South Florida Audubon Society Conservation Report

The individual man is transitory, but the pulse of life and of growth goes on after he is gone, buried under a wreath of magnolia leaves." Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Read Florida Audubon's Raptor News

Read about wildlife around the World

Visit Audubon's survey page to see what you can do to help

Upcoming Events

TogetherGreen Volunteer Days

Water Conservation at Home Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

This workshop, delivered by John Shave, will be open to the community and is sponsored by the Cypress Bay High Ecology Club and South Florida Audubon Society

Topic: Conserving water in South Florida homes using rain barrels and other techniques

Location: 18600 Vista Park Blvd Weston, FL 33332

Room 201 is on the 2nd floor of the main building. Signs will be posted to direct you to the correct room.

Other information:

There will be 3 rain barrels offered for silent auction.

These rain barrels have been beautifully painted by the talented students in the Cypress Bay Art Club.

Proceeds will benefit the Art Club, Cypress Bay High School Ecology Club and the South Florida Audubon Society.

Upcoming events from Birdwatching Magazine

May is a busy month for birding! We've gathered a whole calendar full of fun events taking place all over the U.S. (and beyond). The events listed below are just a sample of what you'll find on our events calendar:

Keweenaw Migratory Bird Festival
April 29-May 30, 2011, Copper Harbor, MI

The Biggest Week in American Birding
Contributing Editor Kenn Kaufman will give programs on bird ID!
May 5-15, 2011, Oak Harbor, OH

International Migratory Bird Day
May 14, 2011, U.S., Canada, all over!

New Jersey Audubon World Series of Birding
May 14, 2011, NJ

Birds of the Rockies and Prairies
Go birding with Contributing Editor David Sibley!
May 29-June 4, 2011, Choteau, MT

Read our complete list of fun events, including 30+ events in May.

Read a list of festivals and fairs.

Read a list of lectures.

Read a list of bird walks.

Of Interest to all

Melissa Meeker becomes SFWMD Director Just two months ago, Melissa Meeker was put in charge of all the water management districts in the state after Gov. Rick Scott said he wanted stronger state supervision of water management.

She gave it up Thursday to become executive director of the largest and most troubled of those districts, the South Florida Water Management District based in West Palm Beach.

"This is such a time of opportunity," Meeker said. "My whole career has focused on challenges like this and this district really should be the best of the best."

Meeker, approved by the South Florida district's board Thursday in a surprise appointment, is both an insider and an outsider at the district, having sat on the district's board and done business with the district as a private consultant. She's also a political insider in Tallahassee, working directly under Herschel Vinyard, the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, who made her the state's first Deputy Secretary for Water Policy and Ecosystem Projects earlier this year.

She'll likely need skills she's acquired from all those roles as she inherits an agency that was recently rocked by allegations of cronyism and targeted for dramatic budget cuts by the legislature, an agency where staff cuts are imminent and federal judges are threatening strict sanctions in several lawsuits brought by environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe over the Everglades restoration.

Asked why she took the district job so soon after accepting the statewide position, she said timing was a factor.

She said she accepted the water czar position before the district's executive director position became available. Carol Wehle, the district's former executive director, announced her retirement only last month after The Palm Beach Post reported that neither she nor her boyfriend reported their relationship before the district's inspector general hired him to a $120,000-a-year job as the district "engineering auditor."

"It will be an honor to carry this agency forward," said Meeker, whose salary has not been set. "It's about time government took a more active role in water management."

She said she intends to rein in the district, focusing on its core mission: flood control, water supply and restoration. Programs beyond that would be eligible for cuts, she said. "We can do this even with the proposed budget cuts."

Meeker served on the district's governing board for two years before leaving in 2009 to become a commissioner on the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission. She previously worked for the Department of Environmental Protection, including a period as director of the department's southeast region, which spans from St. Lucie County south to Miami-Dade County.

Her private-sector past includes nearly five years in two stints at Tetra Tech EC, a global engineering and construction company, and more than three years with her own consulting firm, Stuart-based Hesperides Group, now led by her husband, Richard.

Although Meeker's name no longer appears on corporate records, she described herself as a managing member of Hesperides as recently as Feb. 23. According to a contract she signed on that date, Tetra Tech hired Hesperides as a subcontractor to perform water quality monitoring.

Meeker said Hesperides is subcontractor on a total of four district projects. On Thursday afternoon, after the governing board unanimously voted her as executive director, Meeker said she sent letters to the primary contractors, saying her husband's firm could no longer do business on district projects.

"Our intent is to avert all conflicts," she said. The district and its contractors were never big clients, she said, adding that her husband would no longer do business with the district or state.

Her husband's business contact with the district began before she joined the board in 2007. In 2005 a district contract went to her husband's now defunct company, Wetland Consulting Services. The company was paid $19,680 to manage vegetation in two stormwater treatment areas.

