I know many don't see the Beach Breeze/Defuniak Herald so I thought I would post this article from July 12th that I found interesting. It looks like we will have more fireworks in addition to handcuffs on the beach. By the way, note that this will affect private individuals and vendors so let the funn begin..
Items left on beach to be removed
By DOTTY NIST
"Remove it or lose it," is now the rule in the evening on Walton County beaches.
To alleviate what has been identified as "a severe problem," Walton County has initiated a coordinated approach to have beaches clear of clutter in the evenings. The clutter of chairs, awnings, umbrellas, and other items on the beach has long been a complaint of South Walton Turtle Watch volunteers.
Federally-protected native sea turtles come onto the beach during their spring and fall nesting season, and their reproduction can be hampered by obstacles left on the beach in the evening. Human beachgoers can also run into or trip over these obstacles as they walk on the beach at night.
On June 28, Pat Blackshear, county planning and development services director, announced a cooperative effort between the county, the tourism council, and the sheriff's office to address the problem.
Blackshear explained that items left on the beach would be tagged and then removed after 24 hours if not taken off the beach by their owners. The policy applies both to private individuals and beach vendors, who are being notified by mail.
Walton County Sheriff's Office and Walton County Code Enforcement personnel will share patrol and tagging duties. South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) personnel will pick up tagged items once the 24-hour period has elapsed, and owners will forfeit items that are picked up.
TDC Executive Director Kriss Titus commented that, while Walton County's beaches have been honored by the Clean Beaches Council, she believes that the TDC has not been getting the message out about the importance of an uncluttered beach.
She said the TDC plans a "remove it or lose it" marketing campaign and will post information on its web page urging visitors to comply.
Replies
658
SoWal Expert
I just sampled Eastern lake north in a canoe. We saw an otter swimming playfully about until a motorboating fisherman appeared or it saw us. I walked down to the outlet. Tent cities to east and to west, thick, all over the beach!!! The Gulf water felt delightfully cool. I'm surprised the heat didn't bother me today. Didn't even think about it. There is a nice breeze.
Cool, an Otter! Never seen one of those - saw a 8' minimum snake back in there and that put the kibosh on my explorations!
Beach Fanatic
Cool, an Otter! Never seen one of those - saw a 8' minimum snake back in there and that put the kibosh on my explorations!Was it a copperhead??????????????
hmmmm......can't remember
Was it a copperhead??????????????
Check the "pygmy rattlesnake" thread for specs on copperheads!
8'? Sounds like the Son of the Serpent of Oyster Lake...
SoWal Expert
We thought it was a water moccasin. For some reason we didn't stick around too long to closely examine it after realizing that "floating log/piling" was really a snake swimming! 
Beach Fanatic
We thought it was a water moccasin. For some reason we didn't stick around too long to closely examine it after realizing that "floating log/piling" was really a snake swimming!Definetly sounds like we've got another Oyster Lake serpent on our hands.:shock:
SoWal Expert
I saw it a year or 2 ago, so it may have just migrated over there!
Meow
..Hello, I'm BAAAACK!!! Just looked at the BMB webcam...so close to perfect!!! Can anyone tell what that one thing is close to the water's edge? Oh, I can also see a bit of a chair to the left, too...just in case they don't think I am watching. ;-)
Beach Fanatic
Miss Kitty- in 27 days I will be there at BMB and, each time I pass the beach cam, will wave at you! We will be vigilant about not leaving our rental chairs out.
Meow
Miss Kitty- in 27 days I will be there at BMB and, each time I pass the beach cam, will wave at you! We will be vigilant about not leaving our rental chairs out.
I knew I liked you... in addition to being a Texan, you love and protect sowal.
Have the bestest time!!!You might kick any tents you see that are left up.
Beach Fanatic
Here's an email I just sent to the TDC contact:
tlouthain@beachesofsouthwalton.com
I'm interested in clean healthy beaches. I took video the first four days of tagging and removal in Zone 7. In my video on this page:
http://www.wholeo.net/Trips/Travel/Florida/southWalton/removeOrLose/removeOrLose.htm
(Click one of the movie links),
I show a kayak by a trash bag. Not tagged, not removed, not lost.
