Before and after Hurricane Ivan 2004
Discussion paper for your consideration
In a recently published book by the physicist and oceanographer, Helen Czerski, entitled, The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works, she began by saying “This book is about ‘Ohana, the extended family, and about taking care of the people in the canoe.” The term ‘Ohana is a Hawaiian term meaning “family’, extended to include blood-related and adoptive. The term was made popular in the 2002 Disney film, “Lilo and Stitch. Lilo: “Family being nobody gets left behind. But if you want to leave, you can.”
Ms. Czerski in her book tells us about the dynamic liquid power that stretches around our planet and how it connects and promotes to every part of life on this planet. Here on the Florida panhandle we have a very limited view of this powerful engine from our small stretch of a Gulf of Mexico beach on one of several small barrier islands formed about 5,000 years ago as a result of rising sea levels and quartz sand washed down from the eroding Appalachian mountains. Our barrier island, named by one of our homo Sapien tribes from Spain about 400 years ago. Ms. Czerski explains that an “engine’ is something that converts energy (usually heat) into motion or “work.” She provides the reader with details about the interacting process between the ocean and earth’s atmosphere called “El Nino” and “El Nina” in the distribution of heat generated by the sun and the ‘Ohana’s economic growth and other homo Sapien activities.
When my mother was born in 1923 the ‘Ohana reached a milestone with a population on earth of one billion. Today, we have a global family population of eight billion homo sapiens who have established dominion over the small blue planet we call earth. Ms. Czerski tells us in her book that the “Blue Machine” is no longer capable of shrugging off the influences and actions of the ‘Ohana. She explains that the combined 300 years of sustained effects of our economic system called “capitalism” has been too successful, and we can no longer continue as we have been doing and continue dumping our industrial and societal waste into the “Blue Machine.” The ocean she tells us, absorbs nearly 30 percent of additional carbon dioxide we’re dumping into our atmosphere. The flora and fauna absorb another 30 percent. Carbon dioxide and methane work to capture and retain heat. Heat melts ice. About 18,000 years ago, for reason not entirely understood, the polar ice caps began to melt and i hasn’t slowed. Actually, it has accelerated. Our blue engine sea level 18,000 years ago was about 130 feet lower than it is today. The affect is measurable, visible and real. The reality is visible light is converted into heat and retained in our oceans.
Carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere work to capture heat. With currently 8 billion ‘Ohana family members on earth and headed for about 11 billion family members by 2100 the effect will clearly create additional emissions and more waste. As a result, the ocean temperature increases and the “Blue Machine” sea level is rising. Some of the rise is by volume and some through thermal expansion. As if that’s not enough, its turning into a plastic rainbow dumping ground that takes thousands of years to degrade. All this is threating the ‘ohana’s life style and marine life as a result. The good news is that science, knowledge, understanding and insight does give us agency, if we choose to use it. We cannot control what other homo sapiens do around the world, but we can control how we deal with it here on our 4.1 mile narrow stretch of barrier island called Santa Rosa island. What follows in this discussion paper is a cumulative review of the decisions in the economic development of Navarre Beach from one hundred years of the Pensacola News Journal (PNJ) news stories of the decision makers who have ignored the reality of mother nature and sound advice of many environmental experts and the cumulative effect of a series of bad or short term decisions that has brought our community to this point in time and the consequences of those decisions on our posterity, here in Santa Rosa County. (Note: In addition to heat retaining gases like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor there are other unknown causes of climate warming changes including thermal hot spots, sun energy output variation, earth’s orbital variation and global environmental data collection inconsistency.)
Michael Bennett (Bennett6520@yahoo.com)
(Note: A study published in 2009 had reviewed the Impact of Hurricane Ivan (CAT 3) on Santa Rosa Island habitat and reported removed 68 percent of the dune structures occupied by the Santa Rosa mouse and 15 percent of the habitat in scrub dune area’s. The result was a 50 percent drop in populatioin on frontal dunes and a 25 percent drop of occupancy in the scrub dune areas. For this endangered species, habitat availability and the quality of the habitat is a key feature that determines survival and population density. The Santa Rosa Beach mouse is one of seven(7) species of the Oldfield mouse that occupies the coastal barrier islands in Floridia and Alabama and is declared an endangered species in 4 out of 5 species. Foredunes and frontal dunes located adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico are the primary habitat for the beach mouse, when Sea Oats are present.)