In April 2010, nearly a year after Meeker left the governing board, Hesperides also received a $46,400 contract from the district to identify up to 15 public lands that could be used to clean water entering Lake Okeechobee.

Hesperides received final payment of $43,160 in October and turned in a 34-page final report on April 11. Because the contract did not exceed $50,000, it did not require board approval or competitive bidding.

Environmentalists were pleased with Meeker's appointment.

"Widely respected by both conservationists and business leaders, Meeker has the guts and the environmental credentials to build consensus among very polarized interests on the complicated water supply and water quality problems plaguing South Florida," Kirk Fordham, CEO of The Everglades Foundation wrote in a press release.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season is here The sea turtle nesting season – March 1 through July – has begun. Beachgoers and beachfront homeowners can help protect sea turtles that come ashore at night with regularity during nesting season to deposit and care for their eggs. Resist the urge to approach, and turn off or shield lights facing the beach that can disorient the sea turtle hatchlings and cause them to head toward the shore instead of safely away from it into the ocean. If you wish to participate in organized tours to witness the nesting ritual, call the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program at 954-519-1255. If you see hatchling turtles heading in the wrong direction, call the sea turtle emergency response line at 954-328-0580.

Waterway Cleanup Bags Tons of Trash The 34th Annual Waterway cleanup on March 5 was a huge success with more than 1,180 volunteers collecting 18.6 tons of trash from Broward's waterways, rivers and canals. The most unusual items found at this year's event were a submerged parking meter near Anne Kolb Nature Center and a shopping cart from the defunct department store chain Jefferson Ward found in the City of Oakland Park. Sponsors included Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department and Waste and Recycling Services.

Residents Urged to Conserve Water All residents are encouraged to conserve water in response to severe drought conditions and a Water Shortage Warning issued by the South Florida Water Management District. During February, Broward County received just 0.17 inches of rain, and from October through February Florida's Lower East Coast received less than half the average rainfall for this five-month period.

Permanent water conservation measures now in place limit landscape irrigation to two days a week. Residences and businesses with an odd-numbered street address may water on Wednesdays and/or Saturdays, only before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Residences and businesses with an even-numbered street address may water on Thursdays and/or Sundays, again only before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Additional information on water conservation and enforcement of water restrictions can be found at www.broward.org/NaturalResources and click COUNTYWIDE WATER CONSERVATION.

New York Harbor Joins Ranks of Great Waters The Northeast Regional Office continues to build support for national park sites in and immediately around New York City, including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Governors Island, and Gateway National Recreation Area. It's difficult to imagine now, but the harbor estuary surrounding these parks was once a vibrant gathering place where fishing and swimming were common. Today, poor water quality deters swimmers and public access is limited.

But this spring, the harbor joined the ranks of 18 bodies of water--including the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, and Chesapeake Bay--as one of the nation's "Great Waters" which means that the water is of national significance and its protection and restoration is a national priority. The designation embodies the shared goal of making America's fresh-water clean and accessible to the public. NPCA is leading the effort for New York Harbor by rallying a local coalition of community and conservation groups to advocate for restoration.

Read More in The New York Times'
City Room Blog > >

Gulf Coast Parks One Year after the Spill A year after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, national park staff are still working hard to help ensure that the plants, animals, and landscapes that anchor our communities and draw people outdoors are restored for future generations. Park scientists and researchers at both Gulf Islands and Padre Island National Seashores are paying special attention to this year's nesting seasons for both shorebirds and sea turtles; nesting can run from March through the summer months. Given the unknown impacts of the oil remaining in the Gulf, this season could be a significant indicator of what the future holds. Still, researchers and park staff warn that much like the long road back seen after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, only time will tell the full impact of last year's disastrous spill.

Read more

Stomping out the frogs State senators voted 39-0 to name the barking tree frog as the official state amphibian.

Then the House voted 95-16 to kill the frogs.

Not directly, perhaps, but the Florida House of Representatives embraced a giant legislative package that would undo thirty-some environmental protections and regulations — the kind of rules that keep fragile fauna like barking tree frogs from hopping into oblivion.

The legislators might as well have turned a basket of frogs loose on the House floor and stomped them with their shiny black Florsheims.

Anti-environment bills percolating through the Legislature this session would relax water pollution standards, ease the environmental regulations for rock miners, and take the legal worry out of contaminating groundwater. Dredging would be okay in the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve. The state Department of Environmental Protection, what's left of it after budget cuts, would be forced to ease up on the permitting processes. Deadlines would be extended, for years, for upgrading underground fuel tanks or for getting rid outfall pipes that dump sewage into the Atlantic Ocean.

Meanwhile, the budget writers have diverted more than $50 million from Florida's environmental trust funds – money that had been set aside for habitat protection, invasive-species removals, water projects. Money budgeted to clean up the Everglades was cut from $50 million to $20 million. The Florida Forever program, to buy up environmentally valuable land ahead of the developers, got zilch. And 30 years of state growth management, oversight would be undone by provisions attached to budget bills in both the House and Senate on Friday.

