through the Environmentally Endangered 

 Lands Program (EEL) of the State of 

 Florida, The environmental background and 

 justification for purchase was based on 

 data concerning the movement of nutrients 

 and POM from floodplain areas (Livingston 

 et al. 1^77; Pearce 1977). Ecological 

 associations were made between the 

 hardwood forests of the lower floodplain 

 and the productivity of the Apalachicola 

 River-Bay system. Based on the data and 

 the need to protect this ecologically 

 sensitive portion of the system, the 

 Florida Cabinet approved the purchase of 

 ?8,044 acres of the lower Apalachicola 

 floodplain for $7,615,250 in December, 

 1976. While this purchase represented 

 only a small percentage of the total 

 floodplain and could not hope to achieve a 

 total approach to management of the system 

 as a whole, it provided a much needed 

 state presence in the area. 



Considerable effort has been expended 

 in the preservation of barrier islands 

 bordering the Apalachicola estuary. Based 

 on information concerning the importance 

 of the islands to the bay productivity 

 (Livingston et al. 1976a), portions of the 

 eastern end of St. George Island were 

 added to the existing state nark. In 

 March 1977, the State of Florida 

 authorized the purchase of Little St. 

 George Island for S8, 838, 000. 

 Approximately 1,300 acres of undeveloped 

 land on Dog Island were purchased by the 

 Nature Conservancy in 1982 for the 

 implementation of an island conservation 

 program. In addition, the Trust for 

 Public Land purchased that portion of St. 

 George Island known as Unit 4 which 

 borders the highly productive oyster beds 

 of East Hole. This land was recently 

 repurchased by state agencies as part of 

 the EEL program. The balance of St. 

 George Island is still in private 

 ownership, Ma.ior portions of the holdings 

 on western portions of this island are 

 already restricted by planning regulations 

 to 1 unit/acre. Thus, much of the barrier 

 island system is currently under public 

 ownership or within the jurisdiction of 

 the comprehensive plan of Franklin County 

 (see below). 



In summary, there has been a 

 continuous and guite successful effort 

 over the past decade to purchase and place 



in public stewardship those oortions of 

 the Apalachicola drainage system which 

 have been identified as important for 

 maintaining the high productivity of the 

 area. 



7,4.2, The Apalachicola Estuarine 

 Sanctuary 



After years of effort by local, state 

 and federal agencies, the Apalachicola 

 River and Bay Estuarine Sanctuary was 

 established in September 1979. The 

 sanctuary is the largest in the country 

 and includes 192,750 acres of submerged 

 waters and associated wetlands (Figure 

 49). 



The approval of the Estuarine 

 Sanctuary was the legal equivalent 

 (Section 315, Coastal Zone Management Act; 

 P. L. Q2-583) of setting this area aside 

 as a natural field laboratory "for long- 

 term scientific and educational purposes," 

 With the establishment of the Sanctuary 

 came a federal grant of SI. 8 million, to 

 be matched by $1,95 million of Florida's 

 EEL funds (the previous wetlands purchase 

 on the Lower Apalachicola River) for the 

 acquisition of the additional wetlands 

 surrounding the East Bay system (the 

 nursery portion of the Apalachicola 

 estuary) (Figure 49), After the 

 acquisition of the final 12,467 acres 

 around East Bay and portions of the M. K. 

 Ranch along the lower Apalachicola River 

 by the state of Florida, the public land 

 perimeter of the estuarine sanctuary will 

 be nearly complete. Recently, state 

 agencies have entered into negotiations 

 for another tract of wetlands along the 

 Apalachicola River. If successful, this 

 land will become part of the "Save Our 

 Rivers" program administered by the 

 northwest Florida Water Management 

 District. 



Currently, in a close cooperative 

 effort between local interests and state 

 environmental agencies, the Apalachicola 

 Sanctuary program is involved in the 

 development of a resource atlas 

 (Livingston 1983c) and management plan, 

 several ongoing research projects, public 

 educational programs, and continuous input 

 into local planning problems and public 

 interest issues. Mot the least of this 

 effort is the potential development of 



109 



