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Seth Blitch - Seth.Blitch@dep.state.fl.us
350 Carroll Street
Eastpoint, FL 32328
(850) 670-4783 SC: 771-4057 FAX: (850) 670-4324
Office hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday
Occasional week-end programs
The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) is one of 25 sites designated by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a Research Reserve. The program is a
federal/state partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as the state
program administrator. The ANERR is a consortium of management entities with various state and
federal agencies assigned lead role management within the Reserve. National Estuarine Research
Reserves have been established to provide opportunities for long-term estuarine research and
monitoring, estuarine education and interpretations, resource management and to provide a basis for
more informed coastal management decisions.
Date: September 1979
Section 315 CZMA of 1972 as amended-15 CFR Part 921
Designated Gulf of Mexico Ecological Management Site
The ANERR is located in the Florida panhandle approximately equidistant from Tallahassee
and Panama City.
Counties - Franklin, Gulf, Calhoun and Liberty
Nearby towns or cities - Apalachicola, Eastpoint, Port St. Joe, and Wewahitchaka
Adjacent roads: U.S. Hwy. 98, SR 65
246,766 acres
Name of Watershed - Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint
Size of watershed - 19,600 square miles
The reserve includes barrier island, estuarine, riverine, floodplain and upland environments which
are closely interrelated and influenced by each other. Florida Natural Areas Inventory - Managed
Area Tracking Record Information is available through the Reserve.
Commercial, recreational and ecologically important species
Recreational species include tarpon, redfish, sea trout, flounder, mullet, black drum and
sheepshead. Commercial species are oysters, shrimp, blue crabs and mullet.
Nursery Area
Apalachicola Bay is an exceptionally important nursery area for the Gulf of Mexico. Over 95% of
all species harvested commercially and 85% of all species harvested recreationally in the open
Gulf have to spend a portion of their life in estuarine waters. Blue crabs, for example, migrate
as much as 300 miles to spawn in Apalachicola Bay.
Forage Area
Apalachicola Bay is a major forage area for such offshore fish species as gag grouper and gray
snapper. The area is a major forage area for migratory birds in particular for trans-gulf migrants
in the spring.
Migratory Species
Apalachicola Bay is a major point for migratory birds. The area receives species from both the
Atlantic and Mississippi flyways. Also, the West Indian manatee migrates to the Bay during summer
months. Diadromous fish species also pass thorough the area.
The reserve lies completely within the gulf coastal lowlands physiographic province, which is
characterized by low elevations and poor drainage. Numerous relict bars and dunes are associated
with this province, indicating historic fluctuations in sea level.
The Apalachicola Embayment is the major structural feature that dominates the geology of the Reserve
and river system. This feature represents a down fallen block of land that is a relatively shallow
basin between the Ocala and Chattahoochee uplifts.
The Apalachicola River and Bay Drainage Basin, which includes the Reserve, contains over 100
archaeological sites and numerous historic structures.
Recreational
Recreational activities include; hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, camping and nature
appreciation.
Commercial
The basis of the area economy is commercial fishing. Water-borne navigation also occurs in the
Reserve. Tourism is also a growing part of the economic base.
Educational
The goals of the education program at the Apalachicola Reserve are focused on public
awareness/appreciation and public action. The six objectives are as follows:
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Provide informational and educational materials supporting the goals of the Reserve to
audiences that impact Reserve resources.
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Promote the Reserve’s economic, biological, recreational, educational, cultural and intrinsic
values.
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Provide first-hand field experiences with the natural systems of the Reserve.
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Promote personal involvement and responsibility for maintenance of the Reserve’s natural
systems.
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Teach the purposes and benefits of environmental regulations.
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Disseminate Reserve research data and develop educational themes on research topics and
management concerns.
Outreach education projects at the Apalachicola Reserve include Estuarine Habitats, an
elementary teaching series; Project Estuary, a five-lesson high school and middle school
curriculum; an audio/visual and book library; a quarterly newsletter called The Oystercatcher;
and off-site educational presentations. On-site educational projects include short trips to
the Reserve headquarters; in-the-field activities; an overnight program, a guest lecture series,
coastal management workshop series and educational exhibits throughout the Reserve. The
"Estuarine Walk" is the Reserve’s aquarium facility. It houses three simulations of
key aquatic habitats in the Reserve (river, bay, gulf) and is used with educational groups. It
is also open to the public during regular office hours. The Reserve also has a new boardwalk /
interpretive trail.
