"We must build a peace in South Florida - a peace between the people and their place, between the natural environment and man-made settlement, between the works of man and the life of mankind itself."
Florida Gov. Reubin Askew
Read Audubon of Florida's online publications:
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Florida Raptor News
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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's "Feathers and Friends" Gala 2011 Support your swamp! Please join Collier County Audubon Society and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary at their 2011 "Feathers and Friends" Gala. The event will be held on Thursday, February 11th at 6pm - $125 per person - at the Hilton Hotel in Naples. This year's featured guest speaker is author Randy Wayne White. For a biography of the author and details on how you can attend this unique event, please download our invitation here. You can also learn more about this event at collieraudubon.org and corkscrew.audubon.org. We're looking forward to seeing you there!
Arthur R. Marshall Foundation's sixth annual 'River of Grass Gala' Nancy Marshall, president of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, which champions the restoration and preservation of the greater Everglades ecosystem, recently welcomed more than 200 community leaders and eco-fans at the nonprofit organization's sixth annual "River of Grass Gala."
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the third annual Champion of the Everglades Awards to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, community and environmental activist Bobbi Horwich, and the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties.
"The Marshall Foundation is proud to spotlight individuals and organizations that have made an outstanding contribution toward Everglades restoration over many years," said Nancy Marshall. "Individually, each of our three Champions of the Everglades continue to inspire us for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of the 'river of grass.' But collectively, they have been instrumental in forging both popular and governmental support for reviving, restoring and preserving one of America's greatest natural treasures."
Senator Nelson's award was presented to him by John Marshall, board chairman of the Marshall Foundation, while the nonprofit organization's executive director Josette Kaufman presented the award for an organization to Leslie Lilly, CEO of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Nancy Marshall and Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria, the recipient of the award last year, gave the Champion of the Everglades Award for an individual to Bobbi Horwich.
Held at the Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach, the gala was chaired by longtime Marshall Foundation supporter Roberta Drey with Palm Beachers Jane Cummings, Joyce McLendon and Sydelle Meyer serving as honorary chairs. Entertainment was provided by the Palm Beach Public Orchestral Strings under the direction of Andrew Matzkow, plus Jimmy Falzone & the Meercats.
For more information about the Marshall Foundation call 561-805-8733 or visit http://www.artmarshall.com/
Herschel Vinyard to head FDEP In his continued focus on protecting the natural resources of Florida, while creating the best possible mechanisms for job creation in the state, Governor-elect Rick Scott today appointed Herschel Vinyard as Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.
The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate and the Florida Cabinet.
Vinyard, who also served as a member of Scott's Economic Development Transition Team, has a deep background in environmental compliance and innovation, having practiced environmental law for nearly a decade, while more recently serving as director of business operation for BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards. This mix of legal expertise and service with a major Florida employer positions Vinyard to uniquely understand the need for strong environmental protection while ensuring that government and business find new ways to partner in growing the Florida economy.
"Herschel is a man of deep environmental knowledge and practical business experience. He has a love for our great state's natural resources and a passion for job creation. He will effectively balance those interests for the benefit of all Floridians. We are fortunate to have recruited Herschel from the private sector into government service," Scott said.
As an example of Vinyard's focus on environmental responsibility and effective business practices, he provided counsel to BAE Systems in their recent, successful efforts to remove its treated wastewater outfall from the St. Johns River. That wastewater is now being used for irrigation purposes and eliminates a discharge to one of Florida's most significant water bodies.
In addition, Vinyard led his company's three-year effort to obtain state approval for a sovereign submerged lands lease. His experience in this complex regulatory proceeding provided Vinyard with new insights on the challenges businesses face in the permitting process and the need to provide a more efficient and streamlined mechanism to meet environmental requirements.
"Good environmental practices make good business sense. Not only can such stewardship better protect the resources around us, they often save money and lead to new innovation. Herschel has been on the front lines of such efforts and will ensure that Florida leads the nation in new partnerships between government and industry that save money, streamline processes and create jobs," Scott said.
During his practice at one of Florida's most well-respected law firms, Vinyard represented numerous clients in a myriad of complex environmental matters. His expertise includes the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act and liability issues associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, as well as Florida's statutory counterparts in Chapter 376 and 403. He is also a past chair of the environmental and land use law section of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
Vinyard is involved in a number of volunteer efforts associated with conservation and environmental protection. As an advisory committee member of the Northeast Florida chapter of the Trust for Public Lands, Vinyard helped develop a strategy to identify and acquire sensitive environmental lands. He serves on the Florida DEP's Lower St. Johns River TMDL Executive Committee to assist in the development of a basin management action plan for that water body.
Vinyard has more than twenty years of experience in environmental law and business management. In his current role as director of business operations at BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards, Vinyard is responsible for strategic planning, business development and regulatory and government affairs. BAE is the world's second largest defense contractor. He also serves on a number of professional and civic associations that draw upon his expertise in environmental and complex business practices. This includes board service on the Jacksonville Port Authority, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Manufactures Association of Florida. During his decade in private practice at Smith, Hulsey and Busey, Vinyard counseled clients in state and federal environmental compliance and permitting, was heavily involved in the siting of an electrical cogenerating facility and assisted in industry waste minimization efforts. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Louisiana State University.
EVCO Conference
[I apologize for not attending the EVCO conference this year. I had fully intended to and had registered for the entire conference, but I contracted a cold/flu-like illness that I am told was viral in nature and I had no wish to infect the attendees. I will report information from other sources]
Everglades Coalition Releases 2011 Restoration Priorities at 26th Annual Conference
- Adequate funding.
- Continued land acquisition.
- Adherence to water quality standards.
For those who support the restoration of America's Everglades and believe the old adage that good things happen in threes, then the Everglades Coalition's trifecta of key priorities for 2011 adds new wrinkles in efforts to save one of the world's last great places.
At its 26th annual conference, Renewal of Life for the Everglades: Moving Forward Together, the Everglades Coalition shared its vision and priorities for 2011. Consistent with this year's Conference theme, these goals focus on protecting wildlife and establishing new partnerships dedicated to advance Everglades restoration. This year's conference is hosted by Defenders of Wildlife, Florida Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation.
"Over the past year, we saw unprecedented progress on Everglades restoration and the creation of hundreds of construction jobs in Florida," said Julie Hill-Gabriel, National Co-Chair for the Coalition. "These projects are coming online at a time when it makes sense to 'buy straw hats in winter,' which means they now cost less and dollars go further. In 2011, Congressional approval for critical projects through a Water Resources Development Act and support for the Tamiami Trail Next Steps are essential, while securing vital state and federal funding."
"Our conference mission is to motivate Everglades advocates everywhere and get them excited about becoming part of the process to save the River of Grass," said Mark Perry, State Co-Chair for the Everglades Coalition. "The Coalition wants everyone within a mobile phone call or computer keystroke of a state or federal lawmaker to support these Everglades ecosystem initiatives and understand that the economic return on investment from restoration is a strong argument in making the political case for continued funding."
Graham sees obstacles ahead for the Everglades Former Sen. Bob Graham told a group of environmentalists at an Everglades Coalition conference Saturday that recent efforts to secure funds and create awareness for restoration of Florida's River of Grass were commendable.
But challenges in the near future are expected, with a new administration in Tallahassee and changes on Capitol Hill, Graham said.
"We are going to have a challenging time in terms of getting adequate resources for the Everglades, and we are going to have a collective responsibility to develop a strategy to get those new leaders educated about the Everglades," Graham said.
Graham said Florida's primary economic issue was saving the Everglades, which supplies water for a large percentage of the state's residents and provides hundreds of jobs through some restoration projects already in place.
Funding from the federal government is key, he said, cautioning environmentalists to correct anyone who labels Everglades funding as an earmark.
"If anybody says Everglades and earmark in the same sentence, it is our responsibility to tell them, 'You don't know what the hell you are talking about,' " Graham added.
At the conference, an event he helped create in 1986, Graham also talked about his work with the commission created by President Obama to study the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
He said changes in energy policy were needed to create a sustainable economy.
Graham added that he was meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott Friday to discuss the spill.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we had an opportunity to talk about some broader issues," he told the crowd.
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Gulf Oil Spill the Subject of Upcoming Exhibition at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Don't miss Lea Nickless' "Water & Oil" exhibition, which will be showing at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood's galleries Saturday, Jan. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 20.
The works presented in "Water & Oil" are a meditation on the environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. In this series, artist Nickless floated oil pigment on water to create work oddly reminiscent of NASA satellite imagery of the area focusing on the unseen damage, the loss of microscopic creatures. In another series, portraits of diatoms, the most abundant form of phytoplankton and the foundation of the oceanic food chain, are rendered in white ink on tarpaper.
The opening reception for this exhibition takes place on Friday, Jan. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Center, 1650 Harrison Street. All non-members will be charged $10 for the opening night reception, while members are free.
The Center's gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m. Free parking is available at the Center, which is located at 1650 Harrison St. General admission is $7 for adults; $4 for students, seniors, and children ages 4 to 17; and free to Center members as well as to children age 3 and under. For more information, call 954.921.3274 or visit ArtandCultureCenter.org.
Everglades Birding Festival January 12-17, 2011 Search Everglades National Park, Corkscrew Swamp, Upper Keys, Stormwater Treatment Area 5, Green Cay, South Dade, Key Biscayne and much more for rare and life birds such as Limpkin, Snail Kite, Smooth-billed Ani, Burrowing Owl, Common Myna and Purple Gallinule. We will be featuring top expert Kevin Karlson for a Keynote speech, shorebird workshop and field trips. This festival specializes in full day field trips, daily field workshop, speakers, special dinners and birding fun. Focus will be on gaining advanced birding skills in a non-intimidating environment. For more information view www.evergladesbirdingfestival.com/ and contact Paddy Cunningham at (954) 805-6810.
Everglades Park protects Wood Stork off Paurotis Pond Bird-watchers in search of the endangered Wood Stork are going to have to stick to the parking lot of Paurotis Pond, in Florida Bay.
Everglades National Park announced the pond's seasonal closure to include the area beyond the parking area adjacent to the pond in its continuing effort to protect the Wood Stork and all nesting birds ``from human disturbance.''
``This closure will be in effect through nesting season which can vary in length depending on bird behavior,'' a park announcement said.
``If you're a bird-watcher, this is a particularly good time of year to watch these wonderful creatures in the nesting process,'' it added, reminding people to stick to the parking lot.
