Quote of the Week

“There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them: their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, and the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slow-moving below, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades of Florida. It is a river of grass.”
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas

Get up-to-the-minute oil spill news

SAWGRASS NATURE CENTER & WILDLIFE HOSPITAL
3000 SPORTSPLEX DR. Coral Springs, FL. 33065
954 752-WILD Sawgrassnaturecenter.org
Dear Friends of Wildlife,
In preparation for the possible disaster of the Oil Spill reaching our shores and wildlife friends, we are beginning to stock pile some much needed supplies. We are asking for your help in acquiring some of them or making a monetary donation to purchase them. We are also being inundated with many Babies at this time, especially since the Center in West Palm had to close down due to insufficient funds. We are now the only Center excepting wildlife patients from North Broward to Jupiter, so many of these supplies are also needed at this time to help care for our Orphaned Babies (birds, squirrels, opossums, & raccoons).
ITEMS NEEDED AT THIS TIME:
Neoprene Rubber Gloves, Dish Pans, Kitty Litter pans, Small strong pools, Buckets
ORIGINAL Dawn Detergent, Laundry detergent, bleach
Heating Pads (without auto-shut off) & Heat Lamps
Oral Fluids- (Pedialyte, Ringers Sol. Sodium Chloride –LRS- Normal sol, etc.)
Saline, Cotton swabs, gauze pads, Q-tips
X-Lg Heavy Duty garbage bags (40 Gal), Paper plates, Paper Towels, Tissues
High Protein dry cat food, Bird Vitamin Powder, Exact Bird hand-feeding formula
Yogurt (plain w/ active cultures), strained baby food (chicken, peas, beans, fruit)
Egg white powder, frozen fish (smelt, herring, shiners, etc.),
We are also in need of many more volunteers to help in the hospital, (must be 18 or older) do food prep (either here or at home) and/or become foster parents to help with our orphaned babies. Please give a call if you can help!
Thank you!

All wildlife care centers as well as Humane Society chapters depend on donations for help and support. Please help the wildlife care center or USHUS chapter of your choice.

crisis in the gulf
Oil from the largest environmental catastrophe in U.S. history is washing onto beaches and seeping into wetlands at some of the Gulf Coast’s most vital and diverse habitats, with dire implications for people and wildlife. The impact on birds reflects the spill’s huge environmental threat. And Audubon is there to help.

Millions of birds are nesting and breeding in the path of the deadly and growing slick. It has already reached Audubon-designated Important Bird Areas in from Louisiana to Florida and more may lie in its path. Hundreds of birds have already perished – and the long term outlook grows darker with every gallon of oil.

Sadly, the oil spill is only the latest of countless assaults on Gulf coast birds like the Brown Pelican, which only last year was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species list. But Audubon’s fight to protect vulnerable coastal and wetland birds began over a century ago, when our first members rallied the nation to protect them from hunters eager to sell their feathers for fashion. Our commitment to the beauty and rich diversity of the Gulf region remains unchanged. Audubon’s Gulf oil response and recovery effort will help birds and other wildlife weather this crisis – and our long-term restoration plans will enable Gulf communities to thrive in years to come.

Audubon is:

· Recruiting and coordinating thousands of volunteers to aid in wildlife rescue, clean-up, and support of heroic emergency responders, through our recently launched Volunteer Response Center in Mississippi.
· Guiding response efforts toward Important Bird areas and sites needing special protection.
· Training and organizing citizen-scientists to capture vital population and habitat impact information through a new Coastal Bird Survey initiative , which will provide Audubon with data to guide long-term recovery planning and conservation
· Leading long-term restoration of the vulnerable and diverse Gulf Coast ecosystem.
· Alerting the public to risks to birds and fragile resources
· Working for safer energy solutions.
· Advocating for emergency response funding and support sound public policy.

The effects of this tragedy will be serious and long-lasting.
But Audubon will be there to make a difference…. now and for the long haul.

Visit www.audubon.org to learn how you can help.




Birds

Purple herons breed for the first time in the UK The first purple herons ever to breed successfully in the UK have hatched their chicks on the RSPB's Dungeness Nature Reserve in Kent. It is not yet known how many chicks have hatched and confirmation will only be possible when the young fledge in a few weeks time.

However news of the chicks' arrival comes just a day after the Government announced it was calling in the decision to allow Lydd Airport to expand its operations on the edge of the reserve. Lydd Airport's plans would see an extension of the runway and a huge increase in passenger numbers with the arrival of Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s.

The RSPB fears disturbance to birds and the effect of increased pollution on the site's unique mix of specialist lichens, plants and insects. Shepway District Council controversially agreed to the application against the recommendation of their own planning officials. It will now be looked at again at a Public Inquiry.

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Ft. Myers urban birding - Purple Martins Evening of July 9th, 2010.
Meet at Centennial Park at the 3 Friends statue/fountain at 7pm.Description:Downtown Ft. Myers Birding This trip will give birders and naturalists a chance to see urban birds including grey kingbirds, chimney swifts and hopefully large numbers of purple martins as they come to roost in the mahogany trees on Hendry Street. The martins put on quite a show as they zoom into the trees! Participants will also learn about the downtown trees and a little history. Leader: Roger Clark Bring binoculars, water, camera, rain gear.

