Northeast Gulf River Basins: Florida, Alabama and Georgia Cooperative Survey (Volume 1)

Excerpts from the report: The Northeast Gulf River Basins comprise an area of approximately 38,700 square miles, or 24,800,000 acres of land and water in southeast Alabama, north Florida and south Georgia. Forty-five counties are totally within the Basins and 32 are partially within. Of the total 77 counties represented, 31 are in Florida, 22 are in Alabama, and 24 are in Georgia (Figure III-l). Cities in the area include Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach, Panama City, Tallahassee and Lake City in Florida; Dothan, Phenix City, Enterprise, and Ozark in Alabama; Moultrie, Thomasville, Tifton, and Valdosta in Georgia. Principal rivers in the study area are St. Marys, Suwannee, Aucilla, St. Marks, Ochlockonee, Apalachicola (downstream from Jim Woodruff Dam), Chattahoochee (Alabama portion only), Choctawhatchee, Yellow, Blackwater, Escambia, and Perdido. The St. Marys River flows into the Atlantic. All other rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico. The Northeast Gulf Basins have been divided into sub-basin groups to facilitate the study and to make the data more useful (Figure III-2). The Florida subarea was also delineated by water management districts. In order to appraise and evaluate opportunities, problems and needs, and to reflect society's preference for preservation, conservation, and productive use of the Basins' water and land resources, the major objectives of the study are: 1. National Economic Development (NED) a. Increase national income b. More fully utilize unemployed or underemployed resources. 2. Environmental Quality - (EQ) a. Preserve and improve the visual quality of the landscape. b. Preserve and improve the quality of land, air, and water resources for all uses. c. Preserve and improve the aspects of the environment that relate to human use and interest. d. Preserve and utilize important ecosystems to maintain and improve environmental quality.