Save Eastern Lake  Short Video

Eastern Lake is a rare coastal dune lake on 30A, a phenomenon found in only a handful of places on Earth.   In November of 2025, apparently with no citizen input, Walton County announced detailed plans to spend nearly half a million dollars to explore adding bathrooms, a vehicle turnaround, and dune walkovers on either side of the lake's outfall. As you can see from their photo, there is no room for adding the turnaround and walkovers without destroying all or most of the remaining dunes. 

After receiving considerable negative input from voters, the beach operations department agreed to a meeting on January 12th, 2026, to explain their plans and get input from neighbors and Walton County citizens.

Walton County’s Land Development Code states that the county’s intent for dune and dune lake systems is to “protect and enhance” these resources and to “limit development in defined high hazard areas,” allowing only minimal access structures and expressly prohibiting disturbance within the natural outlet of coastal dune lakes and  “…specifically, it is the intent of the County to limit the specific impacts and cumulative impacts of development or redevelopment upon historic sites, wetlands, Coastal Dune Lakes, coastal dune lines, water quality, water quantity, wildlife habitats, living marine resources, or other natural resources…”

Walton County is planning to defy the letter and the spirit of the Coastal Dune Lake Protection Zone by attempting to develop the flood basin encompassing Eastern Lake Inlet, an historical neighborhood beach access,

Therefore,

We, the Citizens and Visitors, of Walton County hereby Petition the County to respect the County's Land Development Code, the environmental beauty of Eastern Lake Neighborhood Access and comply with the following requests:

1. The “Combined Parcel” should remain a Neighborhood Access and be treated as a Nature Preserve

2. The “Combined Parcel” should be Prohibited from becoming a Regional Beach Access                                                                                                                                                                                                      

3.  Vending of any sort should be Prohibited in the Parcel

4.  Any new construction should be prohibited in the Parcel  and only maintenance and reasonable repairs and improvements to the existing dune walkover should be permitted

5. Access to the Parcel should be only by pedestrian and watercraft means only.

6. Periodic excavation of the Inlet, according to the existing Trigger Point Permit, should continue, as needed to preserve a viable, free flowing outfall or inlet to the Gulf.

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Please sign this petition to preserve Eastern Lake and share on social media.