Studer Community Institute

Navarre Beach's accidental eco-hub

February 26, 2014
/ Louis Cooper
/ economy

In a few weeks, as spring breakers plop their winter-white bodies on the sugary sands of Navarre Beach Marine Park, they unwittingly will be in the middle of what is becoming a center for ecological education, recreation and conservation – something that itself came almost by accident. The park – a 116-acre tract that runs from Santa Rosa Sound to the Gulf of Mexico between the Navarre Beach Causeway and Eglin Air Force Base property – lay fallow for generations. An attempted artificial pass, a state park hobbled by Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis – even a nudist invasion – failed to make a lasting impact on the barrier island parcel. Today the park is home to three burgeoning institutions that capitalize on and complement the land and water’s natural resources: the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station, an educational asset for the Santa Rosa County School District; the Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary, a series of submerged reefs in the Sound and Gulf intended to draw sea creatures and divers interested in them, and the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center. In December, Santa Rosa County officially changed the park’s name from the basic Navarre Beach Park to the more descriptive Navarre Beach Marine Park. The metamorphosis from a generic beachfront park to unique ecological hub began in 2008 when Santa Rosa students, led by Navarre High School biology teacher Charlene Mauro, petitioned the school district to allow the Marine Science Station to locate in a former state park ranger station. “I knew how impactful an informal education experience could be for a student. There was an opportunity and I went for it,” Mauro said. “Since its official opening in August 2009, the station has been host to well over 4,000 students and community members for programs concerning the local marine environments,” Mauro said. “The programs provide hands-on, feet-wet curriculum that educates and challenges participants from ages 3 to 33-plus on how to be stewards of our marine environment.” The Navarre Beach Marine Science Station includes programs for students who are dual enrolled in local high schools and colleges, field experiences and Saturday programs for K-8 students, overnight programs for third-eighth graders, summer camps, and programs geared for both pre-K students and their families. The station has also partnered with organizations such as the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Audubon Society to host international conservation scientists, guests and educational programs. The idea for the Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary was born in the wake of Hurricane Opal in 1995. Opal destroyed the incarnation of the Navarre Beach Pier that had stood until then, leaving only decapitated pilings and strewn debris where the pier once stood. Local snorkelers, however, were intrigued by the marine life the ruins attracted. Years of lobbying, fundraising, recovering from subsequent storms and permitting culminated in spring 2012 when Santa Rosa County sunk two fields of artificial reefs in the Sound north of the park and one field of reefs just off the beach in the Gulf. It was promoted as a destination for snorkelers and divers, particularly as an added attraction for marine tourists interested in the USS Oriskany, which was sunk about 22 miles south of Pensacola in 2006 as an artificial reef. The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center is the newest facility at the park, opening last summer. Located in another vacant state park building, the center is undergoing renovations and could welcome its first sea turtle resident as soon as this summer. The center will be educational at first, with informative exhibits and resident sea turtles that cannot be returned the wild. Eventually, the center could become a sea turtle rehabilitation facility. “We wanted to be close to the beach,” said project manager Cathy Holmes. “If we get into any kind of true rescue, we’re located right there. It’s also the closeness of the other programs that are out there, especially the marine sanctuary. The artificial reef system already is becoming populated with (juvenile) sea turtles.” While these three organizations already work closely together, they are aiming to unify in a more formal manner. “All of (these) should be represented under one roof and that is the Gulf Coast Discovery Center, which will be located in Navarre Beach Marine Park,” Mauro said. “We have formed our own nonprofit, Northwest Florida Marine EDGE, Inc. … supporting existing programs at the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station and expanding on those programs to a broader audience including visitors to Northwest Florida.” EDGE gas a two phase vision: -- Phase I is the construction of the Gateway to the Gulf Pavilion and Down by the Shore touch tank, with expected completion this summer. The Gateway to the Gulf Pavilion will serve as a gathering place for education and conservation programs, and exploration of Navarre Beach through guided and self-guided tours. It will also feature “Watch the Reef TV,” live video feed from a strategically-placed underwater camera on the Gulfside artificial reefs. -- Phase II includes the construction of a 9,000 square-foot interpretive center named the Gulf Coast Discovery Center, expected to be complete in fall 2015. The Gulf Coast Discovery Center will feature a wet lab, multipurpose classroom, and exhibits showcasing local marine life. The park land has a battered history. For the most part, it has sat undeveloped and undisturbed. In 1965, a pass was dug connecting Santa Rosa Sound to the Gulf, but a storm closed the channel within two months of it opening. Various groups have investigated reopening the pass over the years, but the idea has yet to take root. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the undeveloped land became something of a nuisance to some in the community as nudists turned a piece of the distant beach there into an au naturale sandbox. That was a little too much for the sleepy, conservative community. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office even made some arrests for nudity at the site. Community leaders thought hopes for the waterfront property were looking up when the state agreed to open a state park on the site in the early 2000s. That park, equipped with camping sites, picnic pavilions, beach amenities and ranger stations, opened in summer 2004. However, Hurricane Ivan damaged and closed the park in September 2004. The facility was further battered in July 2005 by Hurricane Dennis. By that time, the state had lost its stomach to manage the park. The state paid for hurricane-related repairs and turned it over to be managed by the county in 2008. The county-managed park included picnic, bathing and beach areas, but did not offer camping or rangers.

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Navarre Beach's accidental eco-hub

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