The Bream Fishermen Association (BFA) is a highly respected citizen science organization which has advocated for environmental stewardship for over 50 years. Loosely organized in the mid-1960s by locals who were concerned about the deterioration of regional water quality, the BFA was officially chartered as a non-profit organization in January 1970. That same year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created as an outgrowth of the burgeoning environmental movement.
Charles A. Lowery and JD Brown at the Annual Nov 2010 Fish Fry
The BFA was led for 40+ years by Charles A. Lowery, a Colonel in the Army National Guard Signal Corps. BFA founding members traveled to Tallahassee to inform the governor and elected officials that 200 miles to the west, the bays and bayous were dying. They reported fish kills in Escambia Bay which covered square miles.
These efforts contributed to the establishment of the Dept. of Pollution Prevention in the early 1970s. That department eventually morphed into the Dept. of Environmental Regulation (DER), and is now the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Working with the state environmental agency, the BFA developed a scientific program of water quality sampling. The members of the BFA understood the importance of scientific methodology in water sampling and the need for quality data and proper collection techniques, so data could be used to identify environmental trends during the 1970s and 80s. At that time, the BFA water sampling program included 93 quarterly stations sampled every three months for 18 parameters. This remarkable program was conducted by volunteers.
BFA water quality monitoring continues despite a break during the pandemic, although the number of sites sampled and conditions monitored have been reduced. Over 50 years of water quality data generated by BFA volunteers will be available online and this information on status or “baseline” conditions is instrumental in protecting our area's natural resources in allowing deviations to be recognized and addressed.
The BFA has a long-standing presence in the East Hill neighborhood. The BFA became guardians of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Boy Scout Administration building in Miraflores Park (1615 East LaRua St) in the early 1970s when the building had fallen to ruin. The BFA effected critical repairs, held
meetings there, and shared the space with other groups including the Fly Fishers of NW Florida and the Speckled Trout Club. In 2019, Mayor Robinson and Mary Gutierrez of Earth Ethics succeeded in listing the “BFA building” on the National Register for Historic Buildings which may provide funding and facilitate restoration.
Today, more than 50 years after the US Congress enacted the Clean Water Act, our nation's waters are in much better condition than when BFA was founded. Progress has been made in regulating industrial discharges and more is possible. Stewardship of natural resources and awareness of how we all can make a difference is more important than ever to address current issues. No longer do we experience fish kills covering acres or miles or unregulated pollutants entering our rivers and estuaries; instead, threats to water quality come from storm water runoff, sedimentation, unsustainable development, and habitat fragmentation and alteration.
Everyone can help, whether we plant native vegetation (which requires less water), limit use of chemicals on our yards, or maintain our vehicles to avoid contaminants like brake fluids entering natural waters from precipitation washing off roads and other impervious surfaces. Awareness is key to understanding how little things we do make a big difference.
In 2016-17, the BFA was awarded a grant from Patagonia Action Works to study sedimentation and runoff from an FDOT Interstate Expansion Project (I-10 from Escambia Bay to Avalon Blvd) into Indian Bayou in Santa Rosa County. Then in 2018, BFA was invited to partner with the newly established Pensacola Bay Oyster Farm for Project Oyster Pensacola (POP).
We invited the public and interested waterfront owners to allow us to place 75 baby oysters in cages and hang them off their docks in various areas of the Pensacola Bay system. We assembled a team of students and volunteers who helped us monitor oyster survival, growth, weight, and recruitment, over an 18-month period. We hope to repeat this citizen research project, and the full report is available on BFA’s website.
In 2020, City of Pensacola Councilwoman Ann Hill inquired about the overall water quality condition at Bruce Beach. Was it safe for recreation, to support the City of Pensacola’s Revitalization Plan? In partnership with University of West Florida’s (UWF) Center for Environmental Diagnostics & Bio-remediation, BFA collected water samples weekly from three sites at Bruce Beach for over a year.
