Elkhorn and Staghorn coral received federal protection in May of 2006 becoming the first species to be listed under the Endangered Species Act because of vulnerability to global warming.  National Marine Fisheries Service passed a rule prohibiting activities that might harm these corals and their habitat. 


Broward County is the northern limit for elkhorn coral and in 2008 the county was designated as Critical Habitat for both endangered Acropora species.

Cry of the Water first documented the Ft. Lauderdale Staghorn Field in 1999, saving it from a destructive dredge and fill  project proposed for the area.  Although divers had been diving these reefs since the 1950s Broward County had never documented their existence.  Monitoring for destructive projects was conducted on coral poor sites that did not adequately represent nearshore coral cover.