Location
United States
26° 38' 42.5652" N, 81° 52' 21.2664" W

See map

Invasive species

LOST IN THE OIL: THE RELATIONSHIP OF OIL AND PYTHONS Wayne Rassner has written an interesting article on the making of a documentary film concerning the pythons in the Everglades. The production of the film is losing some perspective in the world-wide focus on the BP oil spill. Please read the article, which is an appeal for funding for the making of the film and subsequent films about invasive species.
http://envmagazine.org/?p=1597

Florida Panthers

As panthers roam throughout their territory to find food or mates, they must navigate through a deadly network of interstate, state and county roads with varying speed limits and levels of enforcement. One hundred three panthers were killed by vehicles on Florida roads from 1972 through April 2007. Nearly half of all panthers killed on highways have been hit since 2000. With fewer than 100 panthers left, every life counts.

Defenders of Wildlife has developed a short-term strategy to reduce panther deaths on roads as part of its nationwide Habitat and Highways Campaign: In 2006 they convinced Florida Department of Transportation to construct a wildlife crossing on a deadly stretch of US 41 in Big Cypress Preserve.

In partnering with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to increase public awareness of panther needs, we are encouraging local transportation authorities to increase signage and lower speed limits through panther crossing zones.

We are supporting the Panthers & Pavement campaign established in 2004 by The Florida Panther Society, Inc. and the Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge.

We are partnering with other conservation organizations to incorporate wildlife conservation into transportation planning in southwest Florida.

Last year saw a record-high 17 deaths of the endangered big cats on Florida roadways—with one of these still under investigation. In 2008, 10 panthers were killed by vehicles.

“Unless we take actions to avoid such tragic losses to Florida’s native wildlife, records like these will continue to be reached each year as more and more roads and developments are built,” says Laurie Macdonald, Florida director for Defenders of Wildlife. “The toll that vehicle collisions are taking on the panther’s population is a serious obstacle to their recovery, and the roads and vehicles themselves are inhibiting the panther’s efforts to expand their range.”


Endangered Species

Sea turtles facing threats on two fronts in Gulf oil spill
With the Gulf oil spill threatening wildlife and coastal economies, federal officials are planning to relocate sea turtle hatchlings from the region to the Atlantic Ocean, the St. Petersburg Times reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Center for Biological Diversity said it is filing a federal lawsuit against BP and the U.S. Coast Guard for burning sea turtles alive in controlled burns to reduce the amount of oil floating on the water. A BP spokeswoman said vessels are sent to rescue turtles to prevent them from being burned.

The Times reported that biologists will move about 800 nests from Gulf coast states to prevent the hatchlings from dying in oil in the Gulf."This is the least of the worst-case scenarios," said Chuck Underwood, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Even if what we're doing isn't a great thing, it's better than doing nothing."

The Center for Biological Diversity says controlled burns that are removing oil are a violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. A letter to the Coast Guard and BP cited news reports suggesting that some sea turtles are being burned in the fires. Mother Jones reported that efforts to save turtles were being thwarted by BP.

"Newly hatched sea turtles are swimming out to sea and finding themselves in a mucky, oily mess," said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "News that BP has blocked efforts to rescue trapped sea turtles before they're burned alive in controlled burns is unacceptable."

Read more

The following inquiry was submitted to Florida Gulf Response Team
From: Grant CampbellDate: 06/28/10
Dear Tony Hayward and Ken Salazar,

I am outraged to learn that BP cleanup efforts do not rescue each andevery sea turtle encountered during the oil spill cleanup in Gulf ofMexico waters. Kemp's ridley sea turtles trapped in boom and burnoperations are endangered species with legal protections. Harming themis an illegal act and subject to prosecution and penalties.Direct evidence of the sea turtles caught up in oil booming and set onfire has been reported by the LA Times and a video interview that canbe viewed at http://seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1660.

Unified Command must increase the number of boats and personnel on thewater rescuing all sea turtles encountered in oil spill operations andtransport them immediately to one of the many rehabilitation centersavailable.I urge you to immediately grant permission for additional teams to leadadditional boats to recover sea turtles from the oil spill, and tocover all costs of NGO-supported rescue operations out of the BP oilspill funds managed by Unified Command.SincerelyGrant Campbell
2321 SW 44 STFort Lauderdale, FL
33312US

The answer from the BP Response Team; Date: 06/29/10 16:26
Dear Grant Campbell,

The Unified Command, not BP, is managing the burn operations undertakenas part of the spill response. Protocols include looking for wildlifeprior to ignition of oil; however it is possible that turtles and otherwildlife have been harmed by burn operations. The Unified Command is working to make sure the harmful effects of these operations onwildlife are minimal. Of the threats posed by this spill, the oil is the greatest with the potential to foul the animals, their nests, food, habitat, and their long term health. Burning is a very efficient way to remove oil that would otherwise spread and persist, removing up to 90% of the oil atmaximum efficiency.

Protocols for burn operations include looking for turtles in the areaprior to ignition and not conducting operations if they are spotted.The Unified Command marine mammal/sea turtle unit has been conductingdirected surveys in oiled waters and to date, has collected 90 seaturtles. Of these, 83 of these are being cared for in rehabilitationfacilities. We have contracted turtle monitors who will monitor for turtles bothfor burn and skimming operations. The observer will watch for andrescue any turtles in oil before the oil is corralled into booms forburning. One observer will be deployed to each team working on a givenday.