In the Sept 20, 2009, edition of the Pensacola News Journal (PNJ) the editor Emeritus, J. Earle Bowden shared his thoughts and observations on Santa Rosa Island officials lacking long term planning with three prominent environmental marine scientists. These educators predicted that Santa Rosa Island would be among the most likely to experience significant change, as global warming and rising seas take their toll on the island in the coming decades. The director of the program for the Study of Developed Shorelines and Professor of Geosciences at Western Carolina University, Rob Young said, “Your basically building on a sand bar out there”, meaning Santa Rosa Island. He explained that Santa Rosa Island is one of the most vulnerable barrier islands in America and said, “Right now, frankly You’re doing the wrong thing. Every time I go down there, there’s another giant building right on the beach.” He says the rest of Florida has shown the same economic development philosophy in coastal construction across the state and that Florida is the least prepared of any state because of hundreds of miles of unprotected shores and thousands of high rise buildings.
There is no question, says Professor Emeritus, Orrin Pilkey, director of the Nicholas School of Environmental studies at Duke University in Durham, N.C., who adds that “Florida has been doing all the wrong things for decades.” He says there is no question, higher seas and warmer oceans will increase shoreline erosion and bring more intense storms with larger and higher storm surges and waves hitting the beaches.
These experts point out that an Intergovernmental panel on climate change has calculated that sea levels will rise at a minimum of three feet around the world by 2100. Many other scientists view this forecast as conservative and suggest a sea level rise of 8 feet is possible by 2100. A three foot rise says professor Pilkey would halt all development along the panhandle and even an increase of one (1) foot would significantly increase beach erosion in Florida and it will require many more tax funded renourishments projects. “We’re in serious trouble long before we reach a sea level rise of three feet,” says Abby Sallenger, a colleague of Pilkey and Young. Sallenger is head of the U.S. Geological Surveys of storm surge and wind impact that investigates hurricane damages. Sallenger says, “I would expect the rate of erosion to accelerate in the coming years. It won’t be that long before you see some of the barrier islands begin to break up as a result.“ All three experts, Sallenger, Young and Pilkey concur that the federal government policies of financing and rebuilding damaged storm area’s must stop and will likely stop in the near future for lack of funds. Sallenger points out that nearby Dauphin Island, Alabama, since 1979 has had to rebuild the island four times after hurricanes. These repetitive losses and high tax dollar costs will eventually force changes to existing government policies and the pressure will increase over time to stop financing such lost causes as sea level rises. (Note: National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency, NOAA says average sea level rise over last 3,000 years was 1.5 mm per year equals approximately one-third inch per year.. Between 1900 and 2021 the mean sea level rise increased from 1.7 mm to 8.4 mm per year. Since 2010. the average sea level has rose 5 inches. Scientist forecast the rate of sea level to continue rising and accelerate through 2100.
Professor Young has called federal loans that subsidize vacation homes to operate as rental property, “socialized insurance” for the investment of the property owners along the coast. He says, “The reason they build out there (beach) is because of federal subsidies in financing and providing flood insurance. When that stops, the building will stop”. Young adds,“The coastal economy is a false economy. It can’t stand on its own without government help.” The larger the building become, the less flexible a beach community becomes to deal with rising sea levels, says Pilkey. Large high rise hotels and condo developers put pressure on federal, state and local authorities to intervene for short term financial gain and the taxpayers pay the bill in the long run. (Note: Abby Sallenger wrote the book, Island in the Storm and Pilkey and Young wrote the book, The Rising Sea.
