april 2005 shorelines newsletter choctawhatchee audubon society

8/9/2019 April 2005 Shorelines Newsletter Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

1/4Dedicated to the protection of bird and wildlife habitat and a greater appreciation of Northwest Floridas natural beauty.

Shorelineshe newsletter of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society Volume XXXIV Number 3

April 2005

MONTHLY MEETINGS:

Audubon meetings are held at 7 p.m. on theOWC Niceville campus, Student Union,Building K, Room K-151.

April 7: Mr. M.C. Davis will give an update

on the environmental restoration work done onNokuse Plantation and Mallory Swamp inWalton County.

May 5: Laurie Blanc of Jackson Guard will

eturn to update and share more informationabout the Red Cockaded Woodpecker projecton Eglin Reservation.

CHAPTER WALK:April 9th: Beginners bird Walk to the Fort

Walton Beach spray fields and holdingponds.This location is well-known for numeroussightings of a wide variety of birds! Dont misshis chance to see all the Spring migrators! Meetn the Coach-N-Four Restaurant parking lot at7:30am. The walk should last until about 11am.

AUDUBON EVENTURES NIGHT WALKS:April 29: Nonie's Ark Animal Encounters willead a Discover Nature Night Walk at Oak TreeNature Park in Mary Ester at 7pm. Programasts about one hour and lanterns are provided.

Families are encouraged to join - the focus willbe on ages 5-10. Explore for elusive creaturessuch as fox, owls, frogs and even bats! For addi-ional inforatmation, please call Nonie at 862-

9588 or www.noniesark.com.

OTHER MEETINGS:

April 15-17th: Alabama OrnithologicalSociety will meet in Dauphin Island, AL. For

more information, please visit their website:http://www.bham.net/aos/meetings/index.htm

Calendar of EventsThe Nor thwes t Flor idaGreenway Project

by George Russell, CAS Member

The Northwest Florida Greenway Project has its roots in the 1996 GCoastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership between The Nature ConservanEglin AFB and several large landholders.This effort to serve the military mission and conservation agendas of tpartnership was strengthened in 2003 when a formal memorandum agreement between the Conservancy, the DoD and the State of Flor

established the Greenway Project. The project has three major goals:1. Sustaining the military mission by preventing encroachment

from development adjacent to the area's major militaryinstallations and within the military low-level flyway.

2. Conserving critical ecosystems in order to preserve waterresources, sustain the region's high biodiversity and providemigration corridors for wildlife.

3. Supporting the regional economy by protecting the localmilitary installations from base closings and by enhancingoutdoor recreation and tourism.

(Future Shorelines articles will address each of these goals in more detAs currently envisioned, the corridor would extend from Gulf and Frankcounties, northward through Calhoun County, arcing northwestwathrough northeastern Bay County, across south-central Washington aWalton Counties, span the Choctawhatchee River and connect with EgAFB. The Greenway study area is roughly 10 miles wide by 100 miles loand covers approximately 750.000 acres. Ultimately it will connect tlarge existing protected areas, Eglin AFB and the Apalachicola NatioForestIt is anticipated that conservation of these lands will be accomplished ba combination of outright purchase and conservation easement. The latwill allow property owners to continue to derive economic benefit from tland while protecting it from development and keeping it on the local trolls.A recent workshop organized by 1000 Friends of

Florida concluded that we have a unique opportunityto guide the changes in NW Florida in ways that willsupport the Greenway goals, but that it will take thecombined efforts of the DoD, environmental groups,state and local governments, land developers, sports-men, private landowners and community members.It's a large but important undertaking that deserves thesupport of each of us.At our April meeting Mr. M. C. Davis, a local commu-nity leader, conservationist and major contributor tothe Greenway Project, will be our guest speaker.


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by Mary A. Hood, CAS Member

When Lenny Fenimore first told us about the screech owls ofTurkey Creek, we hopped in my car and drove to Niceville likeproverbial "bats out of hell" (a clich that has never reallyappealed to me but in this case had a certain appropriateness).About 80 miles from Pensacola, Florida, Niceville has a broadwalk called the Turkey Creek Nature Trail. The mile of wood-

en planks runs along Turkey Creek and Boggy Bayou through atupelo-gum swamp. Bald cypress, white cedar and titi border thewalkway and aquatic plants grow in liquid profusion. The tea-colored tannin waters of the creek move rapidly along whitesandy bottoms, and beyond the creek banks, the water stag-nates in black oily pools. It is a gorgeous swamp!

Walkers use the trail constantly and a volunteer patrols the walk-way in a golf cart. A group of on-lookers had gathered around acypress tree. And sure enough, there he was nestled on abranch about ten feet up near the trunk. We might never havefound him if it weren't for those birders for he was well camou-flaged among the tree limbs.

