In 1991, the St. Marys River Management Committee (Committee) was formed when the river was being considered for inclusion in the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers program. The Committee, which is comprised of citizen volunteers and elected officials, seeks to maintain local management and control of the river. The St. Marys River Management Committee consists of 20 representatives from the four counties that border the river and comprise most of the basin: Charlton and Camden counties of Georgia, and Baker and Nassau counties of Florida. Two nonvoting members represent Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources and Florida’s St. Johns River Water Management District.
The Committee's goal is promoting and protecting the long-term viability of both the environmental and economic resources of the St. Marys Basin in a way that retains local control, protects property rights, and fosters cooperation among individuals, governments, and agencies at all levels. The Committee is sponsoring development of a management plan that identifies issues and recommends solutions related to the management of the St. Marys River. Pandion Systems, Inc. was contracted to develop this plan in April 2000. Development of the St. Marys River Management Plan is based on number of tasks that included review of existing information, public comment and input, and scientific and planning analysis.
Specific goals of the St. Marys River Management Plan are to:
1.Maintain and improve the water quality of the St. Marys River.
2.Provide for flood protection through nonstructural, natural functions of the St. Marys River.
3.Protect natural systems of the St. Marys River basin, for example, maintain minimum flows and levels and protect biodiversity.
4.Provide for recreational and public uses of the St. Marys River, which are compatible with the previous goals and consistent across county and state boundaries.
5.Provide for local-local, local-state, and local-state-federal intergovernmental coordination and relations in the management of the St. Marys River.
This is a draft report of the St. Marys River Management Plan. Following Committee review and approval, public review, and public comment, a final plan will be prepared.
The St. Mary River Management Plan evaluates seven major river resources including water quality, groundwater, floodplains, natural systems, recreational and public use, economic development, and government policy. These river resource components were identified as requiring evaluation and/or management during the St. Mary's River visioning process. This study does not evaluate the cultural and historical resources of the river. For each of the evaluated resources, existing and projected conditions are described, recent accomplishment are outlined with specific issues associated with management of the St. Marys River, and strategies for addressing these issues are recommended. The main emphasis for analysis is on the river corridor and secondarily on the river basin.
The following is a list of issues and recommended strategies for addressing these issues.
River
Basin Management and Intergovernmental Coordination
·Hire cost effective Committee administrative assistance to enhance effectiveness and communication – emphasize outsourcing (Committee)
·Create nonprofit watershed association (WA) to carry out public awareness, river education, outreach, publications/media, and land trust programs (Committee)
·Sponsor workshop(s) for county/state planning agencies to coordinate consistent corridor planning (Committee, local governments, state agencies)
·Establish a St. Marys River library/information clearinghouse/database for use by Committee, citizens, local government agencies (Committee/WA)
·Evaluate each County’s land use pattern as reflected in their Comprehensive Plans and encourage consistency with river protection, using Best Management Practices (BMPs), and similar measures (Committee subcommittee/local governments)
·Design shoreline guidelines/incentives e.g. river corridor, vegetative buffers and setbacks (Committee subcommittee/local governments)
·Promote bank to bank legislation to unify recreation and wildlife management laws (Committee)
Protection
of Surface Water Quality
·Promote public agency coordination for surface water quality monitoring and request reports on water quality for non-technical audiences (WA, state agencies, EPA)
·Monitor Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) programs in both states (Committee).
·Investigate Special Waters designations in Florida and Georgia (Committee)
Protection
of Ground Water Quality
·Establish consistent septic system setbacks on both Florida and Georgia sides of the river (Committee, local governments)
Protection
of Floodplain Functions
·Protect existing floodplain storage by encouraging local governments to adopt model shoreline ordinance (Committee, local governments)
·Encourage local governments to participate in National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating Service program and its Community Rating, in which reduced flood insurance premiums act as incentive to improve ordinances on floodplain protection (Committee or WA, local government)
Protection
of Natural Systems
·When
private land that has important resource value becomes available for purchase,
advise private landowners of nonprofit and governmental conservation
easement and land acquisition programs.
·Continue
to encourage and support stewardship on private lands.
·Integrate
river management plan into basinwide management and other conservation
programs on an on-going basis.
Provision
for Recreational Opportunities
·Create a corridor recreation plan to enhance recreational opportunities/businesses (Committee, outside experts)
Provision
of Public Outreach and Education
·Continue and expand publications programs: River Guide, POSM (Committee/WA)
·Continue and expand annual river cleanups (Committee/WA)
·Solicit assistance to design a media effort to increase local knowledge of river issues, enforcement, and other protection activities (WA)
·Solicit assistance to develop a St. Marys River ecology/stewardship curriculum for local schools in cooperation with existing state/district education programs (WA, school districts, states)
·Encourage initiation of a “River-neighborhoods" program (WA, individuals)
·Continue stakeholder consensus-building activities with workshops in three locations periodically to review plan accomplishments and generate additional public support (Committee, public)
·Host a river conference periodically to foster intergovernmental coordination and provide a forum for the public river awareness (Committee/WA)
Planning
for Economic Development
·Designate a subcommittee to explore establishment of incentives for businesses.
The issues affecting the river now and in the future
can be addressed through the coordination and management of local committee
association.Several additional studies
are recommended including a recreational management plan study to more
specifically identify recreational users, develop user and recreational
guidelines, and determine carrying capacity, and specific monitoring strategies.
END OF DOCUMENT
Copies of the full management plan can be found
in each of the four county libraries. Two public workshops will be held
to gather public input regarding the plans on January 16 and 23, 2001.
For further information, contact the Nature Conservancy at 904-598-0004.