Wading birds through the Everglades gather each winter at traditional nesting sites and form colonies that can contain hundreds or thousands of nesting birds.
Paurotis Pond, located in the heart of the Glades, is one such site, and birders have estimated that there were approximately 400 pairs of the federally endangered Wood Stork.
Other species nesting there include the Great Egret, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron and Anhinga.
Fewer nests this year Some of the Everglades' most common wading birds, including the usually numerous white ibis, nested far less this year compared with 2009, and scientists at the South Florida Water Management District say changes in weather patterns similar to the cold front sweeping through South Florida this month are to blame.
According to the South Florida Wading Bird Report released early this month, only 21,885 nests were detected in South Florida, a 72 percent decrease from last year's more than 77,000 nests, and 52 percent less than the average over the past 10 years.
The white ibis, down 79 percent in nesting, wood storks (down 75 percent) and great egrets (down 65 percent) were among the species with least successful nestings. Roseate spoonbills, down 26 percent, had the lowest nesting numbers since record-keeping for the species began, according to the report.
A series of cold fronts that produced freezing weather early this year, as well as heavy rains and changes in water levels, made nesting difficult for wading birds, said Garth Redfield, chief scientist at the water district's Restoration Sciences Department.
Cold weather forces birds' metabolism to work harder to burn more energy, Redfield said. The added work, combined with undesirable water levels, creates a stressful environment for birds.
"It's a double whammy to have bad water conditions and bad weather conditions," Redfield said.
Nesting Time Bird-watchers in search of the endangered Wood Stork are going to have to stick to the parking lot of Paurotis Pond, in Florida Bay. Everglades National Park announced the pond's seasonal closure to include the area beyond the parking area adjacent to the pond in its continuing effort to protect the Wood Stork and all nesting birds ``from human disturbance.''
``This closure will be in effect through nesting season which can vary in length depending on bird behavior,'' a park announcement said.
``If you're a bird-watcher, this is a particularly good time of year to watch these wonderful creatures in the nesting process,'' it added, reminding people to stick to the parking lot.
Wading birds gather each winter at traditional nesting sites in the Everglades and form colonies that can contain hundreds or thousands of nesting birds.
Paurotis Pond, located in the heart of the Glades, is one such site, and birders have estimated that there were approximately 400 pairs of the federally endangered Wood Stork.
Other species nesting there include the Great Egret, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron and Anhinga.
For additional information, contact park staff at 305-242-7700.
Florida marine conservationists have come up with a simple recipe for fighting the invading lionfish that is gobbling up local reef life -- eat them. The Key Largo-based REEF conservation organization has just released "The Lionfish Cookbook," a collection of 45 recipes which is the group's latest strategy to counter an invasion of the non-native reddish brown-striped fish in Florida waters.
"It's absolutely good eating -- a delicacy. It's delicately flavored white meat, very buttery," Lad Akins, director of special projects for Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), told Reuters. He authored the cookbook along with a professional chef, Tricia Ferguson.
Red lionfish, a prickly predator armed with flaring venomous spines like a lion's mane that give them their name, are native to the South Pacific, Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
With few natural predators, they have been rapidly expanding in Caribbean and Atlantic waters, voraciously preying on local fish, shrimp and crab populations across the region and in Florida, which has world-famous coral reefs.
Some scientists are now listing the invasive lionfish species among the top 15 threats to global biodiversity.
While REEF has organized local fishing "derbies" to hunt the lionfish, including handling tips and tasting sessions, Akins said making humans the invading species' top predator was the best way to fight back against the threat it posed.
"Fishermen and divers realize it's a danger to our native marine life, through its predation. But there really aren't government funds to provide bounties or removal programs. So creating a demand for the fish, a market for the fish, is in effect a de facto bounty," he told Reuters.
U.S. government researchers believe the red lionfish was introduced into Florida waters during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 when an aquarium broke and at least six fish spilled into Miami's Biscayne Bay.
Second cold winter in a row increases pressure on non-native species in South Florida Green iguanas are enduring another rough cold season in South Florida, after last winter's frigid temperatures wiped out entire colonies of the non-native lizards and reduced the populations of other exotic species.
Iguanas, known for transforming ornamental plants into blobs of iguana waste on waterfront patios, have vanished from many neighborhoods. Dead Burmese pythons have turned up in the Everglades, fewer than last year, but evidence that the cold is still claiming victims. A recent search for African rock pythons, which had established themselves in western Miami-Dade County, failed to turn up any.
But few experts expect the succession of cold winters to eradicate species that have firmly established themselves, arriving as refugees from the exotic pet trade that either escaped or were released into the wild. The iguana, among the most visible of these species, with a length of up to five feet and a fondness for urban neighborhoods, has disappeared from some areas but still is found in others.
"Certain canals in Broward and Palm Beach counties still have very good populations of iguanas, and in other canals they're completely wiped out," said Jennifer Ketterlin, non-native wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "We have a few anecdotal reports of people saying 'I have a few frozen iguanas in my yard.' But there are a few little pockets where the microclimate was good enough for them to survive."
A popular exotic pet from Central and South America, the green iguana appeared in Miami-Dade County in 1966, spread south to Monroe County 1995 and north to Broward County in 2001. It first appeared in Palm Beach County in 2003.
Yet more news from the genetically engineered trees front: Scientists and industry are bound and determined to push ahead with dangerous technologies such as changing the lignin content in plants and trees.
Lignin is the substance in tree and other plant cell walls that protects them from insects, disease, animal browsing, wind and other environmental stresses. Once again no attention is being paid to the threats to forests and the environment should these technologies escape into the wild. Based on their track record of "accidental" GMO escapes, there is a high certainty that this disaster could happen.
The timber and GE trees industries are especially excited to begin commercially developing low lignin plants for paper and biofuel production. This could present a very serious threat to native forests and other vegetation.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is unveiling a controversial plan to remove exotic predators, including snakes, rats and especially cats, from the Florida Keys national refuges. The new predator management plan at the National Key Deer Refuge will help native species, including this endangered Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit.
Over the past century, as developers of the Florida Keys gobbled up pristine real estate, the federal government created four refuges along the island chain to protect wildlife and preserve habitat.
But in the safe havens for nature, not all creatures are welcome.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wants to remove all nonnative predators. On Monday, after several heated public meetings with animal advocates, the federal agency will unveil a 44-page draft plan on how it recommends it should do so.
The compromise plan includes live trapping and some euthanization.
``It's a real controversial thing -- some people believe every animal has a right to live,'' said Anne Morkill, manager of the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge Complex that encompasses the Key Deer, Key West, Great White Heron and Crocodile Lake preserves.
The refuges' unwanted are a hodgepodge of exotic and abandoned intruders: Virginia opossums, nine-banded armadillos, common boa constrictors, Burmese pythons, Gambian pouch rats, black rats, green iguanas, the Nile Monitor, black spiny-tailed iguana, imported red fire ants, and especially, free-roaming cats.
Refuge biologists say these nonnative predators are messing up the natural ecosystem and ``posing a grave danger'' to the native species, which include 30 protected by the Endangered Species Act and some found nowhere else in the world.
The native animals and birds of the island chain already have been dealing with a greatly reduced habitat due to development that came with Henry Flagler's railroad and a booming tourist trade.
``We don't want to further make it harder for all the critters to make their living by this uncontrolled experiment of nonnative species,'' National Key Deer Refuge biologist Chad Anderson said. ``We're just trying to even the natural playing field.''
Major report proposes corridors connecting Florida panther & bear habitat On January 4, 2011, the Babcock Ranch Steering Committee released a comprehensive report, four years in the making, on wildlife corridor protection for panthers, black bears and other endangered species in southwest and south central Florida. It provides clear direction and options on how environmentalists, landowners and state, local and federal officials can reach common ground to preserve and protect wildlife habitat and farmland in southwest and south central Florida. Included in the report are a study and detailed maps of proposed wildlife corridors prepared by two leading Florida wildlife biologists, Reed Noss, Ph.D. (University of Central Florida) and Tom Hoctor, Ph.D. (University of Florida). Here's a link to the full report:
http://www.babcockranchflorida.com/downloads.asp
A Better Year for Big Cats? Sadly, 2010 came to an end with little fanfare from Florida panthers – the past year was only marginally less deadly for the endangered cats than a record-breaking 2009.
Of the 23 known deaths in 2010, 16 were a result of collisions with vehicles. This comes up short of the 17 killed while crossing roads in 2009 – a record for the state – by only one death. The same goes for overall panther deaths, which totaled 24 last year. For a species whose population is believed to be just over 100 animals, those numbers remain far too high.
But the year wasn't all bad for Florida cats: wildlife officials say this past year saw the births of 29 panther kittens! That's great news when compared to only 11 births the previous year. Those numbers aren't set in stone – unfortunately, not all the kittens will survive. However, those are only documented births – they don't include those kittens born to uncollared panthers in the state. The actual number of Florida panther kittens may be much higher.
Florida panthers are still critically endangered animals, and with stressors like increased development and climate change, populations continue to face great threats.
Panther-death numbers little changed in 2010 The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) documented 23 panther deaths in 2010. Of those mortalities, 16 panthers died after being struck by vehicles. Six of the panther deaths are attributed to "intraspecific aggression," or panthers killing other panthers. One panther died of unknown causes.
This is very similar to 2009, when the FWC documented 25 deaths, with 17 of those killed by vehicles. The five-year average is approximately 23 panthers per year, with an average of almost 14 killed each year by vehicles.
"Motorists should be aware that panthers are not always struck in posted panther speed zones," said Darrell Land, FWC biologist and panther team leader. "We caution motorists to be on the lookout for the large cats in wild areas near panther zones, especially around sundown and sunrise."
Panther speed zones are well-marked, with speed limits reduced at night to 45 mph. Motorists should be aware that violators often receive fines exceeding $200 for their first offense, and any violation of more than 29 mph over the posted limit will result in a mandatory court appearance.
"The FWC continues to work closely with the Florida Department of Transportation to develop measures that will increase motorist and panther safety along Florida's roads," Land said.
Land also said the panther population has been slowly increasing in Florida, which results in the documentation of more dead panthers. Land also noted the female panthers that were radio-tagged during 2010 produced 29 kittens. The total number of kittens born for the entire population is unknown.
Florida panthers have been listed federally as an endangered species since 1967 because of the small, isolated population and habitat loss. Recently the FWC completed a "Statement on Estimating Panther Population Size," which notes there are likely between 100 and 160 adult panthers in South Florida.
