EDITOR'S LETTER

ROOM TO THRIVE

People and creatures are engaged in a space race

For bluebirds, Hurricane Michael was a windfall.

The species, which attracts attention and inspires affection like few other songbirds, has been seen in the storm’s impact area much more frequently than had been the case in a pre-Michael era.

The reason, said Pam Overmyer, a regional coordinator with the Florida Bluebird Society and a co-president of the Bay County Audubon Society, is that bluebirds, resplendent in plumage electric and rust, favor open spaces to a dense wood. The storm thinned out trees in magnificent and terrible fashion, and so it is that bluebirds have moved into places, including Panama City’s Cove neighborhood, once dominated by live oaks dressed in moss.

Flora and fauna are impressively quick to take advantage of habitat changes that create environmental opportunities.

The New York Times, in a March 28 story headlined “Tourism’s Crash Helped the Planet and Harmed It, Too,” detailed how nature responded when the pandemic sent people home.

Around the world, sea turtles flocked to beaches typically trampled by sunbathers. Given the cessation of cruise line activity, whales off Alaska could better hear themselves speak and, I will suppose, think. Thailand’s version of a manatee, dugongs, showed up in eastern Bangkok. Kashmiri goats took to the streets of a coastal town in Wales.

In today’s edition of Emerald Coast Magazine, writer Hannah Burke and I profile species that are expanding their ranges to include our area, owing to factors that surely include climatic change. Area anglers will welcome a snook coming into view at the end of their lines, but folks spying a nutria in the lagoon outside their picture window will be alarmed by a “rat like I’ve never seen before.”

People, too, are on the move. Tourism subsided not for long in Florida, given Gov. Ron DeSantis’ approach to COVID-19. Emerald Coast beaches were closed for but a short while, certainly not long enough for leatherbacks to nest in peace.

The tourist mix may have changed such that it has been dominated more so by rubber-tire travelers, but the numbers have been strong, and when Spring Break arrived, roadways were stuffed. A drive along U.S. 98 from Panama City to Destin came to require patience, resolve, a sense of humor, survival instincts, an appetite for slowmoving adventure and 30 more minutes than you thought it was going to take.

In a few words, developer Peter Bos advises folks to get used to it. Bos, whose projects included the making of Sandestin in the late 1970s, concedes that traffic jams will be unavoidable given our area’s popularity and barriers to roadbuilding, including geography, military installations and other public lands.

Increasingly, he predicts, properties in the accommodations business will struggle unless they offer activities and amenities such that guests can substantially avoid the need to get back in their cars after they arrive.

Accordingly, Bos, 74, has on the drawing boards a new project that will be as complete and diverse and entertaining as, say, Sandestin. In broad hints given me during a conversation in March, he said that the new development will present a “new residential environment and tourist attraction.”

He anticipates that properties along the coast will be consolidated to bring about more developments of the type he has in mind.

“I won’t be around for all of them, but they’re coming,” he said.

Keeping to an amusing enclave is one way to beat the traffic. Taking to the water is another. Bos, who has a knack for such things, is in the marina and boat storage business at the right time. To his dry storage facility in Destin, he is adding four more — in Gulf Shores, Alabama; Stuart, Florida; and two in the Bahamas.

The pandemic has led to a greater appreciation among people for private spaces that they can control. And, when trapped aboard boats, people resort to behaviors often neglected — like conversation.

The black-bellied whistling duck is new to our area. Its historic range includes Mexico and the Caribbean. Not much hunted, it has not learned to fear humans and so it frequents parks and backyard ponds.

Here’s hoping that such coexistence can survive no matter what’s next. Creatures make good neighbors.

Peace,

STEVE BORNHOFT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Paradisehas arrived

ON THE EMERALD COAST

LIVE THE LIFE YOU’VE DREAMED AT LATITUDE MARGARITAVILLE WATERSOUND!

Sunshine and cool breezes. Palm trees and margaritas. Welcome to Latitude Margaritaville, a 55-and-better community inspired by the legendary music and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett, built on food, fun, music and escapism.

Escape to the place where fun and relaxation meet. Escape to island-inspired living as you grow older, but not up. Escape to Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, located on the Emerald Coast on Florida’s Panhandle.

New Homes from the $200s

Call To Schedule Your Appointment With A New Home Sales Professional Today! Latitude Margaritaville Watersound

(866) 220-1954

Sales Center Now Open | 13 Model Homes Open Daily 9201 Highway 79, Panama City Beach, FL 32413 Mon. - Sat. 9:00am - 5:00pm | Sun. 11:00am - 5:00pm

Visit online for more information LatitudeMargaritaville.com

Obtain the Property Report required by Federal law and read it before signing anything. No Federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. WARNING: THE CALIFORNIA BUREAU OF REAL ESTATE HAS NOT INSPECTED, EXAMINED, OR QUALIFIED THE OFFERINGS. Latitude Margaritaville Kentucky Registration Number R-201. For NY Residents: THE COMPLETE OFFERING TERMS FOR THE SALE OF LOTS ARE IN THE CPS-12 APPLICATION AVAILABLE FROM SPONSOR, LMWS, LLC. FILE NO. CP20-0062. Pennsylvania Registration Number OL001182. Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is registered with the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salesmen, 1000 Washington Street, Suite 710, Boston, MA 02118 and with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20552. This material shall not constitute a valid offer in any state where prior registration is required and has not been completed. The facilities and amenities described are proposed but not yet constructed. Photographs are for illustrative purposes only and are merely representative of current development plans. Development plans, amenities, facilities, dimensions, specifications, prices and features depicted by artists renderings or otherwise described herein are approximate and subject to change without notice. ©Minto Communities, LLC 2021. All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced, copied, altered, distributed, stored, or transferred in any form or by any means without express written permission. Latitude Margaritaville and the Latitude Margaritaville logo are trademarks of Margaritaville Enterprises, LLC and are used under license. Minto and the Minto logo are trademarks of Minto Communities, LLC and/or its affiliates. St. Joe and the St. Joe logo are trademarks of The St. Joe Company and are used under license. CGC 1519880/CGC 120919. 2021 EMERALDCOASTMAGAZINE.COM December 2020–January 2021 2020 17

EMERALDCOASTMAGAZINE.COM

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE Nicole Paloma Returns to the Emerald Coast

The self-taught seamstress has long supplied racks at Santa Rosa Beach boutiques with her unique and coastal-chic, bridal and streetwear collections. Learn more by visiting EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ nicole-paloma-returns-to-the-emerald-coast.

EMERALD COAST MAGAZINE’ S2021 BEST

THE EMERALD COASTof 2021 Best of the Emerald Coast Ballot

Voting for Best of the Emerald Coast 2021 has officially begun! You can vote by turning to page 86 and using the ballot provided in the magazine, or visit EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ Best-of-Emerald-Coast2021Ballot to vote online. Ballots must be postmarked by June 20 to be counted.

Q&A WITH DR. DAVID CHANDLER

Meet the expert at 30A Plastic Surgery. Dr. Chandler is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in all aspects of aesthetic and cosmetic surgery. Learn more about Dr. Chandler and 30A Plastic Surgery by visiting EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/beauty-links.

@EMERALDCOASTMAG What local businesses on the Emerald Coast will you be visiting this summer? Tag us on Instagram @emeraldcoastmag for a chance to be featured.

@emeraldcoastmag Emerald Coast Magazine @EmeraldCoastMag

CONNECT WITH US

Get the latest stories from Emerald Coast Magazine, exclusive offers, event invitations and more delivered to your inbox by signing up at EmeraldCoastMagazine.com/ Connect-with-Us.