We found high bacteria loads entering Washerwoman Creek during rain events, and expanded the project scope and received funding to sample storm-water drains in the area over 13 weeks (PNJ Aug 1 article-sewage pollution at Bruce Beach). Results of this study highlight a common issue with older communities, namely aged infrastructure. Areas for further investigation were identified, and results also indicate groundwater infiltration appears to be the conveyance into storm-water, which implies that sewage is leaking into the high groundwater table.
The BFA is partnering with the newly established Pensacola & Perdido Bay Estuary Program (PPBEP) by providing historic water quality data and along with the UWF, is sampling upper reaches of streams in these watersheds to fill in data gaps. The BFA has shared goals and is committed to working with the PPBEP which has released its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan for public review (https://www.ppbep.org/).
The BFA and the Satori Foundation applied for and won an Impact 100 Grant in 2021. The grant will be used to purchase a large van for the BFA to be utilized as a mobile water quality lab, and a boat and virtual reality headsets for Satori. Together, BFA and Satori will bring the coast to the kids who live in rural communities in upper Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. In partnership with the school boards of these counties and the principals and various science teachers, we will highlight the connection of our upper watersheds to our creeks, rivers, bays and bayous by visiting different elementary and middle schools, and then inviting these same kids to visit the coast and learn about the lower watersheds.
Many BFA Members grew up in the area and recall a time in their youth when Perdido and Pensacola Bays were teeming with life; these were sandy-bottom systems with clear waters and sea grass meadows that extended in a patchwork across the entire water body.
Gone are the days that Bayous Texar and Grande were crystal clear, and schools of fish, shrimp, and crabs could be seen among the grasses.
This was also the generation that survived through hard times and fought for our freedom overseas. They remember a time when you could throw a cast net and have enough bounty from our waters to feed an entire family.
These memories, coupled with fortitude, fueled these men and women into taking action. As the saying goes, “Never underestimate what a small group of people can do when they put their mind to it”.
While out fishing, members would pick up trash if they came across it and note unusual water colors or smells from runoff.
These sites were reported and followed up on by the members. In so doing, they assisted the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Game and Freshwater Fish Commission in identifying problems so that they could be corrected.
In 1972, in Nichol’s Creek on the Yellow River, a fisherman caught two yellow bullhead catfish which had tumor-like lesions on their heads and flanks.
The fisherman brought his findings to the BFA, who in turn consulted the newly arrived EPA scientists on Sabine Island. So unusual were these lesions, the fish were sent to the Smithsonian Institute for cataloging in the Registry for Tumors.
The tumors were interesting enough to warrant a visit from several scientists at the Smithsonian Institute and the Washington office of the EPA to attempt to collect more specimens. This visit and subsequent visits thereafter were hosted by BFA members.
Although no additional specimens were ever collected with the extent of lesions exhibited by the first specimens, some 200 additional specimens were collected and studied.
The study's findings were captured in a scientific publication (Couch, J.A. and J.C. Harshbarger. 1985. Effects of carcinogenic agents on aquatic animals: An environmental and experimental overview. Journal of Environmental Science and Health. Part C: Environmental Carcinogenesis Reviews. Vol 3, Issue 1.pp 63-105) which linked the lesions found on the fish to environmental contaminants in the water.
The BFA has developed good relationships (partnerships) with the USEPA, the FL Wildlife Federation, the Game and Freshwater Fish Commission (known today as the FL Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), and the FL Dept of Environmental Regulation (FDER) and the FL Dept of Natural Resources (FDNR), which merged to become the FL Dept of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in 1993.
We have also worked with the University of West Florida's Dr. Tom Hopkins to identify problems in our area waters and solve these issues, helping to put UWF's Marine Biology Department on the map.
Expanding on their early efforts described above, the BFA Board and members developed a scientific program of water quality sampling.
The members of the BFA understood the importance of scientific methodology in water sampling and the need for quality data and proper collection techniques, so data could be used to identify trends.