"This number comes from combining several science-based methods to provide a lower and upper bound of the population," said Kipp Frohlich, the FWC's Imperiled Species Section leader. "This should be thought of as a theoretical range that provides some insight into the possible magnitude of the total population size. We are continually seeking improved methods for determining the most accurate estimates."
Panther research and management funding comes directly from the additional fees collected when individuals purchase the "Protect the Florida panther" specialty license plate. Money also goes to law enforcement to increase patrols in the areas where panthers reside in South Florida.
Panther specialty license plates are available at local tax collectors' offices across the state. For more information, go to http://www.floridapanthernet.org/ and click on "Panther Pulse." To report dead or injured panthers, call the FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
Report: Top 10 places to save for endangered species Coral reefs are among the top 10 ecosystems that need to be protected in order to save endangered species from climate change, says a new report by the Endangered Species Coalition.
"Climate change is no longer a distant threat on the horizon," said Leda Huta, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition, a U.S. network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, religious, and other groups. "If we are serious about saving endangered species from global warming, then these are the places to start."
The coalition's report, "It's Getting Hot Out There," cites data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that estimate 20% to 30% of the world's species will face increased risk of extinction if global temperatures rise at least 3 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels.
It calls on the Obama administration and Congress to protect the following top 10 ecosystems:
1. The Arctic Sea Ice, home to the polar bear, Pacific walrus and at least six species of seal.
2. Shallow Water Coral Reefs, home to the critically endangered elkhorn and staghorn coral.
3. The Hawaiian Islands, home to more than a dozen imperiled birds and 319 threatened and endangered plants.
4. Southwest Deserts, home to numerous imperiled plants, fish and mammals.
5. The San Francisco Bay-Delta, home to the imperiled Pacific salmon, Swainson's hawk, tiger salamander and Delta smelt.
6. California Sierra Mountains, home to 30 native species of amphibian, including the Yellow-legged frog.
7. The Snake River Basin, home to four imperiled runs of salmon and steelhead.
8. Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, home to the imperiled Whitebark pine, an important food source for animals, including the threatened Grizzly bear.
9. The Gulf Coast's flatlands and wetlands, home to the Piping and Snowy plovers, Mississippi sandhill crane, and several species of sea turtles.
10. The Greater Everglades, home to 67 threatened and endangered species, including the manatee and the red cockcaded woodpecker.
Seven additional ecosystems were nominated that contain important habitat for imperiled species. They include: Glacier National Park, Jemez Mountains, Sagebrush steppe, U.S. West Coast, The Maine Woods, The Grasslands of the Great Plains and the Southern Rocky Mountains.
Pine Island mangrove destruction didn't break any laws State law says Gary Liano did nothing wrong when he destroyed a small stand of 20-foot-tall red mangroves on Pine Island without a permit.
But Liano's actions have called into question how the state deals with mangrove destruction under the Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act.
For decades, the stand of mangroves formed an arch over a small boat ramp at the west end of a Bokeelia canal. But last month, Liano, who owns the property west of the canal, asked a friend to remove a strangler fig in preparation for a project to stabilize the shoreline with piles of rock known as riprap.
The tree fell onto Liano's dock and crushed some mangroves, so the friend cut the trees, Liano said.
"I didn't start out to get rid of mangroves," he said. "If I wanted to get rid of them, I would have gone in with a backhoe and pulled them out by the roots."
Under an exemption to state law, a person can destroy mangroves without a permit if they are in a canal or other artificial waterway and the person is performing specific kinds of work, such as maintenance dredging for navigation, constructing a private dock of 1,000 square feet or less or constructing a seawall. Liano plans to replace his dock and put in riprap, which will require county permits. As of Friday, he had not applied for permits.
Rhino poaching in South Africa reaches all-time high . A total of 333 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa in 2010, including ten critically endangered black rhinos, according to national park officials. The yearly total is the highest ever experienced in South Africa and nearly three times the 2009 figure when 122 rhinos were killed in the country. An additional five rhinos have been lost to poaching since the New Year.
Kruger National Park, the world famous safari destination, was hardest hit losing 146 rhinos to poaching in 2010, authorities said. The park is home to the largest populations of both white and black rhinos in the country. Rhino poaching across Africa has risen sharply in the past few years, threatening to reverse hard-won population increases achieved by conservation authorities during the 20th century.
Interesting information on the 1800 acre Lake Wales Ridge NWR Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge (LWRNWR) is the first Refuge designated primarily for the preservation of endangered plants. Thirty-one rare plants can be found within the project boundary, 22 of them federally listed as endangered or threatened, and nine candidates for such listing. Four federally listed vertebrates as well as 40 rare invertebrate species are also present.
The sand hills of Central Florida are home to a unique collection of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else. The Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem, the oldest in the southeast, has been disappearing faster than any other in the United States. Citrus farms, ranching, and residential development have claimed 85 percent of this ancient ridge. The habitat has become highly fragmented. Fourteen tracts were identified for acquisition by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and four were acquired. Acquiring the Lake Wales Ridge was a high priority for the State of Florida, The Nature Conservancy, and several local governments due to the urgency of this rapidly declining landscape.
Matt Schwartz
Polar bears destroy BBC documentary cameras BBC documentary cameras are no match, it turns out, for the destructive curiosity of your average polar bear. Producers of the BBC show "Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice" thought they could outwit their documentary subjects on the Arctic islands of Svalbard by concealing weather-resistant high-tech cameras inside casings that mimicked the look of ice floes and other snow formations. The idea, apparently, was to capture the unguarded rounds of polar bear life in the species' natural habitat, in the general style of the successful Animal Planet franchise "Meerkat Manor."
But the inquisitive bears weren't taken in by the ruse. The cameras were designed to survive in temperatures as low as -40 degree Celsius, but once they came in the sights--and more important, the grip--of wandering polar bears, they were soon clawed, gnawed and crushed into state of total disfunction. The heroic cameras in some instances caught the moment of their own demise.
Cold December adds to 2010 manatee death toll Two periods of unusually cold weather in 2010 contributed to the number of manatee deaths for the year being more than double the yearly average of the past five years. Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) documented 767 manatee carcasses in state waters in 2010.
The cold weather in Florida caused many of these deaths, with the "cold-stress" category accounting for 279 documented cases. Of these cold-related deaths, 244 occurred in the early part of the year and 35 occurred in December. Cold stress also contributed to the deaths of 21 of the 96 manatees in the "perinatal" or "newborn" category. In addition, it is likely the cold temperatures contributed to many of the 214 deaths in the "undetermined" category and the 68 deaths in the "unrecovered" category.
"The unusually high number of manatee deaths in 2010, including those caused by the two periods of cold weather, are of concern to the FWC," said FWRI Director Gil McRae. "Over the next few years, the FWC will be relying heavily on monitoring programs to better understand any long-term implications for the manatee population. In the meantime, we will continue to work with our partners to enhance the availability of natural warm-water sites and to rescue manatees in distress."
FWC researchers, managers and law enforcement staff work closely together to evaluate mortality data and identify necessary actions. Managers focus on actions that can reduce risks to manatees and protect foraging and warm-water habitats. The FWC's Division of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with partner agencies, uses knowledge of local boating habits, well-posted speed zones and up-to-date manatee information as part of its on-the-water enforcement operations. Informing boaters about manatee conservation and enforcing manatee-protection zones is a priority for the FWC.
Everglades and Water Quality Issues
U.S. proposes major refuge to protect wildlife, Lake Okeechobee In a significant commitment to clean polluted runoff before it enters Lake Okeechobee, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday that the federal government would create a 150,000-acre refuge south of Orlando.
About 50,000 acres would be purchased by the federal government, and the remaining 100,000 would be protected through conservation easements on private land, Salazar said Friday afternoon before delivering the keynote address at the annual Everglades Coalition conference.
In a role reversal of sorts, the federal government is taking the initiative to buy land for Everglades restoration that had been lacking in previous years. Still unknown is how engaged the state government will be. Under former Gov. Charlie Crist, the state proposed a huge land purchase south of Lake Okeechobee but Gov. Rick Scott has opposed that approach.
Also unknown is how much Salazar's proposal will cost and where the money will come from. Efforts to restore the natural flow of the Kissimmee River between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee have been ongoing for decades. The goal is to remove nutrient pollution from runoff from ranches, dairies and cities that have been polluting Lake Okeechobee.
The state's efforts to cleanse Lake Okeechobee water before it flows south into the Everglades has been the subject of lengthy legal disputes and carries a multi-billion-dollar price tag.
Salazar embraced what his office is calling a new national wildlife refuge and conservation area. It's based on buying easements from ranchers, which would allow ranching to continue while preserving wildlife habitat and allowing water storage and treatment.
Repairing the north/south dike; Broward portion of levee fails to meet federal standards Fixing the levee that keeps the Everglades from flooding South Florida communities could cost more and take longer than expected, the South Florida Water Management District revealed Wednesday.
The Broward County section of the East Coast Protective Levee fails to meet certification standards for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to an engineering assessment issued late last year.
In addition to raising safety concerns, failing to meet those federal standards could lead to inflated flood insurance costs in Weston, Coral Springs, Sunrise, Pembroke Pines and Broward's other western communities.
While district officials once speculated that improvement costs may not exceed $10 million, on Wednesday they learned costs for South Florida taxpayers could grow and that the repair work could take longer than the two-year window FEMA allows.
"There are some uncertainties that are going to affect cost and schedule," said Tommy Strowd, deputy district executive director. "It's going to be a challenge to get it done in two years."
In addition, the Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a separate review of the entire 100-mile levee that starts near West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County, stretches through Broward and extends to southern Miami-Dade County.
League of Cities and Florida Stormwater Association sue EPA to kill water quality standards The Florida League of Cities and the Florida Stormwater Association are the latest groups to file suit over the EPA's numeric nutrient criteria, a strict set of standards that will limit the amount of waste allowed to be dumped in state waterways. In a complaint filed Jan. 10 in Pensacola's U.S. District courthouse, the groups seek a judgment from the federal court forcing the EPA to "abandon its unprecedented action against Florida and to take another look and conduct proceedings consistent with federal law."
In a press release, Rebecca O'Hara, director of legislative affairs for the Florida League of Cities, said that the EPA's mandates "seem like they will do more to harm Florida's local government taxpayers than provide real results."