Regards,

P Response Team-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Report: Toxins found in whales bode ill for humans Sperm whales feeding even in the most remote reaches of Earth's oceans have built up stunningly high levels of toxic and heavy metals, according to American scientists who say the findings spell danger not only for marine life but for the millions of humans who depend on seafood.

A report released Thursday noted high levels of cadmium, aluminum, chromium, lead, silver, mercury and titanium in tissue samples taken by dart gun from nearly 1,000 whales over five years. From polar areas to equatorial waters, the whales ingested pollutants that may have been produced by humans thousands of miles away, the researchers said.

"These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply. They certainly are threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean," said biologist Roger Payne, founder and president of Ocean Alliance, the research and conservation group that produced the report.

The researchers found mercury as high as 16 parts per million in the whales. Fish high in mercury such as shark and swordfish — the types health experts warn children and pregnant women to avoid — typically have levels of about 1 part per million.

The whales studied averaged 2.4 parts of mercury per million, but the report's authors said their internal organs probably had much higher levels than the skin samples contained.
"The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings," Payne said in an interview on the sidelines of the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting.

Payne said sperm whales, which occupy the top of the food chain, absorb the contaminants and pass them on to the next generation when a female nurses her calf. "What she's actually doing is dumping her lifetime accumulation of that fat-soluble stuff into her baby," he said, and each generation passes on more to the next.

Ultimately, he said, the contaminants could jeopardize seafood, a primary source of animal protein for 1 billion people. "You could make a fairly tight argument to say that it is the single greatest health threat that has ever faced the human species. I suspect this will shorten lives, if it turns out that this is what's going on," he said.

Payne called his group's $5 million project the most comprehensive report ever done on ocean pollutants.

U.S. Whaling Commissioner Monica Medina informed the 88 member nations of the whaling commission of the report and urged the commission to conduct further research.
The report "is right on target" for raising issues critical to humans as well as whales, Medina told The Associated Press. "We need to know much more about these problems."

Payne, 75, is best known for his 1968 discovery and recordings of songs by humpback whales, and for finding that some whale species can communicate with each other over thousands of miles.

The 93-foot Odyssey, a sail-and-motor ketch, set out in March 2000 from San Diego to document the oceans' health, collecting pencil-eraser-sized samples using a dart gun that barely made the whales flinch.
After more than five years and 87,000 miles, samples had been taken from 955 whales. The samples were sent for analysis to marine toxicologist John Wise at the University of Southern Maine. DNA was compared to ensure the animals were not tested more than once.

Payne said the original objective of the voyage was to measure chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants, and the study of metals was an afterthought.

The researchers were stunned with the results. "That's where the shocking, sort of jaw-dropping concentrations exist," Payne said.

Though it was impossible to know where the whales had been, Payne said the contamination was embedded in the blubber of males formed in the frigid Polar Regions, indicating that the animals had ingested the metals far from where they were emitted.

"When you're working with a synthetic chemical which never existed in nature before and you find it in a whale which came from the Arctic or Antarctic, it tells you that was made by people and it got into the whale," he said.

How that happened is unclear, but the contaminants likely were carried by wind or ocean currents, or were eaten by the sperm whales' prey.

Sperm whales are toothed whales that eat all kinds of fish, even sharks. Dozens have been taken by whaling ships in the past decade. Most of the whales hunted by the whaling countries of Japan, Norway and Iceland are Minke whales, which are baleen whales that feed largely on tiny krill.

Chromium, an industrial pollutant that causes cancer in humans, was found in all but two of the 361 sperm whale samples that were tested for it. Those findings were published last year in the scientific journal Chemosphere. "The biggest surprise was chromium," Payne said. "That's an absolute shocker. Nobody was even looking for it."

The corrosion-resistant metal is used in stainless steel, paints, dyes and the tanning of leather. It can cause lung cancer in people who work in industries where it is commonly used, and was the focus of the California environmental lawsuit that gained fame in the movie "Erin Brockovich."
It was impossible to say from the samples whether any of the whales suffered diseases, but Wise found that the concentration of chromium found in whales was several times higher than the level required to kill healthy cells in a Petri dish, Payne said.

He said another surprise was the high concentrations of aluminum, which is used in packaging, cooking pots and water treatment. Its effects are unknown.

The consequences of the metals could be horrific for both whale and man, he said.
"I don't see any future for whale species except extinction," Payne said. "This is not on anybody's radar, no government's radar anywhere, and I think it should be."

See the slideshow

Sea Shepherd frees 800 caged bluefin tuna Between 700 and 800 caged bluefin tuna have been freed by divers from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society after a dramatic confrontation with fishermen in Libyan waters.

The society's boat Steve Irwin discovered two fishing vessels, one of which was towing two cages - one containing about 800 fish, the second empty. Unhappy with the fishermen's explanation about when and where the tuna were caught, and suspecting that quotas were being ignored, Steve Irwin's captain Paul Watson brought the bow of his ship up to one of the cages to take a better look.

‘At this point,' says Mr. Watson, ‘one of the fishing boats rammed the Steve Irwin and a fisherman tried to violently gaff Sea Shepherd crewmembers with a long, sharp-hooked pole. The Steve Irwin crew retaliated with eight liters of rotten butter forcing the fishing vessel to retreat and to stand off.'

The two fishing vessels circled their cages defensively and Sea Shepherd notified the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna of possible violations, but it did not respond.

