Terry Strickland

For more than twenty years the Yankee Freedom II Dry Tortugas National Park Ferry has been a leader in protecting the extremely sensitive marine environment in which we live and work.  The Dry Tortugas National Park includes a Research Natural Area established to protect the marine environment and provide a sanctuary for many aquatic species that are suffering loss of habitat and depletion by fishing.  The waters between Key West and the Park are also ecologically sensitive and require awareness and care.  Operating a passenger ferry service in this area without being very “green” is just not an option.  


Our efforts have led to ISO 14001:2004 certification and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Performance Track award for five years running.  We are proud to note that the Passenger Vessel Association featured our good work in their July 2008 FogHorn magazine.  Our environmental stewardship “process” is a holistic approach to managing potential pollutants and waste streams with a combination of training, procedures, purchasing policy and public awareness efforts.  We have successfully eliminated all water pollutants and reduced our air emissions to negligible amounts while simultaneously continuing to decrease our landfill footprint.


Employee commitment to the company’s values in protecting the environment is a must. Training of all new employees on the environmental management system is required as well as refresher sessions with our seasoned employees. Our training sessions are not one-way in nature, but are often opportunities to discuss new approaches, refinements, and problem areas. Our employees are not the only link which we continue to strengthen through training. Our passengers, too, are a part of our integrated plan for protecting the environment while they are on our vessel and at the Park. We continue to find better ways to improve our overall performance at the “4Rs” – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot (composting) – including encouraging recycling through onboard signage, strategically placing recycling containers where they are convenient and obvious to our passengers both on the boat and on land at the Park, serving foods on service ware that can be recycled or composted, allowing passengers to select their desired portion of foods we serve, utilizing recyclable drink containers, and composting food wastes.