Habitat Parameters

Habitats are vital to the watershed for several reasons. They provide shelter
and nursing grounds for organisms, filter water and provide protection for
sensitive areas just to name a few. The following measures track the amount of
some of our most important habitats.

• Acreage of seagrass

  Seagrass beds are a very important part of surface water systems. Among the most important roles of these habitats are to provide a nursery area for fish, filter water and stabilize shorelines. Some of the greatest threats to seagrass beds are sediment-laden water, excess nutrients and prop-scarring (damage from boat propellers). This measure tracks the acreage of seagrass in the Pensacola Bay system.For further information:
  Children:

  • Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

  Adults:

  • UWF Florida and Fauna of Northwest Florida
  • Florida Oceanographic Society Seagrass Page

  Media and Elected officials:

• Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

• Acreage of wetlands

  Wetlands filter stormwater runoff, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and serve as a buffer between development and surface waterbodies. The current trend is increasing development, which adds to stormwater runoff and in some instances decreases the size of wetlands, resulting in less wetlands filtering more runoff. This measure is an estimate of the remaining acreage of wetlands left in the Pensacola Bay watershed.

  For further information: Children: US Fish and Wildlife Service Shorebird Sister School Program Adults: EPA Non Point Source Fact Page UWF Florida and Fauna of Northwest Florida National Wildlife Federation Wetland Page EPA Wetland Page North Carolina State University Wetland Page Media and Elected officials: North Carolina State University Wetland Page EPA Non Point Source Fact Page

  Data links: US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory

• Acreage of oyster reefs

  As stated earlier, oyster reefs play a major role in improving the quality of water in our bays. Conservatively speaking, each oyster in the bay will filter approximately 5 gallons of water each day. To put this amount into perspective, it is estimated that historically the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay filtered the entire volume of the bay in three to five days. This measure tracks the acreage of oyster reefs in the Pensacola Bay system. For additional information on oyster reefs, click on the following links: For further information:
  Children, Adults, Media and Elected officials:

  • Florida Division of Agriculture Shellfish Overview Page

• Acreage of strategic habitat conservation areas

  Strategic habitat conservation areas include such areas as the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie that contain threatened and endangered species or unique habitat that are protected for their ecological importance. This measure tracks the acreage of such areas. For further information on strategic habitat conservation areas, click on the following links: For further information:
  Children:

  • EPA Pesticide Program “Save our Species” Page

  Adults, Media and Elected officials:

  • Florida Division of Forestry Conservation and Management Page
  • FDEP Parks Page
  • FDEP Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas Page
  • EPA Pesticide Program “Endangered and Threatened Species” Page
  • The Nature Conservancy Page
  • Florida Division of Forestry Conservation and Management Page

The habitats listed above are impacted by water quality, development and human activity. A more complete discussion of these impacts, as well as a set of measures which track our success of reducing the impact from these sources, can be found HERE.

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