06-02-2025
Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Coalition seeks national recognition
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Coalition consists of members of Okaloosa, Walton, Washington, and Holmes County Commissions, and the Choctawhatchee Basin alliance.
Their focus is restoring and protecting the waterways.
'We are implementing a program that can help with water quality and water resources throughout the entire watershed,' Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Program Interim Executive Director Melinda Gates said.
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Officials are also pursuing national estuary status for Choctawhatchee Bay.
'It would open doors significantly. So one, you have the national recognition associated with that. And there's a number of grant opportunities that would bring in some of those federal grants to our local area. And it makes it easier to leverage that status that title for those grants. But then also, there's some grants that are specific to national estuary programs,' Okaloosa County Coastal Resource Manager Mike Norberg said.
There are 28 existing estuaries along the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts and Puerto Rico. But it's taken about 30 years for a new estuary to gain national recognition.
'We've walked through that process with them to see how we can actually develop the process since they don't have that in place. They just adopted everybody else, and we've actually taken the initiative to get there,' Gates said.
Officials are hopeful they'll get the national recognition. In December, the House of Representatives passed legislation that recognizes 'Pensacola and Perdido' bays as 'Estuaries of National Significance.'
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This means waterways in the Panhandle will be the first to be added to the national estuary program in three decades.
'So really from a regional aspect, the entire Panhandle could potentially be designated as an asteroid of national significance, which is huge for the environment,' Norberg said.
Officials say national recognition increases tourism and prioritizes the watershed for future restoration funding.
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