"All at last return to the sea—to Oceanus, the ocean river, like theever-flowing stream of time, the beginning and the end."
Rachel Carson


Read the Hernando Audubon newsletter here http://www.hernandoaudubon.org/Newsletter.html

Register online for the Arthur R Marshall Foundations “River of Grass Gala”
Saturday, December 11, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton of Palm Beach.

Join us as we salute the 2010 Champions of the Everglades US Senator Bill Nelson
South Florida Environmental Leader Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
Recognized Environmental Activist Bobbi Horwich.

Cocktails ● Dinner ● Entertainment ● Live Silent Auction

Call 561-805-8733 for more information on being a pert of this elite group of supporters.

Richard and Robbyn Ackner Jane Cummings
Roberta Drey Marjorie Fisher
Kathryn Fox and Martin Cavage Mirielle Gerard
Shelley and Bill Graham Doris Hastings
Bobbi and Harry Horwich International Society of Palm Beach
Susan Korzenewski and Allen Parmalee Bobbie Lindsay and Douglas Buck
Nancy and John Marshall Joyce and Sam McLendon
Sydelle Meyer Harvey Oyer III and Monique McCall

Click here to register online now or visit www.artmarshall.org!

Join the Flock at the sawgrass Nature Center’S “Fall Migration Feast”
The Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital’s is hosting its 13th annual benefit. This year’s benefit “Fall Migration Feast” will be held on Saturday, November 6th, 6:00 pm at the Plaza del Lago @ Heron Bay, Parkland, Florida. Come and enjoy some fabulous appetizers, dinner, drinks & mouth watering desserts as you migrate around the world as our wildlife does each Fall.

Meet special guest Donna Davis from Majic 102.7 & live entertainment by the “Coral Springs School of Rock”. Take a chance on winning some great raffle prizes or bid on some wonderful live and silent auction items including vacation get- a-ways to the Caribbean, Sanibel Island, Bahamas, and the Keys or a wild swamp buggy, air boat or canoe trip.

The Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital is a community based nonprofit organization. The center cares for sick, injured and orphaned baby wild birds, mammals and reptiles. It also provides environmental education programs for children and adults.

Tickets are only $75.00 and all funds raised will be used to help fund the wildlife hospital, educational programs and facilities at the Nature Center. For ticket information please call 752-WILD (9453) or stop by the center located at 3000 Sportsplex Dr. (in Sportsplex Park). Come have a “wild” time and support a good cause. Make your reservations today; no tickets will be sold at the door.

To learn more about the center check their web site at www.sawgrassnaturecenter.org, or stop in for a visit; the Center is open Mon- Fri from 9-5, Sat & Sun. from 10-3.

Birds

Rare hummingbirds visit Florida this time of year
Between now and early spring, rare hummingbird species from out West turn up in Florida on their way to their winter homes in the tropics.

Ruby-throated hummingbirds are year-round residents throughout Florida, but many from up North also pass through here on their annual migration to Central America. Floridians who put up hummingbird feeders or grow red or orange tubular flowers may get a glimpse of one of at least nine additional species that have been recorded in Florida, including rufous, black-chinned, Calliope, buff-bellied, broad-billed, broad-tailed, white-eared, Anna’s and Allen’s hummingbirds. There’s also an extremely slim chance they’ll see a rare Bahama woodstar visiting South Florida from the Caribbean.

One rufous hummingbird, banded in Tallahassee last January, was recaptured six months later in Alaska, 3,350 miles away.

The challenge to nature lovers is spotting them. The most common adult hummingbird in Florida is only 3¾ inches long, bill tip to tail tip, and it rarely holds still, darting rapidly from flower to flower. It is smaller than some moths.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has a few tips for residents who’d like to help hummingbirds load up on energy-generating food before they make their journey over the Gulf and to supplement overwintering birds’ diets.

“You can pick up a hummingbird feeder for a few dollars,” said Mark Kiser, coordinator of the FWC’s Great Florida Birding Trail. “Mix a solution of one part white granular sugar and four parts water, bring it to a boil, let it cool and load it into the feeder. Store extra amounts in the refrigerator to have on hand.”

The FWC warns bird lovers not to substitute brown sugar or honey for the sugar. Both can be toxic to hummingbirds.

Some authorities suspect adding red food coloring to the sugar solution may also be harmful to hummers.

“That’s not necessary, anyway,” Kiser said. “Just having red on the feeder is enough to attract hummingbirds.”

FWC biologists say it is extremely important to clean the feeder and fill it with fresh sugar solution at least once a week in the winter and twice a week in the summer to avoid spoilage, which may make the birds sick. Soap and water works if you rinse it well, but a vinegar-and-water solution is better. Rinse and then fill the reservoir half full of hot water, add a splash of vinegar and shake it or scrub with a bottle brush, then rinse. Feeders that easily disassemble are best.

Another way to attract hummingbirds is to plant native vegetation that produces nectar that is part of their natural diet. Kiser recommends firebush, coral honeysuckle, trumpet creeper, cross vine, red buckeye, coral bean, necklace pod, Geiger tree, cardinal flower, Florida flame azalea, butterfly milkweed and standing cypress.

North Florida and Panhandle residents have the best chance of encountering the species from Western states, and South Florida residents are most likely to see the ruby-throated hummingbirds that remain in Florida through the winter, although some Western species also turn up there. Most ruby-throats migrate to Central America until it’s time to head north again next spring.

