Okaloosa County BOCC — December 15, 2015 — GFBWT nomination Oct2015 VeteransPark OkaloosaCo (002) — reading text

GREAT FLORIDA BIRDING & WILDLIFE TRAIL Site Nomination Form 1. SITE COUNTY: Okaloosa Name of site: Veterans Park Site owner/agency: Okaloosa County Contact person or manager (if different): Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Carolyn Ketchel (Okaloosa County District 2), Nathan Boyles (FY 2015 Commissioner Chairman) Physical Address of site: 1306 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE, Okaloosa Island FL 32548 Mailing Address (if different): 1250 Eglin Pkwy, Shalimar FL 32547 Phone number(s): South County Commission 850-651-7105, North County Commission 850-689-5030 Phone number(s) to include in guide booklet: Okaloosa County Visitor Center 850-651-7131 Email: cketchel@co.okaloosa.fl.us nboyles@co.okaloosa.fl.us Web site address: http://www.co.okaloosa.fl.us http://www.choctawhatcheeaudubon.org/VeteransPark.html 2. SITE EVALUATION CRITERIA: Check all that apply to this site. Yes Ecological significance. Emphasis will be given to high-quality or significant bird and wildlife habitats. Yes Birding and wildlife-watching characteristics. The probability of seeing birds and wildlife, at least during specified season(s), is high. The main viewing attraction(s) are native, free-roaming bird and wildlife species. Consideration may be given to species valued by the public for their beauty or rarity. Sites devoted primarily to exotic species will not be considered. Yes Site resiliency. The site has the ability to withstand public use. Fragile ecosystems or habitats with sensitive species should not be included. Yes Physical and legal access. The site is reasonably accessible to the public. (Check one) X This site is in public ownership (site is open to public use). This site is in private ownership and the landowner is willing to guarantee in writing public access, including controlled public access through guided, prearranged tours. Yes Economic significance. A community tourism infrastructure, such as a Chamber of Commerce or Tourism Development Council, exists in the adjacent community(ies). Yes Maintenance support. Site has full support of all partners, especially those responsible for maintenance. Yes Educational significance. Site has educational signage or programming pertaining to birds and/or other wildlife. The site will have educational signage within 12-18 months. 3. SITE INFORMATION Size of site (acres or sq. miles): 14 acres Nearest town/city: Fort Walton Beach Is there an entrance fee? No Seasons and hours of operation Dawn to dusk 365 days of the year Is there a visitor center? Not on site, but the county visitor welcome center is ½ mile to the east open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am-4pm Specific directions to the site from nearest town or major road: From the Ft Walton Beach airport (VPS), take FL-US85 S (Eglin Pkwy) briefly west then south 9 miles. Eglin Pkwy dead ends into Hwy 98, which is Miracle Strip Pkwy. Turn left and continue across Brooks Bridge for 1 mile. Turn left at the 2nd traffic light (Pier Road) past Brooks Bridge. Park in the Emerald Coast Convention Center Parking lot (in its NE corner). More directions here: https://www.emeraldcoastconventioncenter.com/getting-here/directions Specific directions to good birding and wildlife-watching areas within this site (specific trails, parts of the property, overlooks, etc.) If available, please include a map of the area with the best spots circled: A detailed map is included. The Veterans Park boardwalk begins at the NE corner of the Convention Center parking lot. This 0.6 mile boardwalk proceeds near and through all of the sites of birding interest. Some of the dune hammock woods are traversed by foot paths, which are no more than 400 feet from the boardwalk. The boardwalk is sketched into the map that accompanies this nomination form. All of the woodland and wetland habitats attract birds, as well as the bay. Any special concerns or safety issues for birders and wildlife watchers? (Please specify all that apply: inaccessibility in inclement weather, 4-wheel drive required, biting insects, etc.) Mosquitos are sometimes bothersome, snakes have not been a problem, prickly pear cactus and sandburs are occasionally encountered. Are these other forms of outdoor recreation allowed on the site? What is their impact on wildlife watchers? Recreation Yes No Impact on wildlife watcher Hunting  X ______________________________________________ Airboating in the bay one occasionally passes the shore noisy about 10 minutes ORVs  X ______________________________________________ Organized sports  X ______________________________________________ Horseback riding  X ______________________________________________ Jetskis in the bay sometimes pass the shore with some brief noise Other Wild Willy’s Adventure park music is audible but not loud Motorized water recreation will be reduced when a planned Living Shorelines project goes ahead The majority of trail users will be casual and/or less experienced birders. List the most easily viewed bird species at the site, including sought-after species. If this site has a bird list, please attach it to the application. 