Research
The ANERR research and monitoring program promotes research within the Apalachicola Reserve
utilizing a variety of methods. First, the research program provides the setting and basic
equipment to attract and assist researchers to the area. Second, the Reserve tries to direct
outside researchers to priority research topics which address important coastal management issues.
Third, the program has developed in-house, management oriented research and monitoring projects
to address issues of local, state, and national concern. Finally, the research and monitoring
program also spends time coordinating with local, state, regional, and federal agencies on local
land development regulations and ordinances, dredge and fill projects, oil spill planning, large
scale development reviews, interstate water issues, coastal zone planning, threatened and
endangered species protection and monitoring, and any other issues that may impact the resources
within and adjacent to ANERR.
Projects research staff are currently involved in include red wolf reintroduction on Cape St.
George Island, sea turtle nest protection and monitoring, listed bird species nest protection
and monitoring, continuous water quality monitoring in the bay, meteorological monitoring,
coliform source determination, development of a Geographical Information System (GIS), compilation
of a computerized library system, completion of a site profile that characterizes the system,
monitoring of erosion and accretion on barrier island beaches, erosion and accretion of local
marshes utilizing sediment erosion tables (SET), monitoring of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates,
and monitoring of local shoreline development. The wide diversity of projects and agencies
involved attest to the variety of habitats and issues that are associated with ANERR. Within the
last several years, more projects dealing with resource management issues have been undertaken than
any other. This is related to the State of Florida’s efforts at better managing the resources
within its jurisdiction as well as the research and monitoring section’s efforts at
management-oriented results.
The research staff also work with regional universities such as Florida State University, University
of Florida, University of South Florida, University of Auburn, and Georgia Tech, as well as other
agencies on basic and applied research projects. Through efforts with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), two graduate research fellowships are awarded annually to work on
applied research in Apalachicola Bay. Basic field sampling equipment, boats, and a fully equipped
laboratory are also available to researchers and graduate students to help in their scientific
efforts. Technical and additional logistical support is available for many projects, especially
those dealing with priority issues that threaten the health of the Apalachicola Bay system.
Adjacent Land Use
The major adjacent land use is silviculture and tourism associated development.
Designation(s)
The area has state designations as; Aquatic Preserve, Outstanding Florida Waters, Class II
Shellfish Harvesting Waters and a portion of the area is still designated as an Area of
Critical State Concern, Federal (NOAA) designation as a National Estuarine Research Reserve
and the area is also designated as a Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations UNESCO.
Designated as an EPA Gulf of Mexico Ecological Management Site
Major Management Activities
Resource Management:
All facets of Resource Management by the Reserve are guided by the primary goal of providing
protection, conservation, restoration and enhancement of habitats within the Reserve, as well as
those outside Reserve boundaries which may impact Reserve communities. Private landowners have
access to Reserve staff and other appropriate management agencies for assistance in determining
their land management practices.
Key elements to success in this program include an active acquisition program and appropriate
management of publicly owned lands. Ongoing resource management activities conducted by Reserve
staff include;
Prescribed Fire
Natural communities within ANERR, including scrub, wet flatwoods, marshes and mesic flatwoods are
adapted to and/or dependent on fire to maintain species composition and diversity. Vast
pre-Columbian Florida landscapes lacked the fragmentation caused by highways, canals, trails and
other development. As a result, lightning induced or aboriginal set, fires were able to burn
continuously across uninterrupted community types restricted only by natural firebreaks such as wet
communities or waterways.
The fragmentation of these pyrogenic communities and suppression of natural fire has resulted in
changes to plant species composition and diversity. These changes include high vegetation fuel load,
suppression induced succession and development of near mono-culture areas of woody species (e.g.
pine with palmetto understory or titi fringed wetlands).
The primary objectives of the prescribed burning program on Reserve lands are to; restore and
maintain pyrogenic natural communities; restore and maintain natural communities for listed plant
and animal species; promote natural diversity in pyrogenic communities; reestablish lightning season
burn regime; reduce the potential for detrimental effects of catastrophic wildfires, e.g. impacted
air quality, loss of soils through erosion, liability associated with smoke management, loss of
habitat diversity and to maintain ecotones or transitional zones between community types.