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FWC charges 2 with harming sea turtle nest
Two Englewood women were arrested June 21 on third-degree felony charges for knowingly disturbing a sea turtle nest. At 2:30 p.m., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) law enforcement officers and Charlotte County deputies arrested Juanita B. Schultz, (DOB 10/28/36) of 1230 Shoreview Dr., and Mary F. Cammarano-Richards (DOB 01/14/55) of 1230 Shoreview Dr. #2, Englewood. Third-degree felony charges are punishable by up to five years in prison and/or fines of up to $5,000.

On June 14, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office contacted the FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement with information about someone disturbing the area over and around a sea turtle nest and pulling up signs and stakes marking the protected nest.

FWC Officer Ron Howard was assigned the case. Howard found that signs and stakes marking the nest had been removed, and there were indications that the domed-nest mound had been leveled and the crawl had been raked. Howard presented his findings to the Charlotte State Attorney’s Office, who will prosecute the case.

Although this sea turtle nest was on private property, both state and federal laws protect sea turtles, their nests and eggs no matter where they occur. Even on a private beach, posting by authorities in the immediate area around a sea turtle nest is legal. The informational posting at critical nest sites helps both private property owners and the public from running afoul of the law.

For more information on imperiled sea turtles and their plight, go to MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle.

Critically Endangered Bonneted bat is alive and well in Florida
Scientists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recently concluded the first-ever bat monitoring program in Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County. During their research, biologists came across a rare find: the state-endangered bonneted bat residing in the forest, which is co-managed by the Division of Forestry and the FWC.

Florida is home to 13 native bat species, but with a wingspan of 19-21 inches, the bonneted bat is by far the largest. It roosts in South Florida and gets its name from its large, broad ears that slant forward over its eyes.

‘The find of the bonneted bat is significant because there are only a few hundred bonneted bats in existence,' said FWC biologist and project leader Kathleen Smith. ‘Bats, like many other wildlife species, have lost a great deal of natural habitat to development.'

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Three sperm whales killed by oil spill - Could threaten Gulf of Mexico’s entire population
Three dead sperm whales killed by the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could put the small population native to the gulf in peril, according to one Texas Tech University expert.

Not only that, but endangered and threatened Kemp's ridley and loggerhead sea turtles could face major population decimation as they breathe in toxic fumes and ingest crude oil, said Celine Godard-Codding, an assistant professor at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech.

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Everglades and Water Quality Issues

Comments accepted June 28 through August 26, 2010. Workshops July 14 and August 4, 2010
Restoration Coordination & Verification (RECOVER) is acceptingcomments on the Scientific Knowledge Gained document. The document is acompilation of new scientific information relevant to Everglades restorationthat has been gained in the approximately 10 years since the ComprehensiveEverglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was initiated.

The RECOVER Leadership Group will hold two public workshops to solicit input on the new scientific information. This information and input will be used as part of a broadereffort to better define the functional attributes of a restored Everglades and incorporate this understanding into the restoration effort.

The document, "Scientific and Technical Knowledge Gained in EvergladesRestoration (1999-2009)," is the read-ahead for the public workshops, and isavailable online for review and comment from June 28 to August 26, 2010. Toview the draft document, visit
http://tinyurl.com/25xx8un and scroll down thepage for instructions.

The first workshop will be held July 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at theNaples Grande Resort, 475 Seagate Drive, Naples, Fla. This workshop isseparate and distinct from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restorationconference taking place at the same location, and is open to the public at nocharge. Click here for more information: http://tinyurl.com/252pfha.

The second workshop will be held August 4, 2010 on the southeastcoast of Florida. The time and location will be available shortly and postedat http://tinyurl.com/2fnf8mn. More general information is also available atwww.evergladesplan.org.

At each workshop, brief presentations on new scientific and technicalknowledge gained over the past 10 years will be given. Then, break-out groupswill be convened to encourage dialogue and allow participants to providecomments and critiques of the new information. Comments from the workshops,and those gathered online, will be included in the final draft of the document.

The finalized document will constitute the first phase of the 2010Shared Definition of Everglades Restoration effort ("Shared Definition"). Thesecond phase, starting in 2011, consists of formal meetings with agencies,stakeholder groups and the public to discuss CERP goals and targets in lightof the new science, ecological conditions, stakeholder values and updatedpolicies. The third phase, starting in 2012, applies the new information tothe planning, implementation and operation of the CERP. The Shared Definitioneffort, and your involvement in all of the phases, is part of the CERPAdaptive Management Program.

Please participate in this opportunity to incorporate new scientific knowledge into the restoration program and help further the success of CERP. To learn more, visit http://tinyurl.com/25xx8un or contact Dave Tipple atdavid.a.tipple@usace.army.mil or 904-232-1375.

Park seeks public comment on the Tamiami Trail Modifications
The public is encouraged to view the DEIS and submit comments through theNPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website:http://parkplanning.nps.gov, selecting “Everglades NP” from the drop downbox, then “Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps Project”, and “Open ForPublic Comment”. The “Document List” link provides a list of south Floridalibraries that have paper copies for review. The comment period ends July27, 2010.

Army Corps to conduct Peace River watershed summary After 13 years of prodding by environmentalists and politicians, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to conduct a comprehensive study of the cumulative impacts of phosphate mining on the entire Peace River watershed.