He was a red morph, an auburn color, and he slept hunchedagainst the tree. Even with a talkative audience below him, heseemed undisturbed by the conversations. Once he opened hiseyes for a brief moment, slowly made a sweep of his admirerswith his yellow eyes, closed them and never moved again. Hismate was a grey morph but she was nowhere to be seen. Wemade four trips but were never able to spot her. She may have

been in her nest holepreparing to raise chicks. Itwas that time of year, theend of March. Screech owlsbrood once a year in thespring; they lay 2 to 6 eggs

that incubate about 26 dayswith about 27 days offledgling time.

The eastern screech owl isone of the smallest NorthAmerican owls, standingabout 8 to 9 inches tall.They are nocturnal, sleepingduring the day and feeding in the first few hours after dark. Tfeed on mice, snakes, lizards, salamanders, and even birOne report claimed to have seen screech owls plunge into slow water and come up with small fish and crayfish. Their c

are part of the lovely night orchestra of eastern woodlanTheir mournful wail has resulted in the legend that when he"someone has died." Their other call is a quivering whistle.

Why do we need to see such creatures and why does it brsuch joy? Could it be that we are trying to make the right cnections. I like to think that Choctawhatchee Audubon Sochelps us to make those essential connections.

Turkey Creek: Eastern Screech Owls

Florida's publicly owned submerged lands, which are the bot-tomland of the state's navigable waters, and the myriad fish andwildlife species they provide habitat for (including manatees),are in jeopardy because of a proposed change to a state rule(Chapter 18-2, F.A.C.). These submerged lands constitute apriceless and irreplaceable resource to the state's citizens.

The marine industries and developers have heavily lobbiedagency heads and the governor to both strip away importantprotection measures and ensure maximum build out over thepublic's bottomlands. This is a critical issue that pits the publicinterest against the profits of a few.

Although shoreline property owners hold title to their uplandproperty, the public owns most of the bottomlands of our water-

ways up to the ordinary high water mark. That's why, in orderbuild a marina, a developer needs state authorization. Once gen that authorization, a marina developer can charge an exortant amount for a boat slip while giving his landlord - the pub- a small fee per square foot.

The proposed rule changes would allow for the increasexpansion of private residential docking facilities, such as condominiums, into large public and/or commercial marinaThe people of Florida would then have to deal with the negatenvironmental impacts from increased vessel traffic in areas thmay not have adequate conservation measure in place.

If the governor and cabinet are going to increase waterwaccess, then they also must increase safety on the watFlorida already leads the nation in the number of human fataties from boating accidents and boat collisions are the largeknown cause of manatee deaths. Before moving forward, tstate must address environmental impacts, study whether nedocks are actually needed, and ensure a comparable increain conservation measures to protect the environment, the pulic, and its property.

For further updates on this issue and how you can help, pleago to www.savethemanatee.org

Public Bottomlands In Jeopardy

by Judith Vallee, Save the Manatee Club Executive Director


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A Li t t le Bi rd Told Me. ..

By Gee Oakman

This is the time of year you'll want to be out looking for birds. Northern wintering birds are leaving and our nesting summebirds are arriving. Gone or leaving are the Robins, Goldfinches, White Throated and Chipping Sparrows, Myrtles or YellowRumped Warblers, etc. - many of which have kept us busy filling feeders.

Incoming birds will not be as interested in seeds, although native Cardinals, Chickadees and Titmice will still be around. Bacagain in our skies will be the Martins, Swallows and Chimney Swifts, as well as the many birds feasting on insects on themerging tree leaves. Many of the Warblers and others will be just passing through to nest further north - some may b

unusual, making your binoculars and bird books invaluable!

Three mainstream conservation groups are demanding a radicalre-evaluation of the state's coastal management policy, callingFlorida's emphasis on beach renourishment and sea walls"risky"and "shortsighted," and claiming support from key stateofficials.

The Caribbean Conservation Corp., Audubon of Florida, and1000 Friends of Florida all signed a letter sent last week to Gov.Jeb Bush and Colleen Castille, secretary of the Department ofEnvironmental Protection.

In it the groups argue that that Florida has encouraged high-riskdevelopment and endangered beaches by being lax aboutoceanfront construction and using beach nourishment andarmoring to shore up beachfront property.

The groups also helped tweak a Senate bill that would makequestioning these policies easier. It will be considered in the2005 legislative session, which started March 8th. The lettermarked the first time the groups had voiced a distinct position on

the state's coastal programs.

"We're kind of a new player on it," said Audubon's Eric Draper."Last year our chapters came to us and said they wanted tomake coastal habitat a much bigger issue," particularly becauseof its impacts to shorebirds.

