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Sea Turtle nest signage
Sea Turtle amidst beach furniture
Sea Turtle at sunset
Sea Turtle returning to the sea
Sea
Turtle Info
Photos of Perdido Key Turtle Hatchlings
Lights Out For Turtles
Hatching Sea Turtles Need Help to
Survive
Sea Turtle photos take at
Perdido Key: Turtle Tracks
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Turtle Hatchlings
What to do if You Find a Dead or Injured
Sea Turtle
All BCC meetings are open to
the public and are held in Board Chambers, First Floor, Escambia County
Governmental Complex, 221 Palafox Place. You are encouraged to attend.
Please
contact the commissioners
with your views on this important issue.
Make yourself heard
- If you have a request or
problem with Escambia County there is a special place on their website to
make yourself heard.
LINK
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The time to prepare your
home and family for hurricane season is well ahead of the storm season
which officially runs June through November. Please discuss your plans
with you family and keep the following suggestions in mind...
Prepare your home. If there is threat of severe weather, hurricane shutters or precut half-inch plywood should be ready to quickly install to protect windows.
Trim shrubbery and trees.
Removing dead limbs and yard debris will help protect your house. Plan ahead for safely stowing patio furniture, grills, etc.
Check battery powered
equipment. Make
sure to have extra batteries for radios, flashlights and smoke
detectors.
Collect all import documents and papers in one place.
Placing important papers in a waterproof container will not only protect your papers, but will make it handy in the event that you have to evacuate.
Review insurance policies. Make sure all are current and provide adequate coverage.
Inventory home possession or take photos or videos. Place with important papers.
Have extra cash on hand. In the case of power outages, some businesses may be able to only operate on a cash basis. ATM’s may not be available if there is a power outage.
Check food supplies and prescription drugs.
A three day supply of food and water is recommended. An emergency kit containing essentials like non-perishable foods, protective clothing, battery powered radio, flashlights, extra batteries, bedding, pet supplies and first aid items should be a part of emergency planning.
Remember the first 72 Hours are on you. Plan ahead to be self-sufficient until help arrives.
The Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce is responsible for issuing annual Hurricane Re-entry passes for Perdido Key property owners and residents. Contact them to be sure that you have a current pass before storm season arrives.
Contact info:
Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce
15500 Perdido Key Dr., Pensacola, FL 32507
Ph 850.492.4660
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Fax 850.492.2932
E-mail: info@perdidochamber.com
Hurricane
Preparedness - Escambia Dept of Public Safety
Other Resources |
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Oil Spill Beach Clean-up Continues Local Participation is Vital
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Excavation with heavy
equipment is now underway to remove additional submerged tar mats from
the near shore waters of Perdido Key. Unfortunately, due to the tides,
weather and the enormity of the mess, the clean up process will probably
be with us for a long time. Cooperation and consideration between
residents and clean up workers is so important to getting this
monumental clean-up done right.
The association has recently heard reports of local citizens employed by BP contractors on the beach clean-up being cruelly harassed by beachgoers. We urge every member to spread the word that this behavior is totally unacceptable and counter productive to our desire to see local beaches cleaned as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Due to the area high unemployment figures, local elected officials have rightfully required that locals be given the first opportunity to fill these critical, physically demanding and in many cases thankless jobs. When you see workers on the beach, be mindful that they are performing a valuable service and it’s their beach too.
NEWSLETTER CORRECTION - The Spring 2011 PKA newsletter erroneously reported that the BP process was not to clean tar balls and mats from an area until they had three complaints. We have since learned that this is not the official process and in fact, in addition to the daily monitoring still being conducted, every complaint is recorded and will generate a clean-up response. |
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Wildlife Lighting
Ordinance
in the works |
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Escambia
County has not yet enacted a beachfront lighting ordinance to protect
nesting turtles and shorebirds but is working on it.
A
draft lighting ordinance was attached to the Perdido Key Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) submitted to the US Fish & Wildlife
Service for review in 2010. This ordinance will go to the Planning
Board when the HCP comes close to being approved by the Service and
will be one of the first conservation measures
implemented in the HCP.
Current
regulations regarding lighting are as follows:
1)
New
construction requiring a CCCL permit - reviewed by the state for turtle
friendly lighting plan
2) New
construction or prior footprint construction in PKBM habitat - reviewed
by USFW for wildlife friendly lighting plan
3)
Existing
lighting can be addressed by existing LDC language in Article
7.03.00, "...Artificial beachfront lighting should be designed
and positioned
in such a way that it is not disruptive or have an adverse impact on the
activities of Florida's endangered sea turtles. The Florida
Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) guidelines for protection of nesting habitat, nesting
females and hatchling marine turtles from the negative effects of artificial
lighting can be found in their pamphlet titled "Sea Turtles and Lights."