“It’s always a treat to see a hummingbird, hovering at a feeder or flower,” Kiser said, “and this time of year the variety of species you see makes it even more exciting.”

The FWC publication “Planting a Refuge for Wildlife” offers more tips for attracting wildlife to your yard.

The publication is available for download from the “In Your Backyard” link at MyFWC.com/Viewing.

For answers to questions on hummingbirds, call biologist Mark Kiser, 850-488-9478.

Fall is the Time to See Raptors on the Move
The best time to see hawks, harriers, eagles, and other raptors is during their fall migration, which is in full swing across the country right now.

Raptors tend to fly known routes—which means folks can count on seeing large numbers of them as they head south.

Click here to learn more about raptors and their migrations.

Click here for a list of some of the best sites in the country for hawk watching.

Butterflies Are Migrating Too
Like birds, Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual migrations. Some of these insects travel thousands of miles each fall— all the way to the mountains of central Mexico. It’s an astonishing distance for such fragile creatures.

Yet few people realize that the Monarchs we see in the spring are not necessarily the same ones that fluttered past in the fall.

Click here to get the story of this remarkable journey.

USFWS to review endangered status of wood storks
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said that it will review the "endangered" status of wood storks because of a petition filed by the Florida Home Builders Association.FHBA says the storks' 26-year-old classification is outdated, but an Audubon of Florida representative says the 12-month review raises concerns and that the future of the species should be closely studied.

Wood storks, which have black and white feathers and black scaly skin on their unfeathered heads, can reach a height of nearly four feet tall. They feed on fish in drying wetlands and build their nests in colonies with other wood storks in trees surrounded by water. They use the same colonies for years unless there are disturbances.The Florida Home Builders Association requested the review in a 2009 petition.

FHBA says restrictions on development, permitting and land and water use to protect wood storks are based on the bird's "outdated" classification as endangered since 1984.Changes in South Florida water flow led to declines in wood stork populations from 15,000 to 20,000 breeding pairs during the 1930s to a low of 4,500 to 5,700 from 1977 to 1980.

The birds appear to have adapted to habitat changes in South Florida by expanding their range into Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. A recovery plan for the species calls for 6,000 nesting pairs, an objective that was exceeded from 2001 to 2006, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.Wood storks should be removed from the endangered species list altogether, said Reed Hopper, principal attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento, Calif., representing the Florida Home Builders Association."Until we get universal recognition this species is improved and has improved, we are not going to see any cutbacks in land regulations," Hopper said.Species should not be listed if they have healthy populations, said Julie Wraithmell, wildlife policy coordinator for Audubon of Florida.

But she said the fate of the birds remains uncertain in South Florida, where water problems remain, and in their new range into the Carolinas."We are going to have to look closely at the criteria for down-listing," she said. For more information on the review process, click here.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this project will be priceless! The penguin diet is at risk:
Antarctic penguins are amazing creatures. They have adapted to living in one of the harshest environments on the planet. They are also great Ambassadors for Antarctica.

However, due to increased pressure from climate change and industrial fishing, it is getting more and more difficult for penguins to find Antarctic krill, the shrimp-like organisms that lie at the base of the Antarctic food web and serve as food for whales, penguins, seals, albatrosses, petrels, squid and fish.

Antarctic krill swim in dense "swarms" of hundreds of thousands which can be miles wide. Unfortunately, Antarctic krill are under increasing pressure from industrial fishing - but the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) will soon be making decisions that could save krill populations.

You can help by submitting a photo of yourself to become part of an international photo mosaic of a penguin asking the CCAMLR to protect krill. This mosaic will be delivered to delegates from 25 nations when they meet to decide on how to manage the krill fishery.

Submit your photo now to protect Antarctic krill.

Invasive species

Pythons in the Glades
So far this year 250 snakes have been removed from the Everglades. From2000 to 2010, almost 1,500 pythons have been removed. The annual numberof pythons being removed from the Everglades has increased each year forthe past 10 years.

This means one of two things. Either biologists aregetting better at removing them or the snake’s population is increasingdramatically.

Read More


Lionfish found off Pensacola Beach threatens Florida A beautiful yet venomous lionfish, native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, has been captured on a reef about 16 miles off Pensacola Beach.

It's the first documented lionfish found off the coast of Northwest Florida and the second one confirmed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, although there have been other undocumented sightings, said Eilene Beard, co-owner of Scuba Shack on South Palafox Street.

The 6-inch fish, captured Sept. 9, is residing in a saltwater tank at the downtown dive shop. It has red and white stripes, a tall row of venomous spines and fanlike fins that resemble a lion's mane.

Its discovery is igniting fears that the invasive species is rapidly spreading from the Florida Keys and its population may explode here.

"I'm sure there are more lionfish out there," said Robert Turpin, a marine biologist for Escambia County who captured the fish.

The biggest concern is that the lionfish will decimate recreational and commercial fish populations, including grouper and snapper, said Jon Dodrill, environmental administrator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Marine Fishery Division.

Read the article

Florida Panthers

Read FWC's annual Panther Report

Panther’s outlook both gloomy and optimistic
Florida’s panther population has peaked in the habitat it has left, and federal officials should hasten to create new colonies by moving some of them to new areas, according to two of the most extensive studies undertaken by scientists to date.

