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Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
Hello all - I wanted to start a thread dedicated to our coastal dune lakes. Please post any thoughts, questions, or updates about the lakes.


  • Wildlife & Recreation
  • Outflows Openings / Closings
  • Meetings & News
  • Photos / Video
  • Anything About the Lakes!

I've been to most of the lakes lately, capturing video and photos for the Coastal Dune Lakes documentary in production by Elam Stoltzfus of Live Oak Productions.
http://coastaldunelakes.org

We've been posting Elam's short vids and blog posts on the SoWal.com home page. I've been helping him with the project for many years and it's great to see it really rolling now. It's scheduled for a SoWal screening next year around Earth Day and then released on PBS. A big bucketful of gratitude to Elam for his drive and vision to get this done!

I believe all of the lake outflows are closed to the Gulf now, but the lakes are full and many will open to the Gulf when we get some summer thunderstorms head through.

Please post if you see any outflows opening or about anything else related to the lakes!
 
Last edited:

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
The St Joe Community Foundation has provided a $215,000 grant to WUSF Public Media and Cinematographer Elam Stolzfus of Live Oak Productions to produce the one-hour documentary Coastal Dune Lakes featuring Walton County, Florida. The documentary will showcase the coastal dune lakes ecosystem and its preservation featuring area flora and fauna, weather patterns, animal behavior as well as feature segments on the state parks, trails and recreational programs along the region's dune lakes.

Cinematographer Stoltzfus has created the www.coastaldunelakes.org web site, which includes a blog, facebook page, articles, videos, stories and information about coastal dune lakes. He plans to produce a short video and post it on the web site every two weeks leading up to the documentary's nationwide premiere on Public Television on Earth Day weekend 2015.

"Northwest Florida's coastal dune lakes are rare yet information is not abundant," says Janet Greeno, Executive Director for The St Joe Community Foundation. "Through this documentary we can educate the public about the role of dune lakes on the ecosystem and the importance of protecting them. St. Joe has a history of being good land stewards and preserving our natural resources. This film will help us spread the word nationwide about this environmentally unique area of Florida."

For the past 25 years Elam Stoltzfus has documented diverse aspects of Florida's natural resources and produced hundreds of projects in the state of Florida, including five nature-based documentaries. He has received multiple Emmy nominations for cinematography, educational content and music and received the Suncoast Regional Emmy in the Documentary category for his most recent documentary, Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition. Joining him on this production are Script Writer/Photographer Nic Stoltzfus and Editor Joey Dickinson.

Coastal dune lakes occur in only a few places around the world," says Elam Stoltzfus. "The documentary will include interviews with a local scientist, historian and educator as well as a comparative study of the Coastal Dune Lakes in Florida's Northwest Gulf Coast and New Zealand and Australia."

Specifically, the documentary will address: flora, fauna and marine life surrounding region; dune lake management processes; success in restoration and water quality; solutions for future management processes; ecotourism best practices; the importance of the connection on how these water systems connect to larger water bodies; and the similarities of water systems and environments around the globe.

JoAnn Urofsky, General Manager of WUSF Public Media, said, "We're pleased to partner with Elam Stolzfus on his new documentary, Coastal Dune Lakes, and welcome The St. Joe Community Foundation as a sponsor of the film."
 

Truman

Beach Fanatic
Apr 3, 2009
650
270
I am looking forward to seeing the documentary.

I would like no more building permits without a 150 foot buffer. I realize this means a moratorium on building on most lakefront lots. St. Joe did a good job building away from the lakes and dunes.

We must remove all septic tanks from the lakes and stop using fertilizer within 200 yards or so. The runoff is choking the lakes that have development near them like Eastern Lake.

We must also guard against invasive species.
 

steel1man

Beach Fanatic
Jan 10, 2013
2,291
659
First let me state this is not a " sky is falling " statement. Let me also say I try to get in the gulf daily,but I've also seen the reports of the RARE viruses that can kill found in warm gulf/ lake (brackish if you will )water. Maybe for owner/ county protection we should have regular summer water testing at the outfall sites where lots of families play
(guilty ).

This is just one of many articles: Dr. James Oliver, a professor of biology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, has studied vibrio vulnificus for decades. He said that while Florida has the most cases of vibrio infection due to the warm ocean water that surrounds the state, the bacteria is found worldwide, generally in estuaries (aka :dune lakes)and near the coast.

"It's normal flora in the water," he said. "It belongs there."

The vast majority of people who are exposed to the bacteria don't get sick, he said. A few people become ill but recover. Only a fraction of people are violently ill and fewer still die; Oliver said many of those people ingest tainted, raw shellfish.

Oliver and Florida Department of Health officials say people shouldn't be afraid of going into Florida's waters, but that those with suppressed immune systems, such as people who have cancer, diabetes or cirrhosis of the liver, should be aware of the potential hazards of vibrio, especially if they have an open wound.

Holm said nine people died from vibrio vulnificus in Florida in 2012, and 13 in 2011, so this year's statistics aren't alarming. What's different, she said, was that victims' families are speaking to the news media about the danger.

Please take this as a point of interest only,it's not intended to cause our worlds to come apart : peaceout: #googlevibrio
 

carson

Beach Fanatic
Jan 15, 2014
1,143
824
55
Seagrove
<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37028"/>

<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37029"/>

<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37030"/>

<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37031"/>

<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37032"/>

<img src="http://www.sowal.com/bb/attachment.php?attachmentid=37033"/>

Incredible shots! Which lake is the first pic? Absolutely stunning my man, you rock.
 
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