In America today you can murder land for private profit. You can leave the corpse for all to see, and nobody calls the cops. ~Paul Brooks 1971
Announcements
Everglades Coalition has new board. The Everglades Coalition is an alliance of 57 local, state and national conservation and environmental organizations dedicated to full restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes into Lake Okeechobee, through the "River of Grass", out to Florida Bay and the Keys. Through consensus the Everglades Coalition is dedicated to:
- Advocating for the restoration, protection and enhancement of the greater Everglades ecosystem;
- Supporting and providing education and public understanding regarding all aspects of the Everglades ecosystem;
- Supporting and sponsoring research in the protection, restoration and enhancement of the Everglades ecosystem;
- Facilitating the coordination of information resources, strategies and efforts among Everglades Coalition members.
The Coalition works in the public arena to inform decision-makers on the collective view of the conservation community regarding the greater Everglades ecosystem. Some of the tools used by the Coalition include policy papers, comparisons of proposed policy decisions focused on sound science, and public comments on critical aspects of restoration.
Two Co-Chairs lead the Everglades Coalition, are authorized to speak on its behalf and are elected by Coalition members on an annual basis. A Board of Directors serves the Coalition and is responsible for the general management of the business affairs and property of the Coalition. Members of the Board of Directors are elected for a term of two years.
The 2012-2013 Everglades Coalition Co-Chairs are:
Dawn Shirreffs, National Parks Conservation Association Jennifer Hecker, Conservancy of Southwest Florida
The 2012-2013 Everglades Coalition Board of Directors are:
Tom Bausch, Martin County Conservation Alliance; Julie Hill-Gabriel, Audubon; Laurie MacDonald, Defenders of Wildlife; Drew Martin, Sierra Club, Florida Chapter; Mark Perry, Florida Oceanographic Society; Laura Reynolds, Tropical Audubon Society; Jason Totoiu, Everglades Law Center
Birds
Audubon on Brink of Acquiring One of Florida's Most Important Remaining Coastal Bird Habitats Off the coast of the Panhandle's Franklin County, Lanark Reef is a collection of emergent bars and islands that support some of the most remarkable coastal bird diversity in Florida. Called one of the most significant wintering sites for shorebirds in our state by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Reef supports volumes of Red Knots, plovers, oystercatchers, and their allies in migration and in winter. In the summer, it is the site of a raucous breeding colony of terns, American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, Brown Pelicans and more. Long owned privately, it has a history of disturbance by recreational visitors and development proposals (which luckily never came to pass).
With support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Audubon is now poised to protect this site forever. An agreement with the current owner is in the works and we are moving forward with the appraisal and acquisition.
California condors' numbers pass the 400 mark for the first time for 100 years California condor numbers have crept above 400 for the first time since they teetered on the verge of extinction.
There are currently 226 wild flying condors, 125 in California, 80 in Arizona and a small population of 21 in Baja Mexico. Of these birds, 29 fledged in the wild, mostly in California. There are also 179 birds in Captivity, in various breeding programs, awaiting release or for veterinary treatment. The recovery program has always that a free flying population of 450 birds is required as a minimum for the population to be self-sustaining.
California Condors are highly endangered - only 22 individuals remained alive in 1982. The Peregrine Fund started raising condors in captivity at the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, in 1993 and three years later began releasing them to the wild at the Vermilion Cliffs release site in northern Arizona.
'The greatest obstacle to a self-sustaining population of California Condors continues to be lead poisoning, the leading cause of death,' Parish said. The condors ingest lead fragments after eating carrion and entrails from animals that have been shot with lead ammunition. The bullets disperse dozens of tiny particles of lead as small as a grain of salt throughout the animal. These particles are enough to cause lead toxicity in condors when they scavenge on the remains
Blue Water Bridge home to peregrine falcon chicks It's official. Three baby peregrine falcons are in a nest at the Blue Water Bridge. For the fourth year in a row, the support beams of the Blue Water Bridge, some 200 feet above the confluence of Lake Huron and the St. Clair River are providing a home for a nesting pair of Peregrine falcons. This year's family includes 3 chicks.
Keep an Eye Out for Florida's Original Beach Babies This Memorial Day Weekend Audubon is reminding Floridians to take care with Florida's original "beach babies," rare and declining species of waterbirds that nest on Florida's beaches and mangrove islands.
"This is an exciting time of year to be around or on the water," said Julie Wraithmell, Audubon Florida's Director of Wildlife Conservation. "Some remarkable birds like Roseate Spoonbills, Black Skimmers, Snowy Plovers and Least Terns choose these places to raise their young, and few things are more endearing than the fluffy chicks of these signature Florida species
Unfortunately, when boaters or beachgoers approach nesting birds too closely, they may unintentionally cause the death of chicks and eggs. When parents are flushed from their nests, chicks and eggs are left vulnerable to opportunistic predators, overheating by the summer sun, crushing under foot (in the case of beach nesters), or falling and drowning in water beneath the nest (in the case of tree nesters).
A single disturbance can destroy an entire colony.
"Whether or not the disturbance is intentional, the result for the birds is the same," said Eric Draper, Audubon Florida Executive Director, adding, "Together we can ensure this holiday weekend is safe and enjoyable for people and birds alike."
Each year along Florida's coast, state and local officials, along with Audubon volunteers, staff and partners, post many of the state's beach and island nesting sites to prevent human disturbance. Additionally, volunteer "bird stewards" from local Audubon chapters and other partners will help chaperone nesting bird colonies on many Florida beaches this weekend. These stewards help educate beachgoers about the breathtaking spectacle of these colonies while reminding pedestrians not to enter protected areas.
Lingering drought extends string of poor wood stork nesting seasons. The wood storks were flying all over Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, carrying sticks in their beaks for nests and even mating within sight of the sanctuary's boardwalk.
They were back, raising hopes for a successful nesting season. It wasn't to be. As quickly as they arrived, they left again, making 2012 the fifth year in the past six that North America's largest wood stork nesting colony has had no wood stork nests.
"We're kind of getting lonely without our wood storks," Corkscrew sanctuary director Ed Carlson said.
With Corkscrew a washout again this year, wood storks are nesting at other smaller colonies around Southwest Florida and the southeastern United States as federal wildlife officials weigh moving the ungainly birds from endangered to only threatened species status.
The non-nesting streak at Corkscrew doesn't indicate a problem at the sanctuary but signals that the larger Southwest Florida ecosystem has lost too many wetlands that wood storks need to trigger a successful nesting season, the sanctuary's lead wood stork researcher said.