Charlotte County Commissioner Adam Cummings, who had supported the county's push for a Regional Environmental Impact Statement throughout most of his 12 years in office, called the federal agency's decision "a giant step in the right direction. I know that, throughout all of our phosphate litigation, our primary goal was to get an EIS and follow it up with a realistic, sustainable management plan (for the mining),"

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Onetime landfill site for "glades restoration
Land west of Boca Raton once pegged for yet another South Florida dumping ground is now on its way to becoming a reservoir that helps boost Everglades water supplies.
More than 20 years ago, residents who didn't want a landfill near their neighborhoods convinced Palm Beach County to find a new spot to bury their trash.Then the South Florida Water Management District acquired the land next to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge — the northern reaches of the Everglades — with plans to use it for water storage and treatment.

Financial delays put the 1,800-acre restoration project on the shelf, until President Barack Obama's economic stimulus program last year started pumping overdue federal money into Everglades projects.

Officials with the water management district and the Army Corps of Engineers signed a project partnership agreement spelling out the funding and construction plans for the land where a landfill was once envisioned.

"Now it's going to be a reservoir helping the Everglades," Army Corps spokeswoman Nanciann Regalado said. "That's pretty cool."

Work on the reservoir could begin as early as September.

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Palm Beach County to consider rock mining ban
After four years of opening the door to rock mining on 20,000 acres of western farmland, Palm Beach County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to consider a moratorium on digging up former Everglades land.

Since 2006, the County Commission has allowed seven new or expanded rock mines despite environmentalists' warnings that the deep digging and blasting threatens to pollute water supplies and get in the way of Everglades restoration.

Now the commission on June 24 plans to consider imposing a one-year moratorium. The idea is to give the county time to craft new regulations for commercial rock mining on agricultural land

more...

A new political cave-in: In Palm Beach County, mining wins again. It didn't take Palm Beach County long to back away from real regulation of commercial rock mining in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

One week after county commissioners said they finally would consider enacting regulations with teeth, county staff backed off. The primary reason, Deputy County Administrator Verdenia Baker explained, is that the proposed changes would have required mining decisions to undergo review by the state. Backing off that approach supposedly keeps control solely with county commissioners.

Imagine that. Since the push for mining began in 2006, the commission has allowed commercial mining operations on 18,000 acres for periods that will last as long as 70 years. During that time, three commissioners went to prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

The Florida Hometown Democracy petition got onto the November ballot because Floridians distrust politicians to make decisions about development. The amendment would require public votes on changes to comprehensive plans. In Palm Beach County, commissioners were so desperate to regain public trust that they created an independent ethics commission and office of inspector general to investigate allegations of corruption and insider dealing.

Yet, the best argument Ms. Baker could offer for her decision to squelch a county planning department proposal that promised to look at mining in a comprehensive way for the first time is that the commission would be ceding authority, as it does on all land-use proposals, to the state.

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Wildlife and Habitat

Vulnerable Species Could Suffer Huge Losses in Wake of BP Oil Spill.
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As oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico after the explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon rig, cleanup crews and animal welfare experts are working tirelessly to prevent massive ecological damage on the coast.

But several animal species are in the crosshairs of the giant oil slick spreading across the gulf. With time running out, here are the animals most at risk in the disaster, and what you can do to help.

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FWC wraps up 2-day meeting in Lake Mary
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) tackled numerous important issues during its meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Lake Mary, near Orlando.

On Wednesday, June 23, the meeting opened with the Commission recognizing Palm Coast wildlife artist Art LaMay. The Commission then considered several draft rules, including fox and coyote enclosures and their operation in Florida. The Commission approved a draft rule that would prohibit the chasing of foxes and coyotes in an enclosure. Staff was directed to bring back a final rule for consideration to the September meeting in Weston.

The Commission also approved draft rule changes that would restrict the method of take during the spring turkey season on wildlife management areas. In addition, the Commission approved a draft rule that would allow the use of crossbows during archery season on private lands.

Final rules on airport safety and wildlife were approved. The rules allow the taking of wildlife on airports when necessary for the safety of people and aircraft at airports.
Commissioners approved proposed revisions to gopher tortoise permitting guidelines. The revisions will help make the permitting process more efficient.

See the full agenda


Global Warming and Climate Change

Scientific report on coral reef reproduction at higher temperatures
June 2010. Discoveries about tropical coral reefs are expected to be invaluable in efforts to restore the corals, which are succumbing to bleaching and other diseases at an unprecedented rate as ocean temperatures rise worldwide. The research gives new insights into how the scientists can help to preserve or restore the coral reefs that protect coastlines, foster tourism, and nurture many species of fish.

The team focused on one of the most abundant reef-building species in the Caribbean, Montastraea faveolata, known as the mountainous star coral. Though widespread, this species is listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature because its numbers have declined significantly -- in recent years, up to 90 percent of the population has been lost in some areas.

Discovering how corals respond to ocean warming is complicated because corals serve as hosts to algae. The algae live in the coral and feed on its nitrogen wastes. Through photosynthesis, the algae then produce the carbohydrates that feed the coral. When this complex and delicate symbiosis is upset by a rise in ocean temperature, the coral may expel the algae in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching, which may cause the death of both algae and coral. The challenge is to figure out why some corals cope with the heat stress better than others.

"We decided to focus on coral larvae because the successful dispersal and settlement of larvae is key to the survival of reefs," explains Iliana Baums, assistant professor of biology at Penn State University.

"Also, since free-swimming larvae do not yet have symbiotic algae, we can record the expression of different genes in our samples and know that we are looking at the molecular response of the coral itself to heat stress."

