BEACH GUARD: Town scientist nets environmental award
Town of Fort Myers Beach Environmental Sciences Coordinator Keith Laakkonen picked up his second major award in four years last week when he was selected as the 2014 recipient of the Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association’s Environmental Award. He received a plaque at the awards banquet of the annual FSBPA conference held at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point on Thursday.
According to FSBPA President Deborah Flack, this specific award is “presented to a deserving individual for his/her significant contributions to the environment in the cause of beach preservation.” It cited Laakkonen’s “development of a partnership program for beach nesting birds as well as an innovative management plan for beach vegetation.”
At the FSBPA conference on Friday, Laakkonen was a presenter on “Adaptive Management and Policy Solutions for Two Contentious Issues on Fort Myers Beach: Beach Nourishment and Nesting Birds.” Back in 2011, Laakkonen was the recipient of the Audubon Society’s prestigious Guy Bradley Award for his groundbreaking and innovative work in creating a plan and partnership to enable birds to nest on private beach areas.
“I am extremely humbled and stunned. What this award shows is that with what we do here on the island -striking a balance between the coastline, people and wildlife, we are doing the right thing and we are very successful at it,” he said.
Laakkonen joined fellow colleague Lee County Natural Resources Director Steve Boutelle, who received the Stan Tait Professional Award at the awards banquet. That award has been established as the highest, most prestigious in setting the standard of excellence and commitment to statewide beach management, county beaches and other coastal resources throughout an outstanding career in public service.
Laakkonen was nominated by Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau Program Manager Nancy McPhee, who oversees and implements Beach and Shoreline Capital Improvements projects.
“Keith’s work is critical in ensuring tourism is sustainable. Balancing the impact an increase in visitors has on the natural resources of our coastal community, especially protected species, is essential for our continued success,” said McPhee.
Laakkonen was notified of the selection of the prestigious award back in late August. He is a Fort Myers native, a 1998 graduate of the University of Florida and a Town employee since 2008.
After graduating from UF, Laakkonen began his career managing coastal resources with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Coastal Aquatic Preserve program. Through those assignments, he has worked in Crystal River, Charlotte Harbor and Rookery Bay.
While on Fort Myers Beach, Laakkonen has been monitoring birds at Little Estero Island Critical Wildlife Area and the beaches at the southern terminus of Estero Island. He was cited for leading the development of a partnership program for the management and conservation of beach nesting birds with the Town, Audubon of Florida, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and several private property owners.
Another significant accomplishment that supported nomination included his development of an innovative beach vegetation management plan with FDEP, which is the first of its kind in Florida. “The plan allowed private property owners who signed easements for the Estero Island Beach Restoration Project to manage dune vegetation (Managed Beach Zones) on their property under specifications which increase functionality of the overall dune system of Fort Myers Beach. Without this plan, it is unlikely that enough easements would have been secured to allow successful construction of the restoration project,” the nomination letter read.
“It’s really ground-breaking that we are able to get some amount of control over our own coastal stewardship here on the island from the state,” said Laakkonen. “We obviously can’t get control of everything with certain statutory preemptions But, to get a little bit of something, shows we are on the right path.”
Laakkonen has many duties in his municipality and beyond. He is the Town’s Environmental Code Enforcement Officer tasked with ensuring compliance with environmental sections of the Land Development Code, particularly the sea turtle lighting ordinance, beach raking and dune management regulations. He represents the Town on the Estero Bay Agency for Bay Management and the Management Committee for the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. He coordinates with other local scientists to make recommendations to the South Florida Water Management District and Corps of Engineers on management of the Caloosahatchee Watershed.
Laakkonen is also the coastal manager for the Town and has led the development of a coastal management plan for all of the island that provides information such as coastal bathymetry, local geologic conditions, sediment budgets, evaluation of alternative technology and local and regional processes that coastal managers can utilize for long-term beach management.
Laakkonen serves as the staff liaison for the Marine Resources Task Force. He is also certified by FEMA as a Certified Floodplain Manager where he implements floodplain regulations and outreach that benefit the Town’s natural systems.
“Keith takes his job very seriously. He looks from an environmental perspective to balance environmental concerns with other concerns. He’s a passionate advocate,” said Beach Manager Don Stilwell. “It’s very significant for the Town to have someone of that stature and be recognized for that stature on our staff.”
According to its website, the Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association was organized in 1957 at a meeting of 37 local government and university leaders concerned about the growing problem of beach erosion that had virtually destroyed important resort beaches such as Miami Beach. They recognized that erosion was a statewide problem that couldn’t be handled by individual cities and counties alone.
Councilman attends conference
FMB Councilman Alan Mandel attended a portion of the conference and reported interest in two of the program’s presentations: Florida’s Federal Shore Protection Program: Comprehensive Overview, Funding Trends and Future Projections; and Celebrating Florida’s Beach Management Efforts and Visioning Future State Funding Needs.
The former presentation featured speakers U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jackie Keiser and Col. Alan Dodd. Afterwards, Mandel and Laakkonen spoke with Col. Dodd about future Matanzas Pass dredging projects and proposed placement of the spoils from such a project.
“We are going to have continued discussion with him on that,” Mandel said.
The latter presentation featured Thomas Campbell, the president of CB&I Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc. in Boca Raton. Mandel stated Campbell discussed Amendment 1 of this November’s proposed constitutional amendments for the state of Florida. The Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative amendment would provide direct funding towards the preservation of land and water in the state
“The revenue from that would go into funds that would help beach nourishment as one of the possible uses,” Mandel said. “I would support that.”