It’s an exciting time of year in SoWal – when locals break out of hibernation, prepare for tourist season, and plan for stellar outdoor fun. Fortunately, our community is filled with stunning landscapes and enlightening cultural activities throughout the year to keep us engaged and entertained. Our coastal dune lakes, with their spectacular wildlife and brilliant sunsets, give us year-round canvases to observe, photograph and paint. Spring is the perfect time to celebrate the burst of new life outdoors and to appreciate how delicate and rare our coastal dune lake ecosystems are.
Our string of fifteen coastal dune lakes that dominate the landscape along the coastline of South Walton have recently gained more attention than ever. Understanding how precious they are and doing our part to protect them is an ongoing effort. Dynamic, constantly changing bodies of water, the lakes are directly impacted by frequency, strength, and duration of storm activity. It’s easy to see the changes in the landscape caused by substantial rains this year.
Human activities, often driven by a desire for growth and development, also can affect the natural ebb and flow of the coastal dune lakes. We must remind ourselves just how fortunate we are to enjoy the beauty of these geological treasures. The Florida Natural Areas Inventory classified the lakes as “critically imperiled in Florida because of extreme rarity.” The lakes received a state “S1” rating because of extreme rarity – or because of extreme vulnerability to extinction due to some natural or man-made factors.
