Escambia County has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resiliency Fund to enhance native dune vegetation on both Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key.
The project will work with public and private landowners to plant an approximately 30-ft wide strip of native vegetation at the base of the existing dune line. Plants will be a mix of stabilizing (sea oats, panic grass) and diversity species (beach elder, coastal groundcherry) to mimic natural habitats and improve species richness. The project is modeled off the successful 2016 Perdido Key Dune Restoration project and will complement the upcoming Santa Rosa Island Authority planting project and the larger Panhandle Dune Ecosystem Project managed by FWC. Select areas north of the primary dune will also benefit from asphalt debris removal and installation of secondary dune species to restore habitats impacted by vehicles and past storms.
Staff are currently preparing design documents. A public meeting will be scheduled at a future date to gather stakeholder input on the design process and obtain access and planting permissions from private landowners.
Stay tuned for future updates.
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