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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1029 |
| Bay BEST 716 Grant Program |
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| Requester: |
Michael Brim, Executive Direct |
Organization: |
St. Andrew Bay Environmental Study Team, Inc. (BEST) |
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| Project Title: |
Bay BEST 716 Grant Program |
Date Submitted |
1/12/2006 3:28:46 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Lawson |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| This program will provide approximately $200,000 per year in coastal and estuarine management grants for a 10-year period: 2007-2016 (thus it is referred to as the 716 program). The State has broad interests in maintaining its coastal bays under programs such as S.W.I.M., and the State of Florida Aquatic Preserves and Outstanding Florida Waters. St. Andrew Bay is a coastal estuary of national significance, primarily because of its unique and rich biodiversity (over 2,900 species of plants and animals associated with the bay). The grant program will compliment State goals and objectives of coastal conservation and retention of the St. Andrew Bay watershed and Bay County quality of life. |
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| Recipient: |
St. Andrew Bay Envoronmental Study Team, Inc. (BEST) |
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Contact: |
Michael Brim, Executive Direct |
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801 Jenks Avenue, Suite G |
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Contact Phone: |
(850) 215-5590 |
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Panama City 32401 |
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Contact email: |
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| Counties: |
Bay, Gulf, Walton, Washington |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| This is a ten-year grant program for coastal conservation, restoration, and management. This grant program would allow the St. Andrew Bay Environmnetal Study Team to award grants to conservation partners, public schools, colleges, and municipal governments to accompllish management efforts beyond the ability of BEST alone to do. Such activities include the formation of citizen stewardship groups for the bay's 50+ bayous; habitat restoration, enhancement, and preservation; species and habitat inventories; growth management workshops; and conservation education/outreach. Approximately eight $25,000 grants would be awarded each year to conservation partners within the watershed. Over ten years approximately 80 projects benefiting the bay and the watershed will be accomplished. |
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| We estimate that the grant program will probably result in significant areas of seagrass and saltmarsh restoration; several hundred acres of habitat (primarily seagrass) placed under non-regulatory preservation programs; the formation of at least 10 new small-waterbody (bayou) citizen stewardship organizations; coastal conservation education for several thousand citizens (marine ecology, stormwater management, State endangered species conservation, and smart growth practices); habitat and species inventories that will result in more strategic and cost-effective conservation management, enhanced and more comprehensive environmnetal monitoring, and an overall increase in citizen appreciation for St. Andrew Bay and the Bay County quality of life. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$2,000,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$2,000,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Construction |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local, Private |
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Cash Amount |
$ |
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In-kind Amount |
$1,000,000 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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No |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
The St. Andrew Bay Ecosystem Management Plan (written by BEST) and the S.W.I.M. plan for St. Andrew |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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No |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
