Items on the beach overnight

[TNJed]

TNJed, a good friend of mine owns a chair rental business in SoWal, so I now how frustrating it is for you guys in the biz. These turtle tracks could have just as likely led to a mini-walmart-camp or a set of rentals. My good friend in the biz says that he sets up no more than three sets of chairs at any one location, but looking at this photo, it appears that there need not be a wall of chairs to interfere with the turtles. One set of chairs is all it takes. These massive creatures don't have good mobility on dry land. They cannot easily back up when they run into a chair, or get hung up on a casting net, left on the beach by some kids and, or parents. I would also guess the sea turtles' vision would be slightly off when on dry land since they spend their life in the water, except when they come ashore to lay eggs. Think about your own vision when opening your eyes in salt water at night.

Oh I hear ya, just making an observation because that set up does look like professional rental gear and TW gives us a hard time when we're actually outnumbered in terms of general stuff left out.

I think clearing items will be a good thing for everyone IF done right. ;-)

 

[seacrestkristi]

Does Summer's Edge not care about the turtles

Are they just too lazy to carry it in? Or are they just more 'special' than everyone else? :scratch: :scratch: :scratch:

 

[scooterbug44]

Can't just single out Summer's Edge, there are FAR too many violators who know the rules!

Simple rule - get your stuff off the beach at sunset!

I am constantly amazed at how people can't comprehend or follow basic rules!

All of my guests (friends & family, not renters) know there's no glass on the beach and managed to understand the flag system. Not littering or leaving stuff on the beach was an unnecessary thing to tell them as they actually care about the environment. There are friends of mine who know the flag system because I showed them a jpeg of the sign to demonstrate its simplicity and they have never even been to Florida!

 

[seacrestkristi]

Well, what are the names of the other 'special' communities that openly admit leaving their stuff out at night?
Maybe if they got called out by name they would suddenly remember about the endangered sea turtles. Funny in a :sick: kinda way what motivates folks.

 

[scooterbug44]

I don't know, but could try a little shaming to get folks to comply!

 

[TNJed]

This has absolutely nothing to do with Summer's Edge or any other single beach community in itself. It has to do with not properly educating the visitors, who change every Saturday as a whole, and not enforcing the current ordinances.

We're talking about mass awareness or lack thereof. Too simplistic to just write it off as feeling special or lazy. As with other infrastructure issues suffering due to quick growth, beach education and enforcement is at the top of the list. As I said before, until the county properly enforces the rules of the beach by keeping them cleared, we, the county licensed vendors, cannot properly service the tourists who choose to use our service and remain in compliance everywhere.

On a side note, there really aren't dunes at the Summer's Edge beach. Boardwalks, fences and buildings themselves front 99% of the "vegetation line", so I can't see where a turtle would lay eggs here even if the beach was cleared. And for that matter, I can't recall, if ever, turtle tracks or nest have been spotted in this area west of Eastern Lake.

You have to remember, educating our visitors should be a weekly if not daily exercise. The changeover is constant and there is no quick fix. The TDC needs to step up, get in the trenches so to speak and do a lot of hard work now which will pay dividends in the future.

 

[NotDeadYet]

WALTON COUNTY TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (TDC) ANNOUNCES "REMOVE IT OR
LOSE IT" CAMPAIGN

WALTON COUNTY, Fla.-July 17, 2007 - The Beaches of South Walton Tourist
Development Council (TDC) is announcing the "Remove it or Lose it"
campaign to help the Sheriffs Department and Code Enforcement enforce
the Walton County Ordinance 2003-07g. The "Remove it or Lose it"
campaign will assist in educating the public on the ordinance to ensure
a smooth transition for beachgoers. Enforcement of the ordinance will
go into effect on July 23, 2007.
Walton County ordinance 2003-07G states: it shall be unlawful for beach
chairs, umbrellas, tents and other such personal articles to be on the
beach in such a manner that they interfere with beach maintenance,
nesting turtles, or emergency vehicles.

"Due to the sheer volume of beachgoers leaving personal items on
the beach, the county was forced to address this public safety and
environmental concern," explained Kriss Titus, executive director of the
TDC. "As the organization charged with marketing the destination and
maintaining the county's 26-miles of beaches, it was natural for the TDC
to spearhead the 'Remove It or Lose It' campaign and for our beach crews
to remove abandoned items."

The enforcement of the new ordinance will protect the public and
nesting sea turtles. Personal articles left on the beach overnight
during sea turtle nesting season have resulted in significant numbers of
abandoned nesting attempts. In addition, personal belongings left on the
beach are hindering beach maintenance crews from adequately cleaning the
beach and interfering with emergency vehicle access. There have also
been reports of injuries to beachgoers who encounter these items while
walking the beach after dark.

The intent of the ordinance is not to remove personal belongings
under private boardwalks, but rather to ensure all items are removed
from the middle of the beach. The ordinance applies to all areas
falling within the definition of "beach," regardless of whether such
areas are located on public or private property. 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.

The Walton County Sheriffs Department, TDC beach maintenance
staff, Code Enforcement, and the Walton County beach activities
coordinator will all aid in the implementation of "Remove it or Lose
it." The Walton County Sheriffs Department will tag items on the beach
giving owners and beach vendors 24 hours to remove the items from the
beach. The tag will have a date, time, and description of the item
observed on the beach. Items left near county walkovers and TDC
maintained beach receptacles will be removed without being tagged. The
TDC beach maintenance staff will remove all items that have remained
past the 24-hour notice. The ordinance as written applies to all areas
falling within the definition of "beach," regardless of whether such
areas are located on public or private property. However, articles that
are stored adjacent to or underneath personal walkovers will not be
removed. For more information, contact Code Enforcement at (850)
622-0000.

###

Tracy Louthain, APR
Director of Public Relations & Visitor Services
Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council
P.O. Box 1248
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 USA
Phone: 850-267-1216 ext. 122

 

[seacrestkristi]

Junk left on the beach overnight is junk left on the beach overnight, isn't it? Whatever happened to TEACHING BY EXAMPLE?
Shouldn't these locals be setting a good example to visitors? Goodness sakes, they most likely would be inclined to say,"Why not just leave our stuff overnight the locals do it? See over there in front of Summer's Edge? Must not hurt anything? Let's go. It'll be fine." What about the turtles??? Did you see the stats listed in the Leatherhead Turtle thread yet? Check it out. They are endangered.
Thanks NotDeadYet! Funny private property owners can still endanger nesting under their walkovers IF they so choose but this is exciting news none the less. Early morning walks on the beach should be much less unobstructed too!

 

[WlzMom]

We had this problem staying in Blue Mountain this year also. People staked out their "campsites" and left them out. Some got VERY mad when their stuff got moved the night of the 4th. I was appalled to see the situation in front of the Adagio just down the beach. It looked like a tent city - like "Hooverville" in NYC's Central Park during the depression.

I would NEVER rent there for that very reason. So, is the bottom line that we can move people's stuff every evening or what? I hate being rude, but rules are rules.

 

[NotDeadYet]

On a side note, there really aren't dunes at the Summer's Edge beach. Boardwalks, fences and buildings themselves front 99% of the "vegetation line", so I can't see where a turtle would lay eggs here even if the beach was cleared. And for that matter, I can't recall, if ever, turtle tracks or nest have been spotted in this area west of Eastern Lake.

If you check with the turtle watch people, you will be told there have been quite a few nests in that very area you are speaking of. Dunes or dunes has nothing to do with it - the turtle does not know what is there when she comes up on the beach, they have poor eyesight on land. Unless disturbed, she will generally come as far up the beach as she can, whether she finds a dune or not, and lay eggs there.