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DEP: Environmental Restoration Projects Make Progress in the Panhandle
April 20, 2013
Saturday marks the three year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. Over the last three years, Florida has implemented restoration projects, funded by various sources, to help the Florida Panhandle recover from the spill.
“The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is pleased to announce that several early restoration projects are either complete or making good progress,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard, Jr. “We recognize that we still have a long way to go in terms of restoration, but Governor Scott is fully committed to ensuring full restoration of our damaged natural resources and loss of recreational opportunities.”
Florida’s initial projects funded under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment early restoration program include four boat ramp projects and a dune restoration project, all of which are in Escambia County. The Galvez Landing and Navy Point boat ramp improvements are completed, and have been steadily used for recreation by boaters. A new boat ramp at Mahogany Mill is under construction, and construction on a new boat ramp on the Perdido River is expected to begin at the end of this year. Work on the eight-mile dune restoration project has recently been completed.
“The progress of these wide ranging projects is a benefit to all Floridians”, said Nick Wiley, Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “These projects help restore opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy the rich diversity of fish and wildlife that inhabit our world famous beaches and coastal waters while bringing long lasting economic benefits to impacted communities.”
In addition to the dune and boat ramp projects, a second set of projects focus on coastal conservation and will begin restoring the damage inflicted on the coastal environment during the spill’s response and cleanup efforts. Work on the projects began along the Panhandle in January to protect habitat for nesting shore birds and sea turtles this season. Over the next five years, the state will administer contracts to post, survey, and monitor coastal bird nesting areas at 19 sites from Franklin to Escambia counties. These projects will protect important bird nesting sites in the Panhandle.
Sea turtle habitat will be restored through retrofitting lights on the beach so that they are “sea turtle friendly,” updating the technical manual about lighting for sea turtles, and an outreach campaign so the public understands the importance of dark beaches as habitat for nesting loggerhead sea turtles, a threatened species in the Florida panhandle.
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