FWC and FWS certify St. Joe’s WindMark Beach “Wildlife Friendly”

WindMark Beach, on the outskirts of Port St. Joe, might look like any other well-laid-out and aesthetically pleasing Florida development. But the coastal residential community of 1,660 homes on St. Joe Bay is different in one big way: it carries a "Wildlife Friendly" certification, the first in Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) awarded the certification after the St. Joe Company development took all the necessary steps and measures to accommodate nesting sea turtles and other wildlife that mostly come out at night.

The company obtained the certification by using specialized lighting that keeps light off the beach and adjacent wildlife habitat throughout the community, according to Bill Lynn, a St. Joe Company wildlife biologist. The project complies with the Three Golden Rules for Wildlife Friendly Lighting:

1. Keep it low (close to the ground);

2. Keep it shielded (minimize light trespass into the night sky or adjacent areas); and

3. Keep it long-wavelength (longer wavelengths are less likely to impact sea turtles and other wildlife).

"Protecting the environment is important to our company. Not only that, our customers want to be environmentally friendly," Lynn said.

"This certification and what it means is now a big selling point for our community. Carefully planned lighting is a big concern for us and our residents."

While most coastal counties have lighting ordinances, it is still an issue on some beaches. Some highly imperiled turtle species, such as giant leatherback turtles and loggerheads, nest on these same beaches.

When the hatchlings dig to the surface, normally at night, and see street lights, they head toward them and away from the water, which often means they die. In 2003 biologists determined over 79,300 hatchling sea turtles on Florida coasts either died or had to be picked up and returned to the water after heading inland.

Lights displayed on beaches also disrupt the nesting habits of several species of shorebirds, making them more vulnerable to predation.

Dean Gallagher was the FWC biologist who worked with St. Joe and their wildlife-friendly certification for WindMark Beach. He now works with the University of Hawaii. He has high praise for the way everyone connected with the project embraced the idea of making it a wildlife-friendly development.

"Instead of using 40-foot poles for street lighting, they used low, 12-foot poles with full-cutoff fixtures. They were so well-done you can’t see the lighting from the beach," Gallagher said.

Last summer Gallagher and FWS biologist Lorna Patrick visited WindMark Beach at night. He said the lighting met all the criteria for the certification.

The criteria are fairly stringent. Gallagher said they have to use bulbs with a long wavelength, which is typically yellow or amber lighting. Also, he said they need to keep the lighting low and shielded from the beach, and minimize "light pollution," which is light that escapes into the night sky and does not light the areas needed for human safety.

The success of WindMark Beach’s wildlife-friendly program has prompted St. Joe officials to retrofit existing homes in their SummerCamp development in Franklin County with similar lighting.

"Communities that use wildlife-friendly lighting are saying they are willing to share the beach with sea turtles and other wildlife. It’s as simple as that," Gallagher said.

To find out more about sea turtles and lights, visit MyFWC.com/seaturtle/.