Appendix V - St Marks and Wakulla Rivers Greenway Steering Committee

The Florida Greenways Program of 1000 Friends of Florida and the Conservation Fund and the Northwest Florida Water Management District established the St. Marks Greenway and Wakulla Rivers Greenway Steering Committee. Citizens and planning professionals were invited to participate. The steering committees were held in public at the Town of St. Marks Town Hall. Members of the steering committee were asked to provide feedback and comments on the report. The following information includes, the steering committee's charge, agendas from each meeting and a summery of each meeting held, refer to the acknowledgements for the participating members.

Organization

The St. Marks Greenway Steering Committee is a coalition of private, public, regulatory, environmental, historical and recreational interests that have come together to develop a consensus regarding the creation and preservation of the natural, recreational and cultural resources, and ecosystem connections along the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. The Florida Greenway Program of 1000 Friends of Florida and the Northwest Florida Water Management District will initially organize the committee in June of 1994 to receive input on a greenways resource assessment for these two rivers. Staff from Leon and Wakulla county's planning departments have expressed interest in maintaining the committee to work with issues and concerns in developing greenway conservation policies identified in the greenway assessment. While the Florida Greenways Program's role and the District's role may be diminished once the greenway resource assessment is complete, they are interested in seeing the plan implemented and may be able to assist with the committees efforts from time to time.

Membership on the Steering Committee is open to all and it does not constitute a public body with official standing, but it will conduct its business in a manner consistent with the public interest and advanced notice of all meetings will be provided. Support personnel will develop an agenda for each meeting and provide a copy to all committee members. The Steering Committee will conduct its business in an open, cooperative and consensus building manner. It will be the Steering Committees' policy to make decisions through a consensus whenever possible rather than through majority voting. Active participation by all steering committee members is urged. In the event any member may not be able to attend a meeting, please send a designee. The Steering Committee will continue to meet at the Town of St. Marks until further notice or if the committee decides to meet at another location in the watershed.

Work Products

The Steering Committee will be provided a draft greenway assessment on August 26, 1994 and will be asked to review a the draft greenway resource assessment and provide comments and feedback regarding the draft no later than Friday, September 9, 1994. Florida Greenways will address the issues brought up by the committee members in the final draft of the greenways resource assessment by September 15, 1994. The Committee may be asked to meet in the future on behalf of the counties or Northwest Florida Water Management for comments and public input on their respective St. Marks and Wakulla river greenway planning projects.

The Vision

The vision for the St. Marks and Wakulla Greenway is to conserve the green river corridors of the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. The "greenway" is intended to become the focal point for wildlife and humanity in the watershed and thus the need to do more in terms of education and conservation. The greenway will provide for wildlife protection and movement, water quality protection, and provide a combination of land and water related recreation opportunities for citizens and visitors of Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties.

The Mission

The mission of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers Greenway Steering Committee is to assist in formulating recommendations for conserving the greenway along the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers, assist in developing community awareness of the greenway within the community, and facilitate in assisting the counties' greenway action plans.

Goals

* Conserve linear corridors of green open space linking the communities of Leon and Wakulla counties. Identify issues, interest, and opportunities concerning the establishment of the greenway system within the watershed, and assist in finding workable solutions towards greenway development.

* Assist local planning agencies with fostering intergovernmental dialogue by assisting the implementing agencies in providing comments and questions as the plan is implemented. Also, provide support for the greenway by helping public officials become aware of the importance of the St. Marks Greenway.

* Encourage sustainable land uses within the basin by conserving open space, habitats, compatible land uses within the watershed by exploring alternatives for planning, designing, permitting, construction, monitoring and management of the proposed greenway.

* To explore economic development opportunities from the establishment of the greenway through ecotourism development.

10:30 a.m Introduction - .

Introductions, Kent Wimmer, 1000 Friends of Florida

Project Overview, Tyler Macmillan, Northwest Florida Water Management District

Your Vision for the greenway in the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers Watershed - 11:00 a.m.

An open discussion of opportunities and issues by steering committee members surrounding the greenway concept

Questions for Discussion:

What should the boundary be for the greenway?

What should we name the greenway?


What opportunities exist for a natural and restored greenway?


What should be the role of government in planning and managing the greenway?


What should the role be of private industry, landowners and citizen organizations in planning and managing the greenway?


What are the disadvantages that you perceive in designating the rivers as greenways? What are the advantages of greenways?


What potential problems do we face in planning and managing the greenway and what can be done to overcome those problems?

11:35 a.m. Wrap-up -, Kent Wimmer

Where do we go from here?


What can each of us do?

Meeting opened with introductions by Kent Wimmer and Bob Williams of the Florida Greenways Program of 1000 Friends of Florida and, Tyler Macmillan of the Northwest Florida Water Management District. Kent and Tyler provided the project description and goals for the steering committee. Information packets were handed out concerning the project's boundaries, time frame and scope of work.

