The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected a proposal by the Bay Area Resource Council and Escambia County to establish a new Estuary Program for Pensacola and Perdido Bays. The $2 million grant is funded through the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council as part of the RESTORE Act and will be hosted by Escambia County. The Estuary Program will guide the production of a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan that will be a fully vetted roadmap for achieving publicly identified outcomes and goals for Pensacola and Perdido Bays.
Stakeholders from federal, state and local agencies and the public will develop a long-term plan that will address water quality and living resource challenges and priorities in Pensacola and Perdido Bays. The Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program is a non-regulatory program that will seek to build on existing assets, watershed management plans and scientific data to restore and conserve the environment and the economy of Pensacola and Perdido Bays for generations to come.
The EPA anticipates funding will be made available in January 2018. To learn more about the Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program, click here.