In 1995, Santa Rosa island was hit by two major hurricanes. The first was on August 6, 1995, called Erin, a Cat 2 with 100 mph winds. It was closely followed by Hurricane Opal on Oct 6, 1995, a Cat 4 with 150 mph winds, and brought a 15 foot water surge across the island. The editor of the Pensacola News Journal, Mr. J. Earl Bowden had wrote an editorial that pointed out that “Only a few beach lovers understand the nature of barrier islands. Opal was a powerful teacher. Barrier islands are buffer zones, the shock absorbers, that wound themselves as sentinels to the wrath of the sea and wind. Opal has left Santa Rosa island and Perdido Key changed, sculpted into new landscapes.” He went on to say, living on the island is a gamble. It’s not if it will happen again, it’s just a matter of when. Hurricane Erin and Opal flattened 40 foot dunes, eroded the northern side of the island and sound shore by 9 to 15 feet. The southern Gulf side shore of the island had 60 to 150 feet eroded in one year. Since than the island has gotten lower in elevation and narrower in width over the last 28 years and the process will continue into the foreseeable future. (see Santa Rosa island LIDAR image attached page one)
Over the last 5,000 years the Pensacola Bay and Beach System was developed naturally. The system includes the Santa Rosa Sound and the Santa Rosa Barrier Island which at one time included and supported the salt marsh and oyster reef habitat and marine life in the northern sections of both Pensacola and East Bay areas and provided lush meadows of sea grasses near the southern end of these bays and the sound. In particular, the Big Lagoon and Santa Rosa Sound were the most productive water ways for marine life and habitat in the system. These various sea grasses in these protected area’s supported various fish species, scallops, shrimp and Manatee across the entire system prior to increasing economic and population growth. With the rise of the military’s presence and industrialization during World War II came social and environmental stressors and manmade pollutants that came from the northern estuaries where industrial paper, wood and chemical enterprises were constructed and allowed to dump industrial waste into the streams that empty into the bays and the sound. By the 1970’s, the Pensacola Bay system was overwhelmed and significant marine habitat and grasses died off and with it other marine wildlife and land species declined across and around the entire bay system. Sixty years later the system has not yet fully recovered and only recently has it shown some recovery with better water quality regulations, waste processing and environmental management, sea grass transplants and enforcement environmental practices. Much more will be needed say experts as the social and economic pressures continues to rise over the next 25 years in pursuit of what some call “progress”.
The national media and internet publications have recently announced that the Santa Rosa Island and the Pensacola Bay System secret isn’t a secret anymore. In 1970, the population of Escambia County was about 205,000, in 2022 it was nearly 325,000, an increase of 120,000 people. This doesn’t take into account the annual tourist surges into the area and the economic and social growth and pressure along the northern estuaries that flow into the Bay system from Alabama. In 1970, Santa Rosa County’s population was about 38,000. Today Santa Rosa’s population is nearly 200,000, forecasting another 162,000 in 50 years. The state of Florida is projecting that in sixteen years, Escambia County’s population in 2040 will be about 356,000 and Santa Rosa County will be about 250,000. If true, this means that the two northwest Florida panhandle counties will have an thousands of more people putting more pressure on the Pensacola Bay system, Santa Rosa Island and the Sound. Over the last twenty years it’s cost taxpayers nearly $50 million to regularly refurbished the continually eroding Gulf beaches to attract an additional 400,000 visitors here on top of the 600,000 annual visitors who now come to the beaches and waterways of Escambia and Santa Rosa County.
In addition, the state of Florida has plans to expand U.S. 98 between Panama City to Pensacola to six lanes to accommodate the expected increased vehicle flow and population growth on a very limited fragile narrow confined and vulnerable island on the Gulf and Bay System. Santa Rosa County’s future land planners and politicians want to replace the old $1.2 million 1960 sound bridge with a new four lane $120 million Navarre Beach toll bridge in what could become a bridge to nowhere under the assumption that the island and Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach will remain as they are today. The question remains for Navarre Beach leaseholders, Holly/Navarre area and the remaining Santa Rosa County citizens is whether or not this very narrow fragile 4.1 mile section of Santa Rosa Island will remain a “relaxing place” where economic growth and mother nature find a balance. Given the reality of what Navarre Beach will face over the next 25 years in the face of rising sea levels and the increasing frequency and intensity of tropical storms and major hurricane’s would not make much sense to spend $120 million on a new bridge without rethinking the existing land usage plan for the preservation of Navarre Beach itself through less costly natural methods, like the Gulf Coast Barrier Island National Seashore Park is planning for and implementing?
