Contact

Shelley Alexander - Shelley.Alexander@dep.state.fl.us
Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves Office
1600 Garcon Point Road
Milton, FL 32583
(850) 983-5359 or (850) 983-5361
Office hours: 8:00am - 6:00pm CST

Description of Site

The Yellow River Marsh Aquatic Preserve includes a large section of the Yellow River, just before it dumps into the Blackwater and East Bays, in the western panhandle of Florida. This preserve was designated as such for the primary purpose of preserving the biological resources in the area and maintaining these resources in an essentially natural condition. This pristine preserve is fringed by forested wetlands, marshes, and submerged grasses that provide food and habitat for numerous fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals and benthic invertebrates. Several designated species are known to occur in the preserve.

The aquatic preserve is a vital component in the Pensacola Bay System because it has been the least impacted by development and pollution. There are over 3,000 acres of salt- and fresh-water marshes and approximately 5,000 acres of forested wetlands, which provide filtration from pollutants and serve as natural flood control. The uplands bordering the aquatic preserve consist primarily of residential and public managed areas. Eglin Air Force Base and the Northwest Florida Water Management District manage almost half of the uplands adjacent to the preserve which help buffer impacts to water quality.

The most popular recreational activity within the preserve is fishing. Bass and brim are favorites, but estuarine species such as redfish, trout, and striped bass are commonly fished for.

Established

Location

Size

Watershed

Habitat

Floodplain marsh - cordgrass (Spartina spp.), various Sagittaria spp., southern wild rice, maidencane, pickerelweed, buttonbush, pitcher plants (Sarracenia spp.), prairie iris, waxmyrtle, sawgrass, bulrush (Scirpus spp.), sedges (Carex spp.), cattail, cutgrass, spadderdock. 

Seagrasses  - tapegrass (Vallisneria americana), widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima), southern naiad (Najas guadalupensis), watermilfoil (Myriophyllum), bladderwort (Utricularia spp.). 

Forested wetland - sweetgum, blackgum, red maple, sweetbay, river birch, black titi, red titi, Atlantic white cedar, red cedar, bald and pond cypress, gallberry, wild azalea, orange azalea, and several pine, oak, and holly species. 

Estuarine open water

Adjacent upland habitat:

Baygall / floodplain swamp - sweetbay, red maple, various pine, various oak, bald cypress, Atlantic white cedar

Wet prairie - various pitcher plants, white-top sedge, hat pins, bog buttons, Batchelor’s button, sand cordgrass, yellow-eyed grass, soft rush

Estuarine tidal marsh - saltgrass, hurricanegrass, black needlerush, knotgrass, saltmeadow cordgrass, bulrush, coastal dropseed

Wet / mesic flatwoods - wiregrass, various pine, sweetbay, various pitcher plants

Upland mixed forest - various pine, southern magnolia, various oaks, hickory, red cedar, buckeye

Dome swamp - bald cypress, water tupelo, swamp tupelo

Sandhill - scrub oaks, scrub pines, rosemary scrubs, woody goldenrod, Conradina

Ecological Importance

Rare / Endangered Species

State  listings are taken from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or as with plants Florida Department of Agriculture.  Federal listings are taken from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. E= Endangered. T= Threatened. T (s/a)= Threatened due to similarity in appearance. SSC= Species of Special Concern. UR= Under review. n/a= information not available or no designation listed.

Geomorphic Features

Archaeological Features

Uses

Commercial:
Oyster harvesting (class II waters) and fishing.

Educational:
Educational programs for all ages are available through the Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserve office. They can vary from slide shows to field trips.

Research:
University of West Florida is within 20 miles. EPA is located in Pensacola and does some work in and near the preserve. University of Florida (Gainesville) has a satellite facility at Pensacola Junior College in Milton.

Adjacent Land Use:
Residential, agricultural, Eglin Air Force Base (air force activities, recreational and resource management), Northwest Florida Water Management District (recreational and resource management).

Management Status

Ownership / Manager:
State of Florida / Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas, Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserves.

Designated as an EPA Gulf of Mexico Ecological Management Site

Management / Research Activities:

1. Tracking Gulf Sturgeon for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the recovery plan for the threatened fish;
2. Florida Freshwater Game and Fish Commission is annually stocking the Yellow and Blackwater Rivers with striped bass;
3. Restoration of the submerged grass, Vallisneria americana is being done the summer of 1999 by Department of Environmental Protection (DEP);
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4. Over 130 plants have been collected and preserved in an herbarium, located in the aquatic preserve office as part of a resource inventory;
5. A bird census of the forested bottomland in the Yellow River is being conducted, using the point count method, to monitor relative changes in species composition and numbers. The Francis M. Weston Audubon Society is providing assistance with this project;
6. The submerged grass of the preserve and the entire Pensacola Bay system has been mapped by the U.S. Geological Service using satellite and infrared photography;
7. Numerous long term studies on water quality are being done in the entire Pensacola Bay System.

Management Issues and Threats:

1. Loss of submerged and emergent vegetation due to increased residential housing along the preserve boundary. Other problems may occur as waterfront homes are expected to increase, due to the opening of the Garcon Point Bridge. They include decreased water quality from herbicide, pesticide and fertilizer use, increased disturbance of wildlife in the preserve, and degradation of the extensive pitcher plant prairie on Garcon Point.
2. There are two CARL projects within the immediate watershed of the preserve that are on the list but have not been purchased yet. If these projects do not get purchased and preserved soon, there will be more impacts due to poor management practices.
3. Water quality problems from high numbers of E. coli bacteria. The source of the high bacteria readings are yet to be determined but are being studied by DEP.

Management Needs:
Close monitoring of marsh advancement or loss is critical, as well as changes in submerged grass. Water quality needs more attention within the preserve. Species inventories of plants and animals need to be continued and expanded.

References

Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Division of State Lands. 1994. Conservation and Recreation Lands Annual Report. 418pp.

Florida Department of Natural Resources. 1991. Yellow River Marsh Aquatic Preserve Management Plan. 120 pp.

Green, L. 1998. Images of America: Santa Rosa County. Arcadia Publishing.

Thorpe, P.J., et al. 1997. The Pensacola Bay System Surface Water Improvement and Management Plan. 146pp.

University of West Florida Archaeology Institute. 1992. Archaeology of the East Bay/ Blackwater Bay Area Santa Rosa County, Florida. 16pp.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. 1995. Gulf Sturgeon Recovery Plan. Atlanta, Ga. 170 pp.

For more information about the Yellow River Marsh Aquatic Preserve, or to request a copy of the Pensacola Bay Boater’s Guide (a guide with locations of access points to the Yellow River Aquatic Preserve plus much more information) contact: NWF Aquatic Preserves - see above.