"Here's our wake-up call," said Jason Lauritsen, assistant sanctuary director at Corkscrew. "We're in unprecedented territory here."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is waiting for data to draw the connection between wetland loss and the drop in wood stork nesting, spokesman Chuck Underwood said.
"It's a concern," Underwood said.
Aerial surveys of the region's wood stork nesting sites have found few of the telltale flecks of white in the treetops this spring.
Trackers were keeping an eye on three colonies around Immokalee and on the Caloosahatchee River, but one of the sites near Immokalee was abandoned. It had 30 nests, sanctuary natural resources manager Mike Knight said.
The two remaining colonies have about 80 nests between them and almost 100 chicks so far, some of them nearing fledging age, Knight said.
Wood stork nesting is all about water and timing. When the ungainly birds arrive in the fall, they rely on shallow wetlands to produce food they can easily catch.
As the fall wears on, and the dry season kicks in, those wetlands dry up and deeper wetlands dry down, concentrating food that the birds will need to support themselves and their young when nesting starts.
At least that's the way it's supposed to work. If not enough rain falls in the wet season to produce food or too much rain falls during the dry season and the wetlands don't dry down, the birds won't nest or will abandon nests midway through the nesting season.
A prolonged drought is amplifying the effect wetland losses are having on providing wood storks with food when they need it, Lauritsen said.
The last successful wood stork nesting season at Corkscrew was 2009, after Tropical Storm Fay caused flooding late in the 2008 hurricane season.
That year, nest watchers counted 1,120 nesting pairs of wood storks and more than 2,500 wood stork fledglings, the most productive season since 2002.
When water levels at Corkscrew reached their 50-year average last summer, Lauritsen said he gave the wood storks a 50-50 chance of a productive nesting season this year. Those odds evaporated, though, as the rains stopped and the region settled into another very dry season.
Underwood, at the Fish and Wildlife Service, said wood stork trackers have counted some 10,000 nesting pairs throughout the southeastern United States.
Scientists look at the nesting numbers throughout the wood stork's range, not at particular colonies such as Corkscrew, to determine whether they should be considered endangered or threatened.
As a threatened species, the wood stork still would be protected by federal laws but it would be a step closer to being taken off the protected species list altogether.
Check out the nest cams provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
Migratory shorebird species get beach nest protection Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission personnel began marking off beach areas near Marco Island on Tuesday, temporarily closing them to public access during the nesting seasons for the least tern, black skimmer, snowy plover and Wilson's plover.
The least tern and the snowy plover are listed by Florida as threatened species, while the black skimmer is listed as a species of special concern.
The Caxambas Pass Critical Wildlife Area, a small island located near the Caxambas Park boat ramp, was closed off on Tuesday, as was Sand Dollar Island, which is part of the Big Marco Pass Critical Wildlife Area.
At Caxambas Pass, the ban includes "kayaks and jet skis, not just boats, but any kind of vessel," said Nancy Richie, environmental specialist for the city of Marco Island.
However, vessels can still access Sand Dollar Island, and walking along the beach, outside of nesting areas, also is allowed.
"People really need to be aware that they need to share (Sand Dollar) Island with the shore birds," said Richie.
Richie said that on April 20, the city will mark off a section of beach within the city limits, located near the South Seas Towers condominiums for the nesting birds.
The four bird species like to nest in open areas, away from dense vegetation where predators can hide, and their speckled eggs tend to blend into the sugar sand, said Ricardo Zambrano, an FWC biologist.
Zambrano said the birds begin laying their eggs sometime in mid-April.
The closures will last until the mid-August end of nesting season or until nesting is completed.
The nesting areas are marked with signs and symbolically, with twine supported by wooden stakes, topped by flags.
As FWC staffer and volunteers prepared to mark off Caxambas Pass on Tuesday, Marco residents Tony and Caroline Costantino, their daughter Sophia, 7, and Sara Stevens of Naples and her two young daughters were just beginning a shelling expedition.
Tony Costantino said he didn't believe the FWC closure was warranted and wondered why another one of the Ten Thousand Islands wasn't used for nesting.
"This is in the city limits and they take it away from the residents every year," Tony Costantino said.
Zambrano discussed the matter with him and explained that the birds prefer open areas, as opposed to the thick vegetation found on the islands just a short distance away from Caxambas Pass.
"It's maybe two or three months, mostly in the off season" Zambrano said of the closures when interviewed after speaking with Tony Costantino. "There are no lack of (beaches) for people to go during these two to three months of the year."
Florida Panthers
Panthers to get Caloosahatchee River crossing For the Florida panther to expand its range and population, the endangered species needs a good place to cross the Caloosahatchee River.
After a year of negotiations, private organizations and government agencies have bought 1,278 acres along the south side of the river in Glades County from Miami real estate company American Prime for $6.65 million.
The property is part of what panther researchers call the dispersal zone, a 44-square-mile area in northern Hendry and southern Glades counties that straddles the Caloosahatchee and is the last undeveloped corridor for panthers to migrate north.
"This property is critical because it provides panthers access to a larger range," said Mark Musaus, southeast deputy regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Most of the other properties to the east and west have been developed. This is the last remaining natural landscape through which panthers can disperse from farther south."
The cost of the property was covered by The Nature Conservancy, the wildlife service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Glades County property owner Lone Ranger LLC, and Acres for America, a partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wal-Mart.
Lone Ranger will manage the property as a working cattle ranch.
Most of the southern part of the property is oak hammocks and palmetto, which is good cover for panthers.
Closer to the river, wetlands have been drained, so the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service will restore the natural habitat.
Florida panthers, which are a subspecies of the mountain lion, also known as cougar and puma, once ranged through Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina.
As human populations grew, the entire panther population was confined to South Florida, and by the 1980s, only 20-30 remained in the wild.
Such a small population led to inbreeding and genetic defects. In 1995, state and federal wildlife officials released eight female Texas cougars into South Florida to breed with local cats and improve the gene pool.
Man pleads guilty to shooting a Florida panther Todd Alan Benfield,45, pled guilty to shooting and killing a Florida Panther, in violation of the US Endangered Species Act. Benfield faces a maximum penalty of one year in federal prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and forfeiture of weapons and other equipment used to kill the animal.
Benfield was bow hunting in Collier County, using a tree stand to hunt for deer. From his tree stand, Benfield knowingly shot and killed a Florida Panther. The following day, Benfield and an associate moved the panther into the Woodland Grade area, in an attempt to conceal the animal. Benfield then removed his tree stand from the area in an effort to conceal the fact that he had killed the panther. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer located the dead panther in a section of thick vegetation, in the Woodland Grade area. The officer determined that the dead panther had been dragged approximately 50 yards.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory conducted a genetic analysis of a tissue sample taken from the carcass and determined that it was a Florida Panther.