In the short term, Santa Rosa County will get its share of the generated tax revenue for a while and the business owners will get their profit margins for the near future. But the clock is ticking and the sea is rising and more severe hurricanes will be coming more frequently. In the long run, what do the citizens of Santa Rosa County get in return? Who own’s this 4.1 mile strip of Santa Rosa Island called Navarre Beach? What’s in the best long term interest of all Santa Rosa County citizens? What are the long term interests of Santa Rosa citizens and why don’t our five elected county officials involve themselves in what the destination will be for Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa County by asking the citizens of Santa rosa County? This is a discussion that needs to take place today before short-term thinkers make uninformed decisions for us without citizen input into those decisions who are the real stakeholders of the future and they need to be involved. Few people realize that Santa Rosa Island is actually disappearing before their very eyes. Increasing human activity and environmental forces are taking a toll on this fragile Santa Rosa Barrier Island. Barrier Islands are not permanent structures. Over the last twenty-five years there has been a significant paradigm shift in the creative forces on the island that has shifted to a destructive force. The sources of these two major destructive forces on Santa Rosa Island are coming from the combination of increasing pressures of economic development, increased population growth and climate change. One can find at least a two dozen creditable scientific studies on Santa Rosa Island dune and beach erosion, as well as loss of plant habitat because of the increased frequency and increasing magnitude of population and hurricane and tropical storm occurrences causing significant structural damage to the beaches, dunes and island habitat. (See 1995 LIDAR scan of Santa Rosa Island hurricane Ivan Washovers and dune erosion damage)
These credible studies have compared the hurricane and tropical storm frequency and intensity over the last twenty-five years (1995-2023) against the previous twenty-five years (1970-1994). The consensus of these scientific studies concludes that the frequency and intensity on average on our barrier island is three times greater over the last 25 years than the previous 25 years. As a result, Santa Rosa island on average has lost two meters of elevation (6 feet) and lost 150 feet of shoreline on both the Gulf side and Sound side. (see attached chart above) Over seventy percent of the dunes have been destroyed or reduced in size and number. All the scientific studies have forecasted that these trends will continue into the foreseeable future and likely increase in intensity and number due to a warming climate and the resulting rising sea levels. In addition, National Oceanic & atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forecasting a conservative average rise of sea levels of another 18 inches by 2050. Other scientific studies have shown that Gulf of Mexico sea levels will continue rising by one to three feet by 2050.
Without an intervention it’s only a matter of time before the next major storm hits Navarre Beach and Santa Rosa Island and the island itself will suffer continuing physical and ecological damage without a defense line for the island and mainland protection. The University of Florida recently reviewed several independent studies on the Pensacola Bay System and came to a consensus that the system is experiencing a “rapid decadal accession” of rising sea levels in and around Santa Rosa Island. The report concludes that over the last 100 years (1923-2023) the Gulf of Mexico sea levels have risen about ten (10) inches and the rise is accelerating and as a result it’s raising the Pensacola Bay System water levels. (note: hurricane IVAN 2004)
These more recent reports says the Gulf of Mexico could rise as much as 48 inches by 2100 due to climate change, thermal expansion and glacial melt. Such as it may be, the likely result being increasing “wash over” events of the Santa Rosa Island that will further flatten the islands elevation and narrow it’s width. In addition to rising sea levels the reports says that increasing tropical storm intensity and frequency is causing increased rainfall and runoff from northern estuaries into the Bays and Sound, like a Hurricane Sally events in 2020. Which increase local flooding. In addition, increasing ocean and Gulf water temperatures that causing thermal expansion in the Gulf of Mexico water volume which will add
to the rate of rainfall/ice melt with increased sea rise affects. These combined effects will continue to take a toll over time and will spell increasing troubles for Santa Rosa Island and Navarre Beach lease holders, Holly/Navarre and Santa Rosa County property owners. (UF/IFAS Blog; 4-12-2023) In a 9-9-2022 Western State University of Florida report, it noted that these rising water levels of Florida’s shoreline will impact those properties located directly on the shorelines and will affect 4.4 million acres of shoreline in Florida that currently contain 640,000 individual parcels of land that are projected to be below the relevant tidal boundary level by 2050. The report provides a detailed report of the expected detailed effects on Florida’s 68 counties. In the report it says Santa Rosa County’s, FL tax base impact from rising sea levels is conservatively forecasted to affect 1,938 shoreline parcels by 2030. The number of parcels beyond 2030 will increase significantly throughout the remaining 21st century. ( Sinking Tax Base; Land Parcels, Improvements, (Buildings) and Rising Sea Levels, Santa Rosa, County, FL by Climate Central, 2022)