The
Walton County Board of County Commissioners recently adopted a
Wildlife Lighting Ordinance (No.
2009-03),
which provides guidelines for proper light management to minimize
disturbances to nesting sea turtles, their hatchlings, and other
coastal wildlife. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that
all lighting along the beach is controlled so as not to directly or
indirectly illuminate the beach. It is similar to the Ordinance
proposed in the PK HCP.
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Emergency
Management Update
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Continuing PKA’s 2009 study of Evacuation Re-Entry policies for Perdido
Key, we invited Mr. John Dosh, the Emergency Manager, Escambia County
Office of Emergency Management to speak at our October 14 board meeting.
At the meeting Mr. Dosh cautioned us not to let our guard down, that
Hurricane season was not over yet. We all laughed. Then Hurricane Ida
swept quickly into the Gulf of Mexico not 3 weeks later. What a
surprise, and an important lesson.
Thankfully, Hurricane Ida lost strength and blew through Perdido Key
pretty quickly without major damage, but we all know it can be very
different. Destin had serious beach erosion which undermined buildings.
The new Gulf Shores fishing pier is closed for three weeks for repairs
due to high surf. We were lucky this time.
As discussed earlier this year when the PKA board met with Sheriff
Morgan, our objective for doing this study is to encourage the local
decision makers to have an effective evacuation re-entry program in
place for Perdido Key and clearly communicate it to the public. The
board felt it was important that the agencies involved evacuation
policies on Perdido Key get to know property owners face to face, in a
calm setting, before there is an emergency. No one ever wants to go
through the debacle of Hurricane Ivan ever again.
Mr. Dosh has been with Escambia County for 15 years. He became head of
Emergency Management when Janet Kilgore retired two years ago. He has
acted as a first responder at every major hurricane location in Florida
including Andrew and was on the ground in New Orleans following Katrina.
Mr. Dosh knows better than anyone, what can happen to a coastal county.
He “hopes for the best, but always plans for the worst.” While we tend
to focus on the threat of hurricanes, his division also plans and
responds to all other types of public safety emergencies.
The PKA Board was candid with Mr. Dosh about what policies worked in the
past and what created problems. Mr. Dosh acknowledged that the
communication both within the emergency management agencies and with the
residents was poor during Hurricane Ivan. He told us that they have made
a great many changes. He assured us that it is now a priority with all
county agencies to cooperate in order to provide clear communication to
the public. The PKA questioned in depth the chain of command in the
event of a declaration of a Countywide State of Emergency. We wanted to
know who is responsible for what and when. Mr. Dosh provided the
following information:
The Board of County Commissioners votes to declare a State of Emergency.
The County Administrator is then named the Incident Commander. He is now
in charge. The Incident Command Center is the Emergency Operations
Center on W Street in Pensacola. The EOC building was specially designed
as a disaster shelter that will withstand 200 mph winds and is equipped
with redundant systems of state of the art computer back up and
communications equipment.
Emergency management representatives from Federal, State and County
first responders needed to address transportation, law enforcement,
access to recovery supplies, utilities, medical needs, and military
liaisons staff the EOC around the clock while the State of Emergency is
in effect. Mr. Dosh explained the reasoning behind assembling all of
these people in one place is whatever emergency arises; they try to have
the ability to immediately make contact with the personnel necessary to
address it. Citizens have a central location to report issues to and
information being distributed to the public can come out of a central
location.
The PKA board was provided with many resources for learning about storm
preparation, building homes with wind-resistant features, and important
contact information in the event of any emergency. We have posted much
of this information here on the PKA Website as well as
links to sources
for related information.
With proper planning and public education, there will be no reason why
property owners out of town or evacuee cannot get good clear information
regarding access and recovery plans. The server for the PKA website is
located out of state. In the event of a local emergency it will not be
impacted. Our website gallery is available as a place to post photos in
the event of an emergency. PKA is committed to educating our membership
so in the event our community faces a future emergency situation, they
will know exactly where and how to get the accurate information.
Hurricane
Preparedness - Escambia Dept of Public Safety
Other Resources
Perdido
Key in the
News
2-21-09:
Upscale bingo set for key - Facility would partner with Creek Indians
10-16-08:
The Perdido Key
Dwelling Cap Stands!
8-24-08:
Hatchling sea turtles need
help from humans to survive
7-22-08:
Escambia to restrict area at Perdido Key from development forever
6-21-08:
Letter to Editor: Key dwelling
'cap'
4-10-08:
Perdido Key Sea Turtle
Friendly Lighting Workshop
10-2-07:
SW Escambia Roads Presentation
8-11-07:
Hurricane lessons lost in county's Perdido Key plan
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