General concerns, comments and issues

One focus of the project is examining nonpoint source pollution of the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers and possible mitigation strategies for nonpoint pollution. Many positive and insightful remarks were made regarding this issue including:

More public amnesty days so citizens of Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties could dispose of household toxic and hazardous waste,

More public awareness on the use of lawn and garden fertilizers along the rivers

More public awareness of the precautions the oil industry is taking in St. Marks to prevent and reduce the hazards associated with oils spills and tank leakages.

The role of the steering committee was discussed. The steering committee requested 1000 Friends draft a vision statement and charge for the steering committee. Some members expressed interest in helping with the project.

Other issues discussed

The number and speed of the power boats traveling the rivers was discussed in relation to canoeists and manatees. Prop guards and other technological devices to reduce the impacts on the river bottom and manatees. Some healthy debate was engaged in over this issue. Private property liabilities were discussed by several river front land owners. It is proposed that ecotourism be developed in the watershed as a means of improving the economic conditions while maintaining the resources. Members discussed problems associated with more users on the rivers.

Liability of property owners letting the public use the river banks for day use activities.

Introduction of exotic plants to the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers

Concern about illegal takings and defacing historic and archaeological sites

Litter, noise and other potential issues associated with increased use

The need for more public education about proper etiquette for using recreation lands and waters

Taxes and recreational use fees were discussed by committee members. Wakulla County's emergency response agencies may not be able to handle more tourists. It was mentioned if more emergency services are needed, then the citizens of Wakulla County should not have to bear the entire cost of it. Other recreational issues include:

a voluntary boat launch fee at county and city public boat ramps collected for public education and facilities improvements including;

• methods of enforcing a voluntary use fee at the public boat ramps
• joint marketing efforts by Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties to bring more tourist to the area as a destination for ecotourism activities.
• Regulate and disperse use so as not to love the resource to death
• Develop a historical trail with historical accounts placed on signs depicting the historical significance of the area.

A forum to discuss opportunities to conserve greenways on the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers

10:00 a.m. Welcome

* Introductions, project status, and review of vision and mission statements - Kent Wimmer, The Florida Greenways Program of 1000 Friends of Florida

* Presentation of Draft Land Use and Resource Feature Maps - Tyler Macmillan, NWFWMD

11:00 a.m. An open discussion of Greenways opportunities and issues by the steering committee

Possible questions for discussion:

* What should the boundary be for the greenway?

* What should we name the greenway?

* What opportunities exist for a natural and restored greenway?

* What should be the role of government in planning and managing the greenway?

* What should be the role of private industry, landowners and citizen organizations in planning and managing the greenway?

* What are the disadvantages that you perceive of designating the rivers as a greenway? What are the advantages of greenways?

* What potential problems do we face in planning and managing the greenway and what can be done to overcome those problems?

11:45 Wrap-up - Kent Wimmer

* Where do we go from here?

* What can each of us do?

12:00 p.m. - Adjourn

Kent Wimmer of the Florida Greenways Program opened the meeting at 10:15 a.m. at St. Marks City Hall. Wimmer discussed the project's status and briefly reviewed the discussion of the last meeting on June !5. Tyler Macmillan of the Northwest Florida Water Management District provided a review of the maps. The maps displayed included the natural, recreational, and cultural resources map, the watershed - project boundary map, the land use - land cover map and the critical habitat map produced by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.

The maps presentation lead into a Steering Committee discussion of the sources used to develop the Critical habitat map. Macmillan explained that the map used Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) data combined with satellite land cover data to map areas of habitat that could support various indicator species. The information from the FNAI is a species occurrence database of all endangered, threatened and state critical concern species of plants and animals. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory is a source for the map. FNAI is a joint venture between the Nature Conservancy and the Florida Department of Natural Resources. The Game and Fish maps may not always be based on actual sightings and they do not readily take existing land uses into account when determining critical habitat.

The District's land use - land cover maps generated some discussion regarding the accuracy of the data. The satellite imagery indicated that a few areas on the map were clear cut/shrub and brush lands. Most of these areas are found near the St. Marks River and reflect recent silviculture harvest. Luann Rains clarified the issue by describing the limitations of the satellite and the computers. The satellite has a difficult time distinguishing between three foot trees/brush and 15 foot trees. They produce a similar reflectance and this problem is magnified when the area has recently been timbered and is adjacent to a mature forest. The District indicated that they would welcome comments and corrections regarding the land use and land cover maps provided that they could be mapped on USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle maps. The Steering Committee also indicated it wanted the District and the Florida Greenways Program to identify in the report the limitations of the Hot Spots map.

The Plan/Report was also briefly discussed. The Florida Greenways Program talked about what is anticipated to be the report including proposed future land uses, comprehensive plan reviews, ecotourism/economic benefits and functions of greenways. The District said that this plan/report will provide a point of departure for the initiation of a Surface Water Improvement Management (SWIM) program. The SWIM program will allow the District to conduct water quality analyses, biological assessments, and hydrological assessments on the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers. Macmillan indicated that the St. Marks River is next priority SWIM project for the District and the St. Marks SWIM plan could be initiated in the next year. Macmillan indicated that the SWIM plan would considerably more detailed in its water quality collection and research than this greenways conservation project. The District would like to use this Steering Committee to assist in gathering public comments and concerns during the SWIM project.