What is the Santa Rosa County response plan to this looming reality? The answer is listed in the Santa Rosa County’s action items in the NOAA report: (1) Adjust land use policies to encourage development outside the risk zone. (Note: Navarre Beach and Holly/Navarre area being the majority of the “high risk zone” for 2030.) (2) Participate in the National flood Insurance program. (Note: now mandated on designated FEMA revised flood zone property with federally insured loans) (3) Use science based analysis to inform investors in infrastructure interventions like building storm water runoff water systems, raising roadbeds, building levees, burying powerline grids, and improving native coastal vegetation and habitat growth along waterways and wetlands. (4) educate and inform taxpayers who can participate in adapting workable solutions. To see the effect of these recent environmental changes in rising Pensacola Bay water levels look at the measured significant changes on the right side of the attached chart.
Historically, the evidence of shoreline change (1859-2004) shows the average elevation of Santa Rosa island in 2004 pre-Ivan was 4.3 meters, with larger dunes being greater than 9 meters. The average elevation after Hurricane Ivan was 2.3 meters, with the larger dunes being about 6 meters. Studies since 1970 have found overall shore erosion in Florida has been increasing overall. Long term affects are said to be cumulative. Sand and sediment is primarily driven by wind, waves and tidal currents forces that moves the sand westward. Most shore erosion is related to the wave action and “Washovers” that are accompanied by hurricane and tropical storm action across large segments of the barrier island.
For centuries, the panhandle coastal shore features have remained in equilibrium on Florida’s Santa Rosa Island prior to Hurricane Opal in 1995. Prominent natural foredunes were a consistent feature along the length of Santa Rosa Island. A significant number of these dunes were either partially or completely eroded during Hurricane Opal, a Cat 4 hurricane or bulldozed down for development. Since Hurricane Opal, the frequency and intensity of hurricane and tropical storm have been increasing. These major storms need not be directly involved with Santa Rosa Island to cause beach erosion. Hurricane Kartrina in 2005 which hit land fall about 130 miles west of Santa Rosa Island in 2005 and Hurricane Michael in 2019 which hit land fall 75 miles east of Sand Rosa Island caused significant beach erosion on Santa Rosa Island. We need to remember, with beach and island sand erosion, the results in the loss of habitat and sand for turtle reproduction, endangered birds nesting like the Snowy Plover, Black Skimmer, Little Blue Heron, Brown Pelican, Least Tern, Piping Plover, the Tricolored Heron, Torry Pine and threatens the Santa Rosa white mouse species that have become more threatened. Once it’s all gone, there is no way back to paradise.
About 25 years ago, the Pensacola News Journal, ran a series of articles on beach erosion being controlled naturally after millions of dollars was spent artificially replacing Gulf front beach dunes between 1995 and 2004 after a series of major storms passed over the island. One of the experts consulted was Professor Greg Stone, an oceanographer at Louisianna State University. Another was Mr. Riley Hoggard, National Park Service Resource Manager. The effort made at that time can be seen today from the beach renourishment project that we see every four or five years at a cost of millions. High density, high rise hotels/condos are still being approved today. The sound side of the island is fast being developed with little or no open shoreline planning. The recently approved RV park and high rise hotels will be allowed to bull doze and pave over natural sand dunes and habitat. If that’s not enough, larges beach houses are approved on smaller lots. The Florida Coastal Control Construction set back line (CCCL) that was supposed to restrict building directly on the Gulf of Mexico has and is being ignored. The existing first line of defense, the dune has not been maintained and the code on walkovers is not enforced ordnances today that results in eroding those same very expensive dunes along Gulf Bouvard in Navarre Beach that we perpetually renourish with more and more tax dollars(see 11-20-2023 Gulf Blvd Navarre Beach photo below)
The costs of the four Navarre Beach renourishment has in total exceeded $50 million in federal, state and local funding. However, the fix is only temporary. These costly renourishment efforts will likely increase in costs and increase property damage when a hurricane hits with increasing magnitude and shorting intervals.
