Search by Keyword
Search by Department
All Departments Administration Corrections Development Services Facilities Management Human Resources Information Technology Library Services Management and Budget Services Natural Resources Management Neighborhood and Human Services Parks and Recreation Public Safety Public Works Veterans Services Waste Services
Click here to sign up for future newsletters.
Escambia County Sea Turtle Season Still Going Strong
As September draws to a close, the 2022 Sea Turtle Nesting Season remains active. Sea Turtle Conservation Program staff and volunteers celebrated 39 nests on county beaches this season, which breaks the previous record of 36 nests from 2016. A quiet hurricane
season has also led to higher-than-average hatch success rates, with over 1,400 hatchlings reaching the Gulf of Mexico as of Sept. 26.
It was a record year for loggerhead nesting across the southeast region, with beaches across peninsular Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas seeing record nest counts. The Gulf Coast also celebrated a banner year. In addition to Escambia County’s first successful leatherback hatch in over 20 years, Mississippi documented its first sea turtle nest since 2018 and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles were documented nesting on Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands for the first time in 75 years. But the season's not over yet! Six nests remain incubating on county beaches and will hatch in the coming weeks. STCP staff and volunteers continue to monitor nests periodically and remain on stand-by to respond to turtle strandings or other incidents.
Leatherback hatchling photo courtesy of Abby Germain.
Marine Resources Education Programs Reach 2,200 People Over the Summer
Marine Resources staff and volunteers engaged 2,200 people this summer through a variety of educational programming, including the Summer Reading Series with West Florida Public Libraries, a regular presence at Pensacola Beach’s Bands on the Beach, area Fishing Rodeos, and the Sea Turtle Baby Shower and World Ocean Day events. Programs engaged visitors in variety of topics, including sea turtle and coastal conservation, waterway safety, and proper angling practices. Staff was supported by a dedicated group of interns and volunteers who worked to engage audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Marine Resources education at the Sea Turtle Baby Shower
Escambia County Receives $13,200 Award for Coastal Landscaping Workshops and Plant Giveaways
Escambia County is excited to announce a $13,200 award from the Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program's Community Grant Program in support of coastal landscaping workshops and plant giveaways.
The county will host the workshops and giveaways in partnership with UF/IFAS Escambia Extension and the Florida Master Gardeners to improve resident awareness and access to native landscaping resources. In addition to public workshops, the project will also work to engage local nurseries to carry native coastal species for retail purchase. Staff and project partners will begin nursery outreach in the coming months, with workshops and plant giveaways planned for the early spring. Read the full news release here.
Carrie Stevenson, Coastal Sustainability Agent IV for UF/IFAS Escambia Extension (L), and Samantha Bolduc, Community Outreach Specialist for Escambia County Natural Resources Management (R), accept a $13,200 award from the Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Program.
Geocaching In Escambia County
Escambia County Natural Resources Conservation Division, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Pensacola have partnered to create a geocache tour designed to route residents and visitors to the area’s environmental restoration projects and unique environmental habitats. Since its implementation, approximately 4,500 geocachers have visited at least one cache along the tour that spans form Lake Stone in Century to Pensacola Beach.
Recently, NRC has gone through and reevaluated the caches along the tour that were impacted by Hurricane Sally or other disturbances. There are currently six active and three inactive geocaches that are inaccessible due to repairs being made to the area. We have also added one new cache on the tour at the Perdido Key Community Center in the new Perdido Key Coastal Demonstration Garden. Installed by Natural Resources Management staff, the garden is designed to demonstrate landscaping techniques on barrier islands, focusing on using native species that provide benefits to wildlife.
Please visit Geocaching.com and filter the search to "hidden by – FDEP” to see the full list of caches available along our tour.
Geocaching tour locations in Escambia County: Top left: Admiral Mason Park; Bottom left: Fillingim Landing; Right: Tarklin Bayou. All photos courtesy of Debbie Williams.