Several issues and concerns were brought up by Committee members. Ecotourism was discussed. Cynthia Rusling brought up by that an additional canoe/paddle boat livery may be opening up in Newport. The additional canoes/paddle boats may have some conflicts with power boaters. No wake zones and public education about the use of the river and proper boating courtesy were mentioned, as were the impacts of additional boaters on the river. It was suggested having River Rangers who patrol the river and educate the users about river recreation ethics could be one solution to the problem.

During the course of the meeting the term greenway has been bantered about, however, the term has not been defined properly for the Committee. Florida Greenways staff defined a greenway as being green and connecting or linking one place to another. They are often linear corridors such as shorelines and rivers. Greenways also have to be managed and afforded some level of protection. Trails are not greenways, but rather a way to experience the greenway. The greenway is protected corridor of land which the trail travels through.

The Steering Committee indicated that language used in the report needs to be as clear as possible. Vague language could cause problems in getting decision makers to buy into the plan. The Committee Members indicated that there was a great deal of effort put into the Wakulla County Comprehensive Plan and it should be used as the starting point for the report's conservation assessment and strategies. Macmillan stated that this report/plan is intended to be used as a guidance document offering recommendations to local and state planning agencies. Another concern raised by the Committee centered around what restrictions may be placed on river front land owners if the greenway is established. The report will attempt to address these concerns.

There was no input from the steering committee regarding the greenway's name. The remaining time was spent discussing the draft mission and vision statements. A few changes were recommended to the draft mission and vision statements including an emphasis on providing additional economic opportunities.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m.

10:00 a.m. Welcome

* Introductions, project status, and review of revised vision and mission statements, - Kent Wimmer, The Florida Greenways Program of 1000 Friends of Florida

* Presentation of Draft Land Use and Resource Feature Maps, Greenways Maps, and land ownership patterns maps - Tyler Macmillan, NWFWMD

11:00 a.m.

* Present Draft Greenways Assessment Report to the Steering Committee to discuss the committees' review process for the draft greenways assessment and discuss the next meeting on tentatively scheduled for September 9, 1994.

12:00 p.m.
Adjourn

Wimmer opened the meeting to discuss the committee's charge and vision statements. No discussion resulted and the draft charge was adopted by the steering committee. Draft recommendations were presented during the meeting. The recommendations generated lively debate over the greenway concept. The recommendations as of this meeting were ideas and thoughts and were not refined in their wording. This vagueness caused confusion and apprehension among the steering committee members.

Some members of the steering committee indicated they did not want any more regulation and some of the preliminary recommendations are duplicated in other laws and regulations addressing wetlands and open space. Lead staff noted their concern and explained the greenway concept in more detail and asked for suggestions from the committee to resolve the vagueness in the language of the recommendations. Lead staff agreed to provide a draft of the recommendations to the committee for review. Members of the steering committee expressed concern over the greenway removing property from the tax roles. Lead staff explained the ecotourism and economic benefits of greenways for the region.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.

Agenda

10:00 - 10:15 a.m.

Welcome - Kent Wimmer, The Florida Greenways Program of 1000 Friends of Florida and the Conservation Fund

* Introductions and overview of the plan

10:15 - 10:30 a.m.

Florida Greenways Commission Video

10:30 - 10:45 a.m.

* A discussion of the report's findings.

10:45 - 11:45 a.m.

* Discussion on the recommendations

11:45-12:00 Noon

* Where do we go from here?

The meeting was held at the St. Marks Town Hall and it began at 10:15. Wimmer provided an general overview of the report and laid out how the meeting should progress. After discussing the agenda, Kent and Bob showed the Florida Greenways video produced by the Florida Greenways Program and Walt Disney World for the Florida Greenways Commission. Most of the members appreciated the video's positive and forward thinking attitude concerning greenways.

After the video presentation, Kent Wimmer, Bob Williams, Tyler Macmillan and Luann Rains lead a discussion on the first four chapters of the report. Essentially there were a few comments concerning the first four chapters. Members of the committee suggested to include more bird species in the ecological sections of the report. They noted that the region is part of a major flyway for migratory birds and many people visit the region each fall and spring to see the birds. Members also suggested stronger language be placed in the report regarding the underground aquifer connections of Lake Munson and Lake Lafayette to Wakulla and St. Marks Spring respectively.

The remainder of the meeting was left to discuss the recommendations of the report. There was still some concern by members of the committee regarding tourism and loving the resources to death. The City of St. Marks may not have the resources to accommodate the possible increase in tourism. It was also mentioned that the Town of St. Marks is a commercial port with barge traffic. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains a navigation channel just beyond the Tallahassee power plant. Another concern of the committee was the introduction of exotic aquatic plant species by increased river traffic. Boat speeds and size were also a concern of the committee. Septic tanks and sustainable development were still other recommendations that members brought up as issues of the greenway and water quality. Some of the recommendations are incorporated into the main body of recommendations. Those that could not be addressed in a timely fashion, but are none the less important, are located in the citizen concerns and issues section. The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.