Cedar Key, a small tourist and fishing town in Florida, has been named on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of America's "11 Most Endangered Historic Places."
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, this distinction doesn't come with money but can bring much-needed awareness.
What's happening?
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has released this list every year since 1988.
President and CEO of the organization, Carol Quillen, said to the Tallahassee Democrat, "Across the United States, compelling, meaningful historic sites are at risk, whether from natural disasters, underutilization, neglect, or lack of awareness."
Cedar Key was included in its list because of the threat of "rising sea levels" and extreme weather events, per the Tallahassee Democrat. In 2024, Hurricane Helene brought a record-level storm surge of 10 feet to the coastal community.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation said, "As Cedar Key recovers and plans for the future, support and funding are needed to implement preservation-sensitive resilience plans, ensuring that this historic community representative of 'Old Florida' can continue to thrive."
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Why is Cedar Key being named on the endangered list important?
Cedar Key wasn't the only city that Helene hit, and the total damage is still being calculated. However, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information has estimated the damage to cost $78.7 billion.
Helene also killed about 250 people in the U.S., "including 34 in Florida," per the Tallahassee Democrat.
There is a reason why the damage is taking a bigger toll. According to Journalist and Tech Investor Molly Wood's blog post, these hurricanes were already going to happen, but the warmer ocean temperatures are intensifying them. Wood said rising global temperatures are like "steroids for the weather. "
What's being done about protecting endangered places?
The Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and the University of Florida partnered to create the "Resilient Cedar Key Adaptation Plan." The plan includes "elevating and wet-proofing historic buildings, improving drainage to protect a historic cemetery, and using nature-based 'living shoreline' approaches to reduce the impacts of storm surges," per the Tallahassee Democrat.
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