Extension offices across the district are now slowly opening on a limited basis. Some essential programs are being provided with limited attendance and social distancing. It is still best to contact us by phone or email.
WEBINAR – UF IFAS WATER SCHOOL: MANAGING STORMWATER IN A CHANGING FLORIDA PANHANDLE.
We would like to invite you to a two-part webinar series on ‘Managing Stormwater in a Changing Florida Panhandle’.
Day 1: Stormwater Management: Nuts & Bolts – Fundamentals
When: Jun 15, 2020, 8:00 am to 10:00 am Central (9:00 am to 11:00 am Eastern)
Topics:
• Watershed Hydrology in Northwest Florida
• Importance of Stormwater Management
• Stormwater Pollutants: Sources, Fate, Transport, and Impacts
• LID/GI Concepts, Typical Realizations/Practices and their Pros and Cons
Day 2 – Stormwater Maintenance
When: Jun 22, 2020, 8:00 am to 10:00 am Central (9:00 am to 11:00 am Eastern)
Topics:
- LID/GI/Stormwater Maintenance – stormwater ponds and LID/GI common practices,
- Planning Tools
o Green infrastructure and issues with scale (headwaters versus larger watersheds)
o Integrated Planning Approach (Capital Improvement Plan)
o NPDES Permitting
o Incorporating practices into predictive models
- Local Case Studies
- Funding Opportunities for LID projects – FDEP
Please register in advance for this meeting:
https://ufl.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtceCqqzosGdADpT2WhaaWkYjavHkIuXvR
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information and password for joining the meeting.
SCIENCE HOUR IS BACK!… VIRTUALLY
We are going to try and resume our monthly SCIENCE HOUR series using a virtual format.
We are switching to a Lunch & Learn plan with a 20-minute program at lunchtime.
This month (week) our first one will on local wildlife and target kids.
Our presenter is Molly O’Connor of the Roy Hyatt Environmental Center and we will be doing a Facebook LIVE broadcast.
Thursday – June 18 – 12:00 PM – Escambia Facebook https://www.facebook.com/escambia.extension.
BITE SIZED SCIENCE WEBINARS
Florida Sea Grant is presenting short webinars are a variety of marine science related topics.
We will be going to a Tuesday-Thursday schedule for June and July. 3:00 PM CDT. Registration link http://bit.ly/bite-sizedscience
NEXT WEEK
Tue (Jun 16) Cyanobacteria Ecology & Management – Dr. Dail Laughinghouse
Thu (Jun 18) Marine Protected Areas of Florida – Libby Carnahan
SEAFOOD @ YOUR FINGERTIPS
Live broadcast of local seafood items and how to prepare them. The presentations will include cooking!
Each Wednesday – 5:00 PM – http://www.flseagrant.org/seafood/seafoodatyourfingertips/
This Week: Filipino Seafood Breakfast and Bacalhau (cod dish)
CURRENT ARTICLES
ESCAMBIA COUNTY EXTENSION NATURAL RESOURCE BLOGS
Weekly “What is it?” – Powderpuff Mimosa
Carrie Stevenson
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/escambiaco/category/natural-resources/.
Embrace the Gulf 2020 – Marine Snails & Slugs
Continuing this series about the natural and cultural history of “The Pond”
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/escambiaco/category/natural-resources/.
2020 Year of the Turtle – The Sliders
Continuing this series on Florida turtles
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/escambiaco/category/natural-resources/.
Fear the Mussel?
The green mussel is a potential invasive threat to the northern Gulf of Mexico.
https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/escambiaco/category/natural-resources/.
Panhandle Outdoors
Embrace the Gulf 2020 – Marine Snails & Slugs – http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/.
Hurricane Season has Arrived – http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/.
Fear the Mussel? – http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/.
2020 Year of the Turtle – the Sliders – http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/.
UF IFAS Water Management Lunch & Learn Courses
The lunch and learn In-Service Training opportunity, Introduction to Water Resources Management in Florida has been updated to ensure the safety and security of these webinars. We have changed the Zoom link and are requiring registration for all webinars.
Tuesday – June 16 – BMAPs and On-Site Sewage – Dr. Andrea Albertin
11:00 AM CDT
Pre-registration at https://ufl.zoom.us/meeting/register/vJQpc-uppjkjwVuVXhI09HS8Xy07DpRKcA.
You can view the past webinars at : https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/martin/sea-grant—martinst-lucie/.
Water Quality Updates
Health Advisories
- Jun 8 – Bayou Chico, Bayou Grande, Bayou Texar, Big Lagoon SP, and Sanders Beach (all POOR)
- Jun 9 – Big Lagoon SP, Sanders Beach, Casino Beach, Park East, Park West, Quietwater Beach (all good)
- HEALTH ADVISORIES ISSUED FOR BAYOU’S TEXR, CHICO, & GRANDE
- See all data below
Rainfall
- Rainfall collected weekly from East Hill (UF IFAS)
- Mean annual rainfall historically around 60” each year
- 2019 rainfall total in East Hill was 47.5”. Rainfall for airport was similar.
