Things that did not happen to the Florida Keys environment in 2012 turned out to be some of the most significant of the past year.<BR><BR>Two hurricanes -- Isaac in August and Sandy in October -- came within warning distance of Monroe County, which felt the effects of wind, rain and some flooding. But neither storm made landfall in the Keys or caused significant damage on shore.</p><p>Despite an active Atlantic tropical-storm season, Florida and the Keys marked the seventh straight year without suffering a hurricane landfall.</p><p>In terms of looking ahead to the summer of 2013, that no-landfall span means absolutely nothing, for good or ill, say experts at the National Hurricane Center.</p><p>In January, the new year dawned with the specter of a giant oil-drilling platform being towed into the Florida Straits off the northern shore of Cuba.</p><p>If offshore oil was discovered in Cuban waters, effects of a spill or even routine drilling operations could have flowed toward the Keys. But test wells came up empty, and drilling in the straits seems less likely.</p><p>Speaking of oil drilling, no effects from the Deepwater Horizon spill have been verified in the Florida Keys although experts say it could be years before impacts in the Gulf of Mexico become apparent.</p><p>In other notable environmental stories from 2012:</p><p><LI> The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and federal wildlife refuges in the Lower Keys launched the first major management-plan rewrite in more than 15 years. The end result could be rule changes that increase allowable activities in some areas but expand protective regulations in others. The planning process will continue through 2013.</p><p><LI> Plans to increase operations at Naval Air Station Key West drew scrutiny from local residents and elected officials, who asked the U.S. Navy to conduct a more thorough review of noise and other environmental issues.</p><p><LI> A proposal to expand the main Key West shipping canal to accommodate larger cruise ships was applauded by local business interests but criticized by environmental advocates. A push for the expansion slowed but could return in 2013.</p><p><LI> The federal government agreed in late 2012 that seven Florida Keys corals merit study for possible listing as endangered or protected species. Staghorn coral and elkhorn coral -- the only two Keys corals now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act -- may deserve endangered status, according to biologists.</p><p><LI> The Miami blue butterfly, now found only on offshore Keys islands, was named a federally protected endangered species under an emergency declaration in June. But the endangered wood stork apparently has recovered enough to be moved to threatened status, a federal report says.