Biodiversity
Edwin J. Keppner, & Lisa A. Keppner, Co-Chairs
History.
The Biodiversity Subcommittee of BEST traces its origin to the original meetings
of BEST at which time it was designated as the Natural Resources Inventory
Subcommittee. The name was subsequently changed to the Biodiversity
Subcommittee to broaden its responsibilities. The purpose of the subcommittee
is to provide information regarding the species and biotic community diversity
of the St. Andrew Bay ecosystem to BEST for dissemination to the appropriate
decision-makers, and to identify those special habitats and areas of land and
water for conservation/preservation to maintain a functioning St. Andrew Bay
ecosystem.
Past
Activities.
The two subcommittee members have produced and updated an
inventory of the biological resources of the St. Andrew Bay estuary,
participated in the writing of the original ecosystem management plan and
subsequently revised that plan, and obtained grants for surveys of vascular
plants in Bay County that resulted in the establishment of the BEST Herbarium
housed at the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office. In addition, a grant
was obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to survey the karst ponds
on about 30,000 acres of property owned by the Northwest Florida Water
Management District for protected species that added a significant number of
locations for these species to those already known from the area. Through
volunteer work for BEST and grants to BEST, Inc., from the U.S. Fish and Wild
Life Service, the Biodiversity Subcommittee members have searched for and found
the Panama City Crayfish which has resulted in the consideration of this species
for a higher level of protection and resulted in the initiation of a Candidate
Conservation Agreement with Assurances to protect the species. These activities
and others have been described in other BEST documents. We thank those who have
provided their time as volunteers on many of the projects.
Current
Projects.
The projects currently underway by the Subcommittee and cooperating
subcommittees include both new and ongoing projects.
A. Vascular
Plant Survey. This survey is ongoing since 1998 and has been extended to areas
of the ecosystem that were not previously surveyed or surveyed areas that were
not intensively surveyed. Additions to the BEST Herbarium have been made
annually and the database is updated annually.
B. Protected
and/or Tracked Plants and Animals. The data accumulated over the past 8 years
regarding the locations of protected and/or tracked species of vascular plants
and animals was forwarded to the Florida Natural Areas Inventory in 2005. This
work was supported by a grant from the Jelks Family Foundation. The work is
ongoing, and records of observations of these species are forwarded to FNAI as
they are observed.
C. Panama City Crayfish. Work continues on this species that is
found only in
a 43 square mile area of Bay County, and nowhere else in the world. Upon
completion of the CCAA to protect this species, efforts will be directed at the
life history and population dynamics of this species. The Biodiversity
Subcommittee hopes to be involved in these endeavors.
D.
Odonata Survey (Dragonflies and Damselflies). The survey of the odonates
from Bay County was supported by a grant from the St. Joe Community Foundation.
This survey is ongoing and has been expanded to include the entire ecosystem.
The survey added a number of species to the list of species already known from
Bay County and the ecosystem. A preliminary report was prepared in 2005, and
updates and a final report will be provided in the future.
E. Lepidoptera
(Butterflies and Moths). The survey for these species is ongoing and is
unsupported. It is the volunteer effort of the Biodiversity Subcommittee.
Programs regarding this work have been presented to a number of local citizen
organizations.
F. A Land
Conservation/preservation Concept for Bay County. This is a joint effort by the
Biodiversity Subcommittee and the Natural Resources Subcommittee to provide a
basis for the acquisition of land and water in Bay County with the purpose of
maintaining the functions of the ecosystem and maintain the estuarine part of
that ecosystem, St. Andrew Bay. The document will also provide recommendations
of areas where these lands and waters could be sought for
conservation/preservation.
Volunteers.
The projects undertaken by the Biodiversity Subcommittee are a mixture of
serious and fun
field work with a great deal of data recording, specimen preparation, and
cataloguing of specimens. Field work can be time consuming for some
projects and mostly involves boots, water, and nets often off the beaten path.
If you are interested and have the time, please
contact BEST.
Completed
projects*.
Keppner, Edwin J. 1996. An Inventory of the Biological Resources
Reported from the St. Andrew Bay Estuarine System, Bay County, Florida. Bay
Environmental Study Team (BEST) Public. #0001. 72 pp.
