From Walton Sun
In conjunction with the Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and Walton/ Okaloosa County University of Florida Extension program are rallying community support for the protection and preservation of the coastal dune lakes.
On Jan. 21, members of the three organizations will host a public workshop for constructing a strategic plan for protecting the coastal dune lakes. The meeting is an overview of the current condition of all 15 lakes. Eventually, individual committees will be formed for each lake.
The Board of County Commissioners approved the Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board?s Four Year Protection Plan at a July 12, 2005 meeting. The commissioners committed $150,000 per year to the plan for the next four years to help preserve the 15 dune lakes.
?Preservation is always cheaper than restoration,? Scott Jackson, marine science extension faculty for UF said.
The plan addresses outfall management, shoreline erosion, native vegetation, invasive species, storm water, recreational use and hurricane impacts. The public is invited to be a part of the process.
?We want the public involved,? Phillip Ellis, Coastal Dune Lake Program Coordinator for the Alliance, said. ?The whole community benefits by these lakes being here.?
Currently, storm water management and native vegetation enhancement are two issues the groups want to address first.
?(Storm water runoff) is the biggest threat to any water system,? Ellis said.
?Ideally, you would have natural vegetation and zero fertilization,? Jackson said.
Educating the public about its role is going to be an important part of the restoration process, Ellis explained. Most people don?t realize the extent of the ?zone of influence.? Not only do people that live directly around the lakes affect their health, but anyone who affects the groundwater, Ellis explained.
?If you live on 30A, you?re draining into the lakes,? he added.
In conjunction with the Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance and Walton/ Okaloosa County University of Florida Extension program are rallying community support for the protection and preservation of the coastal dune lakes.
On Jan. 21, members of the three organizations will host a public workshop for constructing a strategic plan for protecting the coastal dune lakes. The meeting is an overview of the current condition of all 15 lakes. Eventually, individual committees will be formed for each lake.
The Board of County Commissioners approved the Coastal Dune Lake Advisory Board?s Four Year Protection Plan at a July 12, 2005 meeting. The commissioners committed $150,000 per year to the plan for the next four years to help preserve the 15 dune lakes.
?Preservation is always cheaper than restoration,? Scott Jackson, marine science extension faculty for UF said.
The plan addresses outfall management, shoreline erosion, native vegetation, invasive species, storm water, recreational use and hurricane impacts. The public is invited to be a part of the process.
?We want the public involved,? Phillip Ellis, Coastal Dune Lake Program Coordinator for the Alliance, said. ?The whole community benefits by these lakes being here.?
Currently, storm water management and native vegetation enhancement are two issues the groups want to address first.
?(Storm water runoff) is the biggest threat to any water system,? Ellis said.
?Ideally, you would have natural vegetation and zero fertilization,? Jackson said.
Educating the public about its role is going to be an important part of the restoration process, Ellis explained. Most people don?t realize the extent of the ?zone of influence.? Not only do people that live directly around the lakes affect their health, but anyone who affects the groundwater, Ellis explained.
?If you live on 30A, you?re draining into the lakes,? he added.
