north central florida environmental summit:
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North Central Florida Environmental Summit: A Socio-Demographic Analysis and Ecological Characterization February 16, 2002 Mary Davis, PhD Candidate, Dept of Economics Thomas T. Ankersen, Director, Conservation Clinic Tom Hoctor, UF Geoplan Center - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileNorth Central Florida Environmental Summit: A Socio-Demographic Analysis and Ecological
CharacterizationFebruary 16, 2002
• Mary Davis, PhD Candidate, Dept of Economics• Thomas T. Ankersen, Director, Conservation
Clinic• Tom Hoctor, UF Geoplan Center• Amy Knight, Florida Natural Resources Inventory• Luther Quinn, M.S. Candidate, Inter. Ecology
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
• What is North Central Florida?– Political Boundaries– Socio-Demographic Statistics– Economics and Industry– Environmental Issues
North Central Florida Environmental ProfilePolitical Boundaries
• Counties included in NCF profile– 16 counties covering 12,400 square miles, 19%
of the total Florida land area
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfilePolitical Boundaries
• Regional Planning Councils– North Central Florida, Northeast Florida,
Withlacoochee
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfilePolitical Boundaries
• Water Management Districts– Suwannee, St. Johns, Southwest
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• NCF population in 2000 - 962,306, 6% of the total FL population
• Distribution of the population– Alachua, Marion, and Clay
counties constitute 64% of the NCF population
– Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, and Union all have less than 15,000 persons each
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AlachuaMarionClayDixieGilchristLafayetteUnion
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• Population Density– 78 persons per square
mile
– Florida average is 300
– Most densely populated counties are Clay and Alachua
– Least dense are Lafayette, Taylor, and Dixie
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FloridaNCFClayAlachuaLafayetteTaylorDixie
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• Population Growth 1990-2000 – 26%
• State average – 23.5%• Highest growth area is
Gilchrist County at 50%
• Smallest growth in Putnam County at 8% 0
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FloridaNCFGilchristPutnam
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
Alachua County Growth SequenceSeparate PowerPoint
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• Major cities– Gainesville, Alachua
– Ocala, Marion
– Lake City, Columbia
– Palatka, Putnam
– Orange Park, Clay
– Perry, Taylor
– Live Oak, Suwannee
– Starke, Bradford
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Gainesville
Ocala
Lake City
Palatka
Orange Park
Perry
Live Oak
Starke
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• NCF poverty rate (1997): 20.1%
• State poverty rate: 14.4%
• Lowest rate in Clay County at 7.7%
• Highest rate in Hamilton, Lafayette, and Dixie 0
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Poverty Rate
FloridaNCFClayHamiltonLafayetteDixie
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
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• NCF Per Capita Income: $18,300
• FL average is $19,855• Alachua county has
highest income level - $25,650
• Union County has the lowest level - $12,750
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
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• High school education– NCF graduation rate:
65.4%
– State average: 74.4%
– Alachua and Clay have highest rates at above 80%
– Dixie and Madison have lowest records at around 57%
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
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FloridaNCFAlachuaBakerDixieLafayette
• University Education: percent to receive a Bachelors Degree– NCF: 10.4%
– FL: 18.3%
– Alachua County 34.6%
– Baker, Dixie, and Lafayette: 5-6%
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics
• 2000 Unemployment Rate for NCF: 3.8%– Highest unemployment in Taylor County with
6.7%– Lowest rate in Alachua County at 1.9%
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• Heavy Industries– Phosphate Mining– Cement Plants– Pulp Mills
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• Government Services: over 80,000 employees– UF: 1998-00 operating budget of over 1 ½
billion dollars– Prisons: 17,000 inmates housed in 20 NCF
facilities, including the FL State Prison in Bradford County
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• Tourism– NCF is a favorite spot for outdoor enthusiasts– In 2000-2001, there were approximately
1,300,000 visitors to NCF area state parks and managed areas, and over half of those visits were to local springs
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• 7,600 farms covering over 1 ½ million acres
• Major crops:– Tobacco, Corn, Cotton, Peanuts
• Livestock– Total beef cattle – 300,000 heads– 72 producing dairies– 272 poultry farms (broiler and egg)
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• Forestry/timber– 70% of NCF land
devoted to forestry
– State average is around 50%
– Alachua and Marion have lowest use at 53%
– Baker has highest at 92% 0
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FloridaNCFAlachuaMarionBaker
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry
• Transportation infrastructure– Over 200 road construction projects are
currently in progress– 62 projects have been completed within the past
year
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Polluting Industries– Major industrial facilities releasing toxic substances,
reported by the EPA in the Toxics Release Inventory
– Original TRI Industries• 4 NCF companies are listed in the top ten facilities in Florida
for on and off-site releases– Buckeye Florida L.P. in Perry;
– Georgia-Pacific Corp in Palatka
– Eveready Battery Co. in Alachua
– Gold Kist Live Oak Processing Plant in Live Oak
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Seven New Industries reported by TRI– 2 NCF companies listed among the top ten
polluting facilities in FL• Seminole Generating Station in Palatka
• GRU, Deerhaven Generating Station in Gainesville
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• NCF Superfund Sites– Approximately 97 Superfund sites are located
in NCF– 5 sites are either currently listed or have been
listed on the National Priorities List– Currently on the NPL
• Cabot Carbon/ Koppers in Alachua County
• Brown Wood Preserving in Suwannee County
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Solid Waste Disposal– NCF average was 1 ton per
capita in 1998
– State average is 1.77 tons
– Largest contributors to solid wastes are Alachua County residents with 1.8 tons
– Least amount of waste comes from Lafayette with .34 tons per capita
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North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Groundwater:– NCF withdraws 365.4 million gallons of
groundwater per day– Marion and Taylor counties consume the
greatest amounts at over 50 million gallons each per day
– Total demand on the groundwater system is projected to increase by 35% in the next 20 years
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Surface Water:– NCF withdrawals of surface water totals 173
million gallons per day– 95% of the withdrawals occur in Suwannee and
Putnam counties
• Minimum Flow Requirements– 47 MFL’s have been set for the NCF area, all of
them within the St. Johns Water Management District
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• List of Impaired Waters:– 12 watersheds within the NCF boundaries
reported their waters as impaired in 1998– The number of water bodies within these
watersheds total 185– Reported impairments are the result of
nutrients, coliform, dissolved oxygen, toxic chemicals, turbidity, and total suspended solis
North Central Florida Environmental Profile
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Fish and Wildlife Advisories– Rivers: Oklawaha, St. Mary’s, Wacassassa,
Suwannee, Santa Fe, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha
– Lakes and ponds: Altho, Eaton, Kerr, Ocean, Mill Dam, Swim
– National Wildlife Refuge: Lower Suwannee
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
• Habitat Loss– Wetlands converted:
• Suwannee River: 188 lost, 45 created, 7,343 preserved, 14,028 improved
• St. Johns River: 4,351 lost, 3,409 created, 30,549 preserved, 1,254 improved
North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues
Local Government Environmental Programs
• Only Alachua and Marion counties have departments specifically devoted to environmental protection
• Only Alachua and Marion counties have local government land acquisition programs