The “Leave No Trace” ordinance created several years ago was meant to keep the beaches clean, but this summer It’s taken on a new meaning. This year‘s “Leave No Trace” brochure was revealed at Tuesday’s Bay County Tourist Development Council meeting on June 9th. As in year’s past, it includes the beach flag warning system and reminds visitors to remove personal items off the sand at night, but this year’s brochure also has an entire side devoted to COVID-19. It reminds visitors of important things like social distancing and keeping hand sanitizer with them. The brochures will be given to beach goers by beach ambassadors, but there’s also talk of placing them in hotel and motel guest rooms.
The Leave No Trace ordinance in Panama City Beach prohibits tents and personal property on the beach at night and anything left unattended will be removed by authorities. Nightly patrols have started to make sure people are not leaving their items unattended. Panama City Beach mayor Mark Sheldon said items will be thrown away if they are left on the beach. “Leave No Trace is a very important thing on Panama City Beach, it’s the way that we can make sure our beaches get cleaned every night, it’s the way that we can rake the beaches for the next day, we have that ordinance out there, in place to make sure we have the prettiest beaches in northwest Florida,” said Mayor Sheldon. Authorities will be patrolling the beach from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. and this is currently in effect and active year-round.