“The population has used up all the available habitat,” said Melody Roelke, a scientist who launched a study of panther genetics in the 1980s. “Do nothing and the population will begin a steady slope downward toward extinction.”

Stephen O’Brien, a scientist who joined Roelke in the study recently conducted said “It’s time to start talking about some relocating – that’s the next step we should be discussing.”

But federal officials say they won’t do it, even though they agree that moving some panthers elsewhere is critical to achieving full recovery of the species.

The problem seems to be that moving panthers, even to parts of Florida where they once roamed freely would likely be politically unpopular.

“Due to many factors, including a lack of public awareness and acceptance, reintroduction is not feasible at this time, “said US Fish and Wildlife spokesman Ken Warren, “we don’t have a timetable for reintroduction.”

The two studies, soon to be published in the journal Science and the journal Conservation Biology, include as authors, not only Roelke and O’Brien, but also two state panther biologists, the federal government’s top panther expert and the state’s long-time panther trapper, Roy McBride.

Read more

Florida panthers bound back thanks to Texas mates
In the quest to save the endangered Florida panther, their Texas cousins were the cat's meow.
Wildlife biologists moved eight female panthers from Texas — close relatives yet genetically distinct — into south Florida 15 years ago in hopes of boosting reproduction, and the immigration paid off.

Now scientists have created an astonishingly in-depth family tree of today's panthers to prove the genetic mixing not only left a bigger population but a healthier one — offering support for this type of conservation as biologists struggle save pockets of rare species the world over.
"Our results have shown you can have a positive impact on these endangered populations by doing this genetic restoration," said study co-author David Onorato, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Indeed, many of the world's remaining lions and tigers live in very small groups where inbreeding may threaten their health just like it threatened the Florida panthers, and might benefit from similar "genetic rescues," said Stuart Pimm, a conservation biologist at Duke University. He wasn't part of the new study but has separately tracked the panther program.
"What this remarkable experiment ... has shown is that as long as you don't leave it too late, you can rescue some of these populations," Pimm said.But it's a big decision to try to supplement habitat preservation with moving animals around, he noted.
"Moving panthers isn't easy. Moving lions and tigers is going to be really, really hard," he said.

The study was published in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Thousands of these panthers once roamed the southeastern United States, but their habitat gradually shrank until today. They hang on between Miami and Naples.

By the 1990s, there were only 20 to 25 adults left. The small numbers, cut off from any possible contact with other panther species that roam the West, meant inbreeding that was causing genetic defects: Low testosterone levels, poor sperm quality, holes in the heart, undescended testes, even kinked tails and cowlicks between their shoulders.

In short, they needed fresh blood — and South Floridians already knew the 1995 Texas importation helped. There now are an estimated 100 Florida panthers, still endangered and struggling on shrinking habitat but an important improvement.

The new study for the first time details the genetic diversity that accompanied the population rebound.

Read the article

Endangered Species

Good News for Manatees!
Recently, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) deferred the manatee’s status change from Endangered to Threatened. They also directed their staff to undertake a review of the flawed state classification system for ALL imperiled species.

Citing the need for a better method to estimate the manatee population and the record 417 manatee deaths in 2006, Governor Charlie Crist asked the FWC to reject the status change and the Commissioners complied. ''We need to protect these gentle creatures,'' said Governor Crist in a recent interview with the Miami Herald. An outpouring of support from the public encouraged the governor. FWC staff reported that the governor’s office received over 28,000 messages on manatees and the majority of them were in favor of keeping manatees designated as Endangered.

The commission's decision to defer the manatee's status change followed the release of the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) 2007 Red List of Threatened Species in September. The manatee has been classified as Endangered on the 2007 IUCN Red List, which projects a downward population trend for the aquatic mammals.

The state of Florida modified its classification system in 1999 to incorporate the listing criteria of the IUCN, a world authority on endangered species, except for one critical difference: The FWC did not properly align the IUCN’s risk category definitions with the IUCN’s category names. The IUCN’s “Critically Endangered” category became the FWC’s “Endangered” category, and the IUCN’s “Endangered” category became FWC’s “Threatened” category. If the FWC had adopted the IUCN classification system without modification, the manatee would continue to meet the criteria for "Endangered" status in Florida.

Florida's classification system has been objected to by numerous scientists worldwide, and environmental groups have continually called the listing/delisting rule language greatly flawed. Further, environmentalists point to the state’s own findings that 50% of the statewide manatee population could be lost in the next 45 years from rising threats to its long-term survival.

Patrick Rose, Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club, expressed his deep appreciation to Governor Crist and applauded the Commission for their action. "We don't see this decision as winning or losing," said Rose. "We see this an an opportunity for a lasting solution for manatees and Florida's other imperiled species.

Keep bears in the woods
It’s that time of year again, when Florida black bears prepare for winter by loading up on calories.

“Bears are eating-machines during autumn,” said Dave Telesco, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) bear management coordinator. “From now until sometime in December, most of Florida’s bears will be out foraging for whatever they can find: berries, bugs, acorns and our garbage, if it's available. They'll also devour cat food and dog food if it’s left out in the open.”

This feeding craze is called hyperphagia. Black bears forage for up to 18 hours a day, sometimes consuming 20,000 calories. Black bears are smart: If they can find an easy meal in an unsecured garbage can, they’ll go for it. That’s the main reason black bears wander into neighborhoods. Eating the dog food off the neighbor’s screened porch is going to provide a lot of calories much more quickly than the time it would take to forage for acorns in the woods.

