As with other JOE communities, WaterColor boasts an enormous amount of green space within the development – 50 percent of the 499-acre site. The community offers two miles of nature trails that invite residents and visitors to explore marshes, creeks and wooded frontage. Ninety-eight percent of the plant material in Watercolor is indigenous to the area, and an emphasis is put on xeriscaping, which reduces demands placed on the irrigation supply.
JOE designed its setbacks around WaterColor’s rare coastal dune lake above and beyond the standard. JOE increased the setbacks in certain places and disallowed individual private docks. Covenants prohibit the removal of trees and vegetation between private lots and the lake in order to preserve natural vegetation and habitat surrounding the lake. Extensive buffering along the Western Lake and the Gulf of Mexico provides ideal habitat for the Choctawhatchee Beach Mouse, a species that was listed as endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in June 1985. Since that time, JOE has made great strides in protecting this species and the prospect of recovery is significantly improved as a result of JOE’s efforts.