The Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association was formed in 1905, decades before there was an identified body of water or waterway system that needed protection.
The Association’s first order of business was to promote the development of a single, major waterway that would connect all major ports along the Gulf Coast. This waterway also would require the establishment of federally-protected status for it and the other inland waterways of the Gulf Coast through legislative efforts. It took more than four decades for the Association’s idea to materialize, but the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was completed in 1949 and has remained one of the most heavily-traveled and economically-significant marine routes in the nation.
In those early days, the Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association worked to educate groups on the channel’s importance, and facilitated collaboration between port communities, legislators, and government agencies.
More than a century later, the Association still works to educate and engage by lobbying state legislatures and the U.S. Congress, holding meetings and an annual convention for its membership to discuss identified problems, organize outreach efforts and plans for the channel, by working closely with federal agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard, by responding to environmental concerns, participating in disaster recovery, and much more.
For more information on our most recent efforts to develop and protect the Waterway, please see our current newsletter. And, for more information about becoming part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Association, please see our membership page.