“Bears want to and should be in the wild, where they will find the food they need for the winter months,” Telesco said. “And we’ll be better off without a large, wild animal lingering near our homes.”

Black bears in Florida are generally very shy and secretive animals that have a natural fear of people and prefer to avoid them if possible. They are also large, powerful and unpredictable wild animals capable of injuring or even killing a person under certain conditions. Unfortunately, the lure of human-provided foods reduces their wariness and increases the chances of closer encounters with people. Although the state has not yet experienced an unprovoked or predatory bear attack, there have been several incidents in which people have been bitten or scratched.

“If a bear threatens a person, even while defending cubs, we must place human safety above the bear’s life,” Telesco said. “We have to euthanize bears that show aggressive behavior or that may pose a threat to public safety.”

Conflicts between humans and bears are not unique to Florida; they occur throughout the United States, wherever humans and bears coexist. The FWC helps residents who live in bear country reduce conflicts by recommending practices that discourage bears from lingering in neighborhoods.

“We work with residents to help them understand what attracts bears and how best to secure those attractants so bears will never get them in the first place,” Telesco said.
When all residents comply with these recommendations, bear conflicts decline dramatically and usually go away. Generally, trapping and relocating bears is not a good practice; by policy, the FWC does so only when bears continue to remain around homes, even after all attractants have been removed or secured.

Residents can minimize or eliminate these problems by securing attractants such as garbage in wildlife-resistant containers and by removing or cleaning up other attractants in the yard. If followed, these simple changes can be successful in protecting the health of Florida's diverse wildlife and its residents.

“Conflicts with bears are preventable. The key is to keep bears wild,” Telesco said. “When people follow our recommendations, the bears have no reason to stay in our neighborhoods, and the two can safely co-exist in bear country.”

For more information on wildlife-resistant containers and to find out what you can do to avoid bear conflicts, go to MyFWC.com/Bear. Call your local waste service provider and ask the company to provide the cans that will help keep bears out of your yard.

Florida Keys under threat from Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was set to add another irreplaceable natural wonder to its list of dead and wounded: the Florida Keys. After nearly two months of tense weather watching, Floridians learned the winds and seas would not bring the Gulf oil disaster to the coastline of the lower Florida peninsula and Keys.

“The Keys certainly got a pass on the surface oil,” said Ryan Butts, administrator of The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, FL. “But we were really concerned that the oil would not only directly affect wildlife but would destroy their habitat.”

When news of the oil spill first hit the media, the eight paid Turtle Hospital staffers were shocked and saddened — 11 men killed, probable damage to offshore ecosystems. But when the truth started coming out about the actual amount of oil spewing into the Gulf, the impacts on Gulf wildlife and habitats, and the likelihood of oil reaching the Keys, the Turtle Hospital went into full emergency response mode.

“A lot of the preparations we made were similar to how we’d prepare for a large hurricane heading straight for the Keys,” Butts said.

The Turtle Hospital is located just about midway along the 110-mile chain of islands that make up the Florida Keys. It’s the only licensed veterinary hospital in the world specifically dedicated to saving sick and injured sea turtles, according to Butts. It has a modern operating room for surgeries, a 100,000-gallon tidal pool fed by Florida Bay water, dozens of smaller rehab tanks and pools, two 30,000-gallon emergency pools and two brand new 16-foot-long 1,500-gallon fiberglass tanks purchased with grant money from the Sea Turtle Conservancy, an NWF partner. Funding for the grant came to the Sea Turtle Conservancy from sales of sea turtle automobile license plates throughout Florida.

If oil enters Florida Bay, which lies between the Florida Keys and the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, the 45 turtles living and convalescing in the hospital’s 100,000-gallon tidal pool would have to be moved, about a one-day project if all goes smoothly.

Read the article

Everglades and Water Quality Issues


Arthur M Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife ReserveL-40 Levee and Canal Partial Closing Begins October 1
Beginning October 1, the L-40 Levee and Canal will be closed from Loxahatchee Road north for two miles to boating, hiking, bicycling, and all other public use. The closure, due to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction of a reservoir just east of the Refuge, is scheduled to last 12 months. This project, known as the Site 1 Impoundment Project, will capture and store storm water that would otherwise be lost to tide during dry times and preserve clean water in the Refuge.

Loxahatchee Road itself will remain open. Only the L-40 dike and canal will be closed from around the gate area. Hunters and other visitors can still access the parking area and the marsh except for the canal and levee going north. Informational signs are being developed.

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Algal bloom heads for Marco Island
The intensity of a nontoxic algae bloom off the Collier County coast appears to be diminishing but has spread to Marco Island beaches, county pollution monitors reported today. The bloom of a type of algae called Takayama has been lingering for the past three weeks.

The most recent water samples taken this week show the bloom to be at medium concentrations at Barefoot Beach, low concentrations at Caxambas Pass and at background concentrations at Vanderbilt, Naples Pier and South Marco Beach.Unlike the algae bloom responsible for red tide, the Takayama bloom is not producing toxins, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, which has tested the bloom.

Collier County has received no reports of respiratory irritation or fish kills at the beach.The most obvious effect of the Takayama bloom is a yellow or rust-colored tint to the water, sometimes accompanied by a stringy, mucous-like substance.