Now Sugar Dunes claims that they were told items were OK by a bag on private property, as long as they weren't touching the bag.
A TDC driver confirms he picks up violations on public, but not private property.
I looked again at the rule here
http://www.beachesofsouthwalton.com/viewpressrelease.asp?ID=370
under Media Relations, 7/26/2007.
It says:
Articles that are stored adjacent to or underneath personal walkovers will not be removed unless there is TDC maintained trash receptacle at that location. Any personal items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed without being tagged.
At the moment I don't have the reference that said it, but I understand that items should be 10 feet away from a trash bag.
Since the rule as stated is not being enforced, that weakens the whole effort to educate the public. They are just getting more of the same treatment that has led to the current mess on the beach. The county says one thing and doesn't enforce it. I believe you should publish the rules as enforced, with no deviation.
tlouthain@beachesofsouthwalton.com
I'm interested in clean healthy beaches. I took video the first four days of tagging and removal in Zone 7. In my video on this page:
http://www.wholeo.net/Trips/Travel/Florida/southWalton/removeOrLose/removeOrLose.htm
(Click one of the movie links),
I show a kayak by a trash bag. Not tagged, not removed, not lost.
Now Sugar Dunes claims that they were told items were OK by a bag on private property, as long as they weren't touching the bag.
A TDC driver confirms he picks up violations on public, but not private property.
I looked again at the rule here
http://www.beachesofsouthwalton.com/viewpressrelease.asp?ID=370
under Media Relations, 7/26/2007.
It says:
Articles that are stored adjacent to or underneath personal walkovers will not be removed unless there is TDC maintained trash receptacle at that location. Any personal items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed without being tagged.
At the moment I don't have the reference that said it, but I understand that items should be 10 feet away from a trash bag.
Since the rule as stated is not being enforced, that weakens the whole effort to educate the public. They are just getting more of the same treatment that has led to the current mess on the beach. The county says one thing and doesn't enforce it. I believe you should publish the rules as enforced, with no deviation.
Beach Fanatic
The TDC answered, announcing "Remove it or Lose it" phase II.
"The county is now adopting a more stringent "Remove It or Lose It" program because residents and vendors are finding ways to circumvent the system.
Now any personal items left on the county?s public beach areas including the six regional beach accesses, including Inlet Beach, Santa Clara, Gulfview Heights, Ed Walline, Dune Allen and Miramar as well as Grayton Beach overnight will be removed without being tagged. Other items subject to removal without being tagged include:
- Items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed and discarded without being tagged (whether on public or private property).
- Vendor items left overnight will also be removed and discarded without being tagged."
"The county is now adopting a more stringent "Remove It or Lose It" program because residents and vendors are finding ways to circumvent the system.
Now any personal items left on the county?s public beach areas including the six regional beach accesses, including Inlet Beach, Santa Clara, Gulfview Heights, Ed Walline, Dune Allen and Miramar as well as Grayton Beach overnight will be removed without being tagged. Other items subject to removal without being tagged include:
- Items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed and discarded without being tagged (whether on public or private property).
- Vendor items left overnight will also be removed and discarded without being tagged."
Meow
Beach Fanatic
The TDC answered, announcing "Remove it or Lose it" phase II.
"The county is now adopting a more stringent "Remove It or Lose It" program because residents and vendors are finding ways to circumvent the system.
Now any personal items left on the county?s public beach areas including the six regional beach accesses, including Inlet Beach, Santa Clara, Gulfview Heights, Ed Walline, Dune Allen and Miramar as well as Grayton Beach overnight will be removed without being tagged. Other items subject to removal without being tagged include:
- Items left near county walkovers or adjacent to any of the 400 trash receptacles maintained by the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC) will be removed and discarded without being tagged (whether on public or private property).
- Vendor items left overnight will also be removed and discarded without being tagged."
Interesting. Hope this is really happening. Down here at Ramsgate, it doesn't look that way yet.
At Ramsgate yesterday morning, there was more stuff than I've ever seen there, and more elaborate structures. One tent must have been 20x20. Not a tag in sight. Just a lot of early birds stumbling around with coffee to try to set up in the few remaining spaces.