In the 1970s and 80s, the BFA expanded their water sampling program to include 93 quarterly stations; each site was revisited every three months; and each BFA-obtained sample was measured for 18 parameters.
BFA Members and state biologists met frequently to discuss data and trends that were observed in the field. In this way, the BFA assisted the state with source identification of many pollutants and environmental issues.
Through these efforts, the BFA identified a problem in Brushy Creek. Brushy Creek in Escambia County, FL, was a routine water quarterly sampling station within the BFA/FDEP Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Program.
Data collected in 1979 revealed high bacterial loads, which focused efforts on the creek and the source of these loads. Further investigation identified the source as a sewage wastewater treatment plant which serviced the City of Atmore, AL, and the surrounding area.
The BFA wrote up and published their findings as a special report, dated Nov 1980. The City of Atmore addressed the problem by updating their wastewater treatment system.
Many individuals may not realize that the reason that FDEP has a Northwest District Office in Pensacola today is a direct result of the numerous trips the BFA Executive Board made to the state’s capital, Tallahassee, in the early 1970s. That was the time when fish kills were measured in acres and miles.
At the persistence and urging of the BFA, not only was the NW District established, it also housed a state-of-the-art chemistry laboratory outfitted with Department of Health chemists and FDER field biologists and environmental chemists.
Then FDER District Director, Vivian Garfein, supported the BFA in their community interests and volunteer efforts, that she arranged for the chemistry staff to begin their workday only after the BFA volunteers had completed their ambient water quality sampling efforts and returned their samples to the lab facility.
In this manner, data quality objectives could be met and fulfilled. (Many of the water quality tests must be initiated within six hours of sample collection to meet and qualify for state Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) criteria.)
Today, forty-plus years after the US Congress enacted the Clean Water Act (CWA), our nation's waters are in much better shape than they have been in decades past.
Industrial discharges, which were the ‘low hanging fruit’, are now regulated, and guess what? It worked. Industry has done a very good job of cleaning up their pollutants. Of course, there is still more work to be done, but it is important to recognize the progress that has been made.
What does that mean locally, closer to home? Our bays, which were dying in the 1960s and ‘70s, are better today, in large part due to efforts by the BFA members who have been, and have taught others to be, stewards of our environment and resources.
No longer do we experience fish kills covering acres or miles. We still have fish kills from time to time, but they are not so much industrial in nature; The biggest current threats to our waters come from storm water runoff, sedimentation, and habitat alteration.
The BP Oil Spill (2010) was an assault on our beautiful Gulf of Mexico and may have altered the balance of the Gulf ecosystem (time and monitoring will tell the story), but every day our inland waters are impacted by the ordinary activities of all of us, industry and private individuals as well.
Unfortunately many of the water quality monitoring programs have had their funding cut back since we entered the economic recession. In January 2009, the FDEP quietly closed their Pensacola water chemistry department.
Currently, the NW District does not have an environmental chemist on staff. The FL Dept of Health had their budget cut in half, and has had to drop many stations within their monitoring program; today their only stations monitored are amenity beaches (popular tourist locations with parking lots and rest rooms); they no longer sample swimming holes, canoeing creeks, or local hang-out spots.
It is our mission to continue monitoring our waterways and to help maintain our water quality for our safety and for the safety of our environment.
I accepted the position of BFA President in 2010, in part because the Board Members had taken such an interest in educating me about our beautiful northwest Florida estuaries, bays and creeks, and the importance of stewardship in the entire watershed. The BFA founders’ commitment remains strong as our vision expands to meet the challenges of our times. Natural areas draw people to live here and enjoy outdoor recreation, our beaches and local waters have something for everyone to enjoy and are part of our culture. The BFA supports education to promote awareness of sustainable development – we can develop the community while maintaining a healthy natural environment which is the basis for our own health and well-being.
Barbara Albrecht, Pres. Bream Fishermen Association