Coastal Dune Lake public workshop - 8/25/08

[bentley williams]

The Walton County Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board in conjunction with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) and the University of Florida?s Florida LAKEWATCH Program will hold a public workshop at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, August 25, 2008 at the Huettel Center in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Participants are asked to register at the door at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will be all day. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP by Monday, August 18th at the CBA office at 729-6456. Due to limited space, RSVP is necessary in order to participate in all of the day?s activities.

This meeting will be a special session of the Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board for all stakeholders and interested citizens to continue developing a comprehensive management plan for Walton County?s coastal dune lakes. The Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, the University of Florida?s Florida LAKEWATCH Program, Walton County Planning staff, and a representative of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners will be present to discuss with the public the latest report in this process: Pros and Cons of Issues Identified by Stakeholders Regarding the Future Management of Walton County?s Coastal Dune Lakes.

Copies of Pros and Cons of Issues Identified by Stakeholders Regarding the Future Management of Walton County?s Coastal Dune Lakes, which will be used to generate the Coastal Dune Lake Management Plan, may be obtained by phone, email, or letter by contacting:

Julia Terrell, Director
Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance
Okaloosa-Walton College
100 College Boulevard E.
Niceville, FL 32578
(850) 729-6456 office
(850) 729-6466 fax
cba@owc.edu

 

[Beachbummette]

Don't forget deadline to RSVP for this event.

Please RSVP by Monday, August 18th at the CBA office at 729-6456.

I can't be there, but would love to hear all the details after the event. Please keep us updated. Thanks Bent!

 

[SoWalSally]

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/dune_2074___article.html/florida_coastal.html

On Monday, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and the University of Florida Lakewatch group are hosting an all-day public summit to discuss the future of the coastal dune lake system on County Road 30A.
“It’s a culmination of a year’s worth of work,” said CBA Director Julie Terrell. “We started making small working groups of each of the dune lake issues and things they wanted to address.”
Terrell said the groups included key Walton County officials and the Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board.
“Through these multiple public meetings we’ve made a report with all of the available science we could,” she said. “We’re bringing everyone who was a part of that process together on the 25th.”
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Santa Rosa Beach Huettel Center and last until approximately 5 p.m.
Environmentalist Christian Wagley said he’s delighted that proven facts are finally being presented to the public on these lakes.
“The biggest thing for people to understand is there is science behind the lakes,” he said. “Things change. They don’t stay the same. They shift back and forth due to weather and storms and tides and I think we need to learn to respect the natural way of the lakes because the lakes know best.”
Wagley, who is a vocal opponent of dredging an outflow at Eastern Lake, said he’s not against a management plan, but does not want to rush to make changes to these lakes when we don’t have all of the facts.
“We get used to a lake a certain way and we think something is wrong or bad but it may not be the case,” he said. “The lakes can be very fresh and they can be very salty. Through the years they vary depending on the conditions.
“I would always like to see management decisions on science and not on emotion, he said. “Science needs to guide our decision.”

 

[DuneLaker]

I'll be there. Will try to report asap. It will be a full day event.