The Florida panther is the last subspecies of Puma still surviving in the eastern United States. Historically occurring throughout the south-eastern United States, an estimated 100 to 160 panthers are found in south Florida, in less than five percent of their historic range.
Endangered Species
Everglades scientists play risky game of tag with near-extinct predator Catching, tagging and releasing rare sawfish is a dangerous endeavor for researchers who want to learn more about the endangered species.
The boat captain and the scientist wielded their lasso like seasoned cowboys instead of fishermen. A good thing, since their lives literally depended on it: roping an upset, 13-foot-long, prehistoric creature waving a double-toothed saw in the water is just as dangerous as grabbing a bull by the horns.
"There's a swing," Captain Jim Willcox warned as the saw slashed the air. "Careful, it's pretty green."
But Willcox and Yannis Papastamatiou, a University of Florida scientist, managed to secure the line around both the saw and the tail of their quarry: an endangered smalltooth sawfish, the rarest marine species in U.S. waters. Now the huge brown creature lay quietly alongside their skiff near East Cape Sable in Everglades National Park, enabling them to safely complete their research mission.
"He's a good boy!" said UF research assistant Bethan Gillett, who had caught the giant fish on a rod and reel moments earlier.
The point of this hazardous maritime rodeo is for researchers from the Smalltooth Sawfish Recovery Team to learn as much as they can to help bring back one of the top predators in the marine ecosystem — nearly wiped out through its entire range over the past century.
"These guys started disappearing before we as biologists started figuring out they were going," said George Burgess, who runs a sawfish database at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.
Once common from New York south to Florida and west to Texas, these huge members of the ray family that can grow to 25 feet are rarely seen today, except for the waters of Everglades National Park and the Keys. Not a lot is known about their life history, but scientists say they may live 25 to 30 years, reaching sexual maturity after about 10 years. Females give birth to litters of 15 to 20 pups.
With its slow growth and late maturity, the smalltooth sawfish met its demise decades ago by becoming entangled in gill nets, being slaughtered by collectors of its bill, and squeezed by shrinkage of its shallow mangrove habitat. It was declared an endangered species in the United States in 2003. Its cousin, the endangered largetooth — formerly found in the Atlantic — now is functionally extinct in U.S. waters, according to Burgess.
Burgess says recovery of the smalltooth will take a very long time.
"Even with a total ban on death, it will take 100 years, and we're 10 years into that process, so we've got 90 years to go," he said.
Sawfish numbers are so beaten down that even scientific experts like Burgess and colleagues from the National Marine Fisheries Service and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission must obtain a federal permit to handle the species. Anyone else who molests or harasses them faces a possible $10,000 federal fine.
This year, Burgess had a permit to tag 11 sawfish, which he did over the past couple of months with help from Willcox — a veteran Islamorada light-tackle guide — and several UF colleagues. They deployed the final two sets of tags on April 27 near East Cape Sable on two males in the 13-foot range. Both swam forcefully away when the procedures were completed.
Papastamatiou drilled holes in the animals' tough dorsal fins and fastened a cigar-shaped satellite pop-up tag, an acoustic transmitter tag and a small streamer tag with the research lab's phone number. The satellite tag records water temperature, depth and light levels at short intervals, then pops off after five months, broadcasting the accumulated data to a satellite, which sends it to the scientists' computers.
The acoustic tag beeps a signal to underwater listening stations that tell how many times the sawfish passes through the area. The three tags are intended to back each other up.
Willcox and the scientists have been catching and tagging sawfish in the park for about three years — not enough time to draw conclusions about the animals' movements or growth rates. Their ability to continue the research is imperiled by money problems: Federal funds are running dry, so they're seeking private donations.
"It's going to be a long haul," Burgess said. "We can't grow weary of the fight. Hopefully, our children and grandchildren will have a shot at this down the line."
One thing in the sawfish's favor is its charisma — a giant, brown apex predator that slashes its prey, mostly fish and some crustaceans, with its deadly bill. A recent study by scientist Barbara Wueringer of the University of Queensland in Australia found that the animals have a "sixth sense" in their bills — a series of pores that can detect movements or electrical fields of hidden fish or crabs.
The sight of a sawfish is awe-inspiring, Willcox says.
"When people see that for the first time, they feel like they've gone back in time," he said. "It's not something you want to mess with casually. That bill can come up vertically and take your head off. For me, it's like fishing in a tournament and getting a victory. It's about as big a rush as you can get in fishing — or anything in life."
Vietnamese man arrested with 10 rhino horns The Kruger National Park, Limpopo, North West and KwaZulu-Natal remain the hardest hit by rhino poachers- collectively accounting for 207 of the rhinos killed this year alone.
South African police officers, who had been tipped off by an informer, arrested a Vietnamese man in a Johannesburg apartment. The man was in possession of 10 rhino horns and an elephant tusk. There have now been 146 arrests in South Africa in 2012 so far in connection with rhino poaching.
May 2012. Thai police have seized the carcasses of two Tigers, a Leopard and a Golden Cat from a house in Khan Na Yao, in Bangkok. Officers from the Crime Suppression Division and the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police have arrested a Thai man and a Vietnamese man in connection with the crime. All three species are protected in Thailand, and are all listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The animals, found chopped up and stuffed into a freezer in the house, were believed to have been sourced from Malaysia and moved through Sadao, a district in the southern Thai province of Songkla, which shares a border with Malaysia.
Initial investigations have shown the animals were bound for China via Nong Khai, a town near the border between Thailand and Lao PDR. From Nong Khai, the animals were to be transported across the Mekong River to Lao PDR before being moved to China.
Police said the suspects were paid 8,000 Baht (USD250) to transport the animals from the south of Thailand to Bangkok.
The seized animals have been handed over to the Wildlife First Aid Clinic where samples will be taken for DNA analysis.
"Any DNA analysis should be undertaken with an eye toward establishing the origins of these animals. Going forward, it will be important to know exactly where they came from." noted TRAFFIC Southeast Asia Regional Director, Dr. William Schaedla.
"We also hope the Thai authorities will undertake a thorough investigation of the transport routes being utilized by the smugglers and co-ordinate with their counterparts in neighboring countries. Simply seizing dead animals will not be enough to prevent future losses of tigers and other endangered animals to wildlife trafficking."
130,000 wild animals seized in China raids The Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), John Scanlon, has awarded a Certificate of Commendation to the National Inter-Agency CITES Enforcement Collaboration Group (NICECG) of China in recognition of two nationwide wildlife law enforcement operations carried out earlier this year. Over 100,000 enforcement officers were mobilized in this effective offensive against wildlife crime.
