Galvez Landing: We can Have Both a Boat Launch and a Recreational Area---And WE WILL

As long as I am commissioner of District 1--the issue on Galvez Landing where the artificial binary choice (Either a Boat Launch OR a Recreational Area) was the topic------my answer is simple.

Both.

Not everything is a binary choice.  Having a great little area with a swing, picnick table, and areas for children and parents to wade in the water is perfectly fine at Galvez Landing---and the Boat launch and rebuilt docks the county has built for a first class boat launch are also just fine.

You can have both, and we will so long as I am around.

Because not everything in life comes down to an either/or decision point.

At Galvez, it can be, will be, and IS-------- BOTH.

Public Invited to Perdido Boat Ramp Groundbreaking June 16

Come on out and join us this Friday morning at 11:30 for a groundbreaking of Escambia County's newest public boat launch facility.

The boat ramp will be Escambia County's first large public access to Perdido Bay. The new 40-acre facility is located on Heron Bayou and will include a two-lane boat ramp, 62 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers, 22 parking spaces for vehicles without trailers, and a stormwater treatment facility. In addition, a new channel measuring at 2,260 feet long by 40 feet wide and a depth of 5 feet will be dredged from the launching facility to Perdido Bay. Additional passive recreational opportunities include a landing area along the Perdido paddling trail with two primitive campsites and 11 acres of wetlands placed into conservation.

In 2013, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners funded the acquisition of the Perdido Boat Ramp property for $1.24 million through Local Option Sales Tax III. Project design was paid through a grant from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Vessel Registration Fees. The $4.2 million needed for construction is funded through U.S. Treasury RESTORE Direct Component funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Natural Resource Damage Assessment Coastal Protection Fund. Hewes and Company, LLC is constructing the new facility.

For more information about the boat ramp, please contact Escambia County Natural Resources Management at 850-595-4988.