Latest news with #MikeNorberg
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Construction underway for living shoreline project at Marler Park
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Construction is underway in Choctawhatchee Bay just off Marler Park in Okaloosa County. Facebook Marketplace meetup at Pensacola Park allegedly turns violent: 4 arrests, 1 sought Crews are hard at work putting in a living shoreline, a nature based solution to help address coastal erosion. 'We've got contractors that are laying material down on the bottom,' Destin-Fort Walton Beach Coastal Resource Manager Mike Norberg said. 'Eventually, they'll be putting in a breakwater reef out of limestone, and then in the future, we're going to be coming back in and planting native vegetation to help stabilize the sediments along the beach.' As crews work to stabilize 2,000 feet of shoreline, county officials are hoping to reduce the shoreline erosion they've seen over the years caused by things like boat wakes and wind waves. 'It also provides natural habitat for fish and other marine life, so it helps support fisheries and tourism opportunities,' Norberg said. According to county officials, the majority of the park will remain open during construction, but certain areas will be marked off for safety. The living shoreline project at Marler Park is expected to be completed by October. Massive bull shark caught outside mouth of Mobile Bay Another living shoreline project along Highway 98 on Okaloosa Island is currently in the design phase. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
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. Local American Red Cross volunteers help prevent house fires across the Panhandle 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.' Man driving truck collides with golf cart, injuring two teens 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