In the future it’s very likely that federal and state funding for these beach renouncement projects will likely diminish or become unavailable in our near future because the nation has been spending on average about $2 trillion more per year than it takes in as revenue which has the national debt approaching $35 trillion and the interest on that debt is now over $1 Trillion per year and rising. As a result, we as a nation are spending more on the interest payments to service the national debt then we currently spend on Social Security payments or the National Defense budget and it’s rising faster than the sea levels affecting the Florida coastal shore line. Any reasonable citizens knows in their heart and head that this deficient spending cannot continue and federal expenditures will be cut soon or total economic collapse will occur. There is no other choice. Santa Rosa and Escambia county will have to make economic and policy adjustments. The time to act is here now if this community is to survive the reality of this challenge.
Greg Stone of LSU had predicted in 1998 that Santa Rosa Island would face significant problems as a result of the previous damage to the island from previous storms when a Cat 2 or above hurricane hits the island again and again. The dunes are the only line of defense against storm surge on the island. The new virgin dunes constructed after hurricane Ivan in 2006 were replanted with sea oats and other vegetation. Twenty-five years later we can see that human use and natural erosion over time have resulted in four costly renourishment programs. Mr. Riley Hoggard of the National Park Service had predicted in 1998 that the federal government would eventually at some point get out of the beach renourishment business. Mr. Hoggard, an environmental shoreline scientist, has advocated for building a more resilient and stronger natural shoreline through proper maintenance and care as well as increasing and maintaining vegetation planting as part of a natural defense line which is the National Parks policy.
For the most part, since 2006 when extensive dune reconstruction occurred, little has happened in dune maintenance and upkeep and the consequences of our lack of action will be in time be significant and costly to Navarre Beach leaseholders and taxpayers when another major storm hits the island. You need only drive on the newly repaved White Sands Blvd and see that there wasn’t any thought or adequate funding or design to address flooding that occurs after a heavy rain as is recommended in Santa Rosa’s County’s own plan that recommending the road bed be lifted above the expected nuisance flood levels. Let alone redesign the road for better managing the water runoff that floods the road and Gulf Blvd, Highway 399 regularly. You only need to inspect and audit the twelve Navarre Beach walkovers with a total of only 140 parking spaces to conclude that more parking spaces are needed to address increased usage and enforce the illegal parking on Gulf Blvd in the summer. You might also note that several walkover/parking lots have dunes that have been breached by those homo Sapiens who choose to walk over a dune rather than use the established crosswalks and walkovers The county might consider some enforcement in such circumstances and raise the violation fine levels on existing ordinances for violations or have the owners of vacant lots fence their property off to stop the dune jaywalkers from abusing our first line of defense dunes that cost Florida and Santa Rosa County taxpayers $18 million to protect Navarre Beach properties north of the artificial and very expensive only line of defense we have against further premature erosion, Washovers, and flooding that shortens the costly beach renourishment replacement cycle.
Interestingly, in the 2023 the Department of Environmental Protection report on Florida beaches it reported the following: “Santa Rosa County: there is one critically eroded area (4.1 miles) in Santa Rosa County (figure 16), the critically eroded area along Navarre Beach (R192.5-R213.5) threatens development and recreational interests. Following hurricanes in 1995 and 1998, dune restoration projects were constructed. A beach restoration project was completed in 2006. County reviews are annual and last revisions were in June 2005.”
