EMERALD COASTKEEPER® COASTLINE NEWS FALL 2009
A New Logo and A New Coastkeeper
A Letter from our new Emerald Coastkeeper Chasidy Hobbs
Hello Emerald Coastkeeper
community; I am thrilled to serve as
your new Coastkeeper. I have big plans
for our organization and you all play a
pivotal role in those plans. My first
order of business is to get to know you
better. The earliest opportunity we have
for this is at the “Meet your
Coastkeeper” event on December 9th
(see page 2 for details). I not only am
looking forward to meeting many of
you, but also to beginning a dialogue
regarding what you as members feel are
the most important issues that Emerald
Coastkeeper should be focused on in
the next year. For those of you who
cannot make this event please call me
(850-429-8422) or email me
(Chasidy@emeraldcoastkeeper.org)
with any input you have regarding
future objectives for our organization. I
encourage you to invite me to speak to
another group, organization or church
you are involved in about Emerald
Coastkeeper’s mission to protect our
waterways. My strategic plan for 2010
includes expanding our organization
and member base by connecting with
you, your friends and our neighbors to
the east in order to better serve all the
watersheds of our region. I am counting
on all of you to help recruit more active
members who share our vision of
responsible development, intelligent
management of our waterways and leaving
a legacy of healthy coastal environments
INSIDE for future generations. And, of course, I
expect all of you to let me know if you
PAGE 1 witness anything which jeopardizes this
LETTER FROM vision.
OUR
COASTKEEPER One major issue in our state which will
almost certainly jeopardize our mission of
healthy waterways is the potential for
drilling off Florida's coasts. Those of you
PAGE 2 who have visited beaches in Texas,
UPCOMING Mississippi or Alabama have probably
EVENTS AND witnessed the impacts drilling has had; we
OUTINGS cannot stand for this in Florida! It is
precisely the delicate, unique ecosystems
of Florida's coasts which draws so many
people to our area and keeps us fighting to
PAGE 3 protect them. To endanger this valuable
UPCOMING resource for a few extra drops in the oil
EVENTS AND bucket is reckless and absurd. The benefits
OUTINGS of drilling off Florida's coasts have been
dramatically inflated. The risks of offshore
drilling have not been discussed enough
and I hope you will join me in helping to
PAGE 4
spread the word about the short-sighted
CANOES AND ignorance a decision to open drilling off
KAYAKS FOR our coast's would be.
EMERALD
COASTKEEPER - Chasidy Hobbs, Emerald Coastkeeper
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EMERALD COASTKEEPER® COASTLINE NEWS FALL 2009

Events and Outings

Emerald Coastkeeper on the Road
With the introduction of our new Coastkeeper, Chasidy Hobbs, Emerald Coastkeeper wants to invite itself into your
community. We want to meet as many of you who want to meet us. Invite us to come speak at your church group,
rotary club or any other organization you think may want to learn about who we are and what we do. Host an
informal meet and greet at your house, invite us to do a presentation on important issues such as stormwater runoff,
or offshore drilling. We would be glad to come to your hometown for the day. Meeting our members, and making
new connections only helps us to further serve the needs of our watershed. If there is an issue you would like to see
us take on, or if you are suspicious of environmental wrong-doing, please give us a call at 850-429-8422, or email us
at info@emeraldcoastkeeper.org.

Protecting Waterways With Traditional

Development Patterns: A Walking Tour of
Downtown Pensacola
DECEMBER 5TH, 2009

Join us for a fun walking tour of downtown Pensacola’s oldest and one
of its newest neighborhoods. The Seville District includes Pensacola’s
oldest homes and streets, a historic cemetery, and a beautiful public square designed during the Spanish period.
Older neighborhoods like Seville were developed before modern zoning and the widespread use of the automobile
altered the American landscape, and include many elements being emulated by designers looking to create more
sustainable new neighborhoods. The adjacent Aragon neighborhood is a successful local example of a traditional
neighborhood development that borrows from historic patterns to create a place that uses less energy and water and
allows residents to meet many of their daily needs within walking distance. The tour will highlight elements that help
to protect water quality by minimizing stormwater runoff, such as reduced impervious surface and the strategic
planting of trees. Join us after the tour for good food, drink, and conversation at Dharma Blue restaurant overlooking
Seville Square. The tour will be led by Christian Wagley, principal of Sustainable Town Concepts, who studies the
link between the way we design our neighborhoods and the health of local waterways.