In September 2010, Kurt Spitzer, executive director of the Florida Stormwater Association, was one of 36 state business leaders to sign a letter to Florida's congressional delegation requesting an independent review of the EPA mandates. The letter referenced a study performed by Carollo Engineers on behalf of the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council that projected capital costs to be upwards of $50.7 billion. A report by The Florida Independent revealed that the conclusions of that study were widely disputed among members of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The suit, Spitzer said in a press release, is the next step in ensuring "the validity of the underlying science and methodologies used to prepare the rule." According to Spitzer, stormwater and wastewater systems do not currently have the proper technology in place to meet the new requirements.
The implementation of the EPA's standards comes in the wake of several symptoms of nutrient pollution, many of which went widely unreported. In the summer of 2010, the St. Johns River saw a rash of fish deaths that many believed to be a result of the river's widespread algal blooms. In October, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially labeled a spike in dolphin deaths in Florida an "Unusual Mortality Event," a label generally reserved for mammal deaths that occur as the result of biotoxins from harmful algal blooms.
Water district updates public on projects The South Florida Water Management District is spending billions on several projects geared toward water quality and quantity and lake restoration in the upper and lower basins of the Kissimmee River Chain of Lakes and its floodplain.
The Kissimmee Regional Issues Coordination project includes 10 interconnected undertakings designed to promote ecosystem restoration and determine water quality, future water supply and current water availability for the area, which feeds Lake Okeechobee. Many of the projects are slated to be completed by 2014.
The water district also is part of the $7.8 billion effort to restore the ecological health of Lake Okeechobee by controlling exotic species, identifying water quality and water storage needs as well as managing water nutrients. The district, according to spokesman Bill Graf, will assume 50 percent of the project's bill, at $3.9 billion, with the remainder covered by the state's Save Our Everglades Trust.
Osceola County waterways flow to Lake Okeechobee and 7.5 million residents living within district boundaries rely on these lakes and rivers for a portion of the water supplied in the homes, according to the district website.
The water district acquired 102,061 acres to the tune of $341 million to restore the Kissimmee River and provide flood control by recreating the natural water flow channels the area historically had.
"The purpose of the acquisitions is to have the ability to inundate the historic floodplain for proliferation of wetlands associated with restoration," Graf said.
Nearly 8,000 acres of wetlands were gained during the land acquisition and field scientists have observed sandbar formation and increases in bass and sunfish populations as well as increased usage by waterfowl and wading birds.
"We're taking a channelized, possibly damaging place and returning it to a more naturalized state," Alan Shirkey, the district's Kissimmee regional issues coordinator, said during a Dec. 14 public meeting at the Osceola County Commission Chambers.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is partnering with the water district to complete the project by December 2014; the restoration project alone will cost $640 million, including the land acquisition.
Funding for the project, according to Graf, will come from several sources, including the federal budget for the Corps of Engineers portion, ad valorem property taxes and state grants and funding.
N
ational Park Service Selects Audubon-Endorsed Tamiami Trail Project
Audubon applauds the National Park Service's recently released Tamiami Trail Next Steps Final Environmental Impact Statement, outlining a plan to construct additional bridges along the road that borders Everglades National Park. Audubon called for support for this project because it is a bold step in the right direction towards the protection of delicate wildlife habitat.
Thanks go out to all of our members who wrote letters, submitted comments and attended meetings to support this proposal. With your help, we made a difference! With a one mile bridge underway, the decision to bridge an additional 5.5 miles will help reconnect freshwater flows that are so important to improving wildlife habitat. The increased water volume and improved flows will be critical in the survival of the federally endangered Wood Stork, Everglades Snail Kite, Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, and state listed Roseate Spoonbill. Click here for detailed documents on the identified plan or view the Audubon fact sheet.
P
embroke Pines plans to inject treated sewage into water supply; $47 million plan would put 7 million gallons per day of treated wastewater into the aquifer The water in Pembroke Pines toilet bowls may soon show up in the drinking glasses of South Floridians from Miami to Boca Raton.
Within three years, Pembroke Pines plans to be the first South Florida city to inject treated sewage — about 7 million gallons a day — into the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies most of the drinking water for Broward, Miami-Dade and southeastern Palm Beach County. That's about the amount of water in 11 Olympic swimming pools.
If the state approves the $47 million plan, it means the aquifer would be depleted a little more slowly. But it also means people in the tri-county area could be drinking treated wastewater every time they turn on the tap.
The concept of recharging the aquifer with treated sewage isn't new, but the city's project is different, said Rick Nevulis, a water reuse coordinator with the South Florida Water Management District. Pembroke Pines will inject the water directly into the ground. West Palm Beach, Sunrise, Tindall Hammock, Pahokee, Wellington and Homestead pump their purified sewage into wetlands, lakes or fields, where it percolates into the aquifer over a period of months or years.
Those six utilities now pump a combined 6.5 million gallons of purified sewage into the water supply each day. Pembroke Pines' plan would double that.
This is a long time coming, Nevulis said. The rest of the state already pumps much of its sewage back into its water supplies, and South Florida is behind.
Only about 71 million gallons of the approximately 640 million gallons of sewage the tri-county area produces each day gets reused in any way, and almost all of that goes toward irrigation.
The plan does have an "ick" factor, admitted City Manager Charles Dodge. But he guarantees the water will be pure and drinkable.
"The water will be very, very well treated," he said. "It's not as if you would know it went through this process."
Pembroke Pines' 7 million gallons a day may go into the ground in the city, but there's no way of telling where it will come out, said Harold Wanless, professor and chair of geological sciences at the University of Miami.
"Aquifers flow," Wanless said. "It's difficult to tell where any particular water will move to. We don't have the large conduits inside the aquifer well mapped."
The plan is necessary to regain the city's water use permit from the South Florida Water Management District. The aquifer — a 4,000 square mile system of underground limestone caves filled with water — is running low and the district has ordered that utilities come up with additional sources of water.
[Pembroke Pines is not alone in installing injection wells. Many injection wells are already in existence and more will come. The injection wells go deep into the Floridan Aquifer which is well below the Biscayne Aquifer from which we draw our potable water supply, and natural filtering will take place before final treatment in a water treatment facility.]
Feds endorse more Tamiami bridges for water flow Money remains an issue, but the U.S Department of the Interior has formally endorsed another 5.5 miles of new bridges along the Tamiami Trail.
The bridges are considered a key step in bringing more fresh water beneath U.S. 41 to restore the natural flow to the southern Everglades and Florida Bay.
Everglades National Park staff previously supported the additional bridging. On Dec. 17, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made it official, saying, "This proposal will benefit the environment and economy of South Florida."
Construction on a one-mile bridge along U.S. 41 to replace a paved route is under way, but conservationists consider it unlikely that single span can provide enough water flow to achieve the restoration goals.
"There are few projects that are more important to the future health of the Keys communities than the Tamiami Trail bridges," said Kirk Fordham, chief executive of the Everglades Foundation. "If we are going to recover the fisheries in the Keys, it is imperative that the flow of water is restored from the north into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay."
"Let's face it: If our fisheries collapse, tourists travel elsewhere and our economy will continue to decline," Fordham said. "We will be working with our congressional delegation, including senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, to ensure this job-creating project becomes a reality."
"Everglades National Park and Florida Bay have been dying of thirst for decades for the lack of fresh water," Kahlil Kettering, an Everglades specialist for the National Parks Conservation Association, said this summer. "That's why this is so vital."
The National Park Service also noted that bridging would help reduce wildlife deaths on U.S. 41. Three endangered Florida panthers have been killed on roads this winter in South Florida.
St. Johns Riverkeeper announces intent to study science behind Georgia-Pacific waste pipeline In its continuing fight against a pipeline that will allow Georgia-Pacific to dump waste into the St. Johns River, river advocates are pledging to study the scientific validity of a report being used by the paper giant to justify its actions.
The planned pipeline has sparked its fair share of controversy, but according to the paper giant, a pipeline would be the only viable alternative to dumping its waste directly into Rice Creek. That waterbody, during dry season, is 95 percent paper mill effluent.
When questioned about alternatives to the pipeline, Georgia-Pacific reps are quick to point to a study by Brown & Caldwell that concluded that there were no "viable alternatives" to the pipeline. But several area environmental organizations, including the St. Johns Riverkeeper, disagree.
In fact, the Riverkeeper feels so strongly that it has hired its own engineering firm to look over the Brown & Caldwell report.
During a Tuesday night "Beach Watch" meeting in Jacksonville, the Riverkeeper's Jimmy Orth said that his group had, at one time, been working alongside Georgia-Pacific. "We tried to negotiate a plan … for an individual panel of scientists to look at testing their waters," he said. "We worked with them for six months and … eventually they walked away."
Now, Orth says that the Riverkeeper is close to launching a campaign directed at finding viable alternatives to the pipeline: "We've hired an engineering firm to look at the Brown & Caldwell study and see if it's valid. Initially … this firm feels that there are viable alternatives."
K
eep pushing to clean up Everglades The effort to restore the Florida Everglades is closing out the year with a flourish. A federal judge in Miami threw his support this month behind a plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to build a vast new series of marshes to filter polluted runoff before it enters the River of Grass. The move came as the federal government unveiled plans to elevate additional sections of the Tamiami Trail to improve the natural southern flow of water in the Everglades, following a series of land set-asides and purchases that will help the ecosystem recover. Incoming Gov. Rick Scott should continue the support for a state-federal partnership that is worth billions of dollars to Florida.
U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said he would try to move along EPA's plan to build about 42,000 acres of treatment ponds to strip phosphorus from runoff heading into the Everglades. Most of the pollution comes from farming and fertilizer runoff, and removing it requires filter areas as well as tougher restrictions on farming permits. Gold has been right to insist that both EPA and the state act with greater urgency. His ruling dovetails perfectly with broader efforts at the state and national levels to improve water quality in the Everglades, which is essential both for the people of South Florida and for fish and wildlife.
EPA's plan complements the federal government's decision earlier this year to spend nearly $90 million to preserve some 26,000 acres in the northern headwaters of the Everglades. The move will put cleaner water into the basin, which will make ongoing cleanup efforts easier to manage while ending some of the worst agricultural practices threatening the basin. In another important move, the National Park Service announced plans this month for building an additional 5 miles of bridges along Tamiami Trail. That would augment the 1 mile of bridge under construction. The project will go a long way toward restoring the flow of water into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
The recession forced the state to scale back its contribution, but the purchase this year of 26,800 acres of U.S. Sugar property was a vital, timely start in securing land for restoration. Scott needs to keep sending the message that Florida is a committed partner. The state cannot afford to restore the Everglades on its own. Nor can it afford for the Everglades to become more polluted. A new study by a nonprofit advocate, the Everglades Foundation, finds that the $12 billion restoration could generate up to $124 billion in economic benefits and create more than 440,000 jobs over the next 50 years in everything from fishing and real estate to tourism. Federal participation is as vital to restoration as the River of Grass is to Florida. The state must hold up its end and work with Washington to see the project continues.
