IV-282 



The Gulf of Mexico BioDhysical Region 



This region extends from the southern Florida Gulf Coast economic 

 area to the Southern Texas Gulf Coast. Economic activities within 

 this region are extremely diverse, ranging from a high dependence 

 on agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the Central Florida Gulf 

 Coast area to the highly industrialized petro-chemical and manufac- 

 turing economy located in the North Texas Gulf Coast and centered 

 on the Houston-Galveston complex. 



The Southern Florida Gulf Coast contains many service industries 

 drawn to the Tampa-St. Petersburg retirement and recreation area. 

 A high degree of specialization 1n contract construction in the 

 area attests to the tremendous growth of the housing and building 

 industry to accommodate the vast in-m1gration of recent years. 

 Although forestry and fisheries 1s declining in this area's economy, 

 there is a continuing relative concentration of these activities in 

 the Southern Florida Gulf Coast area. 



Central Gulf Coast area economic activity presents a picture of 

 relatively slow growth and one which has traditionally taken 

 advantage of the natural resources of timber, agricultural land, 

 and marine fish which occur in the area. Forestry and fisheries are 

 very highly concentrated into this area. 



The Mississippi-Alabama-West Florida Coast are economy is highly 

 dependent on the Federal military, especially in Pensacola, Florida. 



