal blooms, and the loss of vibrant seagrass beds."

Jan Wesner Childs reports for National Parks Traveler April 26, 2026. [2]