some of the remaining important areas of natural habitat along the river include apalachicola national forest, torreya state park, the nature conservancy apalachicola bluffs and ravines preserve, tates hell state forest, and apalachicola river wildlife and environmental area, as well as the apalachicola river water management area. it has been suggested that this watershed should be nationally ranked and appreciated as being as significant as the everglades or great smoky mountains. to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the natural state of the river and its inhabitants, florida film producer elam stoltzfus highlighted this system in a pbs documentary in 2006.