The groups made reference in the letter to conversations withCastille, members of the governor's staff, and lawmakers, thank-ing them for "consistent support."

Russell Schweiss, a spokesman for the Department ofEnvironmental Protection, said Castille had met with the envi-ronmentalists and "is encouraging debate" on coastal issues.

The groups say they're also heartened by developments in the2005 Legislature. Though lawmakers are expected to approvethe $67 million requested by the DEP this year for beach nour-ishment, they also may make it easier to curb such spending inthe future.

A sweeping coastal and marine conservation bill sponsored bySen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and co-sponsored by Sen.Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, requests a review of "state pro-grams that ncourage inappropriate growth in fragile or hazard-prone areas," and says these should be changed.

Both Pruitt and Dockery said the purpose of the bill is to explomuch broader protections for coastal and marine ecosystemand establish statewide priorities for research. But with the staspending tens of millions of dollars a year on sand dredging areplacement, Dockery said some more

The bill calls for the establishment of a scientific advisory committee to help lawmakers get their facts straight about policiaffecting the coastal environment. "It is not a regulatory growe're forming," said Dockery. "It's a scientific working group."

Audubon's Draper called the bill "a very good piece of legistion," which won't change coastal policy overnight, but will "gius kind of a baseline for information that will tell us exactly whthe problems are."

Gary Appelson, a spokesman for the Caribbean ConservatiCorp., said his group had helped craft parts of the bill and cosidered it a fine start.

"We believe this does not need to be a confrontational issueAppelson said in an e-mail. "Everyone knows we need to nonly protect, but cherish our coastal environment."

Moreover, he said, "it does not take a rocket scientist to undestand that if the beach is eroding inland, and development cotinues to be permitted to the most seaward line of constructioeventually we will no longer be able to have a natural beach adune environment." The problem, he continued, "is how do wgo about confronting the issues, asking the hard questions, afinding solutions."

Tallahassee Bureau Chief Jim Saunders contributed to threport.

State Groups Question 'Risky' Beach Policy

by Virginia Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Staff Writer

Brown Pelican, photo by US Fish & Wildlife Service


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Shorelines is published 10 times a year by ChoctawhatcheeAudubon Society, Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It is sent to 500members and community leaders. To become a sponsor, cal

Kendra Addington at 862-1282. Your contributions will be tax-deductible.

Introduct ory Audubon Society Membership (E-11):

Current members: Please do not use this form for membership renewals.

Name:__________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________

City:__________________ State:__________ Zip:_____________

Phone: ________________ E-mail: _________________________

Introductory membership is $20/individual or $15/student or senior

citizen to join national, state, and local Audubon groups and receive

Audubon magazine and the Shorelines newsletter. To join, mail this

form and a check, payable to National Audubon Society, to NAS

Membership Data Center, P.O. Box 51005, Boulder, CO 80323-1005.

Chapter Code: E-11 7XCH

2005 by Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. All rights reserved.

Make sure you renew your local CAS membership when yourenew your national Audubon membership. Please indicate thatyoure affiliated with Choctawhatchee Audubon Society when yourenew to ensure your subscription to Shorelines.

Newsle t t e r sponsors :

Charlie Parkel, Niceville

Business World, Fort Walton BeachWild Birds Unlimited, Destin

Nonprofit Organizati

U.S. Postage PAID

Fort Walton Beach, F

Permit No. 110

Printed on recycled paper

Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

Shorelines, April 2005

P.O. Box 1014

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32549

President: vacant

Vice president: Bill Burke: 678-0440, [email protected]

Treasurer: Pat Gross: 609-0059, [email protected]

Recording secretary: Carole Goodyear: 897-2666, [email protected]

Corresponding secretary: Pat Baker: 678-2953, [email protected]

Bird count coordinator: Donald M. Ware: 862-6582, [email protected]

Conservation committee chair: Mathilda Ravine: 243-2298, [email protected]

Education: Nonie Maines: 862-9588, [email protected]

Field trips: Charlie Parkel: 678-4728

Hospitality: Gertrude Oakman: 729-2656

Membership & newsletter circulation: Bob Miller: 678-4278, [email protected]

Publicity: Scott Addington:862-1282, [email protected]

Programs: Lois Gilman: 651-5408, [email protected]

Shorelines editor: Kendra Addington: 862-1282, [email protected]

CHAPTER

REPRESENTATIVES

Kelli Parks made a donation toAudubon Eventures.

Charlie Parkel renewed his membershipand made a donation to the ShorelinesNewsletter.

Pat Baker made adonation to CAS.

Donations Received

Thank You!

april 2005 shorelines newsletter choctawhatchee audubon society

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