Great job Okaloosa County for looking to the future in job growth
and recognition of the Fort Walton Beach/Okaloosa Island area.
Lease
approved for Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge
By KARI C. BARLOW
OKALOOSA ISLAND — The Emerald
Coast Wildlife Refuge will pay Okaloosa County $1 a year to lease 3.6 acres of
the old Island Golf Center property. County
commissioners approved the 10-year lease in mid-October. It gives the refuge
two years to start building its medical clinic, education center and marine
center.“Our founder years ago had pinpointed that piece of property as
their dream for where the refuge would end up,” refuge Director Amanda
Wilkerson said. “It’s perfect for us because it’s centrally located in our
coverage area.”The refuge is finalizing design and construction plans for the
clinic and education center. Wilkerson hopes to have a development
order in hand within in the next 45 to 120 days.“I’ve been with the refuge
since 2000, and we’ve been waiting for this since then,” she said. “I’m
definitely excited.” The medical clinic — where the
staff will rehab injured and sick animals — will be about 4,000 square feet. “It’s going to be a lot different from what we’re normally used
to because it’s going to be an interactive building,” Wilkerson said. “Our ICU,
nursery, exam rooms and surgery center are all going to be viewable by one-way
glass. There will be an intercom system so people can actually communicate with
people on the inside and see what’s going on.” Speakers
will allow workers to explain to visitors outside the room exactly what they’re
doing to an animal. That setup is designed to educate the public about the
service the refuge provides. “Until people really see a heron that has
been maimed by fishing line and the procedures it takes to get that animal back
on its feet, they have no idea,” Wilkerson said. “Then it becomes more serious
to them.” She said the refuge is “working
on potential financing” for the clinic, which could open by late 2013. The proposed education center will house the Emerald Coast
Wildlife Refuge Academy of Zoological Sciences, a charter school that initially
will serve sixth- and seventhgrade students. “As
soon as the building is done, we’re ready to go,” Wilkerson said. “If the
funding that we need … comes through, that will open the fall of 2013.” The refuge also plans to build a marine center that will be used
for stranded marine life, research and necropsies. The 3.6-acre site sits on 35 acres of the old golf course. The
land includes a heron rookery, a pine and oak hammock, coastal dunes,
drainage ponds and several acres of wetlands. “The
property is beautiful,” Wilkerson said. “It has a lot of educational benefits …
with its different kinds of habitats.” County
commissioners agreed in June to allow Destin nonprofit AquaGreen to build a $20
million fish hatchery on 4.4 acres of the property and Destin-based Dominion
Capital to build Wild Willy’s Adventure Zone on 2.8 acres there. Wilkerson said she is confident the three groups can co-exist
while also preserving natural areas for visitors. “We’ve already talked
about different ways we can partner with each other,” she said. “I think it’s
going to strengthen all of our organizations by being there.” The refuge plans to kick off a campaign in December to raise
money to build the clinic and other facilities. For more information, go to www.ecwildliferefuge.com or
call Amanda Wilkerson at 650-1880.
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