Walton County’s Dune Lakes are ecological treasures, and there are opportunities for you to help monitor and preserve the unique environmental systems of our lakes.
In addition to outstanding recreational activities, our coastal dune lakes store and filter water, and provide singular transitional habitats for a unique mix of plants and animals.
The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), a non-profit organization, helps to sustain our dune lakes and related watersheds, through monitoring, research, and education. Research efforts inform strategic actions for preservation, restoration, and guidance for future development.
Citizen Scientist Volunteer opportunities (basinalliance.org/volunteer) include taking lake water samples to assess water quality. In some cases a vessel is provided by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, others require a volunteer-provided vessel. Following a training session, volunteers will be provided with the equipment used to take samples at specified locations. Data from the samples are analyzed at University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Reports are generated for each lake indicating short, and long-term trends.
At CBA, there are also opportunities to help with monitoring and improving the Choctawhatchee Bay waters, including shoreline plant care and planting, and reef building activities.
Additional resources, including a link to the Coastal Dune Lakes Advisory Board, are available on the Walton County Coastal Dune Lakes web page at www.co.walton.fl.us/97/Coastal-Dune-Lakes.
To learn more about the Coastal Dune Lakes, please contact
Melinda Gates, Environmental Coordinator
Walton County Public Works
117 Montgomery Circle
Defuniak Springs, FL 32435
Office: (850) 892-8108
gatmelinda@co.walton.fl.us
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