1. Great Blue Heron (active rookery) 7. Grey Kingbird (summer) 2. Green Heron (summer) 8. Common Yellowthroat Warbler (all-year) 3. Osprey (nest at the park) 9. Red-winged Blackbird (spring-fall) 4. Least Tern ( they do not nest here but do fish in the bay)10. Grey Catbird (spring and fall) 5. Red-shouldered Hawk (year-round) 11. Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (nests at the park) 6. Loggerhead Shrike (nests at the park) 12. Mockingbird (all year) Which of the following are good times to view birds at this site? (Check all that apply) X morning X evening X all day  night (park closed at night) X spring (excellent for neotropical migrants) X summer X fall X winter Please indicate which of the following bird species have been observed at this site in the last 5 years:  Florida S crub-Jay  S a ndhill Cra ne X Swallow-tailed Kite X Gray Kingbird  S hort-tailed Hawk  Whooping Crane  White -tailed Kite  Re d-cockaded Woodpecker  Cre s te d Ca ra ca ra  S m ooth-billed Ani  S na il Kite  Ba chm a n’ s S pa rrow  Burrowing O wl  Lim pkin  Wood S tork  Florida G ra s s hoppe r S pa rrow X Painted Bunting  Ros e a te Te rn  P iping P love r X Magnificent Frigatebird (bay/ fly over)  Mottle d Duck  Bla ck Ra il  S nowy P love r X Black-whiskered Vireo  G ull-billed Tern  Ye llow Ra il  Ha iry Woodpe cke r  Ros e a te S poonbill X Purple Gallinule X Bald Eagle  Bridle d Te rn  S ooty Te rn X Least Tern  Brown Noddy  Ma s ke d Booby X Black Skimmer (fly over)  Ma ngrove Cuckoo  White-crowned Pigeon  Fulvous Whis tling-Duck X Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (spring migration) A complete and current (December 2015) bird list with all 205 species documented at the park included Please list up to 10 butterfly species found at this location, including sought-after species. If this site has a butterfly list, please attach it to the application. 1. Monarch 6. Viceroy 2. Pipevine Swallowtail 7. Common Buckeye 3. Palamedes Swallowtail 8. Gulf Fritillary 4. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 9. Red Admiral 5. Painted Lady 10. American Lady Which of the following are good times to view butterflies at this site? (Check all that apply) X morning X evening X all day X spring X summer X fall  winter Please list up to 10 mammal species found at this location, including sought-after species. If this site has a mammal list, please attach it to the application. 1. Bottlenose dolphin 4. Coyote (very rare) 2. Raccoon 5. Eastern cottontail 3. Gray Squirrel Which of the following are good times to view mammals at this site? Gray squirrel and dolphin 365 days a year, all day Others: 365 days a year early morning and late evening. Please list up to 10 reptile/amphibian species found at this location, including sought-after species. If this site has a reptile/amphibian list, please attach it to the application. 1. Gray treefrog 5. Southeastern five-lined skink 2. Green treefrog 6. Six-lined racerunner 3. Gulf Coast box turtle 7. Eastern mudturtle 4. Florida softshell turtle 8. Other frogs Which of the following are good times to view amphibians/reptiles at this site? (Check all that apply) X morning X evening X all day  night (park closed at night) X spring X summer X fall  winter Please list any additional animal or plant species present at this site that visitors would be interested in seeing. In the fall hundreds of migrating Monarch butterflies can be seen resting on several mature pines and Baccharis halimifolia shrubs. Various dune flowers and flowering shrubs are abundant. Skippers, dragonflies and flower crab spiders are frequently seen. Please indicate, in percent, how much of the nominated site is in any of these habitat types: (ArcGIS 9.3 used) 0 Freshwater Swamp 0 Sandhills 0 Rivers/Streams/Springs 28 Scrub 5 Freshwater Marsh 9 Pine Forest/Flatwoods 11 Lakes/Ponds 3 Beach/Dune 24 Other (unwooded sand dunes and flats) 0 Impoundments 0 Salt Marsh 0 Prairies/Grasslands 13 Maritime Hammock 0 Mudflats 0 Mangrove swamp 6 Fields/Pastures 1 Other (Sabal Palm) Marine/Bay 2900 ft of pond edge, 900 ft of bayside shoreline (when shallow attracts shorebirds) Describe any unique or unusual features of the site: This site is one of extremely few pubically-accessible, coastal dune woodlands on a barrier island along the 90-mile-span of coast between Pensacola and Panama City, Florida. Such “maritime hammocks” which are bands of oak woodland that develop almost exclusively on stabilized back-dunes of barrier islands, inland of primary dunes and scrub. This maritime hammock attracts migrating birds arriving from (spring) or staging departure (fall) across the Gulf of Mexico. Weather events can precipitate not only rain but eye-level views of Neotropical migrants compromising “fallouts” of dozens to hundreds of birds. This park is one of very few sites between Pensacola and Panama City for which more than 200 species of birds are listed on Cornell University’s eBird citizen science database (all since January 2014). Two others in Okaloosa County are on Eglin Air Force Base reservation and are subject to access permits. All of the park’s habitats are vitally important to individual migrant birds seeking rest and food from typically very long migrations. http://ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L2809733?yr=all&m=&rank=mrec What are special concerns of the site, such as listed or