Okay some of you environmentalists here should be able to enlighten the rest of us on this. But I was told this evening that Billy McKee is currently finishing up the Habitat Protection Plan soon to be adopted by Walton County that will make beach bonfires totally illegal.

Not going to be long before there is going to be any reason to go to the beach if they keep this up.

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I sure hope not!!

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Surely the county can set a reasonable limit and permit accordingly. So many rules and regulations! This is the price for popularity. Be careful what you wish for.

If you want to further promote the dissension between "private" vs. "public" beach usage just enact something like banning bonfires on the beach. What a stupid idea. If there is the right kind of permitting and supervision of bonfires there is no need to ban them. What is the rationale for this move? It is the first I've heard of it.

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

I know I was totally shocked. I had mentioned to one of the county attorney's that I wanted to get with them to go over the beach activities ordinance to fix the problems with bonfire permitting and was told that bonfires would be banned before we could go through and fix the ordinance. I think it is something the State is making Walton County do to protect turtles or something like that.

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If I wanted to live in a Nanny state, I would have moved to England a while back...

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Who is Lynnie?? ~~~~~~~Signed, All Y'all

Why not just limit it to turtle season? That I could understand. It's not the time of year for bonfires, anyway.

With that said, I am getting kind of tired of seeing the dregs of bonfires on the beach. I wish people would embrace the idea of leaving no trace.

I thought the whole point of issuing permits for bonfires was to:
1) control when they could occur
2) know who was responsible for any mess left?

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The enemy is ignorance.

Unfortunately if you have 3 bonfires on Grayton beach in one night and only one party is using a burn barrel. Should they all be punished for the remnants left by a few?

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I don't understand what this has to do with turtles unless they are concerned with hatchlings wanting to join your party because they see the light. There aren't so many allowed that it would leave no place for a turtle to come in at night to lay eggs.
Beaches and a bonfire are like peanut butter and jelly. They just go together.

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Anthony

The original ordinance provided for a fire container to be provided with the permit issued. Never done - nadda, zero. There have been over 400 permits issued this year raising approx. 20,000. Folks understand this - it is simply a revenue stream for the county.

They have never enforced any portion of the ordinance, but they rake in the money.

I guess the turtles bump into the fire remnants people leave on the beach - no enforcement no cleanup.

So be it - the Green Wave has hit and before long I will not even be able to sit on property and watch the sunset.

We have to have the habitat preservation plan because we allow sea walls.

I just had one last Saturday. Good times. Planning on having another in early June. I hope this isn't true. Do we really have a problem? I am under the impression that generally the beach bonfire thing is working just fine...

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I just can not imagine what the soiree is going to be like in the fall without a bonfire. It is cold enough out there in the spring.

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I haven't tried in awhile, but you used to pay for the permit at the annex and pick up the barrel at the sheriff's station. Guess I need to get out more.

Before long they will ban walking on the beach so as not to traumatize the turtles. 100,000 people will look funny sunning and bathing at the 331 bridge.

i have bonfires every full moon. we call it the full bone party. its a blast!!! at one time you went to the sheriff's office, paid $50 for a permit, they GAVE you a burn barrel and the permit on the day of the fire. you had your fire and left the burn barrel on the beach. they would pick up the barrel for you the next day (after it cooled) and then you could go and get $25 back. great system. now, you go to the south walton annex, sign in, wait in line, go into the codes office, fill out the paper work, pay the $50 and you must provide and show them your burn barrel. you get no money back. you must remove the burn barrel your self. vehicles must be off grayton beach by 10 pm so in order to remove the burn barrel by ten so you dont have to carry it by hand across the beach it needs to be cooled down enough to put in the truck. so really you need to end the bonfire before dark so as to move the barrel by ten. or you can stay on the beach without a vehicle which there are plenty of places to have a bonfire besides driving on grayton and have the fire as long as you want. but you still have to remove a hot barrel or douse it with water which creates its own crazy sooty ember mess. the old system was very user friendly. this one is not so much. when they picked the barrel up for you the next day there was way less mess because the barrel cooled down without drenching the fire in water. hope they dont end it all together though because its my favorite thing to do!!! i am inspected and checked up for my permit every time and i appreciate that enforcement. the crazy thing is i have seen several fires that weren't in barrels - just holes in the sand and those fires were not stopped by the sheriff? maybe you don't need a barrel? never asked about it though.

Well with code enforcement working weekends maybe they will put somebody on nights to pick the barrel up?

This could endanger the hermit crabs that hang out in the shallows on the bay floor.

This is another example of government legislating our lives.

Legislation banning all vehicles (except the code enforcement police), from Grayton beach will be next!

I am not against reasonable regulations, but things are getting out of

hand with this government intervention thing!

How in the world could I have looked that issue over? Let me google hermit crab habitat in Walton County.

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The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. - Albert Einstein

Speaking of marine life, one day a snail was mugged by a turtle. When asked by police what happened, the snail replied "I don't know, it all happened so fast"

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Get Outdoors!

Added to SoWal.com home page.

Can anyone tell me where you purchase the barrels from for the bonfire?

One of those galvanized metal tubs from the hardware store works.

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According to the lame ordinance you can not buy them. The county has to issue you one, which they no longer issue. So now what?

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Where did you get your figures from?

From someone named Sandra in code enforcement where the permits are issued.

Someone wanted to provide an example of a catch 22.

wrobert, isn't that like California allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana, but if a doctor writes a prescription for it, they lose their license?

Just crazy non-sense.

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I think you should be able to have them, but you should have to have a pemit. I come to the beach 3 times a year and my family and I always get a permit and have bonfires. I think it should be fine with a apermit and if they clean up the trash from the fire.

Think all you want. We have to save the turtle first, so they are soon to be a thing of the past. I imagine driving on the beach is right behind it.

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Learn something new every day.

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How do permitted (and properly cleaned up) bonfires NOT during turtle season hurt the turtles?

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The enemy is ignorance.

No idea. Ask Turtle Watch. We give them the 80K a year to edumacate us.

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Beach bonfires in seagrove have been a tradition in my family for more than 50 years.Anyone who has taken part in it knows that it is magical.

You are right and if bonfires are properly done there is no reason to ban them. I wonder if the turtle watch hierarchy realizes how badly they are tarnishing their image with some of the things they seem to be demanding lately?

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

Is it the turtle watch folks responsible? I thought it was fallout dealing with the "illegal" seawalls.

Most turtle folk I know enjoy a good bonfire in the non-nesting season.

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The enemy is ignorance.

I think the seawalls is what started it, not the turtle watch folk. But it will be another rule nonetheless.

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Well, before this happens, wouldn't it be a great idea to gather up all the tents and stuff left on the beach overnight and have a real bonfire? We could make a fire pit using one of the big holes left by the mondo shovel and there would be plenty of fuel! And the good news is that we'd have an above ground kiddie pool in case the fire gets out of control.

Okay, sarcasm off now.

Wow, this is all very disappointing....I'm pretty sure that the turtles won't mind...most people enjoying the beach do not disturb the turts anyhow, whether you're enjoying a bonfire or splashing around.

Bonfires were not regulated when Native Americans roamed these beaches. Then came the Spanish who said they needed permits or else they would tear down the Mounds. Rather than have their sacred burial grounds ruined, the Natives moved on and then the Spanish had to find someone else to nag. Thus the beginning of government regulations that make no sense and serve no purpose but to banish those who were simply minding their own business and having a good life.