Wikipedia claims that Ponte Vedra Beach is “an upper-income tourist resort area best known for its association with golf”. I beg to differ. The area is loved as a beach that includes trees, dunes, grass, fish, connecting rivers, and a plethora of wildlife. More importantly, it does NOT include traffic, hotels, neon signs, or vendors. How many beaches can say that?
Ponte Vedra wouldn’t be able to say that if it weren’t for the NERRds at GTM. Amazingly, half the locals don’t know GTMNERR exists or what it is or that their lifestyle and property value depend on this team.
I’m sure you’ve figured out that GTMNERR is an intimidatingly large acronym. Rather than throw the mouthful right at you, I’d like to walk you through a solid understanding of it. Backwards.
R. GTM is a Reserve, protected by the United States government and the State of Florida. Why is it any different than state parks?
R. GTM is a Research Reserve. An enormous amount of data flows out of these 77,000 acres. Some of the researchers are state employees. Some are visitors conducting their own research projects – mostly college students and professors. And I’m going to guess that half the research data is collected by local volunteers assigned to help the state and visiting researchers.
E. GTM is an Estuarine Research Reserve. That’s because it is an estuary. Estuaries are a kind of land feature, like a beach or forest or mountain range. An estuary forms where a river meets the sea. The land becomes a half-salty sponge, which LOADS of wildlife love.
N. GTM is a National Estuarine Research Reserve. That’s because the United States government adopted it into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA has been taking over estuaries since 1972. As of this writing, they have 30 NERRs in the United States.
Are you still awake? Then you might be a NERRd. A NERRd is a person who loves NERRs. Bravo. Now how about that GTM?
As I told you, NOAA has 30 NERRs in the United States. Three of those are in Florida. What is unique about this one?
The GTM estuary is not just where the river meets the sea. It’s where three rivers meet the sea. Let me break that down for you.
M. Surely you know the famous Matanzas River that flows through St. Augustine. Have you ever taken that yellow helicopter ride from the St. Augustine airport? You will have a hard time tracing the Matanzas River as it flows north. That’s because it branches into two other rivers.
T. Tolomato is the left branch of the Matanzas River.
G. Guana is the right branch of the Matanzas River.
Between the three rivers, we enjoy copious amounts of fish, oysters, birds, and glorious landscape. These three rivers also give the reserve its nickname: GTM.
GTMNERR. Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Congratulations! Now you can rattle off that long name without making up substitute words.