In 1978, the Florida legislature established a setback line of 50 feet from the average high water tide line to protect the beach and dune systems from further development. By 1985, the legislature weakened the language and pushed the line inland and established the Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) – the area exposed to the water surge of a 100 year storm. The CCCL was established by the state and local county engineers, working county by county. Later, through lobbying and exemptions the state allowed for single family structures within the 30 year erosion line that was established to allow residential structures to be closer to the water line. We only need to look at the physical makeup and natural characteristic to understand the problem that exists between economic development, mother nature and common sense. The shoreline defense line is made up of quartz sand and vegetation and there is less of both in place over the
last 30 years. (see the barrier island elevations chart and the thinning white line getting thinner and lower over time.)
In 1986, the Florida legislature declared beach erosion an emergency and “a serious menace to the Florida economy and the general welfare of the people of the state.” The legislature required by law that environmental protection Agency monitor 825 miles of sandy beach fronting the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic for beach erosion. A list was compiled by 1989 and declared some beaches “critically eroded” and threatened. To address those “critically eroded” beaches the state legislature established funding for beach renourishment program promoted by lobbyist. In 2002, Florida has 329 miles of critically eroded beaches on the renourishment list. Navarre Beach’s 4.1 mile Gulf shoreline is on that list. (Note: information presented was published by the Pensacola News Journal and U.S.A today Florida on 28 July 2002. In 2002, Florida listed 329 miles of beaches as “critically eroded. In 2021 the number of Florida beaches listed as “critically eroded” is 426.6 miles as a result of rising sea levels and increased number of major hurricanes and tropical storms as well as increased intensity.)
In 2002, the Pensacola News Journal (PNJ) wrote, “For 24 years, Florida has disregarded its own science and permitted the building of billions of dollars of luxury homes, condos and hotels on “critically eroded shores”. Today we can say the ignoring of state and county officials has been extended another 21 years. The PNJ articles pointed out that the Florida EPA rarely turned down an application to build on critically eroded beaches. Only 52 had been turned down in 24 years said the PNJ story and allowed 4913 new luxury homes, hotels and condos to be approved on land subject to extreme erosion. As it turned out these structures now qualify for beach restoration funding to save their investments at federal, state and local taxpayer expense. Florida says the PNJ that it routinely grants building permits seaward of the CCCL that will be awash with sea water before the 30 year mortgage is retired. On Navarre Beach the 4.1 mile Coastal Construction control Line (CCCL) which according to Santa Rosa EPA maps basically runs along sidewalk just north of Hwy 399 and as we have witnessed there are no construction controls along the critical eroded beach front south of that line.
According to the PNJ story, the 1978 beach protection law passed by the state legislature to shield beaches from destructive development but is now ben remade into a program of permission. Unlike the coastal “Setback Line” established in 1978; todays CCCL is not a barrier to development at all. The control line only marks a point at which builders must obtain a state permit as well a county approval. All notion of keeping the beach pristine has been lost says Charles Lee, Senior VP of the Audubon Society of Florida. In the PNJ 2002 story spread, it says a small and politically savvy group of coastal engineers controls the lucrative businesses of rebuilding Florida’s beaches. A half-dozen of them are on the state advisory committees and panels that guide the Florida legislature o laws, rules and beach renourishment and steer the boards that lobby the Florida legislature in funding for beach renourishment projects to make millions. (Note: Alisa LaPolt, Paradise at Risk, 28 July 2002, PNJ)
By most accounts, the consensus is that the tropical storm tipping point for the Florida panhandle seems to have occurred between 1992 and 1995. In 1992, NOAA reported six (6) tropical storms were named and four were hurricanes. Hurricane Andrew was the most destructive in Florida, a CAT 5 with 165 mph winds that hit Dade County and Homestead, FL. It crossed Florida east to west and turned north and hit Morgan City, Louisiana as a CAT 3. There was damage in the Florida panhandle beaches as a result.
Since 1995 there was a significant change is the tropical storm pattern according to NOAA. The 1995 storm season was extremely active and was considered by NOAA as the start of a new tropical storm with more intense storm formations. The season produced 21 tropical storms with 19 named. Eleven (11) were hurricanes and five (5) were major hurricanes. Most notable was Hurricane Opal a CAT 4 with 150 mph winds. Opal struck near Pensacola, FL..
