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Protecting our watershed with Estuary 101

Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program

Standing next to a boat launch on Bayou Texar at Bayview Park on a sunny spring day in Pensacola, Matt Posner, executive director for the Pensacola and Perdido Bay Estuary Program, was eager to talk about the program’s work.

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“We were formed as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to really focus on how we can work together as a region, and work at that watershed perspective”, said Posner. “The watershed is the entire drainage area of Pensacola Bay, of Perdido Bay, over 20,000 square kilometers that we’re talking about. And everything you do on land impacts our surface waters, impacts everything here on Bayou Texar or down in Pensacola Bay. So we really need to work at the watershed scale to bring all jurisdictions together, all people together to improve water quality, to restore habitat (and) to enhance coastal resilience. And that’s what (the program is) focused on.”

The program’s newest project is estuary101.com, a website designed to answer questions and connect residents, visitors and business owners with the best ways to protect and preserve the region’s estuaries.

“One of the questions we always get is ‘What is an estuary? What is a watershed? What can I do to connect and have an improvement on our quality of life (and) our natural resources?’ And so Estuary101.com really serves as a platform to share resources with the community about some of the great, unique aspects of the Pensacola and Perdido Bay watersheds and estuaries. But then also some of the individual actions that you as a homeowner can take.”

The Pensacola and Perdido Bay Estuary Program developed a 10-year plan focusing on both the best available science and an understanding of what the public thinks makes this region special.

“Back in 2020, we worked with the University of West Florida’s Hass Center to do a community values and uses survey to really identify what the community values most about living in our region”, said Posner. “We saw it was the connection to our natural resources. It was being able to have fishable and swimmable waters for all. And that has materialized in our management plan and that’s really set our course for the next ten years.”

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One of the major resources to come from the Pensacola and Perdido Bay Estuary Program is their community grant program. “This (program) is now in its third year. We’ve awarded over $700 thousand to 27 grantees. Those project range from supporting the Washington High School Marine Science Academy. So getting those students out in the field to support citizen science water quality monitoring right here at Bayou Texas. To producing a couple of documentary shorts with some of the producers up in the agricultural communities up in Jay and up in Molino, and working to really get that message out there.”

The program is currently working with UWF researchers to enhance monitoring over in Perdido Bay, working to complete stream assessment projects up in the Perdido River corridor and the Escambia River.

“We are just now to the point of turning a lot of our planning work into on-the-ground restoration and implementation. And one of the most exciting things that will be coming up is working to restore Carpenter’s Creek," said Posner.

That work restoring Carpenter’s Creek between I-110 and 12th Avenue is scheduled to begin this fall.

One goal of the program is getting the Pensacola and Perdido Bay Estuary designated as a national estuary. There has not been a national estuary designated in the U.S. for over 28 years, but Posner says getting that designation is important and they are currently working with the offices of Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to make it happen.

“That (would open) up the doors for a substantial amount of funding to come to our region for a lot of these priority projects. And (that would really) put us in an exclusive class with these 28 other national estuary programs that are around the country, (and would) make sure that we are prioritized water quality, habitat and coastal resilience initiatives.”

This week, the program will release their first ever “State of the Bay” report card. You can check out those grades at estuary101.com.

Bob Barrett has been a radio broadcaster since the mid 1970s and has worked at stations from northern New York to south Florida and, oddly, has been able to make a living that way. He began work in public radio in 2001. Over the years he has produced nationally syndicated programs such as The Environment Show and The Health Show for Northeast Public Radio's National Productions.