New EPA standards trigger lawsuits; Florida utilities say their standards are alreadyhigh The lawsuits being filed against the Environmental Protection Agency are piling up, and more are likely to come following the agency's decision to set nutrient pollution limits for Florida's waters.
The latest suit was filed in federal court on Pensacola by five northwest Florida utilities, each of which claims it would have to overhaul its treatment plants to meet the new standards. Their plants, they argue, already meet a high standard for treatment.
The utilities' lawyer, Tallahassee-based attorney Ken Oertel, also said that the EPA's limits were not based on good science and failed to take into account the unique characteristic of Florida's rivers, lakes and streams.
The December 16 lawsuit was just the latest in a slew of legal petitions filed against the federal agency after it announced in November it was going forward with its standards for phosphorus and nitrogen in Florida waters.
The EPA's move could affect nearly all of the state's wastewater treatment plants, many of which complain they won't meet the federal standards once the rules are enforced in 14 months. Included in that list are Ocala's three treatment plants, none of which meet the new standards, said the city's water and sewer director, Jeff Halcomb. Earlier this year, he estimated the cost to improve the city's treatment plants could be between $90 million and $150 million.
Opponents of the rules argue that to meet the standards, utilities would have to pass on the costs of upgrading the plants to individual customers to the tune of several hundred dollars per year.
Neil Armingeon, founder of the environmental group St. Johns Riverkeeper, said he wasn't surprised by the most recent lawsuit. Neither does he expect it to be the last, he said.
"It was part of the inevitable," Armingeon said. "I would describe the people filing the lawsuits as polluters who would do anything to maintain the status quo including spending taxpayers' money to keep Florida's water polluted."
The lawsuits show that a group of industries behind the filings "have a literal chokehold on the government and the state," he said.
Environmentalists warn that rules freeze will halt progress on water pollution Gov. Rick Scott's decision Tuesday to freeze regulations put on hold hundreds of proposals, including a public hearing scheduled for this week over a rule to set a statewide rule for cleaning up mercury pollution in state water.
Mercury contamination in fish in Florida waters is a growing problem and the state Department of Environmental Regulation, following federal Clean Water Act rules, was in the process of trying to identify the most contaminated water bodies and come up with a plan to clean up and prevent further pollution.
That process will now be put on hold, said Eric Draper of the Audubon of Florida, after Scott's order freeze all regulations for 90 days and allow only those approved by his office to move forward.
"Gov. Scott is shutting down our environmental rules,'' Draper said."We know that most of Florida's water bodies have contamination problems and we need rules to help clean them up. This stops the clean-up in its tracks.''
Lake levels to be lower; less water hurts shipping industry. If you like the beach, there might be more of it to lie on this year. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects there will be less water this year in the Lake Michigan-Huron basin.
"We're projecting the lake is going to remain well below its longtime average -- as many as 20 inches below for the next six months, (and) 6 to 13 inches below last year," said Keith Kompoltowicz, an Army Corps meteorologist.
The forecast stems from a dry 2010. Kompoltowicz said the basin received about 29 inches precipitation. The average is about 32 inches.
How you view the forecast depends on where you're sitting, Kompoltowicz said. Lakefront property owners might enjoy having more sand along the shoreline. Boaters, however, might dread another year of bad conditions. Areas that once could be navigated easily might be dangerous this summer, Kompoltowicz said.
The prospect of less water has those in the shipping industry concerned. Glen Nekvasil, vice president of the Lake Carriers' Association, is among those with concerns.
"Water levels are very, very important to our industry," he said. "This is not a positive development, but again, there's not a lot that can be done about that."
When there's less water, freighters have to lighten their loads. Industry officials have been pushing for more dredging of shipping channels as the amount of water in the Great Lakes continues to decline.
"Depending on the size of the ship, we forfeit anywhere from 70 to 270 tons of cargo for each inch of draft we use," Nekvasil said. "Our members are paid to carry cargo; when they can't carry as much that hurts their bottom line."
New Wild Lands Policy Offers Hope to Unprotected Wilderness Quality Lands This year Christmas came a little early for all Americans who treasure our public lands, when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar delivered a new policy for protecting wilderness-quality areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Secretarial Order effectively puts an end to the second class status of wilderness on our public lands that was ushered in by the Bush administration's "no more wilderness" policy. Under Bush, there was a reversal of long standing wilderness protections and instead his administration instated a policy in which the BLM abdicated its authority to designate wilderness study areas. Administrative protections for lands with wilderness characteristics, such as wilderness study areas, are necessary to prevent damaging uses like oil and gas drilling and off-road vehicle abuse until Congress can permanently protect those areas as Wilderness.
The Order requires the BLM to keep a current inventory of lands with wilderness characteristics, and consider protecting those lands when making management decisions. When revising land use plans, the agency will now determine which lands with wilderness characteristics warrant protection and should designate those areas as "Wild Lands." Additionally, until plans are completed, the BLM cannot authorize projects such as oil and gas development in areas that may possess wilderness characteristics until the agency conducts a new inventory. The Order provides for the BLM to still decide not to protect wilderness values either as Wild Lands or from other damaging uses, so we hope that the BLM's guidance implementing the Order will ensure that those decisions must meet a high bar and that the Order's stated focus on actually protecting our wild lands will be fulfilled.
In announcing the policy from REI's flagship store in Denver, Colorado, BLM Director Bob Abbey said, "The new Wild Lands policy affirms the BLM's authorities under the law - and our responsibility to the American people - to protect the wilderness characteristics of the lands we oversee as part of our multiple use mission."
Although we still hope to see the agency restore its policy of designating wilderness study areas, this is an important action that, properly implemented, should lead to protecting millions of acres of wilderness-quality lands across the West. The new policy orders that "the BLM should develop recommendations, with public involvement, regarding possible Congressional designation of lands into the National Wilderness Preservation System." We hope the agency will seize on this mandate and once again propose wild lands to be designated Wilderness. Without meaningful action by the BLM, we may lose forever our treasured but unprotected spectacular western landscapes.
Mass bird and Fish deaths remain a mystery Mass animal deaths have been in the news the past week or two and the specific cause of many remains a mystery.
But most naturalists are not ready to press the panic button.
It's an unfortunate fact that mass animal deaths often occur in nature, particularly during stressful periods such as cold snaps or natural disasters. But to experts, the numbers in most recent reports are not particularly alarming. As a frame of reference, there are billions of birds in the United States and experts estimate that bird mortality exceeds 5 billion birds annually. Given those numbers, most of the reported incidents appear quite modest.
A typical Atlantic hurricane may cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of birds. While it's not a particularly pleasant statistic, that's the way nature works.
Several recent incidences of groups of red-winged blackbirds being found dead were probably caused by the birds encountering obstacles while flying in the dark. Reported mass deaths of blackbirds in Arkansas and Louisiana were noticed immediately after holiday fireworks displays. It's entirely possible that the birds were startled by the fireworks, flying off into the night and into trees, power lines and other birds.
There have also been several fish kills reported in the past few weeks as well. In these instances, the cause is most likely just cold weather. One large fish die-off was reported in the upper Chesapeake Bay and was primarily of spot, a species known to be sensitive to cold. There have been large die-offs of spot reported during previous cold winters on the Chesapeake.
So it's most likely just a combination of timing and unusual press coverage that's brought these recent die-offs to the public's attention. But naturalists and state wildlife officials are always keeping an eye on our wildlife populations and will continue to look for unusual trends in wildlife mortality.
Global Warming and Climate Change
Groundbreaking celebration for Picayune Strand project The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District and its partner, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), will hold a groundbreaking celebration for the Picayune Strand Restoration Project on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. at the project site in eastern Collier County. The public is invited to attend and commemorate this important environmental restoration project, which benefits Collier County and many other areas of southwest Florida.
The Corps is celebrating the project's second federal construction contract. This past November, the Corps awarded Harry Pepper and Associates of Jacksonville a $79 million contract for the Faka Union Canal Pump Station. Components include constructing the pump station, continuing to fill in the canal, and removing 100 miles of roadway. Work will begin in February and will last about three years. In 2009, the Corps awarded Pepper a similar contract for $59 million for the Merritt Canal Pump Station. This contract is well under way.
The Picayune Strand Restoration Project will transform a failed housing development into pristine habitat for the endangered Florida panther and other native animals and plants. It will restore the overland hydrology, reducing invasion of non-native plants and opening up room for more native species. The project will also improve downstream coastal estuaries and aquifer recharge, among its many benefits.
This region is considered an environmental jewel. The project area is nearly surrounded by public lands including the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Collier-Seminole State Park and the Picayune Strand State Forest.
The celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will feature a number of federal, state and local speakers. A one-hour bus tour of the project site will take place shortly after the ceremony. The tour is limited to the first 60 people who RSVP online or by phone.
2010 hottest year ever; extreme weather hits record high Already this winter, powerful storms have pummeled cities coast to coast with mounds of snow and unusually chilly temperatures. Climate skeptics are pointing to these events as evidence against global warming, while in reality, these events only serve to reinforce that our climate is changing. The New York Times summed it up, saying, "The not-so-obvious short answer is that the overall warming of the atmosphere is actually creating cold-weather extremes." Last year the world experienced a record breaking number of natural disasters, nine-tenths of which were attributed to climate change. Even now Australians are grappling with flooding in Queensland that has covered an area the size of France and Germany combined.
GOP Targets EPA Rules to Address Global Warming House Republicans wasted no time Thursday in trying to block the Obama administration from acting to stem global warming.
On their second day in power, Republican lawmakers introduced several bills that would hamstring the Environmental Protection Agency from moving forward with regulations to reduce heat-trapping pollution from factories and other sources that they say contributes to global warming. The bills are part of an effort by House Republicans to reverse what they consider job-killing policies of the administration. The bills introduced by Reps. Ted Poe (R-TX), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), would stymie the EPA in different ways.
Poe's measure would prohibit the EPA from using any money to implement or enforce regulations to impose a limit on global warming gases. Blackburn's bill would change the Clean Air Act so the EPA could no longer use the law to control greenhouse gases.