- Jan (4.0) Feb (2.8) Mar (0.6) – Winter (7.4”)
- Apr (3.2) May (1.6) Jun (3.9)
Salinity
- The objective to see who has a MEAN salinity at or greater than 20‰ for restoration purposes.
- 2020 1st Quarter Results
- 20‰ or higher: Bayou Grande, Big Lagoon, Lower Perdido Bay, Old River
- Below 20‰ at this time: Kees Bayou, Little Sabine
Longnose Killifish Monitoring
- ON HOLD UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Red Tide & Harmful Algal Blooms
- Last report for RED TIDE was posted Jun 5 (FWC)
- Panhandle – not detected
- SW Florida – low concentrations in Manatee County
- East Coast of FL – not detected
- HABs not detected in panhandle this week
Fish Kills
- No Fish Kills reported in Escambia / Santa Rosa for Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, or Jun
- Report fish kills to FWC at – https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/health/fish-kills-hotline/.
Marine Science Academy – Washington High School – Fish & Water Quality Data – updated
http://whs-ecsd-fl.schoolloop.com/MarineScienceAcademy.
Habitat Restoration
- OCEAN HOUR – Saturday June 13
- – Meet at 8:45 AM; clean ups are from 9:00 – 10:00 AM
- – Bay Bluffs on Scenic Highway
- – Chimney Park on Scenic Highway
- Living Shorelines – NO SITE VISITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
- Seagrass Monitoring – resuming this week.
- Mangrove Surveys – resuming this week – if interested contact me
Coastal Wildlife Updates
- Terrapin Surveys – resuming this week – if interested contact me
- Horseshoe Crabs – ongoing in June – contact me for best dates and times to search
- Barrier Island Cottonmouth Survey – began this week – 1 cottonmouth seen while setting up!
- The Great Scallop Search – ON HOLD FOR NOW
- The Great Scavenger Hunt – planned for SEP 12
- Manatee Watch – No manatees reported this week.
- – PLEASE CONTACT ME WITH SIGHTINGS (roc1@ufl.edu)
- IT IS BIRD NESTING SEASON ON OUR BARRIER ISLANDS – please slow down
Invasive Species Updates
- Weed Wrangles – ON HOLD FOR NOW
- Lionfish
- – 2020 Emerald Coast Open – Sep 11-13 in Destin
- – Inshore Lionfish Surveys – on hold – IF YOU SEE ANY LIONFISH NEARSHORE OR IN THE BAY, PLEASE CONTACT ME
- Other Marine Fish of Concern – currently working on an list of concern species. Posts coming.
- Brown (Cuban) Anole – report to EDDMapS – contact me if are not sure how
- The Great Scavenger Hunt – scheduled for Sep 12; more to come.
Seafood Updates
- SEAFOOD @ YOUR FINGERTIPS
– Each Wednesday @ 5:00 PM – http://www.flseagrant.org/seafood/seafoodatyourfingertips/
- – THIS WEEK – Filipino Seafood Breakfast & Bacalhau (codfish dish)
- Local Seafood is here and available! Consider local seafood for your meal choices
- Here’s what’s in Peak Season for JUNE
- – Softshell blue crab
- – Clams
- – Crawfish
- – Mahi-Mahi
- – Brown shrimp (bay shrimp)
- – Pink shrimp
- – Rock shrimp
- – White shrimp (Gulf shrimp)
- – Snapper – check state limits and accessibility; change frequently
- – Yellowfin tuna
- Seafood Safety Guidelines – Escambia County Division of Marine Resources – https://www.myescambia.com/our-services/natural-resources-management/marine-resources/seafood-safety.
HEALTH ADVISORY DATA
Enterococcus bacteria count rubric for health advisories (Florida Department of Health)
GOOD 0-35 colonies/100ml of sample
MODERATE 36-70 colonies/100ml
POOR 71> colonies/100ml
Health Advisory Frequency
Data provided by the Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Beaches Program
| Body of Water | # of samples collected | # of POOR reports | # of advisories issued | % frequency of advisories |
| Bayou Texar | 19 | 7 | 7 | .37 |
| Sanders Beach | 16 | 3 | 0 | .00 |
| Bayou Chico | 11 | 2 | 2 | .18 |
| Bayou Grande | 10 | 3 | 3 | .30 |
| Big Lagoon SP | 9 | 1 | 0 | .00 |
| Perdido Key SP | 10 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
| Casino Beach | 9 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
| Park East | 9 | 1 | 0 | .00 |
| Park West | 9 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
| Quietwater Beach | 9 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
| Ft. Pickens | 1 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
| Opal Beach | 1 | 0 | 0 | .00 |
Fish Kill Data provided by FWC (Escambia and Santa Rosa counties)
| Month | # of Fish Kills reported | # of Dead Fish reported | Cause |
| Jan | 0 | 0 | |
| Feb | 0 | 0 | |
| Mar | 0 | 0 | |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | |
| May | 0 | 0 | |
| Jun | 0 | 0 |
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