In 2004 there were nine (9) storms and six (6) were hurricanes. Hurricane Ivan, a CAT 3 with 120 mph winds hit Gulf Shores, Alabama and killed 57 people. Hurricane Francis, a CAT 4 with 145 mph winds hit the Big Bend area in Florida and Hurricane Metthew hit Louisiana with 110 mph winds. In 2005 was the most active year for tropical storms until 2020. It had 27 named storms and 6 used Greek letters. Fifteen were hurricanes and four (4) were CAT 5. Hurricane Dennis hit Pensacola, FL as a CAT 4 with 150 mph winds. Hurricane Katrina, a CAT 5 with 175 mph winds hit Louisiana and entered as a CAT 3 near Pearlington, Mississippi. Since 1995 storm patterns have intensified in frequency and number. Such examples reflect the overall storm patterns since 1995 and hasn’t changed. The consensus of scientists expect the pattern to continue into the near future. Needless to say we need better planning and self-defense action to minimize the islands erosion, protect the habitat and wild life, minimize our property damage and the potential loss of life.
Having researched thousands of Pensacola New Journal publications and reviewed hundreds of the news stories under the categories of Santa Rosa island, Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach and Holley-Navarre we have obtained a pretty good picture on how this once pristine barrier island came to its present form and condition. The lessons of history confirm that all homo Sapiens betray the truth and trust by their actions. On 30 July 1946 the federal government under Public Act 564 ceded and conveyed a significant portion of Santa Rosa Island to Escambia County. A unique political event that had not been done before in America, nor since. The county commissioners and the newly formed Santa Rosa Island Authority (SIRA) promptly made promises of tax free leases to potential commercial and residential investors.
In 1953, Escambia County Commissioners agreed to a sub-lease agreement that included about three miles of Santa Rosa Beach in exchange for Santa Rosa taxpayers funding the construction of a bridge and ten mile road to Pensacola Beach. In 1981, after development was well under way on Pensacola Beach, Escambia County officials challenged the “no property tax” promise in court and eventually won. About the same time, Escambia County filed to amend the existing and use plan to allow high rise hotels and condominiums. In 1993, Escambia County reached an agreement with Santa Rosa county to split the tourist development tax collected on Navarre Beach in exchange for political control of 4.1 miles of Navarre Beach. The agreement provided Escambia County about 32 percent of Navarre Beaches bed tax revenue.
This generally is how the real world works in the NW panhandle. What is feared most in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties are the terms and conditions of Public Act 564 of 1946 that promotes and requires the decisions in Santa Rosa Island development be in the “public interest” and that requires informing and involving the citizens of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in those economic development decisions that affect them. A condition that has mostly been ignored in Santa Rosa County.
Attached is a copy of Public Act 564 for your review. The 1946 document that was issued by the federal government when it ceded a portion of Santa Rosa island to Escambia County for “recreational purposes” under a one of a kind lease system and any development on the island would be in the “public interest.”
Prologue:
Louisiana Barrier Islands: A Vanishing Resource
USGS study 2022
“The barrier islands of Louisiana are eroding at an extreme rate. In places, up to 100 feet of shoreline are disappearing every year. Though it has been long assumed that erosion was due to the area’s rapid rate of relative sea level rise, recent studies by the USGS show that coastal processes, such as longshore redistribution of sediments are responsible for much of shore erosion. As the barrier islands disintegrate the vast system of sheltered wetlands along Louisiana’s delta plain are being exposed to increasingly open Gulf conditions. Through these processes of worsening wav action, salt intrusion, storm surge, tidal range and sediment transport, the removal of the barrier islands may significantly experience a greater areal loss along the U.S. coastline. Twenty years ago there were 15 uninhabited barrier islands that were breeding grounds for endangered Brown pelican and turtles off the coast of Louisiana. Today there are only six remaining. The other nine are under water today” Dr. Jeffery H. Holt.
Racoon Island Off the coast of Louisiana before Hurricane Andrew and after Hurricane Andrew in1992