A 2007 Supreme Court decision said the EPA had the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other global warming gases under the statute.
Capito's measure would delay for two years any effort by the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act.
In a statement, Capito called the EPA's actions a power grab that would have devastating effects on the economy.
"Without congressional action to say otherwise, the EPA will continue to dismantle energy and manufacturing industries through regulation," she said.
Meanwhile, a top Democrat in the Senate on environmental issues, Sen. Barbara Boxer, said Thursday she would use every tool to block the Republicans efforts and ensure that the EPA was allowed to follow the law.
Mangrove forests might be climate change solution Saving mangrove forests that once lined coasts and have since dwindled to make way for developers should be a priority to help slow climate change, said scientists. Among cities that dredged mangrove forests to make way for development is the beach resort of Cancun, Mexico, where U.N. climate talks will be held this week.
Climate scientists say that mangroves suck industrial pollution out of the atmosphere and sequester it in their intricate root systems, acting as carbon sinks. The United Nations may pay countries to protect their mangroves or award credits to profit from a global cap-and-trade scheme. Experts say such measures would be necessary to ensure that long-term ecosystem gains are more profitable than short-term economic gains from tourism. Around Cancun, hotels have been growing since the 1970s at the expense of mangrove forests, and tourism is expected to earn $4 billion this year.
Driest Dry Season on Record in SFWMD Water levels have been dropping since the summer from Lake Toho south to Lake Okeechobee, with only 29.97 inches of rainfall across the South Florida Water Management District from October through December.
The SFWMD said this week that the three-month period produced the lowest rainfall on record dating back to 1932 across the 16-county region stretching down the Kissimmee waterway into the Everglades.
Rainfall for the year was 48.91 inches in the district, about 3 inches below the historical average.
Only 2.38 inches of rain was measured in the Upper Kissimmee region in the dry season, 5.61 inches below normal.
Lake Okeechobee is down almost 6 inches in the past month to 12.43 feet above sea level, about 2 1/2 feet below normal for this time of year.
And Lake Istokpoga is down to 38.7 feet above sea level.
For more information, check http://www.sfwmd.gov/
EPA's new rules will face challenges On January 2, 2011, EPA rules took effect requiring that air permits issued for new power plants and other major new and modified emission sources include limits on greenhouse gases (GHGs). The courts have refused to stay EPA's rules, although the legal challenges to them are proceeding. Many in Congress say they want to block the rules, but they did not do so in the lame duck session, and those efforts face an uncertain future in the next Congress. The states, which actually issue the permits, are not all ready to implement GHG permitting. Texas has refused to cooperate with EPA, and EPA has responded with a move to force federal permitting for GHGs in that state effective January 2, 2011. Other states, some of which have joined in the legal challenges to the rules, are nevertheless working with EPA to implement them, in order to avoid a de facto moratorium on air permitting in their States.
EPA's regulations, a response to the Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA began as a backstop and spur for Congressional action on comprehensive climate change legislation. See Marten Law Environmental News, EPA Proposes Regulating Greenhouse Gases Under Clean Air Act (April 17, 2009). But as that legislation foundered in the United States Senate earlier this year, the EPA rules emerged as the primary vehicle for national regulation of GHG emissions.
In addition to the GHG rules, other aspects of the laws governing climate change also remain in flux. In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a circuit court ruling allowing plaintiffs to bring federal common law nuisance claims against greenhouse gas emitters. The Solicitor General of the United States asked the Supreme Court to accept review and overturn the Second Circuit's decision. Marten Law Environmental News, Solicitor General Sides with Utilities (Sept. 2, 2010).
I. The Year Ahead
A. Court Challenges to EPA's GHG Regulations
In the upcoming year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will likely resolve a multitude of challenges to EPA's greenhouse gas rules. At least 80 lawsuits have been filed by over 35 petitioners (including states, industry groups, environmental NGOs, and others) challenging the four rulemakings that form the backbone of EPA's greenhouse gas regulatory program. The challenges have been consolidated into three principal proceedings:
1. Challenges to EPA's determination that greenhouse gas emissions are "reasonably … anticipated to endanger human health and welfare" (the Endangerment Finding);
2. Challenges to a joint EPA/NHTSA rule limiting greenhouse gas limitations on new passenger cars and light trucks (the Tailpipe Rule);
3. EPA's rule to "tailor" the applicability of Clean Air Act standards for stationary sources for greenhouse gas emissions (the Tailoring Rule),[4] and EPA's reconsideration of when restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources would trigger (the Johnson Memo Reconsideration).
Popular fishing grounds become pole/troll zone Effective Jan. 1, Everglades National Park made 8,700 acres of the Snake Bight fishing flats off limits to combustible motors. Power boaters can still access the bight via the Tin Can and Snake Bight channels. They can also get there at idle speed through Jimmy Lake.
"We're really excited and we've already started getting feedback from anglers that have been on the water and it has been positive," Everglades National Park Chief Biologist Dave Hallac said last week.
Anglers frequent Snake Bight, located two nautical miles to the east of the park's Flamingo visitor area, for its abundant populations of redfish, snook, sea trout and tarpon. But the decision to turn the bight into a pole/troll zone came largely with the consent of the Florida Bay fishing community.
The move stemmed from the still ongoing development of a new Everglades National Park General Management Plan, which will guide park governance for the next 30 decades. During development of the plan, which is scheduled to be finalized in 2012, park officials have floated a series of proposals in which portions of Florida Bay's shallow flats and fragile seagrass communities would be protected by prohibiting power boating.
Seagrass, which recovers slowly from propellers scars, serves as nursery grounds for shrimp, lobster, pinfish and other species.
Fishing organizations object to many of the proposed no-motor zones, but there was a general consensus that Snake Bight would be a good place to test the concept. The region is heavily fished, filled with prop scars, known for its abundant wildlife and, because it's close to Flamingo, relatively easy to police.
"It needed to be done," Key Largo fishing guide Lain Goodwin said last week. "I think it is a good compromise. Above and beyond just closing something, we needed to give those flats a break."
The Snake Bight pole/troll zone is initially in effect for a three-year trial period, during which time the National Park Service will be monitoring the area to determine the zone's effectiveness in protecting the resource while enhancing the fishing and recreational experience, a park brochure says. The park also plans to seek feedback from users of the area.
Hallac said Everglades officials intend to use what they learn from the trial as a guide should they establish additional pole/troll zones. But since the trial period is expected to be over prior to completion of the general management plan, future areas could well be designated before all the Snake Bight data is in, he acknowledged.
"Most likely the preferred alternative will have some further poll and trolling zones," Hallac said, referencing the next step in preparation of the general management plan, expected to be released later this winter. At that time the Park Service will lay out multiple management proposals but also designates the one that is most likely to be approved.
To inform boaters of the new no-motor zone, the Snake Bight area has been marked in recent weeks with approximately 40 signs. Anglers will also be made aware of the new zone through a brochure that will be distributed to motorists at the park entrance. To reach those entering the bay by boat from the Keys, Hallac said park officials are trying to place brochures in local tackle and bait shops. Some have already agreed to help, he said.
Enforcement of the new zone will start out in what the park biologist called an "educational mode" before getting tougher after a couple of months.
"My goal for the next three years is to have either no new seagrass scars or significantly fewer scars," he said.
No more dumping in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Few marine environments in our country compare to the Florida Keys' natural beauty and marine resources. The 3,801 square-mile Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary supports one of the most diverse assemblages of underwater plants and animals in North America – but it has been threatened by ship sewage. Early last year, the National Marine Sanctuary proposed an outright ban on ships dumping sewage. Thanks to many activists, who wrote in support of a proposal to ban any ship sewage in the sanctuary, the ban has been put into place!
The Sanctuary waters surround the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys, incorporating the productive waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The Sanctuary provides a safe home for brain and star coral, numerous tropical reef fish, spiny lobsters, bottlenose dolphins, and grouper. Best known for the most extensive living coral reef in the U.S., the shallow near-shore waters are dotted with fringing mangroves and seagrass meadows.
Sewage dumped from ships traveling through the Florida Keys threatened human health and the Keys' unique and diverse marine resources with harmful pollutants. While the Florida Keys Sanctuary banned the dumping of sewage from vessels in state waters of the Sanctuary in 2002, ships were still allowed to dump barely treated sewage without limitation in 35 percent of Sanctuary waters that were federally controlled.
Biologist says farming practices are killing the reef Attitudes about the Keys' reef have changed dramatically over the years — viewed as a shipping menace by many in the 19th century, and as a natural treasure to most today — but state agricultural practices are doing damage many experts fear is irreversible.
Water carrying an overabundance of nutrients plays a large role in the ailing health of the coral reefs, said Brian E. LaPointe, a research professor at the Harbor Branch Center for Marine Ecosystem Health at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce. That water is flowing south from the large agricultural area north of the Everglades.
LaPointe gave a presentation called "Reef, Wreckers & Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys" at the History of Diving Museum, mile marker 83, Islamorada. The lecture was the December presentation of the monthly "Immerse Yourself" series at the museum.
LaPointe started with a brief history of shipwreck salvaging in the Keys, saying it began with the Caloosa Indians more than 500 years ago.
"The Caloosa Indians were going out and trying to salvage some of the Spanish ships that ran up on the reefs," he said.
LaPointe said the Spanish started salvaging their own ships and other unfortunate vessels in the 1600s and 1700s and many Bahamians came to the Keys in the 1800s to establish salvage businesses.
Keys residents in the mid-1800s had a different attitude than we have today about the coral reefs, considering them to be huge nuisance and a hazard to ship traffic.
"They contracted Louis Agassiz, the noted Swiss naturalist who was at Harvard, to come to the Keys to see what could be done about getting rid of the coral," he said. "Times have changed, right?"
Agassiz reported that the reefs along the island chain were so prolific that he could not see a way to hinder their growth within the limits of nature, LaPointe said.
But mainland water runoff loaded with high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen has slowly accomplished what Agassiz could not get done. The water contains fertilizers that wreak havoc on Keys water quality.
Florida Algae-preneurs - Making Fuel from Algae Some Florida businesses are squeezing a trickle of fuel from algae, claiming they can help power the world. But right now, a few expensive drops in the bucket are all they have to show.
On 1,000 acres on the northwest shores of Lake Apopka, Orlando businessman Nick VandenBrekel touts a new crop for Florida that he says can help boost the state's economy as it provides another source of alternative energy.