During the Forest Police Operation, organized by the State Forestry Administration, more than 700 cases of illegal wildlife trade were uncovered; 7,155 illegal wildlife stalls and shops as well as 628 illegal online wildlife shops were shut down; 520 websites believed to offer illegal wildlife products for sale were closely monitored; enforcement action was taken against 1,031 wildlife dealers involved in illegal activities; 13 wildlife-related criminal networks were dismantled and approximately 130,000 wild animals; 2,000 wildlife products and 147 wild animal skins were confiscated.
During the Customs Authorities Operation, 13 suspects were arrested; 1,366.3 kg of ivory, 337,400 kg of red sandal wood; and approximately 30,000 kg of yew timber and 876 horns of saiga antelope were seized.
These two major operations were carried out under the auspices of NICECG, which was established in December 2011 in order to facilitate the collection and exchange of intelligence, enhance capacity building, and coordinate joint enforcement activities. NICECG comprises the State Forestry Administration, the Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Administration of Industry and Commerce. The CITES Management Authority of China, hosted by the State Forestry Administration, is the coordinating body of NICECG.
The CITES Secretary-General presented the Certificate of Commendation to the Chair of NICECG and Vice Minister of the State Forestry Administration, Ms. Yin Hong, at the opening ceremony of a meeting hosted by China on the Development of CITES E-Permitting Systems, which is being held in Guangzhou and attended by participants from 14 CITES member States. Mr Scanlon declared: "The sheer scale, extent of coordination, and level of success of these intelligence-driven operations exemplify the coordinated enforcement effort that is required at the national and sub-national levels to combat wildlife crime successfully. We commend the Chinese Government for this excellent initiative, which echoes the coordinated enforcement approach that we are promoting through the International Consortium on Combatting Wildlife Crime (ICCWC)."
At the acceptance of the Certificate of Commendation, Ms. Yin Hong, stated: "The Government of China attaches great importance to the protection of the ecological system, and has always given high priority to the protection of biological diversity and wildlife law enforcement. China is committed to work with the international community to enhance the implementation and enforcement of CITES."
Although China has been conducting nationwide wildlife enforcement actions for many years, the new operations coordinated by NICECG, have clearly given new impetus to CITES implementation. NICECG is also serving as a model at the provincial level, with five CITES enforcement inter-agency groups being set up.
Dr. Meng Xianlin, Executive Director-General of the CITES Management Authority of China, said: "We see the Certificate of Commendation from the CITES Secretary-General as a very positive recognition of the law enforcement efforts made by China in the implementation of CITES, one for which we are extremely grateful. This is an invaluable encouragement to all the wildlife law enforcement officers across China. NICECG will spare no efforts to bring its power into full play in order to gather concerted efforts of all relevant authorities in combating illegal activities in wildlife and to curb illegal wildlife trade effectively. "
CITES implementation has also recently been brought to the fore at the highest political level. In the joint statement issued after the fourth round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held from 3 to 4 May in Beijing, article 47 states that: "We decide to jointly support the wildlife law enforcement efforts and to combat the smuggling of endangered and protected species. China and the United States will attend the Special Investigation Group Meeting held from 20 to 21 June 2012 in Nanning, China, led by ASEAN-WEN. At the meeting, wildlife investigators and forensic experts will identify and recommend improved enforcement and inspection efforts."
Everglades and Water Quality Issues
Environmentalists battle DEP, industries on two fronts. Environmentalists said Thursday they will ask the Florida Supreme Court to require the governor and Cabinet to decide on a plan for a pollution pipeline into the St. Johns River approved by the state.
Also Thursday, the Earthjustice law firm and the Florida Wildlife Federation, which are fighting proposed state pollution rules, said an algae bloom on the Santa Fe River demonstrates the need for tougher federal rules instead of the state rules.
The actions represent separate fights between environmental groups and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection along with industry groups over water quality.
The Clean Water Network of Florida and its allies continue to fight DEP and the pulp and paper industry over its proposals to build pollution pipelines. DEP in 1994 issued an order to Georgia-Pacific to make water quality improvements and to construct a four-mile pipeline to move the discharge at its Palatka plant from Rice Creek to the St. Johns River.
A draft petition states that by allowing "mixing zones" for pollution from the pipeline, DEP is allowing for the "private use" of submerged state lands without approval by the Cabinet, which has responsibility in the state Constitution to approve those uses and require compensation.
New Everglades cleanup could cost $880 million Florida's revamped plan to restore the Everglades could soak taxpayers for another $880 million to save the famed River of Grass, according to estimates released Thursday.
The state already has spent $1.8 billion to stem water pollution, but still has fallen short of federal water-quality standards in the Everglades.
A redirected Everglades-restoration plan, pushed by Gov. Rick Scott , seeks to resolve lingering litigation over Florida's failure to meet water-quality standards — without paying as much as the $1.5 billion envisioned under pending federal mandates.
Negotiations between state and federal officials over a restoration plan have been ongoing since October, but fell short of a settlement this week.
"We are not done, but we are close," said Melissa Meeker, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, which leads Everglades restoration for the state.
The deal calls for the district to use a mix of cash reserves, property-tax revenue and help from the Legislature to pay for the mix of storm-water-treatment areas and reservoirs envisioned for the restoration plan.
But expecting more tax revenue as well as money from the Legislature is more of a "wish list" than a financial plan, said James Moran, a member of the water management district board, which would have to approve paying for the deal.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has completed the Integrated Final Project Implementation Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FPIR/FEIS) for the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands project.
The project is essential to achieving restoration of tidal wetlands and nearshore habitats within Biscayne Bay, including Biscayne National Park. It also has an integral role in meeting the CERP system-wide ecosystem restoration goals and objectives.
The project will divert runoff that currently discharges through regional canals and redistribute the freshwater through a spreader canal system into the coastal wetlands adjoining Biscayne Bay to provide a more natural and historic overland flow. The slower, more natural delivery of fresh water over a broad area is expected to reduce hypersaline conditions and re-establish appropriate estuarine salinities that are important to provide nursery habitat for fish and shellfish in tidal wetlands and nearshore bay habitats. This project is expected to create conditions that would be conducive to the re-establishment of oysters and other components typical of a healthy estuarine ecosystem.
Diversion of canal discharges into coastal wetlands, as opposed to their direct discharge into the bay, is expected to re-establish productive nursery habitat along the shoreline and reduce the abrupt freshwater discharges that are physiologically stressful to fish and benthic invertebrates in the bay near canal outlets.