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Offshore & Ocean

Could Minnesota be affected by the Gulf Oil Spill?
A time bomb is ticking for Minnesota's loons and many other iconic birds that spend part of the year here before migrating south each fall.

As black crude continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, contaminating some of the continent's richest wildlife habitat, officials fear an oily death could await untold numbers of the state's beloved 12,000 loons and other commonly seen birds in Minnesota such as great blue herons, white pelicans, spotted sandpipers, egrets and ducks when they migrate south in a few months.
Even if the oil stops flowing soon - and that appears unlikely -- vast contaminated areas likely will remain this fall, meaning birds that migrate to or through the Gulf could fly into a deathtrap.

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Linda Young: Update from the Panhandle Dear friends of Florida waters: I know these updates get longer and longer, but I get a lot of thank-you’s from many of you, so I’m going to keep trying to share the most pertinent information in hopes that it will be helpful to parts of the state that have not been hit by the oil yet, but may get it at some future date. If you are not interested in this information, then please just delete it. Please feel free to share it far and wide if you think it will interest other people that you know.

The first large waves of oil arrived in Florida yesterday, Wednesday June 23rd. There had been smaller amounts coming ashore here and there, but approximately 9 miles of oil landed on Pensacola Beach in the early hours of yesterday morning. The puddles are about 10 to 12 feet wide and about 2 to 4 inches thick from where I saw them.

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Jones Act not yet waived to deal with oil spill
In the wake of the gulf oil spill, President Obama has been criticized for failing to temporarily waive the Jones Act, which governs the use of foreign vessels in American waters. The act requires that vessels operating in American waters be American-built and -owned.

But while supporters of the legislation acknowledge the need to temporarily ignore the act in order to deal with the oil spill and Florida leaders press the federal government for an exemption, no waiver has yet been granted.

Many maritime labor unions support the Jones Act since it protects American jobs, but some are relenting in the face of the full-scale gulf disaster. The Martime Cabotage Task Force (a group essentially designed to extol the benefits of the Jones Act) said in a press release it would not stand in the way of admitting foreign vessels into the gulf, so long as American vessels were not up to par: “The American Maritime Industry has not and will not stand in the way of the use of these well-established waiver procedures to address this crisis.”

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Crist considers Sarasota Company’s oil-eating solution
Gov. Charlie Crist and other state officials are considering a Sarasota company's oil-eating microbes to help in Gulf Coast cleanup efforts.

Crist took a tour of Osprey Biotechnics' laboratories last week to take a close look at the naturally occurring bacteria bred by scientists to be more efficient in gobbling oil.
The governor told Osprey officials that he was "very impressed by what I've seen," according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The technology has existed for about 20 years, Victoria Finley, Osprey's vice president of business development said.

The microbes, which the company sells under the product name Munox, are designed to degrade petroleum and leave small amounts of trace elements like carbon dioxide, Finley said.
The company makes 55-gallon drums filled with trillions of oil-eating microbes. Scientists have also designed different kinds of bacteria for the waste treatment, crop protection and pollution prevention industries.

Osprey officials began reaching out to state officials shortly after the broken pipe deep in the Gulf of Mexico began gushing oil, offering to convert its entire production line to creating the oil-devouring microbes, according to the Herald-Tribune.

The industrial microbiology company is working to raise their profile in other Gulf Coast states.
No decision has been made yet if Munox would be used to clean up wetlands and shorelines affected with oil.

The product is undergoing a review by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Finely said. Finley said Osprey is ready if they get the call. "We're in a very viable position to play our part in the myriad number of solutions to this disaster," she said.

What will happen to oil if a storm hits?
Experts will convene today on the Panama City campus of Florida State University to plan for a potentially darker chapter in the nation’s worst ecological disaster — a hurricane striking the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Organized by North Florida Congressman Allen Boyd, the “Joint Oil Spill Hurricane Planning Conference” will include experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as representatives from the state Division of Emergency Management and the Department of Environmental Protection.

more..


Senior politicians from around the world act to save the ocean’s fisheries
Legislators agree global marine recovery strategy to address collapse of world fisheries
June 2010. 40 senior Members of Parliament from 15 key fishing nations and regions, including Japan, US, Europe, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico and Brazil agreed a Global Marine Recovery Strategy on world fisheries intended to reverse the decline of global fisheries.

The legislators were advised by the world's leading scientific and policy experts who presented a bleak outlook for fishery stocks if immediate political action was not taken. The meeting was organized by the Global Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment, (GLOBE) to challenge the current international political failure to address the rapid decline of global fisheries stocks. The scientific input was coordinated by the Zoological Society of London.

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KEY LARGO, Fla.
Even with no pending impact from the Deepwater Horizon disaster on the Florida Keys, those who manage the federally protected Everglades National Park and Florida Bay are preparing to protect and clean the fragile ecosystems there.

The number of mangrove stands and islands and the configuration of the bay make effective booming almost impossible, according to John Hunt, a marine biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Experts predicted the effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster that make it to Florida Bay and the Florida Keys chain would be nothing more serious than tar patties, not liquid oil. But even weathered tar could suffocate the fragile mangrove seedlings that form the foundation for land growth and fisheries in the Keys.

Park rangers said it would be next to impossible to thoroughly clean tar and oil from miles of jumbled mangrove roots. One proposal suggests flushing the mangroves to push any tar into the open water for easier cleanup.