And everyone's setting up just on the water's edge. It's not very pleasant to walk along the beach with them so close. But more important than that, they've crowded out all the shore birds. I haven't seen one since early spring. They were pretty tolerant of the people back when most people set up 20 to 30 feet back.
Beach Fanatic
Interesting again...
I just got back from my daily beach trek.
It seems that some of the chair vendors are clued in to Phase 2. Every chair and tent from Beach Chairs 4 U was removed, folded, and stacked near a private walkover. Thank you, sir.
But the private tents, chairs, ice chests, and yes-garbage were all still in place.
I just got back from my daily beach trek.
It seems that some of the chair vendors are clued in to Phase 2. Every chair and tent from Beach Chairs 4 U was removed, folded, and stacked near a private walkover. Thank you, sir.
But the private tents, chairs, ice chests, and yes-garbage were all still in place.
Beach Fanatic
Hopefully if the vendors are following the rules - the others will follow. Lead by example.
Beach Fanatic
At Ramsgate yesterday morning, there was more stuff than I've ever seen there, and more elaborate structures. One tent must have been 20x20. Not a tag in sight.Sob. What a discouraging report. Will you be here Sunday morning? The tags should appear Saturday night by stealth Sheriff after sunset. That is, if they are still following the Zone 7 schedule. And if so, on Monday morning all tagged stuff on the beach should be removed.
The beaches at Ramsgate are private on both sides of the access, aren't they? Sugar Dunes to the east is, for sure. And the Angelos property to the west wants to be, is still undecided by the BCC as far as I know. Is that the area you mean?
However, I can't get my mind around the enforcement. On a public beach, what if someone sets up Monday morning at 6:30 a.m.? If the TDC truck gets there at 7 a.m. (after sunrise), how will they know if that setup had been there overnight or not? I hadn't really thought out the implications of Phase II yet, but it still seems hard to implement.
Update on stickers: I bought some printer paper for removable stickers. Now I need a new printer, unfortunately. Also I need a design. What should it say? How big should it be? What graphics? What colors? Any suggestions? I haven't thought it out. Initially I'm thinking 12 stickers per sheet. That is, 3 wide by 4 high. Each sticker would be about 2.5" square. Say something like:
Remove it at Sunset
or Lose it at Sunrise
or simply:
Take everything
off the beach
at night
REMOVE IT!
Clear the
beach at night.
??
Beach Fanatic
Sob. What a discouraging report. Will you be here Sunday morning? The tags should appear Saturday night by stealth Sheriff after sunset. That is, if they are still following the Zone 7 schedule. And if so, on Monday morning all tagged stuff on the beach should be removed.
The beaches at Ramsgate are private on both sides of the access, aren't they? Sugar Dunes to the east is, for sure. And the Angelos property to the west wants to be, is still undecided by the BCC as far as I know. Is that the area you mean?
I'll be leaving early Sunday AM for a week out of town. I sure would like to see a real live tag in person.
I'd expect that the beaches to either side of the Ramsgate access are indeed private, but they not posted for now. The only signs I see are on private walkovers, not the beach itself. I'm not familiar with either Sugar Dunes or the Angelos.
As I've said before, Saturday night tagging could be partially a waste. Renters typically arrive Saturday afternoon and some of them might not drag their stuff to the beach until Sunday AM.
Beach Fanatic
Sob. What a discouraging report. Will you be here Sunday morning? The tags should appear Saturday night by stealth Sheriff after sunset. That is, if they are still following the Zone 7 schedule. And if so, on Monday morning all tagged stuff on the beach should be removed.Ramsgate is further west, near Summer's Edge
The beaches at Ramsgate are private on both sides of the access, aren't they? Sugar Dunes to the east is, for sure. And the Angelos property to the west wants to be, is still undecided by the BCC as far as I know. Is that the area you mean?
However, I can't get my mind around the enforcement. On a public beach, what if someone sets up Monday morning at 6:30 a.m.? If the TDC truck gets there at 7 a.m. (after sunrise), how will they know if that setup had been there overnight or not? I hadn't really thought out the implications of Phase II yet, but it still seems hard to implement.