The Integrated Final Project Implementation Report and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FPIR/FEIS) is available for public review online at http://www.evergladesplan.org/pm/projects/docs_28_biscayne_bay_pir.aspx
Lakes Park water project is finally underway. An important water quality project that has been delayed for years is finally underway. The multi-million Lakes Park water quality project will clean up the polluted water that eventually flows into Estero Bay.
The once beautiful and peaceful lakefront view has been replaced by dirty and loud dump trucks.
Crews are clearing the land so they can plant native vegetation that will soak up the bad nutrients and clean the water.
Funds for the project ran out shortly after it was designed.
Lee County was faced with spending taxpayer dollars to pay fines or pay to fix the problem.
In 2009 the South Florida Water Management District and Department of Environmental Protection came through with some money, along with the county.
The project is expected to be complete in August.
Cockroach Bay restoration yields wildlife, water quality Where lifeless, fallow farm fields once pocked the edge of Cockroach Bay, wildlife and native plants now flourish.
Overhead, brown pelicans, anhinga, roseate spoonbills and white ibis fly. Below the surface of the created saltwater and freshwater wetlands, baby snook, redfish, shrimp and oysters thrive.
And the once-polluted water that ran off those farm fields and into Tampa Bay is gone, replaced by filtered water that meanders through the manmade grass flats before trickling into the Bay.
It took nearly 21 years, but the restoration project on 500 acres of this 651-acre county-owned swath is all but complete, and Cockroach Bay Preserve is now open to the public.
The preserve was dedicated amid much fanfare April 20 when those responsible for its transformation came together to celebrate.
About 20 government and environmental agencies and approximately 2,500 volunteers worked to transform this chunk of property, located at 3709 Gulf City Road. The property is a short distance west of U.S. 41 within the original bounds of historic Sun City.
"It has turned out beautifully," said Brandt Henningsen, the environmental scientist who designed and oversaw the restoration, completed in 17 phases as money came available. Henningsen works for the state Surface Water Improvement and Management, or SWIM program, in conjunction with the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
"Twenty years ago, these were fallow farm fields covered with weeds and exotic plants," Henningsen said.
The salt terns, for years, had been used as a dump by agricultural interests that filled them with 100 tons of plastic sheeting and other garbage.
"We removed all of that," Henningsen said.
The salt terns, or salt barrens, are important but rare spawning areas for fish. Only about 900 acres remain along the Tampa Bay coastline.
Formerly deep shell rock mining pits are now shallow, flowing wetlands. A 17-acre salt marsh created in 2005 turned uninhabited land into a mosaic of channels and isolated pools that provide habitat for redfish, fiddler crabs and wading birds.
Preserve Manager Richard Sullivan has counted at least 300 species of birds using the property. The increase in the amount of wildlife using the site since he arrived in 1999 has been astounding, he said.
No one has even begun to document the many types of water creatures that now occupy the recreated wetlands.
Hillsborough County purchased the property in 1991 through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, a voter-approved assessment to acquire endangered lands and restore them to their former glory.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, first visited Cockroach Bay with her mother, former County Commissioner Betty Castor, when she was six or seven, she said during the dedication.
"In the late 1960s, an awakening happened" and people began to worry about the health of Tampa Bay," she said.
"Development was tearing out the old coastline." Castor said.
People rallied and formed environmental groups to protect what was left. They all made the Tampa Bay community a better place to live, she said.
Castor called Cockroach Bay a community treasure well worth saving.
"This is like icing on the cake," said Ann Paul, regional coordinator for Audubon of Florida. "This project is the best of cooperative relationships you could ever imagine. Everyone in the county has participated, and we have a stunning result."
Hugh Gramling, the vice chair of Swifmud's governing board, called the restoration "a perfect example of teamwork."
The project represents one of the largest restorations ever undertaken along Tampa Bay. Scientists from around the globe have come to visit the site to see how the work was done.
"The most important thing about it is that it is replacing 500 acres of lost coastal habitat for Tampa Bay," Henningsen said.
The preserve is open to the public from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. There is a parking area, but no restroom facilities at this time.
Collier tap water crowned Florida's tastiest. In a state almost completely surrounded by water, a gallon-sized sample of Collier County's tap water was crowned this week the best tasting in Florida.
At the Florida Water Resources Conference in Orlando, judges advanced Collier's water to the second round of competition, including it with three other finalists from 12 regions. In the second round, three judges unanimously agreed that Collier County water was the most delicious in Florida.
"It's a pretty rigorous thing to get there," said Paul Mattaush, Collier County water department director. "We're the Miss America of waters, I guess.
To qualify for the competition, all participating water utilities from the 12 regions submitted a gallon of water taken from their distribution systems no more than 24 hours before judging. All water was kept room temperature to help judges more easily pick up on distinctive odors and tastes.
In Collier, the water is a half-and-half mix of fresh water and water produced with reverse osmosis, Mattaush said.
"It does make a very high-quality product," he said.
Wildlife and Habitat
Gators and bears hot, and on the move in Lee, Collier counties Don't be surprised one of these days if you find an uninvited guest of the reptilian kind in your swimming pool or of the ursine kind drinking from it.
Southwest Florida's drought has alligators moving around looking for water; to compound the situation, this is alligator mating season, so gators are moving around looking for something else as well.
"It's that time of year when alligators are more active," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "They are cold-blooded creatures, and as the weather and water warm, their metabolism increases: They eat more; the move around more; and they reproduce."
While hormones and warmer weather would normally have alligators moving around, drought conditions are adding to their mobility.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, all of Lee County and northern Collier County are experiencing a severe drought; central Collier County is in a moderate drought; southern Collier County is abnormally dry.
Unlike warm-blooded animals, alligators can't regulate their temperatures internally.
To keep from burning up their energy stores and dying, they need to find a place where they can keep cool.
"Alligators are on the move, looking for a water hole or a dark, shady spot that stays cool," said herpetologist Mike Knight, a resource manager at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. "If their normal environments don't have that for them, they go looking for other places, and they tend to end up in pools and garages."
As wetland water levels drop, alligators become concentrated in the few remaining water holes.
But, Knight said, high concentrations of alligators don't lead to competition.
"They don't want to spend their energy battling each other," he said. "They want to conserve energy, so why waste it fighting with someone else?
"One year, there was a water hole about 25 feet across with about 50 alligators of all different sizes in it. It looked like something out of a Tarzan movie. There was some pushing and shoving for space, but they tolerated each other."
Drought and hormones have Florida's black bears moving around, too, said Mike Orlando, FWC's assistant bear program coordinator.
"They're thirsty, and we do find them drinking out of pools and buckets," Orlando said. "But more than anything, they've recently come out of what we consider hibernation, and they're looking for food.