U.S. Geological Survey uncovers elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus in waterbodies nationwide
According to a recently released national study by the U.S. Geological Survey, elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus have remained the same or increased in many streams and aquifers across the nation since the early 1990s.

In a statement, USGS Associate Director for Water Matthew Larsen said, “Despite major Federal, State and local efforts and expenditures to control sources and movement of nutrients within our Nation’s watersheds, national-scale progress was not evident in this assessment, which is based on thousands of measurements and hundreds of studies across the country from the 1990′s and early 2000′s.”

On the USGS website, the study is described as a “comprehensive national analysis of nutrients in streams and groundwater from 1992 through 2004.”
From a press release detailing the findings:

USGS findings show that widespread concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus remain two to ten times greater than levels recommended by the EPA to protect aquatic life. Most often, these elevated levels were found in agricultural and urban streams. These findings show that continued reductions in nutrient sources and implementation of land-management strategies for reducing nutrient delivery to streams are needed to meet EPA recommended levels in most regions.

Nutrients occur naturally in water and are needed for plant growth and productive aquatic ecosystems; however, in high concentrations nutrients often result in the growth of large amounts of algae and other nuisance plants in streams, lakes and estuaries. The decay of these plants and algae can cause areas of low dissolved oxygen, known as hypoxic, or “dead,” zones that stress or kill aquatic life. Some forms of algae release toxins that can result in health concerns.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are two well-known culprits behind widespread algal blooms, fish kills and a bizarre foam in the lower St. Johns River basin. The EPA’s numeric nutrient standard criteria, which are still being developed, would establish rules to govern Florida waterbodies like the St. Johns.

The USGS study’s fact sheet seems to support the implementation of a set of stricter criteria to govern waterbodies like the unhealthy St. Johns: “The wide range in biological response to nutrient concentrations supports the need for a regional approach to nutrient criteria and for consideration of local factors related to stream habitat and flow characteristics in the development of these criteria.”

EPA to Reconsider Key Aspect of Construction Stormwater Rule
Nearly a year after finalizing its construction stormwater rule, in response to objections from industry groups, EPA has conceded that the controversial numeric turbidity limit in the rule is flawed. EPA issued the final construction stormwater effluent guidelines rule (the "Rule") in December 2009, for the first time establishing a numeric limit on the turbidity of stormwater discharges from large construction sites and requiring monitoring to ensure compliance with the numeric limit.

The Rule also required nearly all construction sites that obtain stormwater permits after February 1, 2010 to implement a range of erosion and sediment controls and pollution prevention measures. EPA's Rule elicited immediate criticism, including a lawsuit brought by industry groups in the Seventh Circuit, and a petition for administrative review by the Small Business Administration ("SBA") Office of Advocacy. A primary element of these challenges was the claim that EPA's numeric turbidity limit is flawed.

Read the full article »

Big Cypress basin buys land for $2.1 million for new $9 million office
The agency in charge of water management in Collier County is ankle deep in irony - sometimes deeper.

Heavy summer rains flood the Big Cypress Basin's base of operations in the J & C Industrial Park north of Pine Ridge Road. That quirk is one of the reasons the Basin, the local arm of the South Florida Water Management District, is moving its field station after 20-plus years on Janes Lane.

The district's governing board recently approved the basin's plans to spend $2.1 million of basin taxpayer money to buy 5 acres in the City Gate Commerce Center, east of Collier Boulevard and north of Interstate 75.

The basin has budgeted $9 million to open a field station there by 2013. ...more...

EPA head to explain Everglades cleanup delays
The top boss of a federal environmental agency will have to show up in a Miami federal
courtroom to explain delays to clean up the Everglades. Five months ago, U.S. District Judge Alan Gold ordered environmental officials to show up in court.

The Miami Herald reports that the judge reaffirmed his order on Tuesday, rejecting a request from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide a substitute.The EPA argued that someone else oversaw the cleanup efforts, not Administrator Lisa Jackson who was too busy to make the Oct. 7 hearing.

The judge said the EPA had not "demonstrated any showing of a matter of national importance, issue, or great significance to preclude" Jackson's attendance.An EPA spokeswoman says they're working with the Department of Justice to respond to the order.

Read more

Top environmental official appeals U.S. judge's order that she testify in Everglades cleanup case
The nation's top environmental official is appealing a federal judge's order that she appear in his Miami courtroom to attest to the EPA's intention to enforce anti-pollution law to cleanse the Everglades.

Lawyers for EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson say the hearing scheduled by U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold, on Oct. 7, comes the day before she leaves for China. The agency filed papers in a federal appeals court Sept. 22, saying it would appeal Judge Gold's order. The case is now stayed until the appeals court issues its ruling.

The filing is the second effort by Jackson this month to be excused from testifying.In a 48-page ruling in April, Gold demanded that she appear in October to explain how the agency will enforce the Clean Water Act in the Everglades, after "failure to comply with the law for more than two decades."

On Sept. 9 the agency filed a motion seeking to allow another top administrator to appear in her place. "The demands of the Administrator's schedule, including travel to Asia as part of an official government delegation beginning Oct. 8, would create a hardship for her to prepare for and attending the hearing on Oct. 7," according the court papers filed by the agency.

Gold quickly shot down that request in a hearing Sept. 17. "I understand that ther
e is a lot to be done in Washington, but the Everglades issues have been recognized as one of great national concern," Gold said. "I am committed to the course that I have adopted here without deviation and I expect those I order to be here."