The tour begins at 3 PM in front of Dharma Blue Restaurant on Seville Square. For more information, email
Elizabeth at info@emeraldcoastkeeper.org. This event is free and open to the public.

Meet your Coastkeeper

DECEMBER 9TH, 2009 6PM TO 8PM

Come join Emerald Coastkeeper as we launch our new Coastkeeper.

Enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres aboard the Nyhaven II yacht for the
evening. The yacht will be open from 6 pm to 8 pm at Pensacola
Beach Marina at 655 Pensacola Beach Blvd. Dress is business
casual. Adults only, please. Space is extremely limited. To purchase
your ticket, send your donation of $100 per person to Emerald
Coastkeeper at P.O. Box 13283, Penscola, FL 32591.

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EMERALD COASTKEEPER® COASTLINE NEWS FALL 2009
Member Meeting
JANUARY 13TH 5:30 TO 7 PM

Emerald Coastkeeper invites you to meet other members at our Member

Meeting. The meeting will be held at Dharma Blue at 300 Alcaniz Street in
Pensacola, FL. Coastkeeper Chasidy Hobbs will be discussing the strategic
plan for 2010 along with the offshore drilling campaign. After her talk, we
will host a letter writing campaign for those interested. This event is free and
open to the public.

Hands Across the Sand

FEBRUARY 13TH, 2010

In the near future the citizens of Florida will have an opportunity to show their
opposition to offshore drilling as close as 3 to 10 miles off our coast. This
movement will be made of people of all walks of life and will cross political
affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our
shoreline, our tourism, our valuable properties and our way of life. Let us share our
knowledge, energies and passion for protecting our waterways and beaches from
the devastating effects of oil drilling.

Step 1. Go to the Beach

Step 2. Hold hands forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal
waters.

Step 3. Leave only your footprints.

Rules of the day: Use only approved beach accesses and parking. Create as long a line or as many lines as you wish.

Thank You Chips!

On Monday, November 16th, Emerald Coastkeeper threw a Thank You Party for Chips
Kirschenfeld for his years of service. The
room was full of people ready to share their
gratitude for all Chips has done for Emerald
Coastkeeper. After several rounds of
applause, Chips announced his eagerness to
join Emerald Coastkeeper’s Board of
Directors. Emerald Coastkeeper is looking
forward to a continued relationship with
Chips, and we appreciate his tireless years of
service for us.

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 up close and personal yields a tremendously different
Canoes and Kayaks for experience of the water. Hearing a guest speaker talk about
Coastkeeper the importance of aquatic invertebrates as you glide over
water that teems with life registers in a unique way.
We hear it every time we go out on
Learning about the effect stormwater runoff has
the water. People want to come with
on a bayou and then seeing first-hand the
us to learn about and explore the
damage it inflicts is all too important in our
gorgeous waters of the Emerald
area.
Coast, but they do not own a kayak
or a canoe. Being a person who
By donating your used canoe and kayak gear,
does not own their own boat, I
you are helping get people out on the very
understand the frustration. I end up
thing we all love- our water! Emerald
having to borrow boats and pick-up
Coastkeeper takes several water trips every
trucks to get myself out on the
year to help engage our community, and we
water, and sometimes it doesn’t all
need your help. Donate your used kayaks,
pan out. It is a lot of work.
canoes, paddles, vests and even trailers. To know our water
is to love our water- let’s get people acquainted with the
Emerald Coastkeeper believes that to know our water, is to
Emerald Coast front and center! Contact Elizabeth
love it. We have streams, rivers, bayous, bays- you name
McWilliams at info@emeraldcoastkeeper.org for more
it. Almost everywhere I go, there’s water nearby. It is all to
details, or call her cell 850-221-9205.
easy to ignore the things we do not know. Seeing the water

Thank you Pro-Legal Copies for donating the printing of this newsletter, as
always! Please patronize their business:
331 W Government St
Pensacola, FL 32502-5520
(850) 470-9779

P.O. Box 13283

Pensacola, FL 32591
850-429-8422
www.emeraldcoastkeeper.org
info@emeraldcoastkeeper.org