"They're vegetarians, and with no rain, there aren't many berries on the trees, so they're searching far and wide for food."
"The bears are hungry, and they're getting ready for mating season," Orlando said. "So all these young males are leaving mom, and they're going to show up in all kinds of crazy places in the next month or so."
Report nuisance alligators; call the state's nuisance alligator hot line: 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286).
Central Everglades Planning Project Forges Ahead. The goals of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) that will help restore habitat for an array of wildlife include:
- Connecting freshwater from Lake Okeechobee with the Southern Everglades,
- Delivering additional freshwater flows to Everglades National Park,
- Relieving unwanted water releases to the Northern Estuaries,
- And preventing water in the Everglades from being lost to tide through seepage.
While a new initiative, the components are existing projects that will now be planned cohesively and implemented together. This coordinated planning effort will result in an overall cost savings, while the shortened time frame will expedite progress and help reverse the continued decline of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
Project components of CEPP include water storage and treatment in the Everglades Agricultural Area and the Decompartmentalization (Decomp) of Water Conservation Area (WCA) 3A. Long known as the "heart" of Everglades restoration, Decomp is an absolutely critical project that will break down barriers to natural sheetflow in a large remaining segment of the Everglades just north of Everglades National Park.
WCA 3 is not simply a gateway to move water from north to south, but a huge expanse of remaining Everglades that contains valuable ridge and slough and tree island habitat. Relief for WCA 3 cannot come soon enough, as it is critical habitat for the severely endangered Everglade Snail Kite. These birds are not currently nesting in the area because of degradation resulting from our inability to move water more naturally in and out of the system.
St. Lucie County creates two new artificial reefs. Lucie County has two new artificial reefs after deploying more than 2,000 tons of concrete materials. One thousand tons of materials were deployed in 150 feet of water 200 yards north of the Tug Lesley Lee while another 1,000 tons of materials were deployed in roughly 110 feet of water earlier this April.
Deployed by McCulley Marine Services and SeaRover Services, the two new artificial reefs have maximum profiles of 10-15 feet. The reefs consist of different concrete and steel structures including culverts, light poles, concrete slabs and steel safes.
Funding for these new reefs came from a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission grant and the St. Lucie County Erosion District.
Preliminary GPS locations for the two new St. Lucie County artificial reefs are as follows:
* Site A - N 27° 24.228 & W 80° 01.096' - max depth: 153 feet;
* Site B - N 27° 23.892' & W 80° 02.531' - maximum depth: 111 feet.
Artificial reefs at similar depths have supported gag, Goliath grouper, red snapper, scamp and snook.
A study by the University of Florida shows that artificial reefs attract more than just marine life. After studying six southwest Florida counties' artificial reef programs, researchers were able to show that the reefs reeled in more than $253 million into the region during one year. While it only costs a saltwater fishing license to use the submerged structures as a fishing spot, anglers spend money on food, lodging, fuel, tackle and other necessities. Researchers found that $136 million came from residents, while $117 million was spent by visitors.
Since its reinstatement in 2005, St. Lucie County's Artificial Reef Program has spared more than 16,000 thousand tons of clean concrete from the landfill while at the same time creating nearly 50 underwater habitats for marine life, fishermen and divers to enjoy. Reports from divers indicate that the reefs are providing habitat for more than 100 species of fish, including adult snapper and grouper, snook, sharks and other fishes, as well as baitfish and juvenile fishes.
For more information about St. Lucie County's artificial reef program, visit http://www.stlucieco.gov/mosquito/ree... or contact St. Lucie County Marine Resource Coordinator Jim Oppenborn at 772-462-1713 or oppenbornj@stlucieco.org.
This story is contributed by a member of the Treasure Coast community and is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with this site.
Preserving Bird Drive Wetlands Requires a Coordinated Conservation Plan. The Bird Drive Basin is valuable Everglades habitat and contains rare short hydroperiod wetlands. Substantial acreage was bought in the basin beginning in the 1990s to provide a buffer between the Everglades and Miami-Dade development. An envisioned Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan project proposed an impoundment to recharge the aquifer and expand spatial extent of wetlands but was later determined infeasible, for reasons including a leaky aquifer and extremely high costs.
For over a year, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has considered the future of public lands in Bird Drive. At one point, staff recommended these lands be declared surplus and sold, and later Florida International University (FIU) attempted to lease a large chunk for a fairground site that would allow campus expansion. Audubon successfully removed the FIU proposal from a bill during the 2012 legislative session. While the future of Bird Drive is still uncertain, the SFWMD is no longer recommending surplus at this time.
A resolution will be presented to the SFWMD Governing Board at their May meeting that proposes the solicitation of ideas for "other regional projects" involving these lands. Audubon maintains that no determination about the future of Bird Drive lands can be made without a thorough analysis of their role in Everglades restoration.
As the Central Everglades Planning Project moves swiftly forward, these lands may play a role in helping achieve greater flows through Shark River Slough and they currently offer important foraging habitat for wading birds, including Wood Storks, nesting at several nearby rookeries.
Global Warming and Climate Change
The EPA Climate Change site provides comprehensive information on the issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society - communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments. The site explains climate change science. Click here
Offshore and Ocean
Barrel sponges dying off Broward, Palm Beach counties A mysterious disease is sweeping through the barrel sponges off Broward and Palm Beach counties, killing off iconic reef species that can live for hundreds of years and grow to a height of 5 feet.
Divers from the environmental group Reef Rescue first encountered the diseased sponges off Boynton Beach in April, and since then more have been reported in reefs running from the Town of Palm Beach to Pompano Beach.
"Barrel sponge mortality is not unusual; we see these sponges die on a regular basis, just never to this extent", said Ed Tichenor, director of Reef Rescue. "Generally, what we see is a random sponge or two dying, but never anything like this. In less than two weeks we have watched these sponges literally disintegrate before our eyes."
State environmental regulators have issued a permit that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and deepen Government Cut, as part of the Port of Miami expansion plan. A month after reaching a legal settlement that cleared the way for the controversial $2 billion Port of Miami expansion plan, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has issued a permit that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and deepen in and around Government Cut by up to 50 feet.
The project will be put out for bids this summer, with construction expected to begin in early 2013.
Port expansion advocates argue the deeper depth will allow Port of Miami to be more competitive by accommodating larger vessels that are expected to make use of the new and wider Panama Canal when that project is completed sometime next year.
Dredgers will follow protocols set by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which means all hard coral colonies greater than 25 centimeters and up to 1,300 hard coral colonies between 10 and 25 centimeters will be relocated, 16.6 acres of new sea grass beds will be created, and more than nine acres of artificial reef will be built.