...more...

St. Lucie discusses ban on lawn fertilizers in summer near waterways
A battle over whether to ban using lawn fertilizer near rivers, streams and ponds for four months in unincorporated areas of St. Lucie County is shaping up thanks to a new state law that requires local governments to regulate fertilizer use.

By the end of this year, new county rules could mean local residents and businesses near bodies of water have to change the way they keep their lawns, trees, bushes and ground cover growing and looking green. The fertilizer ban would be from June 1 to Sept. 30. Rules for fertilizing flowering plants and vegetables wouldn’t change.

Environmentalists say the ban is necessary to protect fish and plants in our waterways.The County Commission hopes to have a new law in place by Dec. 31, according to Assistant County Attorney Heather Leuke, who drafted versions of the new rules both with and without a four-month ban.

“The County Commission is still deciding what to do,” said Anita Neal, director of St. Lucie County Cooperative Extension, which provides agricultural information services to residents and businesses.

Commissioners asked residents to provide Leuke with scientific data that supports or refutes the need for the four-month ban. Leuke said she is still collecting the information, which will be analyzed and presented to the commission in the next few months.

Several environmental groups told the St. Lucie County Commission in August that almost all uses of lawn fertilizer near rivers, streams, canals, lakes and ponds should be banned for four months each year to prevent fish kills, overgrowth of marine vegetation, and general deterioration of water quality.

Read more

Private water storage, treatment project proposed for Indian River, Okeechobee
A major citrus grower proposed Wednesday a commercial venture to build what had been a proposed public project: a reservoir and storm water treatment facility in the area where St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties meet.

Fort Pierce attorney Michael D. Minton said Evans Properties Inc., a Dade City agriculture company with property throughout the Treasure Coast, is proposing to build a 3,200-acre reservoir in the northeast corner of Okeechobee County and an adjacent 2,500-acre storm water treatment area in southwest Indian River County that could produce, and sell, about 57 million gallons of water a day.

The proposal is based on the reservoir and storm water treatment area for the watershed in northwest St. Lucie County drained by the C-25 canal that has been planned by the South Florida Water Management District as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

The CERP project is designed primarily to clean agricultural run-off water before it enters the Indian River Lagoon. Minton said the Evans proposal would reduce the influx of dirty water into the lagoon by 55 percent.

Noting that the C-25 project has been on the drawing board for 10 years awaiting state and federal funding, Minton said, “If we were to wait on the state-and-federal partnership to get these projects built, it could take at least 20 to 30 years. We don’t have a set timetable for construction, but we can get it done well in advance of that.”

The project would allow water captured in the South Florida Water Management District, which often has too much water, to flow north into the thirstier St. Johns River Water Management District. “There are communities not far from here contemplating spending a billion dollars on desalinization plants,” Minton said, “when we have all this water that’s going out (to the lagoon).”

Minton said Evans Properties is in the process of forming Evans Utilities Co. in order to sell water under Florida Public Service Commission regulations.

Kevin Powers of Stuart, the Treasure Coast representative on the South Florida Water Management District board, said the proposal was worthy of more study.

“Anytime the private sector wants to step forward in a project that’s in the public’s best interest, I’m going to listen,” Powers said, “but I’m not on board yet. This proposal is still in its early stages, and I still want to see more specifics on how this would affect other utilities. I want to avoid overlap in services.”

Support for rivers in America's Great Outdoors initiative!
Time is running out to provide the Obama Administration input on its America's Great Outdoors Initiative. As most of you know, the Administration has called this its signature environmental initiative, so we're asking for bold action. Public comments are due September 30th!

We'd love your support in getting your members to submit comments in support of making rivers a central focus of the imitative. We've attached a sample e-mail action alert and a sample blog post. Let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your help and please feel free to contact me with any questions!
Regards,
Fay

blog call to action.rtf sample email to supporters.doc
Fay Augustyn
Conservation Assistant
American Rivers
1101 14th St. NW, Suite 1400
Washington, DC 20005-5637202.347.7550 ext. 3069
faugustyn@americanrivers.org

Share your favorite river photos with us at www.AmericanRivers.org/photoupload.


U.S. Sugar files lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Sugar has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alleging the Corps failed to turn over public records the company requested over a year ago under the Freedom of Information Act.

Although attorneys for the company declined to comment on the lawsuit filed on Sept. 11, many of the documents in the company's request, filed on Aug. 4, 2009, pertain to rock mining in the Everglades Agricultural Area, especially at the Lake Harbor Quarry

Read more....

Everglades restoration remains 'slow,' according to federal review
Everglades restoration remains slow and may require "tradeoffs" between water quality and water quantity in the decades-long effort to save Florida's fading River of Grass, according to a report to Congress released on Thursday.

Researchers for the National Research Council acknowledged tangible but slow progress during the past two years in efforts to restore the Everglades, which are suffering from decades of draining and pollution as the result of farms and development spreading across former wetlands.The progress included long-overdue federal funding coming through to help with construction of four projects, including work beginning to raise a one-mile section of the Tamiami Trail to allow more water to flow south to Everglades National Park.

Read the article


Global Warming and Climate Change

Atlantic Rising
Atlantic Rising is a charity on a 32,000 mile journey circumnavigating the Atlantic overland along the 1m contour line. This is the level scientists predict sea levels may reach in the next 100 years.

