St. Petersburg philanthropists Connie and Garner Koons have contributed $2 million toward transforming the historic SS United States into the world’s largest artificial reef off Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The gift to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida is the largest private contribution to the project and is helping give one of America’s most storied ships a new purpose as marine habitat.
For the Koonses, the investment also continues a longstanding commitment to Florida’s fisheries, marine science, outdoor recreation, and conservation.
From American icon to artificial reef
At 990 feet long, the SS United States remains the largest passenger ship ever built in the United States. The ocean liner set the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger liner on its maiden voyage in 1952. Now, more than 70 years later, the ship is preparing to make history again.
Okaloosa County plans to deploy the SS United States approximately 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, where it will become the world’s largest artificial reef. The deployment is scheduled for November 12, weather permitting.
Once underwater, the ship’s massive structure will provide new hard-bottom marine habitat. Marine organisms can colonize its surfaces, while its structure will offer shelter, feeding areas, and habitat for fish and other marine life. The reef will also create new opportunities for anglers and divers.
A $2 million investment in Florida’s waters
Connie and Garner Koons’s $2 million gift to the Foundation is helping make the historic project possible.
Their support for the project is part of a much broader commitment to Florida conservation. The St. Petersburg-based couple has supported habitat restoration, artificial reefs, and other projects through the Foundation. They also established the Koons-Ayala Marine Fisheries Science & Conservation Endowment, which supports research aimed at improving the future of Florida’s fisheries and marine ecosystems.
The endowment’s first grant is supporting University of Central Florida graduate student Taylor Hill as she studies how reef fish populations are connected across Florida’s waters. Her research could help managers identify important spawning and nursery areas and make more informed decisions about where artificial reefs should be placed.
The connection between that research and the SS United States illustrates the Koonses’ approach to conservation: investing both in the science needed to understand Florida’s marine ecosystems and in projects that put that knowledge to work.
Part of Florida’s Coastal Corridor
The SS United States will also become a major addition to Florida’s Coastal Corridor, a statewide initiative led by the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida’s coastal habitats are interconnected. Mangroves, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, shorelines, natural reefs, and artificial reefs all contribute to healthy marine ecosystems and fisheries. Florida’s Coastal Corridor brings partners together to strategically create, enhance, and connect those habitats while expanding opportunities for fishing, diving, boating, and other outdoor recreation.
The SS United States will be one enormous piece of that larger effort.
A lasting legacy beneath Florida’s waters
For Foundation Executive Director Nick Wiley, the Koonses’ contribution demonstrates the impact private philanthropy can have when combined with public leadership, science, and strong partnerships.
“Connie and Garner understand that conservation is an investment in Florida’s future,” Nick said. “Their generosity is helping us take on projects at a scale that can make a lasting difference for our fisheries, our coastal communities, and the people who enjoy Florida’s waters. The SS United States is an extraordinary example of what becomes possible when partners come together around a shared vision.”
A plaque aboard the SS United States bears Connie and Garner Koons’s names, but the full impact of their gift will be measured over the years to come.
