New National Park to Help Gulf Area, Official Says

America’s newest national park means added protection for a large area of the Gulf of Mexico, a National Park Service spokesman says.

“As a national park, it assumes a higher priority than it had as a national monument, so far as protecting its air quality, its water quality, and its security from low-flying aircraft,” said Jim Howard, a spokesman for the park service.

For instance, he said, the change will prevent oil and gas exploration in the area without special exemptions.

Retiring Rep. Dante B. Fascell (D-Fla.) announced Thursday that the old Ft. Jefferson National Monument had been redesignated as Dry Tortugas National Park.

The 64,700-acre park has less than 40 acres of dry land, which includes the fort and six other islands that make up the Dry Tortugas.

Last year, the monument had more than 26,000 visitors who toured the fort or went snorkeling, scuba diving or fishing over numerous coral reefs.

The area has also seen freighters run aground on the sensitive reefs, threats of oil and gas exploration, Navy bomb tests and damage from low-flying military jets.