His company, Agrisys, has raised more than $25 million from investors and plans to break ground this quarter on ponds and a small refinery where VandenBrekel says Agrisys will be able to grow algae, process it into an oil, and refine the oil into jet fuel, diesel or gasoline. The operation, he says, will be "the world's first large-scale, vertically integrated algae-to-biofuels facility."
Scaled up, VandenBrekel envisions a host of 1,000-to-20,000-acre farms across the Southeast where algal fuel is grown, processed and used locally, from community gas stations to diesel fleets such as school buses. Success, he says, would create no less than a "rebirth of American agriculture."
Like Agrisys, a troop of other Florida companies — including PetroAlgae of Melbourne; Algenol of Bonita Springs; AquaFiber of Orlando; and Algae Aviation Fuel of Sarasota — sees the same promise in algae as a source of biofuel. Algae grow faster than any other potential crop, reaching maturity in less than 24 hours. As it grows, it devours CO2, generating oxygen as a byproduct. Most important for its potential as fuel, algae produce lipids, which store energy as fat.
Turning that fat into fuel requires identifying a species with high lipid content, growing it quickly, harvesting it and then extracting oil from the microscopic cells and refining it.
State won't examine FPL's profits, orders beefed-up energy saving program State regulators on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposal to monitor Florida Power & Light's profits in case the company earns more than what's allowed and customers are owed a refund.
But the Public Service Commission ordered FPL to redo its proposed rebates and programs designed to save energy.
Critics say the decision to deny the PSC staff's recommendation that the agency review FPL's profit on shareholder equity over the year signals a shift in Florida's regulatory environment for utilities to one that is more constructive, or friendly, to the companies and their investors instead of to consumers.
FPL and the Office of Public Counsel, the state's advocate for utility customers, said a review of FPL's profits sends the wrong message to utilities and their investors about the rate freeze agreement they struck. "The company expects to have some certainty from it," Beck said. "They need to know that they have that agreement."
G
reat news from the coalfields of Appalachia The EPA has vetoed the Spruce No. 1 mountaintop-removal mining permit in West Virginia! Spruce Mine No. 1 would have been the largest Appalachian strip mine yet.
Activists from around the country have worked hard to urge the EPA to veto the Spruce Mine permit, and the hard work has finally paid off! Thousands of people emailed comments to the EPA about this issue; many shared the Spruce Mine story with friends and allies, and still others dumped 1,000 pounds of West Virginian dirt on the front lawn to demand a veto of the Spruce Mine permit.
Because the Spruce Mine was the largest proposed mountaintop removal mine site in all of Appalachia, it has been viewed as a bellwether for the MTR industry. While we certainly hope that the EPA's decision means that the agency is working hard to slow the destruction caused by MTR in Appalachia, it's important that we don't forget that there are many more MTR mines in central Appalachia that have devastating impacts on nearby residents.
W
ind energy's 2010 Top Ten ― Building and Bust; Wind's 2010 Top Ten: The wind industry's 10 gigawatts of new installed capacity in 2009 fell off in 2010 as a year of policy uncertainty created by the failure of congressional action prompted angry words from Jeff Immelt, the CEO of leading U.S. wind turbine manufacturer GE. "The rest of the world is moving 10 times faster than we are," he said. "We have to have an energy policy. This is just stupid, what we have today." By the end of the first half of 2010, slow U.S. development caused Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Industry Association (AWEA), to describe the situation as "dismal." Third quarter 2010 projections suggested the industry would finish the year with perhaps 5,000 megawatts of new capacity, about half its 2009 performance, half Europe's performance and a third of what China will have built in 2010.
Cape Wind, the utility-scale installation proposed for Massachusetts' Nantucket Sound, won the backing of the Department of Interior after fighting and overcoming every kind of siting and environmental impact objection by opponents ranging from the Hyannis Port Kennedy family to Cape Cod Native American tribes. The advancement of Cape Wind was a banner triumph in a series of offshore policy clarifications, announced development plans, exploration lease permits, PPA signings and studies showing the enormous economic opportunities of Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes wind. With Europe at nearly 2,500 megawatts of offshore capacity and China's handful of operational megawatts expanding, it looks like the U.S. may finally have an operating installation by 2015.
Rig owner refuses to honor oil spill subpoenas The owner of the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico is refusing to honor subpoenas from a federal board that has challenged the company's involvement in monitoring the testing of a key piece of equipment that failed to stop the oil spill disaster.
Transocean said the U.S. Chemical Safety Board does not have jurisdiction in the probe, so it doesn't have a right to the documents and other items it seeks. The board told The Associated Press late Wednesday that it does have jurisdiction and it has asked the Justice Department to intervene to enforce the subpoenas.
Last week, the board demanded that the testing of the failed blowout preventer stop until Transocean and Cameron International are removed from any hands-on role in the examination. It said it's a conflict of interest. The request is pending.
Testing at a NASA facility in New Orleans is on hold for the holidays anyway and isn't expected to resume until Jan. 10, according to officials monitoring the tests and a status update distributed to interested parties.
Besides documents, the board said Transocean has also denied it access to witnesses - specifically a half-dozen of the rig company's employees the board wants to question.
The jurisdiction dispute surrounds whether the Deepwater Horizon rig was a stationary unit or a mobile vessel. The rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and leading to more than 200 million gallons of oil being released from BP's undersea well, according to government estimates
The board's primary jurisdiction to investigate serious chemical accidents and make recommendations involves hazardous releases to the air by fixed industrial facilities. The board's managing director, Daniel Horowitz, asserted in an interview that the rig was tethered and not functioning as a moving vessel at the time of the accident, making it a stationary site.
Transocean argued in a Dec. 2 letter to the Chemical Safety Board that was obtained by the AP that because its rig was a mobile offshore drilling unit, it was a vessel, and not fixed.
Horowitz said the Interior Department indicated months ago that it thought the board had jurisdiction, and he noted that the well that blew out was a fixed unit and that his agency has been allowed to monitor the blowout preventer testing. But he also acknowledged that more recently the board has heard contradictory statements about its jurisdiction from aides to the director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
BOEMRE declined to comment. The Interior Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Importing Colombian coal A new coal terminal at the Port of Jacksonville, Florida is slated to open in 2011, and could open markets in the southeastern and midwestern U.S. to Colombian coal. Use of Keystone Coal Co.'s $20 million terminal is expected to create access to imported coal that is 10 to 20 percent cheaper than domestic coal. Because rates for rail transport of U.S. coal continue to increase, the cost of getting the Colombian product to buyers would be significantly less, possibly as little as $4.50 per metric ton, versus $40 per metric ton for domestic coal. Keystone owner Tom Scholl suggested that despite calls for more environmentally forms of energy, the lower cost of Colombian coal would ensure its continued use for electrical generation.
Watchdog Group: Park Service Acted Illegally in Shrinking Off-Road Access The National Park Service acted illegally when it shrunk the size of an area eligible for a wilderness designation that would prohibit access for off-roaders in the Big Cypress National Preserve, a government watchdog group said Wednesday.
A complaint filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that represents environmental agency whistleblowers, seeks to have the study that led to the eligibility decision overturned and a new peer-review study completed.
The decision reclassified 40,000 acres in the Big Cypress preserve in eastern Collier County as ineligible for a wilderness designation because of human impacts such as remnants of old farm fields and dirt roads.
PEER's complaint says the decision misapplies the rules for wilderness designation and makes ineligible some of the wildest lands left in South Florida.
"We're hoping that when they take a look at it, they will realize they can't defend it," said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch.
Park Service spokesman Bill Reynolds said the agency had yet to review the complaint and would not comment on it Wednesday.
At issue is some 148,000 acres in part of the preserve known as the Addition Lands, added to the preserve in 1988 in its northeast corner along Interstate 75 and along State Road 29.
PEER cited Park Service determinations from 2002 that found 128,000 acres were eligible for wilderness and 2007 that found 112,000 acres were eligible for the designation.
In 2009, the Park Service riled sportsmen's groups by proposing that Congress designate 86,000 of the eligible acres in the Addition as wilderness.
Preserve Superintendent Pedro Ramos moved to back off on the proposal, signing off on a new analysis in April 2010 that found only 71,000 acres eligible for a wilderness designation.
Last month, the Park Service issued a final plan to propose that Congress designate 47,000 of those acres as wilderness.
The 2010 analysis violated the federal Data Quality Act because it was kept secret and lacks data to justify the decision, according to Wednesday's complaint.
The National Park Service has 60 days to respond; responses to complaints filed under the Data Quality Act can be appealed to the Park Service director but not to court.
Sportsmen's groups are mounting their own attack on the wilderness designation proposal.
Organizers have planned protests for Saturday and Sunday at the preserve's Oasis Visitor Center and Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center on U.S. 41 East.
They say a wilderness designation reaches beyond the intent of the laws that created the preserve in 1974 to both protect the environment and maintain traditional uses such as hunting, swamp buggies and airboats.
Historical uses of the Addition Lands have left them a far cry from being "untrammeled by man," one of the criteria for wilderness eligibility, said Big Cypress Sportsmen's Alliance President Lyle McCandless, who is organizing this weekend's protests.
"Any consideration of wilderness is ridiculous," McCandless said.
South Florida Audubon Society
is working with area high school students to restore wetlands in the state.
http://www.togethergreen.org/insidescene5.aspx
New wildlife refuge proposed for region The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing a new federal national wildlife refuge in Central Florida, part of which would be in southern Osceola County.
Charles Pelizza, a refuge manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, on Monday presented the proposed project to the Osceola County Commission. The newly protected area would be the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area.
The area under consideration, according to Pelizza, extends from mid-Osceola County southward to the northern shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, encompassing approximately 1 million acres. The initial phase of the project – a study – is to identify 150,000 acres that would be obtained from willing participants: 50,000 acres through fee title purchase and 100,000 acres through conservation easements, leases, mitigation banks and cooperative agreements.
Pelizza said the refuge would be a partnership among federal, tribal, state and local governments as well as with ranchers, non-governmental conservation organizations and other stakeholders to protect, restore, and conserve environmentally important natural habitat and associated wildlife.
The refuge, as proposed, would be in portions of Polk, Osceola, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands counties. The targeted area is located within a larger 4.5 million-acre landscape that extends from the southern outskirts of the Orlando metropolitan area south through the Kissimmee River Valley to Lake Okeechobee and southwest to Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress Preserve.
Pelizza said many agencies and organizations have been working to conserve this landscape and that this effort produced what is being called the Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative.
