Florida Trustees Approve Final Restoration Plan 1

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The Florida Trustee Implementation Group approved its Final Restoration Plan 1 (PDF, 390 pg.) which selects twenty-three projects at a total estimated cost of $61 million. The final plan is consistent with the Trustees’ Programmatic Restoration Plan and selects projects for restoring natural resources and services injured or lost in Florida as a result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

These projects will help restore and benefit wetlands, coastal, and nearshore habitats on federally managed lands; improve water quality and hydrology by reducing sources of pollution and restoring more natural flows to increase the overall health and productivity of these ecosystems; and enhance the public’s access to the surrounding natural resources and increase recreational opportunities.

The following projects were selected in the final plan. More information about each of them can be found in the final plan or fact sheet, included with other documents below:

Habitat Projects on Federally Managed Lands

  • Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida) Night Sky Restoration Planning and Design.
  • Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida) Beach and Dune Habitat Protection.
  • Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida) Invasive Plant Removal.
  • St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge Predator Control.

Nutrient Reduction

  • Pensacola Bay and Perdido River Watersheds - Nutrient Reduction.
  • Lower Suwannee River Watershed - Nutrient Reduction.

Water Quality

  • Carpenter Creek Headwaters Water Quality Improvements.
  • Pensacola Beach Reclaimed Water System Expansion.
  • Rattlesnake Bluff Road and Riverbank Restoration.
  • Pensacola Bay Unpaved Roads Initiative Planning and Design.
  • Alligator Lake Coastal Dune Lake Hydrologic Restoration.
  • City of Port St. Joe Stormwater Improvements.
  • City of Carrabelle’s Lighthouse Estates: Septic Tank Abatement - Phase II.
  • Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge Hydrologic Restoration Planning and Design.
  • Lower Charlotte Harbor Flatwoods Hydrologic Restoration Initiative, Yucca Pens Unit Planning and Design.

Provide and Enhance Recreational Opportunities

  • Perdido River and Bay Paddle Trail.
  • Carpenter Creek Headwaters Park Amenities.
  • Gulf Islands National Seashore (Florida) Rehabilitation of Okaloosa Unit Recreational Facilities.
  • Joe’s Bayou Recreation Area Improvements.
  • Topsail Hill Preserve State Park Improvements.
  • Camp Helen State Park Improvements.
  • St. Andrews State Park Improvements.
  • St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Trail Connection, Spring Creek to Port Leon.

The Florida Trustee Implementation Group released the Draft Restoration Plan I and Environmental Assessment for review and public comment on September 20, 2018, held a public meeting in Tallahassee on October 2, 2018, and held a public webinar on December 13, 2018, to facilitate public understanding of the document. We continued to accept public comments until December 28, 2018. In the Final plan, we considered all public comments received on the Draft plan, which informed our analyses and selection of the preferred restoration projects.

During the public comment period, Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle. We worked with the affected counties to determine whether proposed projects in areas that were impacted remained viable, which also informed the our selection of the preferred restoration projects in the Final plan. A summary of the public comments received and the Trustee Implementation Group’s responses to those comments are addressed in Chapter 6 of the final plan.

More information:

Final Restoration Plan 1 and Appendices PDF, 557 pg.
Executive Summary PDF, 5 pg.
Fact Sheet PDF, 3 pg.
Final Restoration Plan 1, no Appendices  PDF, 390 pg.
Appendices PDF, 167 pg.