Last month, environmentalists who had spent two years arguing that blasting and digging in the port's main channel would leave Biscayne Bay scarred, agreed to drop an administrative challenge after Miami-Dade County said it would spend $2.3 million on restoration and to monitor the project.
Florida Keys fight to aid coral reefs For decades, divers, snorkelers, fishermen, boaters and scientists have watched corals die throughout the Keys and Caribbean.
During that time, disease, pollution, poor water quality, storms and boat groundings have turned three-dimensional reefs, loaded with fish and invertebrates, into barren patches of rubble. Two of the hardest-hit coral species, elkhorn and staghorn, are two of the most important because they are fast-growing reef builders that create habitat for marine species.
Now, state and federal agencies, environmental organizations and universities have teamed up for the largest reef restoration project in history: Researchers are growing elkhorn and staghorn corals in open-water nurseries and then planting coral fragments on Florida's reef tract and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"We're looking at the ecosystem in 20 years — hopefully, it's not lost," said Sean Morton, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We've gone from 30-percent coral cover in the Keys to 5 or 6 percent. We've got to take a more active role."
Since the 1970s, elkhorn and staghorn corals have experienced a 97 percent decline — the two species were listed as threatened in 2006 under the Endangered Species Act, and in 2008, they were listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species
Removing seagrass meadows will release carbon They may be trickier than trees for environmental protesters to chain themselves to, but it turns out that seagrass ecosystems hold as much carbon per hectare as the world's forests – and are now among its most threatened ecosystems.
In the past century, 29 per cent of the Earth's seagrass has been destroyed, mostly by water pollution, dredging for new developments, and climate change. With seagrass meadows disappearing at an annual rate of about 1.5 per cent, 299 million tons of carbon are also released back into the environment each year, according to research published in Nature Geoscience (DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1477).
Piecing together old and new data from 946 seagrass meadows around the world, an international team of researchers estimated that seagrass captures 27.4 million tons of carbon each year, burying it in the soil below. And unlike forests that hold carbon for about 60 years then release it again, seagrass ecosystems have been capturing and storing carbon since the last ice age.
That means that up to 19.9 billion tons of carbon are currently stored within seagrass plants and the top meter of soil beneath them – more than twice the Earth's global emissions from fossil fuels in 2010. If the seagrass dies, all of that could be released into the environment, says marine ecologist and study author James Fourqurean from Florida International University in Miami, US.
"These are scary numbers," says Gary Kendrick, a co-investigator on the project from University of Western Australia at Crawley, Australia. "It would put us very much into the extreme of greenhouse situations very quickly."
This grim outlook is reinforced in a study published at the same time in Nature Climate Change (DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1533). Gabriel Jorda from the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Esporles, Spain, found the warming climate is eradicating the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which is likely to be extinct before 2050. That is particularly worrying because Posidonia oceanica holds about 10 times as much carbon as most other species.
"It does look like there's going to be a global tipping point for many of these environments," Kendrick says.
Seagrass physiologist Peter Ralph from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, who was not involved in the research, said continued destruction of seagrass meadows could ultimately "release the genie from the bottle".
"Destroy them and we're going to release a lot of carbon that we have assumed is sequestered and tied up for a very long period of time," says Ralph.
Energy
Wind Farms: New Perspective Needed to Assess Bird Risks Risk assessments of potential bird mortality caused by planned wind farms should be assessed at the scale of the individual turbine rather than the whole farm, according to new research. It indicated that risk assessments made prior to building are not predicting the actual level of mortality when the farm is built.
Although most recorded collision rates of birds at wind farms are low, some poorly sited farms have caused higher mortality rates. In an attempt to prevent this, environmental authorities conduct environmental impact assessments (EIA) of proposed wind projects, which cover likely effects to the site's bird population. These EIAs are conducted at the scale of the wind farm.
This study analyzed the relationship between the risk prediction according to EIAs, and the actual recorded mortality of the birds for wind farms in Southern Spain after they became operational. Twenty wind farms (consisting of 252 turbines) were investigated in Andalusia, Spain near the Strait of Gibraltar, an important bird migration route. The EIAs for these wind farms included risk assessments of bird mortality from collision, which was calculated using two indices, both of which assumed that mortality risk is strongly dependent on abundance of birds.
The proposed wind farm locations were classified into three risk levels (1, 2 or 3) with 1 representing lowest risk and 3 representing highest risk. Most of the farms that finally obtained permission were at risk level 1, although some had a risk level of 2. Between 2005 and 2008, when the farms were operational, the actual bird mortality caused by collision with turbines was monitored on a daily basis. Using these data, the study calculated two mortality rates: total bird mortality across all species and mortality for just raptor (bird of prey) species.
The researchers conducted daily surveys of the number of dead birds found in the close vicinity of the turbines between 2005 and 2008. 596 dead birds were found in total for all the wind farms. Taking into account the amount of time the wind farms were operational (between 11 and 34 months), the (mean) average number of bird mortalities per turbine per year was estimated to be 1.33. This is one of the highest mean collision rates reported for all bird species.
There were 214 raptor mortalities (36 per cent of total mortality), the majority of which were griffon vultures (138 birds, 23 per cent of total mortality). This study found no significant relationship between EIA risk indices calculated and the actual recorded bird mortality when the turbine became operational. There was also no clear relationship between abundance of birds, in terms of observed birds per hour and bird collisions per turbine per year. The lack of a clear relationship could be partly due to gaps in data. Nonetheless, the study suggests it is too simplistic to assume a clear relationship between frequency of birds and mortality, and that the individual species and topography of the individual turbine should also be considered in EIA studies.
EIAs assess risk on the basis of local abundance of birds, but previous research has found that the probability of bird collisions with turbines also depends on species behavior and wind currents, which are affected by topography and landscape. This suggests that environmental authorities may be using inadequate criteria to assess potential risk of wind farms to birds and there may be a need for a new or modified tool, conducted at the level of individual turbines.
Saudi Arabia Unveils $100 Billion Plan To Make Solar 'A Driver For Domestic Energy For Years To Come' A few months after Saudi Arabia's oil minister called global warming "among humanity's most pressing concerns," the country is rolling out an ambitious plan to source 41,000 megawatts of solar projects over the next two decades — scaling up a domestic solar industry to support one third of electricity production by 2032.
Solar electricity and petroleum serve completely different markets. However, in this case, solar will be directly replacing the oil that Saudi Arabia uses for desalination plants. Officials are currently rolling out a competitive bidding process for 1,100 megawatts of solar photovoltaics and 900 megawatts of concentrating solar power in the first quarter of 2013.