Along the way we are creating an educational network between 15,000 students in low-lying coastal communities. Through our photography, films and writing, we are also documenting what will be lost if these predictions come true.

We don't claim to have all the solutions to stop sea levels from rising. But we hope our work will help the next generation understand their responsibility to each other to build a sustainable future.

Visit http://www.atlanticrising.org/

Offshore & Ocean

Attack Survivors Ask the UN to Save Sharks
MIAMI, Fla. - Of the 70 or so shark attacks worldwide last year, 19 took place in Florida waters. Now, survivors from Florida and around the world are in New York, calling on the United Nations to protect the fish that attacked them. They want the U.N. to ban hunting of shark species that are threatened with extinction, and put limits on all shark hunting through a Sustainable Fisheries resolution being considered.

Read the article


Energy

Enbridge gets OK to restart pipeline
The Enbridge Inc. pipeline running from Griffith, Ind. to Sarnia, Ontario has written permission from federal regulators to restart Monday.

Enbridge did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press about whether the pipeline had restarted.

The pipeline has been shut down since the company reported a massive oil leak July 26. An estimated 820,000 to 1 million gallons spilled near Marshall, Mich. and polluted the Kalamazoo River.

The pipeline will restart at lower pressure and with increased monitoring. Enbridge also has agreed to make several repairs.


FPL clears the way for cleaner burning power plant in Cape Canaveral
In August at Cape Canaveral, FPL cleared the way for a new Next Generation Clean Energy Center. Opening in 2013, the new center will use about 33 percent less fuel per megawatt of power generated and emit 50 percent less carbon dioxide... but first the old plant had to taken down.

Watch the demolition »

Senate rejects Nelson amendment, oil industry applauds
The Senate today rejected an amendment to the small business bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., that would have excluded much of the oil and gas industry from a key manufacturing tax deduction. The amendment centered on tax reporting in the health care bill and would have been paid for with the exclusion from the tax deduction.

The oil industry, which has been lobbying against the amendment, praised the rejection today. In a statement, American Petroleum Institute Tax Manager Stephen Comstock said:
We are pleased the Senate failed to approve this shortsighted amendment that sought to unfairly repeal a job-creating tax provision for a handful of oil and natural gas companies. Had it passed, the provision would have raised taxes and killed jobs, something the nation cannot afford, especially when so many Americans are out of work.

On a conference call earlier today with reporters, API President Jack Gerard said passage of the amendment would “put some $127 billion in energy development investments at risk between 2011-2020.” Gerard said that such a reduction in investment would threaten thousands of jobs.


Enbridge pipeline shut down after possible NY leak
Associated Press • September 14, 2010 A 91-mile oil Enbridge Inc. pipeline that runs from Ontario to New York has been shut down following the discovery of a potential low-level leak near Buffalo.

The company that owns the 12-inch pipeline says about a gallon of a petroleum-based product was discovered when the line was exposed during a sewer installation project Monday.

Enbridge also owns a pipeline that leaked near Chicago last week and one from Indiana to Ontario that ruptured in Michigan in July.

Spokesman Glenn Herchak says Enbridge staff was on site when the potential leak was discovered near Interstate 190 in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga.
He says the 70,000-barrel-a-day line was shut down as a precaution.

Land Conservation

Fla. delays giving nearly 30,000 acres to feds
The Florida Cabinet on Tuesday delayed action on a proposed transfer of 29,412 acres in Big Cypress National Preserve to the federal government after state Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson raised concerns about management of the land.Big Cypress National Preserve is part of the Everglades and covers 729,000 acres in southwest Florida.

After Congress established the initial preserve of 540,000 acres in 1974, the state agreed to donate state-owned lands within Big Cypress to the National Park Service. An additional 179,000 acres were added in 1988, including more than 29,000 acres of state land.

But Bronson said the Cabinet should wait until preserve officials complete a management plan for the 179,000 acres, including the state-owned property.Bronson said he's concerned that the additional property will be designated as a "wilderness." He said that means mechanical equipment would not be allowed, preventing adequate control of wildfires and removal of exotic plant species. That would harm surrounding private land, he said.

"Non-native invasive species are killing our environment," Bronson said. "They are absolutely destroying native species, and those have to be put under control as best as they can before we lose this whole fight.

"The state is working closely with the agency and must approve the transfer before an environmental site assessment for the property expires in December, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mimi Drew said."We are quite anxious," she said. "It is a great environmental project. It is a great project that unites all of the agencies."Bronson also raised concerns about whether hunting will be allowed within the addition. He said he couldn't vote on the transfer until he has seen a final management plan."I think what the commissioner has asked is fairly reasonable," Attorney General Bill McCollum said. Representatives of The Nature Conservancy and Audubon of Florida urged the Cabinet to take action.

The groups also want the state to use $4 million it will receive from the National State Park Service for the Big Cypress property to buy other land through the Florida Forever program.

"The reality is the management plan and conveyance (transfer) is two different issues," said Julie Wraithmell, wildlife policy coordinator for Audubon of Florida.McCollum made a motion to delay action at least until National Park Service officials can speak to the Cabinet.

"I have no problem bringing it back, but there is no assurance you will get my vote," McCollum told Drew.

A spokesman for Big Cypress National Preserve said the agency will allow for the control of exotic species within the proposed addition. He said preserve officials plan to be present at the next Cabinet meeting to address the issues raised."When we have the opportunity to address their questions directly, we feel confident their concerns will be alleviated," said Bob DeGross, preserve spokesman.

