Prescribed burn scheduled for Garcon Point Water Management Area

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MEDIA ADVISORY: March 24, 2014

CONTACT: Tyler MacMillan, (850) is 850-510-2020 or NWFWMD Public Information Office (850) 539-5999

Prescribed Burn Scheduled for Garcon Point Water Management Area

MILTON – The Northwest Florida Water Management District will conduct a large prescribed burn on March 25, 2014, weather permitting. The burn will consist of 2,045 acres within the District’s Garcon Point Water Management Area. It will take place near Garcon Point Bridge in Santa Rosa County, which is about four miles south of Interstate 10 on the southeast side of Garcon Point Road.

“Prescribed burns are an important part of the District’s routine land management operations that help us restore natural communities and better protect our area’s water and natural resources,” said Tyler Macmillan, District Bureau Chief of Land Management Operations. “Prescribed burns are a safe, efficient and effective way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health, and reduce wildfire risk.”

Although every effort will be made to ensure that smoke will not affect homes or highways, drivers should exercise caution in case smoke does lead to reduced visibility on the area’s roadways.

The burn will be conducted by the District’s certified prescribed burn managers, with assistance from the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership. The final decision to burn is made daily, after reviewing the Predicted Fire Weather forecast for that particular day and after obtaining a burn authorization from the Florida Forest Service.

The Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) is a public/private voluntary landowner partnership that collectively manages more than 1 million acres in northwest Florida and south Alabama. The 11 partners include the Department of Defense (Naval Air Station and Eglin Air Force Base), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Forestry Service, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Longleaf Alliance, the National Park Service, the Northwest Florida Water Management District, National Forests in Alabama, the Nature Conservancy, Nokuse Plantation and Westervelt Ecological Services.

The Garcon Point Water Management Area consists of 3,245 acres on the Garcon Point peninsula between Escambia and Blackwater bays. By preserving the estuarine tidal marsh, wet prairie and wet flatwood habitats of this area, the District is also protecting at least 13 threatened and endangered plant and animal species.