The plan is part of a larger strategy to scale up various sources of renewable energy, build a new domestic industry, and reduce oil consumption. Officials estimate that the solar plan will reduce domestic consumption of oil by 520,000 barrels per day. PV Magazine reported on the news from a solar conference in Saudi Arabia:
The oil-rich country is planning to place more focus on renewable energy generation. In addition to more solar power, it intends to add wind, geothermal, waste-to-energy and nuclear plants to its energy mix in the future. The program, said to be worth tens of millions of dollars, aims to "catapult Saudi Arabia into the group of global leaders in renewable-energy development."
Of the 41 GW of solar, photovoltaics is expected to comprise 16 GW, while concentrated solar power (CSP) will encompass 25 GW. "The CSP plants, with their higher capacity factor than PV, are foreseen as a bridge between base-load technologies (including geothermal, waste-to-energy and nuclear) and PV, which will provide coverage for daytime demand," explained Apricum, a strategy consulting and transaction advisory firm specialized in renewable energy.
In a recent speech, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi expressed concerns about climate change, saying "societal expectations on climate change are real, and our industry is expected to take a leadership role."
It would be nice to think that the Saudis were doing this for climate change reasons. But they're doing it for more selfish objectives: jobs and efficiency.
Land Conservation
Water district offers Palm Beach County $30 million + 1,751 acres for Mecca Farms site A proposed land swap with the South Florida Water Management District would allow Palm Beach County to get rid of Mecca Farms in exchange for about $30 million and 1,751 acres of land being used for an equestrian training center, airfield for radio-controlled aircraft, pepper farm and park at six sites throughout the county.
Details of the land swap were explained in a letter of interest the district sent to Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman earlier this week. Weisman alerted county commissioners of the deal in an email Thursday.
At closing the county would receive $30 million in addition to land that includes agricultural income generating property, property with potential for sale for agricultural or limited commercial use, and park/environmental property," Weisman wrote.
"This is all very early in process," Weisman wrote. "We will bring this proposal to the Board in the near future for discussion."
Commissioner Jess Santamaria said he was "very optimistic" about the proposal, adding it was time for the county to cut its losses on the Mecca Farms property.
Santamaria, who was not on the commission when it voted to purchase Mecca Farms, called the property a "burden." The county spends about $4 million a year paying off its debt on the site and $250,000 maintaining the land.
"That is something that has been a drain on us year after year," Santamaria said. "If we get $30 million that is $30 million that we don't have. This land is going to have some value. We have got to take our losses and move on."
Water managers want all 1,919 acres of the Mecca Farms property -- a former orange grove that the county purchased for $60 million with the hope of luring Scripps Research Institute to the site in 2004. Scripps chose a different site and the land has become a vacant reminder of costly, defunct deal.
Of the six tracts the district wants to trade, nearly 1,000 acres are in four contiguous tracts that hug the boundary of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. They include the district's interest in the 580-acre Pero Farms, which it owns jointly with the county, and a 10-acre tract known as the church property that lies at the center of the Pero Farms and that the district purchased from the Diocese of Palm Beach.
Just south of Pero Farms, the district would send the county 97 acres that is home to Palm Beach Down equestrian training center and the 313-acre West Delray Regional Park, which has been used as an archery range and airfield for radio controlled aircraft.
Among the costliest tracts the district wants to trade is the Bills Property, 257 acres in a dog-legged shape near the intersection of PGA Boulevard and the Beeline Highway. The district purchased the land for $18.5 million in 2008 hoping it would help water managers maintain optimum water-flow levels in the nearby Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area. Today, the vacant land is worth $557,501, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.
The 1,751 acres cost the district about $57 million and now have a market value of $24.4 million, according to the property appraiser. The current market value of Mecca Farms is $49 million.
Weisman said the county was looking to get close to the $60 million purchase price it paid for Mecca Farms through a combination of cash and other properties.
Water managers and county administrators discussed a variety of district-owned sites available for the swap and settled on several that were of "mutual interest" to both parties, Weisman said.
"From our perspective, I think it is the best we are likely to do," Weisman said of the deal.
"They want to do things on the property immediately," Weisman said of Mecca Farms. "We would like to end our liability for owning the property as soon as possible."
But Weisman said the county and the district likely won't close the deal until next year. The agreement must be approved by both the county commission and the district's governing board, he said.
County Commissioner Karen Marcus, whose district is home to the Loxahatchee River, said that she was "excited" about the proposal and she plans to push the district to come up with a timeline detailing when it would start using the property to send water to the river.
Marcus said the county has been waiting a "long time" for a restoration project to maintain minimum flow levels to the river.
"One of my goals is to make sure they make it a priority and they get it done this time," Marcus said of the district. "I think it is a good deal for everyone."
Miscellaneous
Litigious group focused on biodiversity, endangered species opens Florida office. The Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Ariz., says the office in St. Petersburg will help expand the group's role in fighting to conserve biodiversity in the Southeast.
Founded in 1989 with an initial focus on the Southwest, the center has intensified its efforts in the Florida and the region in recent years with petitions and lawsuits.
Will the center be filing more litigation in Florida as a result of opening an office here?
"I think that is a safe conclusion," staff attorney Jaclyn Lopez responded. "We have a history of working in the region."
That litigation could ultimately involve issues affecting state and local environmental agencies and industry groups represented at the state Capitol.
But Keith Hetrick, former general counsel for the Florida Home Builders Association, said industry groups may take less notice of the group amid the ongoing construction slowdown. He is an attorney with Broad and Cassel.
The Center for Biological Diversity helped secure federal Endangered Species Act protection in 2006 for two species of corals: Elkhorn and staghorn. They are threatened by disease, pollution and damage from hurricanes.
The group also petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2009 to have critical habitat designated for the Florida panther and petitioned in 2011 for the species' reintroduction to the Okefenokee Swamp in South Georgia.
And the group also petitioned the agency in 2010 to have 404 southeastern species associated with rivers, creeks and wetlands protected under the Endangered Species Act. In September, the agency announced it would review 374 freshwater species across the Southeast, including 114 in Florida, to determine whether they deserve legal protection.
Should agriculture and industry groups be concerned about the group opening the Florida office?
"Are you asking if we have a very specific agenda targeting those industries? The answer is no," Lopez responded. "But you know what our resume is. It is inevitable there will be conflict."
Rather than being concerned about the group, Hetrick said, developers and other industry groups right now are "just trying to move one foot in front of the next and get through the next day."
"I don't think the development community is focused on another group coming in," he said. "I think they are just trying to survive."
