Eco-Tourism Information for THE Beach's Natural Habitats
THE Ecotourism
Mountains in Florida? Who’d have thought it, but for millions of years, as the Appalachian Mountains eroded, their quartz particles flowed to the Gulf of Mexico creating white powder beaches that many describe as sugar or snow colored. This dazzling quartz sedimentation combined with the aqua-blue waters of the Gulf, gives THE Beach, Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, a beauty unlike any place else on earth.
Stretching 227 miles from Franklin County at the “Big Bend,” to Perdido Key at the Alabama-Florida border, the region provides endless eco-adventures. With state and national preservation areas such as Gulf Islands National Seashore, the Blackwater State Forest, Point Washington State Forest, Tate’s Hell State Forest and a variety of other state parks, this part of Florida hosts some of the largest natural preserved acreages in the world.
Biodiversity
The Nature Conservancy stated that Northwest Florida is one of the nation’s top ten “Hot Spots” for ecological diversity. It is home to a variety of unique ecosystems and contains more species of plants and animals than any other comparable region in the country. Natural habitats of Longleaf pine forests, unique coastal dune lakes, bayous and estuaries, and semi-tropical coastal habitats are home to bald eagles, Florida bobcats, Tiger salamanders, the endangered Choctawhatchee dune mouse, Florida’s Black bear, and alligators.
Ecotourism
Visitors to the area will find a variety of ways to explore the region’s eco-systems. Snorkeling and skin diving in the crystal-clear shallow waters will bring you up close and personal with Bottlenose dolphins, rays, and a myriad of colorful tropical and semi-tropical fish. Hiking the many trails, including the 233 miles of the 1100-mile Florida Trail, one of only eight National Scenic Trails in the country, is a great way to see the coastal forest habitats. Canoeing or kayaking on the lakes, bayous, rivers and backwaters is a quiet way to see bald eagles, ospreys,
Inland rivers offer a refreshing alternative to the beach environment. The Black Water River (located in Navarre and nearby Milton, the “canoeing capital of the world”) is one of a vanishing breed of wild rivers throughout the state, winding through the 200,000 acres of the Blackwater State Forest. The water is cool and pure with a slight reddish tinge, not black at all. It flows about 45 miles through stands of red cedar, slash pine, and a mixture of hardwoods.
No matter how you choose to explore the natural eco-systems of THE Beach, from paddling the never-ending ebb and flow of the Gulf to a walk in the quiet of an old-growth Florida forest you’re sure to find adventure travel around every bend in the trail.
Thanks to Joe Moore of Blu Fusion Kayaks for contributing to this article. For more information, please visit www.blufusionkayaks.com.
