Shifting sands of Navarre Pass

Navarre, Fla., has the same sugary white beaches and gleaming Gulf waters as do the more tourist-mecca destinations of Destin and Pensacola beaches. But there’s something missing from turning Navarre, and Santa Rosa County, into a competitive stop for tourists, say area leaders. That something is a boating path from the sound to the Gulf of Mexico. Today, Navarre-based boaters must travel either 24 miles to Destin Pass or 24 miles to Pensacola Pass to reach the GoM. Without a pass, county and congressional leadership says Navarre is missing out on billions in potential development. "It could be an economic engine for our entire county," said SR commissioner Bob Cole. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, (R-Fort Walton Beach) has pledged to reopen it, which he concludes would make the county among the wealthiest in Florida. The congressman also has suggested BP oil spill monies to be set aside for projects like Navarre Pass to spur economic development. Gaetz's father, former state Senate President Don Gaetz, sits on the board that oversees $1.5B from the BP oil spill settlement. But nothing is simple with the county's nearly 50-year battle for the pass. In 1965, there was a pass, but it was closed by debris from Hurricane Betsy. Cole is a supporter of re-opening it, but sees it as an improbable task due to the strong objections from the Defense Department, Gulf Islands National Seashore and environmentalists, and Eglin Air Force Base. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 01/13/18)