north central florida environmental summit:

North Central Florida Environmental ProfileNorth Central Florida Environmental Summit: A Socio-Demographic Analysis and Ecological

CharacterizationFebruary 16, 2002

• Mary Davis, PhD Candidate, Dept of Economics• Thomas T. Ankersen, Director, Conservation

Clinic• Tom Hoctor, UF Geoplan Center• Amy Knight, Florida Natural Resources Inventory• Luther Quinn, M.S. Candidate, Inter. Ecology

North Central Florida Environmental Profile

• What is North Central Florida?– Political Boundaries– Socio-Demographic Statistics– Economics and Industry– Environmental Issues

North Central Florida Environmental ProfilePolitical Boundaries

• Counties included in NCF profile– 16 counties covering 12,400 square miles, 19%

of the total Florida land area


• Regional Planning Councils– North Central Florida, Northeast Florida,

Withlacoochee


• Water Management Districts– Suwannee, St. Johns, Southwest

North Central Florida Environmental ProfileSocio-demographics

• NCF population in 2000 - 962,306, 6% of the total FL population

• Distribution of the population– Alachua, Marion, and Clay

counties constitute 64% of the NCF population

– Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, and Union all have less than 15,000 persons each

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AlachuaMarionClayDixieGilchristLafayetteUnion


• Population Density– 78 persons per square

mile

– Florida average is 300

– Most densely populated counties are Clay and Alachua

– Least dense are Lafayette, Taylor, and Dixie

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Pop density

FloridaNCFClayAlachuaLafayetteTaylorDixie


• Population Growth 1990-2000 – 26%

• State average – 23.5%• Highest growth area is

Gilchrist County at 50%

• Smallest growth in Putnam County at 8% 0

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FloridaNCFGilchristPutnam


Alachua County Growth SequenceSeparate PowerPoint


• Major cities– Gainesville, Alachua

– Ocala, Marion

– Lake City, Columbia

– Palatka, Putnam

– Orange Park, Clay

– Perry, Taylor

– Live Oak, Suwannee

– Starke, Bradford

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Gainesville

Ocala

Lake City

Palatka

Orange Park

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Live Oak

Starke


• NCF poverty rate (1997): 20.1%

• State poverty rate: 14.4%

• Lowest rate in Clay County at 7.7%

• Highest rate in Hamilton, Lafayette, and Dixie 0

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• NCF Per Capita Income: $18,300

• FL average is $19,855• Alachua county has

highest income level - $25,650

• Union County has the lowest level - $12,750


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• High school education– NCF graduation rate:

65.4%

– State average: 74.4%

– Alachua and Clay have highest rates at above 80%

– Dixie and Madison have lowest records at around 57%


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Bachelors

FloridaNCFAlachuaBakerDixieLafayette

• University Education: percent to receive a Bachelors Degree– NCF: 10.4%

– FL: 18.3%

– Alachua County 34.6%

– Baker, Dixie, and Lafayette: 5-6%


• 2000 Unemployment Rate for NCF: 3.8%– Highest unemployment in Taylor County with

6.7%– Lowest rate in Alachua County at 1.9%

North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEconomics and Industry

• Heavy Industries– Phosphate Mining– Cement Plants– Pulp Mills


• Government Services: over 80,000 employees– UF: 1998-00 operating budget of over 1 ½

billion dollars– Prisons: 17,000 inmates housed in 20 NCF

facilities, including the FL State Prison in Bradford County


• Tourism– NCF is a favorite spot for outdoor enthusiasts– In 2000-2001, there were approximately

1,300,000 visitors to NCF area state parks and managed areas, and over half of those visits were to local springs


• 7,600 farms covering over 1 ½ million acres

• Major crops:– Tobacco, Corn, Cotton, Peanuts

• Livestock– Total beef cattle – 300,000 heads– 72 producing dairies– 272 poultry farms (broiler and egg)


• Forestry/timber– 70% of NCF land

devoted to forestry

– State average is around 50%

– Alachua and Marion have lowest use at 53%

– Baker has highest at 92% 0

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FloridaNCFAlachuaMarionBaker


• Transportation infrastructure– Over 200 road construction projects are

currently in progress– 62 projects have been completed within the past

year

North Central Florida Environmental ProfileEnvironmental Issues

• Polluting Industries– Major industrial facilities releasing toxic substances,

reported by the EPA in the Toxics Release Inventory

– Original TRI Industries• 4 NCF companies are listed in the top ten facilities in Florida

for on and off-site releases– Buckeye Florida L.P. in Perry;

– Georgia-Pacific Corp in Palatka

– Eveready Battery Co. in Alachua

– Gold Kist Live Oak Processing Plant in Live Oak


• Seven New Industries reported by TRI– 2 NCF companies listed among the top ten

polluting facilities in FL• Seminole Generating Station in Palatka

• GRU, Deerhaven Generating Station in Gainesville


• NCF Superfund Sites– Approximately 97 Superfund sites are located

in NCF– 5 sites are either currently listed or have been

listed on the National Priorities List– Currently on the NPL

• Cabot Carbon/ Koppers in Alachua County

• Brown Wood Preserving in Suwannee County


• Solid Waste Disposal– NCF average was 1 ton per

capita in 1998

– State average is 1.77 tons

– Largest contributors to solid wastes are Alachua County residents with 1.8 tons

– Least amount of waste comes from Lafayette with .34 tons per capita

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• Groundwater:– NCF withdraws 365.4 million gallons of

groundwater per day– Marion and Taylor counties consume the

greatest amounts at over 50 million gallons each per day

– Total demand on the groundwater system is projected to increase by 35% in the next 20 years


• Surface Water:– NCF withdrawals of surface water totals 173

million gallons per day– 95% of the withdrawals occur in Suwannee and

Putnam counties

• Minimum Flow Requirements– 47 MFL’s have been set for the NCF area, all of

them within the St. Johns Water Management District


• List of Impaired Waters:– 12 watersheds within the NCF boundaries

reported their waters as impaired in 1998– The number of water bodies within these

watersheds total 185– Reported impairments are the result of

nutrients, coliform, dissolved oxygen, toxic chemicals, turbidity, and total suspended solis


• Fish and Wildlife Advisories– Rivers: Oklawaha, St. Mary’s, Wacassassa,

Suwannee, Santa Fe, Withlacoochee, and Alapaha

– Lakes and ponds: Altho, Eaton, Kerr, Ocean, Mill Dam, Swim

– National Wildlife Refuge: Lower Suwannee


• Habitat Loss– Wetlands converted:

• Suwannee River: 188 lost, 45 created, 7,343 preserved, 14,028 improved

• St. Johns River: 4,351 lost, 3,409 created, 30,549 preserved, 1,254 improved


Local Government Environmental Programs

• Only Alachua and Marion counties have departments specifically devoted to environmental protection

• Only Alachua and Marion counties have local government land acquisition programs

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