Exotic Species Control
Exotic species are those that did not evolve as part of Florida’s natural flora and fauna, and have
been introduced to the state from other areas of the United States or foreign countries.
In its native range, each species has naturally occurring predators, disease or other environmental
factors which keep populations in balance with its natural range. When a species is introduced into
an area lacking those natural controls, it may exercise proliferation to a level displacing native
species and degrading natural communities. Some species are able to survive without excessive
proliferation and pose little threat to natural communities. Control methods may include manual /
mechanical removal, physical controls, trapping or herbicides in combination or alone. Nuisance
behavior by natives may also call for management activities on a case-by-case basis. Education of
community residents regarding the impacts of invasive non-natives assist the Reserve in controlling
immigration from adjacent lands.
The Reserve staff removes infestations of exotic species as they occur on Reserve lands, either by
hand removal or application of herbicide on individual plants.
Cultural Resource Protection
The Apalachicola River valley is believed to have been occupied by humans for over 10,000 years and
is believed to have been an ideal environment for large prehistoric human populations comprised of
small hunting groups, farming peoples or aquatic species-based hunter-gatherers. Paleo-indian
through Mississipian cultural sites are represented, as are historic settlements, structures and
occupational sites.
The Apalachicola River and Bay drainage basin, which includes the Reserve, contains over 100
archaeological sites and numerous historic structures.
Several systematic intensive surveys have been accomplished or are ongoing within the boundary of
the Reserve. An archaeological study funded by the Department of State, Division of Historical
Resources (DHR) investigated the impact of record 1994 flooding on 24 newly located and 67
previously located sites within the Apalachicola River drainage basin. Several sites exposed by
flooding, hurricane-generated wave action or coastal erosion were surveyed within the Reserve.
Reserve staff assisted in the logistics required for this survey and helped record sites and
conducted educational programs in conjunction with this survey. Upon discovery of cultural sites on
Reserve managed lands, Reserve staff include protection measures for the site while conducting other
Resource management activities.
Hydrologic Disturbance Restoration
Hydrologic disturbances may affect natural communities in several ways including changes to natural
community species and composition, loss of soils through erosion, providing vectors for exotic
species infestation and degrading the aesthetic value of a scenic vista. Channelization of runoff
through ditches or plowlines lessen the ability of natural systems to filter contaminants from the
water.
Hydrologic disturbances may occur on Reserve lands in the following forms, and may required listed
action for restoration; four wheel dive, or woods roads, removal and restoration; removal of fill
from stabilized or improved roads; closing unnecessary footpaths; filling and revegetating
unnecessary ponds, or managing those ponds as natural waterbodies where beneficial; remove and allow
drainage ditches to revegetate restore old fire plowlines and filling and replanting borrow pits.
All activities are monitored for effectiveness and to prevent exotic infestation.
A comprehensive library is housed at the ANERR headquarters.
Anderson, L.C. 1986. Checklist of the vascular plants of the Apalachicola National Estuarine
Research Reserve. Unpubl. Rpt. 28 pp.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. 1998. Apalachicola National Estuarine Research
Reserve Management Plan 1998-2003. 204 pp.
Barkuloo, J. M., Patrick, L., Stith, L., and W.J. Troxel. 1987. Natural Resources Inventory
Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Office. Panama
City, Florida. 154 pp.
Clewell, A.F. 1986. Natural setting and vegetation of the Florida panhandle: An account of the
environments and plant communities of northern Florida west of the Suwannee River. Prepared for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Contract No. DACWO1-77-C-0104.
Edmiston, H.L. and H.A. Tuck. 1987. Resource Inventory of the Apalachicola River and Bay Drainage
Basin. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. 303 pp.
Livingston, R.J. 1983. Resource atlas of the Apalachicola estuary. Florida Sea Grant Publ. 64 pp.
Livingston, R.J. 1984. The ecology of the Apalachicola Bay system: an estuarine profile. National
Coastal Ecosystems Team, USFWS. FWS/OBS82-05. 148 pp.
Livingston, R.J. and E.J. Joyce, Jr., eds. 1977. Proceedings of the conference on Apalachicola
drainage system. Florida Marine Research Publications No. 26. 177 pp.
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About the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve and Associated Sites
