By DOTTY NIST
Walton County’s first and only beach management coordinator and coastal management consultant will be bowing out at the end of March after almost 15 years’ work with Walton County.
“I’m very proud of the work we’ve done,” Pickel said.
A coastal scientist, Pickel was hired in as a Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) staff member in 2000, following hurricanes Opal and Georges. He was tasked with addressing beach management issues in connection with erosion from those storms.
“When I came on board in 2000, you could feel the magic in the area. There was a true community spirit,” Pickel recalled.
He came to Walton County just after completing his Masters of Science degree from the University of South Alabama, previously having obtained a Marine Biology degree from Auburn University.
Working with the TDC for the next seven years, Pickel’s responsibilities included management and maintenance of the more than 50 TDC beach and bay accesses, hurricane recovery efforts after the active 2004-2005 hurricane season, and taking the lead on Walton County’s first large-scale beach nourishment project, which involved approximately five miles of state-designated critically-eroded beachfront on the west end of the county. The Western Walton County Beach Nourishment Project was completed in 2007. While on the TDC staff, Pickel also took a leadership role with efforts toward obtaining federal authorization for a similar project that would address beach erosion along the CR-30A corridor as well.
Among other leadership with environmental and coastal management organizations, Pickel served on the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation board of directors from 2004 to 2007. In 2003, he became treasurer for the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA).
In 2007, Pickel moved to South Carolina with his wife Leslie, who had a job opportunity in that state. He started Seahaven Consulting, a coastal management firm, and was enlisted to continue work with the TDC. As consultant he continued to provide expertise on beach management activities and coordination on efforts with the federal project, along with assisting in lobbying for state and federal appropriations.
In 2010, Pickel served as co-chair for the annual fall conference of the ASBPA.
Pickel has opted to conclude his contract with Walton County a couple of months early, at the end of March. He will leave with authorization having been obtained for the Walton County Hurricane & Storm Damage Reduction (WCH&SDR) Project, a 19+-mile federal project, and with all required information requested by the state for issuance of a project permit having been furnished. Local funding for the WCH&SDR project is in place, and Gov. Rick Scott has recommended $10.5 million in state funding for the project in the current budget year.
“We believe that Walton County is in a great position to move forward with this project, and it is now in the hands of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners and the residents,” Pickel said in a Dec. 2 letter to TDC Executive Director Jim Bagby.
Pickel spoke highly of the partnerships that he has worked in tandem with during his time with Walton County.
He emphasized that all agencies consulted as part of the beach project effort have agreed on the need for the WCH&SDR Project and that, contrary to the idea of some in the community, it is “not about county access to the beaches.”
In addition to his work with Walton County, Pickel has been serving as executive director for the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA).
“The AIWA is the national organization that works to build coalitions of users to pursue funding for the maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway,” Pickel explained. He added that the waterway runs 1,100 miles from Virginia through Florida, paralleling I-95.
Among his duties with the AIWA he said, is lobbying for funding for the waterway as he has done in the past for Walton County. He said he plans to continue with this once his work with Walton County is completed.
Another of his projects is with an organization known as Illuman.
“Illuman,” he explained, “is a global not-for-profit organization committed to supporting men who are seeking to deepen their spiritual lives.”
“Both of these organizations are doing great work, and I am excited about spending more time to support their efforts,” Pickel commented.
He said that after the conclusion of his contract he and Leslie would continue to visit Walton County, since they still own property in the county and have close friends here.
Asked about his hopes for Walton County in the future, Pickel responded, “I am reminded of a blessing shared by Father Frank Cooper at Christ the King (Episcopal Church) in Santa Rosa Beach. ‘Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of others. So be quick to love and make haste to be kind.’ I only wish the best for those who have loved and been kind to me throughout the years. I will be eternally grateful for those who gave me a chance to manage the county’s new beach nourishment program right out of graduate school, and am amazed at how far we have come. We have made a wonderful team.”