The Unified Command orchestrating the federal response to the spill, headed by the U.S. Coast Guard, has identified a workforce to bring in to manually clean areas in Florida Bay if and when they are affected. The response would be triggered by sightings of contaminants by spotters monitoring the movement of the oil slick daily.

The latest movement of eddies around the Loop Current in the Gulf suggest that no oil is headed in the direction of the Keys.

Costs of the protection and cleanup Florida Bay and Everglades National Park would be paid by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which would then apply to BP for reimbursement.

Watch the Video

10 whale sharks spotted off Sarasota
In an unusual encounter Friday, Mote scientists came across 10 whale sharks about 23 miles offshore of Sarasota.

Whale sharks have occasionally visited the region, but usually in smaller groups of two to three.
Mote scientists put satellite tags on three of the sharks to learn more about where they travel.
It is unclear whether oil from the burst Deepwater Horizon rig pushed the sharks this way.
In the past, the sharks have been tracked traveling into the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Their primary feeding grounds are in the southern Gulf, near Isla Holbox, Mexico.

Track the tagged sharks here

Energy

Hands across the Sand: the biggest grassroots phenomenon since Earth Day
By Cathy Harrelson

Hands across the Sand is a grassroots phenomenon the likes of which we have not seen since the first Earth Day in April, 1970. Last Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people came to beaches, lakes and bridges across the planet (see videos below) to join hands together all because one man decided to draw a line in the sand to put a stop to drilling off Florida’s coast. Dave Rauschkolb, creator of Hands is a surfer and restaurant owner in the panhandle town of Seaside, Florida. He is a businessman, not the classic definition of “environmentalist”. And that is a basis of the story that has launched this mass awakening.

The first Hands event took place on a cold day in February, before the start of the Florida legislative session. The goal of the 3,000 people that showed up in Pinellas and the 10,000 on 80 Florida beaches was to stop Florida’s lawmakers from making a very big mistake by allowing drilling within 3-12 miles of our shores. Now, we are living in the miasma of the ‘worst that can happen’. Oil and dangerous gasses gush from the sea floor every moment — as we go about our daily lives, as we joined hands on Saturday and as I write this.

BP failed to live up to its contract of safety. MMS failed to enforce that contract. Our government does not have the know-how to stop the gusher, the oil industry seems unable to stop it, and the “clean-up” is fraught with dangerous dispersants with unknown toxic effect. We have poked and prodded and disregarded the Earth that nurtures and feeds us. We have burned and consumed and destroyed — most, not from malice, but from a “necessity” that was created by money and power.

Read the article

Enough is enough: No new drilling. Period!
A federal judge in Louisiana — who, according to the most recent financial disclosure forms available, owned stock in several oil companies as recently as 2008 — stood with the oil industry this week and lifted the Obama Administration’s 6-month moratorium on new deepwater exploration and existing deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite the fact that as much as 60,000 barrels of oil continue to pour into the Gulf every day, the judge called the moratorium “arbitrary and capricious.”The oil industry’s gross negligence led to the current disaster — and many more like it in the past. It could not be clearer that we need to transition off of dirty fossil fuels once and for all.

The Obama Administration has promised to refine and reinstate the moratorium, which they definitely should do. But what we really need is Congressional action.The time has come to stand up together against the inordinate influence of Big Oil and tell our elected representatives that the oil industry and other dirty fossil fuels industries cannot be allowed to hijack our energy policy any longer.

Sign the petition Here

Take Action: Coal Ash comment
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering rules that would finally set federal standards for the toxic ash that comes from burning coal. It contains concentrated amounts of many toxic heavy metals that threaten our health and environment. Coal-fired power plants in the United States produce about 130 million tons of coal ash per year.

Up until now, coal ash has been entirely unregulated by the EPA, and lax state laws have resulted in this toxic waste leaching into our groundwater from unlined landfills, blowing in the wind from dry ash dumps, and being used as fill material on construction sites and even as fertilizer!

The EPA has established a public comment period so we have the opportunity to weigh in and get a federal ruling that is in the public interest.

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Submit a comment

FARE: Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy Newsletter
With renewable energy finally in the spotlight for the State Legislature, how we implement policies is just as important as why we are doing it. In the event of a special session in the summer of 2010, or the 2011 regular session, the policy direction is already being formed.

It is imperative that if policies began to take shape that will allow investor owned utilities to develop large scale projects and pass construction costs on to their ratepayers, that small and mid scale systems - including customer and 3rd party owned systems - also have the opportunity to participate in this market.

It is also critical that if a quota or mandate is established, such as an RPS, that a certain percentage of this target is accounted for by electricity purchased from small scale systems. Our policy platform is simple: if measures for development and purchase of renewable energy are implemented, then they should be done so at the least cost to the ratepayer and create the largest amount of jobs.

The small to mid scale renewable energy market, through a production based incentive mechanism, has proven worldwide to deliver the most amount of renewable energy in the quickest amount of time, at the lowest cost to the ratepayer, and create the largest amount of jobs. As we move towards implementing a real, long term, sustainable renewable energy marketplace in Florida, we welcome and encourage you to join us.

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China's push for clean energy
Fresh from releasing “Out of the Running?,” a report that compares clean energy investments in China, Germany, and Spain, senior staff including Kate Gordon and Julian Wong, from the Center for American Progress brought a select group of Senate staffers to visit China in April to meet with policymakers, academics, and companies to better understand China’s clean energy economic development strategy.