Citrus growers cautiously looking at replanting more acres
Abandoned citrus acreage in the Treasure Coast continued to increase in the past year, but area growers say the trend has “plateaued.”

Martin County, second to St. Lucie County in total abandoned acreage, had the largest increase in 2010, from 14,827 to 17,541 acres, a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Service shows.

Abandoned citrus acres in St. Lucie County increased from 27,355 to 27,869, while Indian River County decreased from 13,234 to 12,071.

The 56,809 abandoned citrus acres in the Treasure Coast is a 3 percent increase from a year ago and represents 41 percent of the statewide total of 138,516 acres.
Citrus groves in the Treasure Coast produced 6.4 percent of Florida’s orange crop last season, but 72 percent of the grapefruit. Most of the grapefruit is shipped to Europe and Asia.

The USDA defines a grove as abandoned when the following conditions exist: no production care or commercial harvest for two years, no weed control or grass mowing, presence of livestock, weather damage or neglected trees.
Doug Bournique, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League, said he sees signs the trend is reversing.

At the Citrus Crop Estimate Advisory Committee meeting last week in Lake Wales, “everybody I chatted with feels we’ve hit bottom” in the acreage growers have abandoned, Bournique said.

“For the first time since the 1980s you’re seeing some growers in the Indian River District starting to replant, especially some new varieties,” Bournique said.
Packers of Indian River, in Fort Pierce, is one of the grapefruit growers replanting previously abandoned acres.

President Mike Garavaglia said the company has nearly 5,000 acres in production and is three years into a 10-year plan to replant 1,500 acres.

“It’s not an aggressive replanting, but a cautious approach to test the water,” Garavaglia said. “You can wait on science to develop strains resistant to diseases or you could be out of business by then.”

Babcock Ranch Preserve Recreation Master Plan - A Guide to Recreation OpportunitiesThe Recreation Master Plan for the Babcock Ranch Preserve is complete and has been posted on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website. The link to the Babcock Ranch Preserve site is as follows:
http://myfwc.com/RECREATION/WMASites_BabcockRanchPreserve_index.htm

Scroll down to the bottom of the web page for the link to the master plan.

Miscellaneous

Caloosahatchee River rich in history, characters and lore

There are mammoth bones in its bed, giant shark teeth, tiger ribs — souvenirs of its wild youth. Dolphin and manatees frolic and feed in its warm water; monster bass lurk in its quiet oxbows and alligators sun on its banks.

Flowing 75 westerly miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caloosahatchee River is full of quirk and paradox, yet critical to the region ittraverses.

The fate of Lee’s $2.6 billion tourism industry, as well as commercial and recreational fishing, is dependent on it. Yet the Caloosahatchee’s health is uncertain. The troubles that plague it range from fish kills to fecal bacteria, trash to toxic algae.

Without its waters, what people today know as Southwest Florida would not exist.Without people, though, the river known as the Caloosahatchee wouldn’t exist either.

Read the article

Fakahatchee BoardwalkThe boardwalk at Weaver’s Station, on the Tamiami Trail about 7 miles west of SR-29, was built in the late 1960s by Naples philanthropist Lester Norris so that it would “make accessible to the public acres of rare floral plants and stands of cypress trees estimated byconservationists to be over 700 years old.” He later sold the property to the Florida Park Service.

The Friends of Fakahatchee have started a campaign to expand and improve the facility. Up to 10,000 visitors per month tromp the boards during the winter season causing human traffic jams as they walk to and fro on the ½-mile trek. There is inadequateparking, as witnessed by the cars strung out along the highway.

Plans for the Boardwalk Expansion include better parking, permanent toilets, and informational display areas but the first priority is to rebuild the 50-year-old structure.
For info, see the Friends’ website www.orchidswamp.org and click on “About the Boardwalk” or phone 695-2905. http://www.evergladesmulletrapper.com/pdfs/full_issue.pdf

Here is yet another wake up call as to the potential dangers of genetically engineered trees.
In the US, research is being done to develop genetically engineered insect resistant pines, poplars and other trees. These trees have been found to exude the Bt toxin through their roots into the soil. Forests have a much more delicate and intricate relationship with water than corn fields. For this reason, the escape of the Bt trait from GE pines and poplars into wild forests, and hence, into watersheds, is a serious concern when looking at the proposed future commercial release of GE insect-resistant trees. But even if these trees didn't escape into native forests (which GE tree researchers admit is inevitable), the BT tree plantations themselves threaten to contaminate water sources.

[This is one more reason that we need to be outright ban on GE trees.]

Also, in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cary Institute aquatic ecologist Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall and colleagues report that streams throughout the Midwestern Corn Belt are receiving insecticidal proteins that originate from adjacent genetically modified crops.

The protein enters streams through runoff and when corn leaves, stalks, and plant parts are washed into stream channels.Genetically-modified plants are a mainstay of large-scale agriculture in the American Midwest, where corn is a dominant crop.

In 2009, more than 85% of U.S. corn crops were genetically modified to repel pests and/or resist herbicide exposure. Corn engineered to release an insecticide that wards off the European corn borer, commonly referred to as Bt corn, comprised 63% of crops.


The tissue of these plants has been modified to express insecticidal proteins, one of which is commonly known as Cry1Ab.

To read the complete article click here.