Mapping the Blackwater

Editor’s Note: This continues our Celebrate Community series on nonprofit organizations that improve Santa Rosa County residents’ quality of life. 

MILTON — University of West Florida graduate student Andrew Van Slyke, with Bagdad Waterfronts Florida Partnership President Doug Lasater and members of the civic organization the Blackwater Pyrates, have begun gathering data for the first Blackwater River survey for the Blackwater Maritime Heritage Trail.

Three years ago, Lasater spoke to the Milton Council about the web-based trail. In March, the BWFP learned the Florida Coastal Management Program awarded it a $10,000 grant for the project.

The maritime heritage trail will be a comprehensive visual guide informing users of the ecological, natural, recreational, historical, maritime, cultural and other points of interest in the waterways through Milton and Bagdad, according to the grant application. The project also includes physical elements.

The project lays out two tasks: mapping 25 miles of waterway for inclusion in an application interface and development of educational content. The second task is producing educational kiosks and distributing brochures and waterproof maps.

Van Slyke and the others recently worked on the first part of task one, mapping known historical points on the river. He and the other volunteers sailed out to these points and filled in worksheets, which included the name of the location, its colloquial name, the GPS coordinates, the accessibility (whether by kayak or another size of boat), and a description of the site.

Blackwater shipwrecks will be part of the trail but won’t show exactly where they are, according to Van Slyke.

Van Slyke, from Panama City, said he grew interested in military history on the Gulf Coast from his parents’ military service.

“I’ve got a real sense of history for the Gulf Coast,” he said.

Those with local knowledge of the river may call Lasater at 380-4484 to contribute toward the project.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Mapping the Blackwater