BEST &
DEP. (E.J. Keppner, editor) 1998. A Look to the Future. A Management Plan for
the St. Andrew Bay Ecosystem. DEP, July 1998. 134 pp. + Appendices
Keppner, Edwin J. and Keppner, Lisa A. 1997. A List of the
Vascular Plants of Bay County, Florida. Bay Environmental Study Team (BEST),
Public. #0002. 50 pp.
Keppner,
E.J. and Keppner, L.A. 2006.
Species of Vascular Plants Reported from Bay County, Florida. BEST Publication
#0002, 5th Revision. June 2006. 52 pp.
(.pdf file, 393 kb)
Keppner, Edwin J. and Lisa A. Keppner. 1999. A Compendium of the
Species of Vascular Plants reported from Bay County, Florida Including Specimens
in the BEST Herbarium. BEST Public. 0003. 88 pp. (Up dates were provided for
2000, 2001, 2003, and tabular update in 2004)
Keppner, Lisa A. and Keppner, Edwin J. 1999. A Preliminary Survey
of Four Protected Species of Vascular Plants, with Emphasis on Smooth-barked St.
John=s-wort
(Hypericum lissophloeus Adams) on the Land Owned by the Northwest
Florida Water Management District in Bay and Washington Counties, Florida.
Report to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Panama City, FL. BEST Public.
0004. 38 pp + aerial and ground level photographs.
Keppner, Edwin J. and Keppner, Lisa A. 2000. A Preliminary Search
for the Panama City Crayfish, Procambarus (Leconticambarus)
econfinae Hobbs, 1942, in Bay County, Florida. Volunteer Report submitted
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Panama City Field Office. 20 pp.
Keppner, Lisa A. and Keppner, Edwin J. 2000. The Specimens of
Vascular Plants in the Northwest Florida Water Management District Herbarium.
Volunteer Report to the NWFWMD. 26. pp.
Keppner, Edwin J. 2000. Summary of some observations on
smoothbark St. Johns-wort
and associated protected species of vascular plants on the Econfina Creek Water
Management Area. Volunteer Report to NWFWMD. 12 pp. + figures.
Keppner,
Edwin J. and Keppner, Lisa A. 2001. Biology and Conservation Status of Smoothbark St. Johns-wort.
Report to Bay County Audubon Society, Bay County, FL. 29 pp.
Keppner, Lisa A., Keppner, Edwin J., and The Nature Conservancy.
2001. Property Owners of Sandhill Ponds and Lakefront. Brochure. Printed by
The Nature Conservancy, Bristol, Florida.
Keppner, Edwin J. Keppner, Lisa A. 2001. The St. Andrew Bay
Ecosystem, Our Environment. A Revision of
A Look to the Future,
St. Andrew Bay Environmental Study Team, Inc. Public., May 2001. 90 pp.
Keppner, Edwin J. and Keppner, Lisa A. 2001. A Survey and
Conservation Status of the Panama City Crayfish. Report to U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, June 2001, 24 pp. + figs. and appendices.
Keppner, E.J. 2002. An Inventory of the Biological Resources
Reported from the St. Andrew Bay Estuarine System, Bay County, Florida. A
Revision. Bay Environmental Study Team (BEST) Public. 106 pp.
Keppner, Lisa A. and Keppner, Edwin J. 2002. Final Report of
Extended Survey for the Panama City Crayfish. Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, April 2002. 18 pp. + figs. and appendices.
Keppner, L.A. and Keppner, E.J. 2005. Tracked and Protected Species
in Bay County and the St. Andrew Bay Ecosystem, Florida. Best BIODIV. Subcomm.
Bay Environmental Study Team (BEST) Public. #0007. 22 pp + figures and photos.
Keppner,
E.J. and Keppner, L.A. 2005. Some Dragonflies and Damselflies (Insecta:Odonata)
From Bay County, Florida. BEST Biodiv. Subcomm. March 2005.
Bay Environmental Study Team (BEST) Public. #0005. 11 pp. + figures &
photographs.
Keppner , E.J. and Lamb, N.J. 2006. A Land Conservation/preservation
Concept For Bay County, Florida. BEST Biodiverv. & Natural Resources
Subcomms. Bay Environmental Study Team (BEST) Public. #0009. 53 pp. + figures
and appendices.
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