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FWC and FWS certify St. Joe’s WindMark
Beach “Wildlife Friendly”
April 19, 2007
Contact: Lorna Patrick (FWS) (850) 763-1059
Bill Lynn (St. Joe) (850) 229-7976
Robbin Trindell (850) 922-4330
WindMark Beach, on the outskirts of Port St.
Joe, might look like any other well-laid-out and aesthetically
pleasing Florida development. But the coastal residential
community of 1,660 homes on St. Joe Bay is different in one big
way: it carries a “Wildlife Friendly” certification, the first
in Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
awarded the certification after the St. Joe Company development
took all the necessary steps and measures to accommodate nesting
sea turtles and other wildlife that mostly come out at night.
The company obtained the certification by using
specialized lighting that keeps light off the beach and adjacent
wildlife habitat throughout the community, according to Bill
Lynn, a St. Joe Company wildlife biologist. The project complies
with the Three Golden Rules for Wildlife Friendly Lighting:
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Keep it low (close to the ground);
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Keep it shielded (minimize light trespass
into the night sky or adjacent areas); and
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Keep it long-wavelength (longer wavelengths
are less likely to impact sea turtles and other wildlife).
“Protecting the environment is important to our
company. Not only that, our customers want to be environmentally
friendly,” Lynn said.
“This certification and what it means is now a
big selling point for our community. Carefully planned lighting
is a big concern for us and our residents.”
While most coastal counties have lighting
ordinances, it is still an issue on some beaches. Some highly
imperiled turtle species, such as giant leatherback turtles and
loggerheads, nest on these same beaches.
When the hatchlings dig to the surface, normally
at night, and see street lights, they head toward them and away
from the water, which often means they die. In 2003 biologists
determined over 79,300 hatchling sea turtles on Florida coasts
either died or had to be picked up and returned to the water
after heading inland.
Lights displayed on beaches also disrupt the
nesting habits of several species of shorebirds, making them
more vulnerable to predation.
Dean Gallagher was the FWC biologist who worked
with St. Joe and their wildlife-friendly certification for
WindMark Beach. He now works with the University of Hawaii. He
has high praise for the way everyone connected with the project
embraced the idea of making it a wildlife-friendly development.
“Instead of using 40-foot poles for street
lighting, they used low, 12-foot poles with full-cutoff
fixtures. They were so well-done you can’t see the lighting from
the beach,” Gallagher said.
Last summer Gallagher and FWS biologist Lorna
Patrick visited WindMark Beach at night. He said the lighting
met all the criteria for the certification.
The criteria are fairly stringent. Gallagher
said they have to use bulbs with a long wavelength, which is
typically yellow or amber lighting. Also, he said they need to
keep the lighting low and shielded from the beach, and minimize
“light pollution,” which is light that escapes into the night
sky and does not light the areas needed for human safety.
The success of WindMark Beach’s
wildlife-friendly program has prompted St. Joe officials to
retrofit existing homes in their SummerCamp development in
Franklin County with similar lighting.
“Communities that use wildlife-friendly lighting
are saying they are willing to share the beach with sea turtles
and other wildlife. It’s as simple as that,” Gallagher said.
To find out more about sea turtles and lights,
visit
MyFWC.com/seaturtle/.
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