Developing a Baseline Greenhouse Gas Inventory for County Operations
Escambia County is taking a major step toward ensuring a more sustainable future. The Resiliency Program is developing a baseline greenhouse gas inventory for county operations. A baseline greenhouse gas inventory will provide the county with information about where, when and how energy is being consumed by county operations. The project will allow the county to set measurables emissions reduction goals and track progress as the county seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing waste and enhancing efficiencies of facilities and our fleet.
Adopting energy tracking technology will allow Escambia County to trace and visualize energy consumption
Supporting Real Estate Acquisition Through Environmental Review
The Resiliency Program supports the county’s Real Estate Acquisition Office by conducting transaction screening assessments on parcels of interest in Escambia County. The goal of the TSA process is to identify potential environmental concerns and provide limited environmental due diligence for the Real Estate Acquisition Office.
The Resiliency Program conducted six TSAs in the third quarter of 2022. These assessments support acquisition activity for a future fire station, floodplain restoration, dirt road paving and a drainage project. The photo below shows one of the three parcels assessed as a potential site for Eleven Mile Creek Floodplain Restoration.
RESTORE Project in Escambia County
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to passage of the RESTORE Act. This Act dedicates 80% of the Clean Water Act penalties to the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund. It is the job of each of the Escambia County Commissioners to pick projects that meet the funding requirements and staff’s job to quickly implement them. To date, there have been $109 million dedicated to 26 projects throughout Escambia County.
Current and pending projects include:
Staff and partnering personnel visiting a proposed living shoreline site
Construction Underway on the Skatepark at Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park
The skatepark is part of the overall transformation of the Hollice T. Williams Park area through a joint project with Escambia County and the City of Pensacola. The project will create a place for community members of all ages to connect and enjoy activities in the heart of the city. RESTORE funds were used for the recently completed design phase of the Stormwater Park.
In addition to the skate park, the 1.3-mile Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park will contain a number of features including practice fields, a Multi-Use path, an amphitheater, a community garden, rain gardens, an overlook pond and a walking track. The overlook pond and rain gardens will capture and treat more than 100 acres of stormwater. These stormwater features will capture and provide treatment for stormwater in the area to reduce localized flooding and the amount of untreated stormwater entering the Pensacola Bay.
Click here to watch a video walkthrough of the Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park
Construction progress of the skatepark at Hollice T. Williams Stormwater Park
Fall Landfill Compliance Monitoring Complete
Water Quality and Land Management recently finished the fall 2022 field work required for compliance monitoring for the Perdido Landfill and other closed landfill facilities in Escambia County. WQLM collects and coordinates the analysis of groundwater and surface samples every spring and fall.
Travis Molony, Environmental Quality Technician, conducting landfill groundwater sampling in the field
New Staff in the Water Quality Laboratory and WQLM Position Openings
Water Quality and Land Management recently hired Kylyn Bridges as a new Laboratory Technician. Her new responsibilities include analyzing samples for bacteria, chlorophyll-a and residuals. Welcome aboard, Kylyn!
Laboratory Technician Kylyn Bridges
Amber McCarver Receives October Employee of the Month
We are proud to recognize Amber McCarver, Water Quality Laboratory Manager, as the October Employee of the Month! Amber was recently promoted from Environmental Analyst to Lab Manager and was congratulated for her dedication to the success of our department. Way to go, Amber! Learn more about Amber and her accomplishments here.
Amber McCarver receives the Employee of the Month award at the Oct. 6, 2022, BCC meeting. Pictured with Tim Day, Deputy Director for Natural Resources Management (L), and Brent Wipf, Division Manager, Water Quality and Land Management Division (R).
The mission of Escambia County government is to provide efficient, responsive services that enhance our quality of life, meet common needs and promote a safe and healthy community.
Under Florida law, IP addresses and both the content of emails and email addresses are public records. If you do not want your IP address and the content of your email or your email address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in person.