"The thing that is driving this project is the stewardship of the ranching community – they want to make sure the ranching heritage is protected," Pelizza said, adding that the proposal received U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national office approval in August.
Pelizza also said the project would emphasize habitat for the black bear and the Florida panther and would provide public hunting and fishing opportunities in the Lake Wales area, something that the area lacks now.
Public meetings are planned on the proposal and will be announced. Additional local outreach meetings also are being planned.
"We know there will be a lot of questions and concerns, as well as meaningful input so a group comprised of already-established partners is working on a communications plan," Pelizza said.
County Commissioner Michael Harford said that while he likes the idea of conserving land that is part of the system that drains into the Everglades, he is worried about the financial impact to county property tax revenue if and when a significant amount of private land becomes public land, and therefore tax exempt. He said the impact, if the refuge proposal were to be fully implemented, would cost the county about $894,000 in lost property tax revenue.
Pelizza said a significant amount of land that would become part of the refuge would remain in private hands, such as in conservation easements, where property taxes would still be paid.
Commissioner Frank Attkisson asked how much of the proposed refuge site would be in Osceola County. Pelizza responded that a majority of the site would be in Polk and Osceola counties along the Kissimmee River but that more specific numbers were not available at this time, given that the initial step on the road to the area becoming a refuge is the study.
Statewide Planning and Conservation Groups Call for Refinements to Florida's Land Planning Process Recognizing the need to refine the way Florida manages growth, Florida's leading planning and conservation groups have developed a series of recommendations for Gov. Rick Scott, House Speaker Dean Cannon, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos as they assume leadership roles in Florida. 1000 Friends of Florida, Audubon of Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and Tropical Audubon Society have transmitted two documents to Florida's incoming leadership.
Explains 1000 Friends President, Charles Pattison, FAICP, "We look forward to working cooperatively with Florida's new leaders to develop positive, workable approaches to managing growth in our state." He maintains, "Major corporations plan for the future, and Florida should too."
The two documents, Planning for Quality Growth
and Economic Prosperity for Florida's Future¸ and Why Planning is an Effective Economic Development Tool for Florida, identify refocused planning strategies to protect significant statewide interests, save taxpayer dollars, streamline the state planning process, and explain why effective planning is essential for sustained economic recovery.
Major recommendations include lessening state oversight in appropriately designated urban infill and redevelopment areas while increasing focus on rural and "edge" areas with significant natural resources. The report also includes the recommendation that new development cover the cost of associated infrastructure and services so taxpayers are not forced to subsidize development through higher taxes. While calling for an independent state land planning agency, the groups recognize that it may be appropriate to unite growth management functions at the state level with other related and compatible government missions.
"In his inaugural address, Governor Scott expressed his desire to make Florida the most attractive place in the world for employers to locate their businesses. We share his desire to quickly provide job opportunities for nearly one million unemployed Floridians," said Kirk Fordham, CEO of the Everglades Foundation. "At the same time, our state is currently struggling to provide an adequate supply of water to existing residents, businesses and farmers. It is imperative that we immediately implement plans to protect our water supply and our spectacular natural resources while thoughtfully managing future growth."
Audubon of Florida's Charles Lee notes, "There is an important tradeoff to be made in restructuring the state level approach to growth management. Reducing state oversight in the urban areas where more growth should be encouraged is a good idea. Likewise, more careful state oversight assuring new development takes place in appropriate locations outside the urban boundary and better protecting sensitive ecosystems is essential." Lee explains, "Increased emphasis should be placed on protecting Florida's most significant natural areas like the Everglades, Green Swamp and Wekiva."
"Florida's environment is this state's most important economic development asset," says Florida Wildlife Federation President Manley Fuller. "Protecting the state's natural assets is key to long-term economic vitality."
Rudy Scheffer of the Sierra Club Florida Steering Committee explains, "Cost-efficient development saves taxpayer dollars now and in the future." He notes, "Common sense planning measures reduce costs associated with infrastructure and services and protect natural lands that perform vital functions Florida's citizens depend on."
"Florida needs a vision-based comprehensive plan to promote cost-effective land development that does not harm the state's most significant resources," says The Nature Conservancy's Florida Chapter Director Jeff Danter. "The state budget should be tied to this plan to ensure most efficient use of taxpayer dollars."
"It's important to recognize that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach won't protect the state's most sensitive ecosystems, " explains Laura Reynolds, Executive Director of the Tropical Audubon Society. "We believe that a stakeholder-driven consensus process should be established to protect this state's most sensitive lands."
1000 Friends' Pattison concludes, "Not only do these recommendations protect natural lands and streamline planning programs, but they also are in the best interest of the taxpayers of Florida as we all work to achieve the quickest possible economic recovery."
Corps identifies areas of Collier, Lee needing more scrutiny for rock mining The view from Robert Lenahan's back door in Golden Gate Estates is all scrub pine, palmetto and sky.
He'd like to keep it that way, so he's been writing long letters to environmental agencies to try to stop a proposed rock mine on the other side of the barbed wire fence behind his home along 17th Street Southwest.
That mine is one of six proposed in North Belle Meade, on the edge of Golden Gate Estates in Collier County, and along Corkscrew Road in Lee County that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined would have significant enough effects to justify more in-depth reviews, called Environmental Impact Statements, or EIS.
"The more exposure to sunlight this has, the better it is," Lenahan said.
With 12 pending mine permits in Southwest Florida, the corps determined that the cumulative effects of six of the mines (four in Lee totaling more than 13,700 acres and two in Collier totaling more than 2,200 acres) require closer looks.
The Lee County applications (known as the Troyer Bros., Old Corkscrew Plantation, Lost Grove and Six L's mines) will be the subject of one EIS.
In Collier County, a second EIS will comprise the East Naples mine and Section 20 mine, which is being proposed by home builder Lennar Corp.
In records supporting its decision, the corps said the mines would change the natural character of North Belle Meade and set a precedent for even more development.
The two applications would affect a total of 624 acres of wetlands, representing 6 percent of the wetlands remaining in North Belle Meade, according to the corps.
Scott to break tradition and skip Everglades conference Bob Martinez started the tradition. Lawton Chiles continued it. Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist kept it going.
Since 1987, every time Florida has sworn in a new governor, one of his first public appearances has been to deliver a speech at the annual Everglades Coalition conference — usually on the topic of how important it is to restore the Everglades.
But when the four-day Everglades Coalition conference convenes in Weston on Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott won't be speaking.
"We invited Scott, and his office called and said they had to decline the invitation for a scheduling conflict," said Julie Hill-Gabriel of Audubon of Florida, a conference co-chairwoman. A spokeswoman for Scott said Tuesday that she did not know what the conflict was.
Not having Scott show up "is a disappointment," said Richard Grosso, a coalition board member. "Obviously we need this governor to continue the tradition of continuing to recognize the importance of the Everglades to the state."
The coalition, a consortium of more than 50 environmental and civic groups concerned about the future of the River of Grass, has been holding annual conferences since 1986 to discuss how to push forward with restoration. It has long been a place for activists to network and politicians to shake hands and tout their environmental credentials.
See Jane Goodall The Naples Philharmonic is offering a limited number of special price tickets to see Jane Goodall on Monday, February 14. Conservancy of Southwest Florida members and volunteers will receive a discounted group rate of $62.00. Order your tickets through the Phil's Box Office (239.597.1900) and mention that you are from "Conservancy of Southwest Florida" to receive your discount.
Michigan files suit against dairy farm in '09 fish kill After more than year of failed negotiations, the state has filed a lawsuit against those they say are liable for a fish kill that occurred in August 2009 in the Black River.
Noll Dairy Farm Inc. of Croswell and Nevin and Heather Wenger of Marlette -- doing business as Back Country Manure Management Co. -- have been named as liable parties in the lawsuit filed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.
DNRE spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said the agency is not commenting about the lawsuit or disclosing just how much it seeks to recover from the liable parties.
State officials have said manure ran off a Noll Dairy farm field into a creek that flows into the Black River and that Back Country Manure Management Co. had applied it "excessively" to the field.
The discharge killed more than 200,000 fish in a 12-mile stretch of the Black River, from about three miles south of Croswell in Sanilac County to about the middle of the Port Huron State Game Area in St. Clair County.
The complaint, filed Dec. 15 in Sanilac County, said the state is asking for "compensation to the state of Michigan for natural resource damages."
The complaint also says the state is asking the defendants for mitigation for the value of the loss of public resources and recreational opportunities, along with the costs of rehabilitating the Black River and affected tributaries.
Noll Dairy officials declined to comment. Attempts to contact the Wengers were not successful.
Scott names development exec. as top Fla. planner Gov. Rick Scott named a development company executive as Florida's next planning chief Wednesday and brought Kurt Browning out of retirement to again serve as secretary of state.
Scott also announced that Michelle Rhee, known for firing teachers who got poor appraisals when she headed Washington, D.C.'s school system, will continue as his informal education adviser.
A day after taking office, the new Republican governor appointed Billy Buzzett as secretary of the Department of Community Affairs. He comes from The St. Joe Company, one of Florida's largest private landowners, where he was vice president of strategic planning.
Buzzett's appointment predictably won applause from the business sector, but it also drew praise from an environmental leader.
"That's actually a good thing," said Audubon of Florida executive director Eric Draper. "I've walked the woods with him. I know he has a personal feeling for the specialness of Florida's environment."
Buzzett's marching orders include advising Scott on how to align the planning agency's functions with those of other state agencies. Scott noted in a news release that Buzzett served on a transition team that recommended merging Community Affairs with the departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection.
It's an idea environmentalists oppose because they fear it would dilute protection of Florida's natural resources, but Draper predicted it would be a nonstarter in the Legislature.
Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah honored by Everglades Coalition Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah received the James D. Webb Award Saturday night at the Everglades Coalition conference in Weston.
The award is given every year "to a public official who has made an outstanding contribution to the Everglades."
James Webb worked as the Florida representative of The Wilderness Society from 1986 to 1995 and was instrumental in expanding Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.
National Park Pole/Troll zone Snake Bight in Everglades National Park has been declared a "pole and troll" zone for boaters to protect aquatic vegetation, improve flats fishing, and enhance wildlife viewing opportunities. Internal combustion motors can only be used in the channels.
Ranger-guided programs have started for the season and include canoeing, biking, nature walks, and educational talks. For a full schedule, stop in at the Gulf Coast Visitor Center or see www.nps.gov/ever and click on Plan Your Visit. The phone number is 695-3311.
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