The visit provided convincing evidence to those involved that China has made large-scale investments in clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure, and that these signal China’s clear desire to lead the world in clean energy technology production, deployment, and eventually innovation. It also underscored the need for the United States to move aggressively to articulate our own clean energy strategy—one that builds on our historic strengths in innovation, entrepreneurship, and high-value added manufacturing.

The full memo can be found here (pdf).

Read the article

Salazar creates new agency to oversee drilling
A former federal prosecutor took over Monday as director of a new government agency that oversees offshore drilling and other oil and gas development.
Michael R. Bromwich, 56, a former assistant U.S. attorney and Justice Department inspector general, will lead a reorganization of the agency formerly known as the Minerals Management Service.

Bromwich's arrival as head of the 1,700-employee agency came as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order renaming the agency the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The agency, which both regulates the oil and gas industry and collects billions in royalties from it, will be known as the Bureau of Ocean Energy or BOE for short, Salazar said.

Under its previous name, the drilling agency was criticized for a cozy relationship with oil companies and lax oversight.

The Obama administration plans to break up the agency into three separate entities to eliminate conflicts of interest. President Barack Obama announced Bromwich's appointment last week and said Bromwich would have a mandate to implement far-reaching changes and the resources to do it.

"For a decade or more, the cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency was allowed to go unchecked," Obama said. "That cannot and will not happen anymore."

Read more

Land Conservation

Read the Florida Forever Coalition Newsletter

Miscellaneous

FWC seeks input on possible changes to permit, pompano and African pompano regulations
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has scheduled a public workshop, using video and telephone conferencing, to hear what people think about possible rule changes for permit, pompano and African pompano. There will be several locations around the state where you can take part in the workshop via a videoconference connection, or you can participate via a voice-only telephone line.

The FWC is considering applying permit and pompano regulations in federal waters adjacent to state waters, including the combined permit and pompano 6-fish daily recreational bag limit (with an allowance of 1 fish over 20 inches fork length), the pompano and permit slot limit of 11-20 inches fork length, and allowable recreational fishing gear for these species.

The FWC is also considering allowing spearfishing for permit in federal waters, establishing a commercial trip limit of 250 fish per day and allowing pompano endorsement holders to use allowable gear for pompano to catch permit inside the pompano endorsement zone.

In addition, the FWC is considering applying African pompano size and bag limits and fishing gear restrictions in federal waters for all harvesters. Spearfishing of African pompano in federal waters is also being considered.

The FWC encourages interested persons to attend the workshop at one of the videoconferencing sites listed below or via voice-only telephone line on Monday, July 12 from 6-9 p.m. EDT (5-8 p.m. CDT in Panama City). Contact the FWC at 850-487-0554 to confirm which of the following locations you plan to go to or to find out how to join the meeting via the voice-only line.

FWC Office
Berkeley Building
2590 Executive Center Circle E.
Tallahassee

FWC Northwest Regional Office
3911 Hwy. 2321
Panama City

FWC North Central Regional Office
3377 E. U.S. Hwy. 90
Lake City

FWC Northeast Regional Office
1239 S.W. 10th St.
Ocala

FWC Southwest Regional Office
3900 Drane Field Rd.
Lakeland

FWC South Regional Office
8535 Northlake Blvd.
West Palm Beach

FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 Eighth Ave., S.E.
St. Petersburg

FWC South Florida Regional Lab
Marathon Government Center
2796 Overseas Hwy.
Mile Marker 48.5
Marathon

Anyone requiring special accommodations to participate in the workshop should advise the FWC at least five days prior to the workshop by calling 850-488-6411. If you are hearing or speech impaired, contact the FWC using the Florida Relay Service at 800-955-8771 (TDD) or 800-955-8770 (voice).

More information regarding this workshop is available online at MyFWC.com/Rules; click on “Fishing – Saltwater.”


BROWARD COUNTY COMMISSION NEWS RELEASE
Parks and Recreation Division ▪ 950 N.W. 38th St., Oakland Park, FL 33309
Phone: 954-357-8100 ▪ Fax: 954-561-5359 ▪ www.broward.org/parks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: June 23, 2010 Phone: 954-357-8115
From: Michael Mills E-mail: mailto:mmills@broward.org

Summer Home Landscape Series 2010
- Nature center hosts popular lecture series -

WHAT: Secret Woods Nature Center in Dania Beach launches its Summer Home Landscape Series 2010, an annual series of seven free lectures designed for average homeowners who are interested in adding to the beauty of their homes through landscaping, on Sunday, July 11. The topic for the first lecture will be “Toys for Real Gardeners,” presented by David McLean.

Participants will learn ways to save money on their cooling and water bills, attract wildlife, and preserve native vegetation; they’ll also improve the appearance of their yards and neighborhoods as well as increase property values. All classes are held in the nature center’s air-conditioned Julia Assembly Hall from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Future dates include July 18; August 1, 8, 15, and 29; and September 5. The lecture series will be followed by a Native Plant Sale on Saturday, September 11.

WHERE: Secret Woods Nature Center
2701 W. State Rd. 84
Dania Beach
954-791-1030

WHEN: Sundays, July 11 and 18; August 1, 8, 15, and 29; and September 5.
3-5 p.m.

WHO: Ages 13 and up.

HOW: Free.

For more information, call the nature center at 954-791-1030. The nature center is accessible via Broward County Transit Route #6.