Ecosystem Management Agreement (EMA) with the St. Joe Company

On May 29, 2015, the St. Joe Company and the department established the Second Ecosystem Management Agreement (F.S. 403.0752). This EMA Area (EMA #2) encompasses 42,889 acres of St. Joe owned lands within the West Bay Sector Preservation Area in Bay County.

This agreement is the second such agreement entered into with The St. Joe Company. The first, in 2004, encompassed an area of 31,350 acres and provided for conservation for more than 20,760 acres of St. Joe owned property in Bay and Walton counties. The department and the federal government have urged St. Joe to take a comprehensive, regional approach to conservation and development that would provide for predictable community growth while affording greater protection to natural lands along the Emerald Coast.

St. Joe Company has extensive landholdings in Northwest Florida, some of which is earmarked for residential, commercial and recreational development, which require environmental permits. The agreement provides protective guidelines for activities associated with building roads, homes and community infrastructure.

As part of these two agreements, St. Joe is setting aside thousands of acres of high-quality habitat for preservation. The conservation areas create a two-pronged “Bay to Bay” wildlife corridor linking public land from Choctawhatchee Bay to St. Andrew Bay and preserving the ecological integrity of two of Northwest Florida’s most rapidly developing watersheds. 

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1:         EMA Boundary

Exhibit 2:        Sediment and Erosion Control

Exhibit 3:         Sub Watershed Map

Exhibit 4:         Conservation Unit Map

Exhibit 5:         Conservation Unit Map – Crooked Creek/West Bay

Exhibit 6:        Conservation Unit Map – Fannin Bayou/Warren Bayou

Exhibit 7:        Conservation Unit Map – Burnt Mill Creek/Doyle Creek Frontal

Exhibit 8:         Conservation Unit Map – Little Burnt Mill Creek

Exhibit 9:         Conservation Unit Map – Pine Log Creek

Exhibit 10:       Conservation Units Descriptions 

Crooked Creek/West Bay

Fannin Bayou

Burnt Mill Creek/Doyle Creek Frontal

Little Burnt Mill Creek

Pine Log Creek

Exhibit 11:      Principles for Forest & Wildlife Management of Conservation Units

Exhibit 12:      Conservation Units Checklist

Exhibit 13:       Converted / Unconverted Wetlands

Exhibit 14:      2013 Aerial Photo

Exhibit 15:       Hydrologically Sensitive Areas Map

Exhibit 16:       Individual Project Approval Checklist

Exhibit 17:       General Conditions

Exhibit 18:       Conservation Easement for Conservation Units Type I

Exhibit 19:       Conservation Easement for Conservation Units Type II

Exhibit 20:       Conservation Easement for Mitigation/Preservation

Exhibit 21:       Conservation Easement for Hydrologically Sensitive Areas

Annual Report

2016

2017

2018

2020

2021

2022

For more information contact Una Johnson at 850-595-0585 or Martha.U.Johnson@FloridaDEP.gov

Last Modified: Monday, Jul 22, 2024 - 09:40am