Update on stickers: I bought some printer paper for removable stickers. Now I need a new printer, unfortunately. Also I need a design. What should it say? How big should it be? What graphics? What colors? Any suggestions? I haven't thought it out. Initially I'm thinking 12 stickers per sheet. That is, 3 wide by 4 high. Each sticker would be about 2.5" square. Say something like:
Remove it at Sunset
or Lose it at Sunrise
or simply:
Take everything
off the beach
at night
REMOVE IT!
Clear the
beach at night.
??
Beach Fanatic
I'm not familiar with either Sugar Dunes or the Angelos.
As I've said before, Saturday night tagging could be partially a waste. Renters typically arrive Saturday afternoon and some of them might not drag their stuff to the beach until Sunday AM.
Ooops, I didn't know where Ramsgate was. Seems that it is west of Eastern Lake, about halfway to One Seagrove?
The renters you mention will litter the beach all week, coming just after tagging and leaving just before tagging. Not good.
Beach Fanatic
Ooops, I didn't know where Ramsgate was. Seems that it is west of Eastern Lake, about halfway to One Seagrove?
The renters you mention will litter the beach all week, coming just after tagging and leaving just before tagging. Not good.
Much closer to Eastern Lake than half to One Seagove. Ramsgate is the very next public access to the west of Eastern Lake. It's down at the western end of the little beachfront stub road where Eastern Lake drive does a U-turn at the Eastern Lake access and runs back to the west. It roughly lines up with the western leg of Chelsea Loop. It's used by a lot of Chelsea Loop and Summers Edge renters.
The most effective schedule for the whole county should be tag Sunday-Wednesday, remove Tues-Friday.
Edited
SoWal Insider
Sob. What a discouraging report. Will you be here Sunday morning? The tags should appear Saturday night by stealth Sheriff after sunset. That is, if they are still following the Zone 7 schedule. And if so, on Monday morning all tagged stuff on the beach should be removed.
The beaches at Ramsgate are private on both sides of the access, aren't they? Sugar Dunes to the east is, for sure. And the Angelos property to the west wants to be, is still undecided by the BCC as far as I know. Is that the area you mean?
However, I can't get my mind around the enforcement. On a public beach, what if someone sets up Monday morning at 6:30 a.m.? If the TDC truck gets there at 7 a.m. (after sunrise), how will they know if that setup had been there overnight or not? I hadn't really thought out the implications of Phase II yet, but it still seems hard to implement.
Update on stickers: I bought some printer paper for removable stickers. Now I need a new printer, unfortunately. Also I need a design. What should it say? How big should it be? What graphics? What colors? Any suggestions? I haven't thought it out. Initially I'm thinking 12 stickers per sheet. That is, 3 wide by 4 high. Each sticker would be about 2.5" square. Say something like:
Remove it at Sunset
or Lose it at Sunrise
or simply:
Take everything
off the beach
at night
REMOVE IT!
Clear the
beach at night.
??
.
Try this sticker:
FREE!!
TENT, BEACH CHAIRS AND TOYS
(Yours for the taking)
.
Edited
hmmmm......can't remember
.
Try this sticker:
.
:funn: 
SoWal Expert
Does anyone have a status update on the tagging/cleanup?
Someone was complaining that items were just being taken to a dump site in Blue Mountain rather than being tagged and removed if they were still there a day later.
Someone was complaining that items were just being taken to a dump site in Blue Mountain rather than being tagged and removed if they were still there a day later.
Edited
Beach Fanatic
Phase II of the enforcement is under way now. No tagging, just bagging. I guess this was Mr. Brown's first official act as Head of Code Enforcement.
It's been a very slow few weeks since it started so it's difficult to tell it's impact when there just isn't any traffic to test it, but I think it's a great call and is the only way for this thing to stick.
It's been a very slow few weeks since it started so it's difficult to tell it's impact when there just isn't any traffic to test it, but I think it's a great call and is the only way for this thing to stick.
Beach Fanatic
Phase II of the enforcement is under way now. No tagging, just bagging.
Hmmm, I think less tagging, more bagging than phase I. Read the press release here:
http://www.beachesofsouthwalton.com/viewpressrelease.asp?ID=370
Where I walk onto the beach at the access, on Saturday morning it was completely clear. I've never seen it look so beautiful and natural before. I'm very grateful.
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