Levy County Tourism and Grants Coordinator Tisha Whitehurst listens as Mike Allen of IFAS responds to a question at the county commission meeting concerning the Nature Coast Biological Station. The scientific facility opened in 2017. A $300,000 Restore Act allocation is being used to improve the biological station.
By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County Commissioners Tuesday signed off on an agreement providing $300,000 in Restore Act money to complete a first floor aquarium and a third floor conference room at the Nature Coast Biological Station in Cedar Key.
The biological station is located at the site of the former Gulf Front Motel in Cedar Key and is used for scientific research on the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico and the marine animals that inhabit the giant water body.
Restore Act monies are allocated from BP Oil spill fund. There are three pots of money from the Restore Act. The funds for the biological station come from Pot 1.
The Deep Water Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010 discharged an estimated 4.9 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico from the British Petroleum drilling rig. Cedar Key wasn’t impacted by the oil itself, but it sustained economic damage from nationally broadcast news stories that painted a misleading picture of how far the oil had drifted away from the spill site.
As a result of the spill and the resulting publicity, many North Florida counties, including Levy, were awarded funding to assist with their economic recovery. The Restore Act funding agreement approved by commissioners is an approved project developed by Levy County staff working with the U.S. Treasury Department, and IFAS at the University of Florida
Tisha Whitehurst, tourism and grants coordinator for Levy County presented the agreement to commissioners. She has worked with IFAS and the Treasury Department to guide the project through the maze of paperwork and governmental rules and regulations to bring it to the board for approval.
Mike Allen, representing IFAS, said the money will build an 8 foot in diameter aquarium on the first floor of the biological station. Marine critters will swim in the aquarium. The money will also be used for construction of a third floor classroom/conference room overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
The money won’t be released at one time. The funds will become available as the project moves through the various construction stages.
The biological station will be used for educational purposes when the aquarium is open. Tours will be allowed. Allen said construction should start in January and finish in six months.
“It’s going to be a real gem, I think, for the people of Levy County and the people who come here. They are going to be able to learn about the science going on in the region. We will have an aquarium. We’ll have live animals in there,” he said.
Board of County Commission Regular Meeting October 22, 2019; Posted October 22, 2019