It was a very tough day for frogs in Florida, barking or not.

Read the article

Birds

2011 State of the Birds Report On May 3, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the 2011 State of the Birds Report. This report finds that we must take action to protect the public lands our nation's birds depend on. Like previous USFWS State of the Birds reports, the 2011 edition reflects the combined effort of multiple public and private (NGO) partners.

Audubon's Director of Bird Conservation Greg Butcher played a key role as a member of the Report's science team; Glenn Olson, Audubon's Donal O'Brien Chair in Bird Conservation through Advocacy & Public Policy, provided broad leadership, as he does for multiple federal bird conservation initiatives.

Audubon Vice President of Government Relations Mike Daulton spent the morning of the release birding on Teddy Roosevelt Island with FWS senior staff including Director Nominee Dan Ashe and outgoing Assistant Director of Migratory Birds Paul Schmidt. Following the release, Audubon magazine editor David Seideman conducted an exclusive interview with Secretary Salazar regarding his views on bird conservation.

With its geographic and habitat-based presentation, it is an especially good resource for field programs working to build relationships with public land managers. It is also a powerful tool to focus attention on the importance of public-private partnerships to protect these vital habitats on the birds that depend on them.

Learn more and download the report: www.stateofthebirds.org

Read Audubon's press release about the report: www.audubon.org

World's biggest bird on verge of extinction The biggest bird on the planet is on the verge of extinction. The Saharan race ostrich, largest representative of its species, has been extirpated across 95 per cent of its range. Within Niger, the bird is extinct in the wild.

There are still roughly 100 pure-bred Saharan race ostriches in small privately-held captive flocks scattered across the country. A land-locked country in Western Africa, the Republic of Niger is exceptionally poor, but with some modest assistance those caring for ostriches can substantially improve the chances of these birds breeding successfully and rearing young.

Given how productive ostrich can be, there is every reason to believe that with the right material and technical support, Niger can breed desert ostrich and return them to the wild in relatively short order.

New sightings claimed for Ivory-Billed woodpecker There have been repeated claims of sightings, and a number of very indistinct photos have been claimed. Large rewards have been offered and large amounts of cash have been spent on the search for the Ivory-Billed woodpecker. With the world of conservation desperate for cash, and vast tracks of the world in dire need of conservation, surely there are thousands of better things to with this cash?

If the Ivory-bill is still alive in the swamps of Arkansas & Florida, it has managed to cling on without our help this long. Those swamps are not going anywhere, and the bird has proved that it can avoid humans despite all their efforts and the latest technology. Alternatively, the bird is, sadly, long gone, and we should focus our attention on more productive causes.

Dr. Michael Collins, Naval Research Laboratory scientist and bird watcher, has published an article titled "Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings claimed for Ivory-Billed woodpecker.

There have been repeated claim of sightings, and a number of very indistinct photos have been claimed. Large rewards have been offered and large amounts of cash have been spent on the search for the Ivory-Billed woodpecker. With the world of conservation desperate for cash, and vast tracks of the world in dire need of conservation, surely there is thousands of better things to with this cash?

The audio recordings were captured in two videos of birds with characteristics consistent with the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. This footage was obtained near the Pearl River in Louisiana, where there is a history of unconfirmed reports of this species. During five years of fieldwork, Collins had ten sightings and also heard the characteristic "kent" calls of this species on two occasions. Scientists working independently in three states have now published articles that report multiple sightings of and various forms of evidence for this elusive species, which is extremely difficult to observe and photograph due to its rarity, wariness, and tendency to roam over wide areas in remote swamp habitat.

During two (claimed) encounters with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Collins heard high-pitched calls that seem to match the description of an alarm call that was reported by James Tanner in the 1930s but was never recorded. On both occasions, the calls came from the direction of the bird and began at a moment when the bird was alarmed. Several of these calls were captured in the first video, which received a positive assessment from an independent expert, Julie Zickefoose, whose paintings of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers have appeared on the covers of a leading ornithology journal and the leading contemporary text on this species. According to Zickefoose, the large woodpecker in the video has a large crest, large bill, long neck, and rared-back posture consistent with an Ivory - billed woodpecker and it has ponderous and heavy flaps and takes an unusual flapping leap that is unlike anything she has seen from a Pileated Woodpecker (the only other large woodpecker in Louisiana).

Snail kites making comeback An invasive aquatic plant and an endangered native bird are both making a comeback on Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials announced Thursday in an open forum at the Osceola County Commission chambers.

The Everglades snail kite, an endangered bird of prey that feeds nearly exclusively on non-native apple snails, which in turn eat hydrilla, a non-native, rapidly growing aquatic plant that forms a surface bed of leaves, is rebounding in record numbers, state officials said.

Preliminary counts show 185 snail kite nests this month compared with 180 nests in all of 2006, Zach Welch, snail kite coordinator for the wildlife commission said, adding that 98 nests were counted on Lake Tohopekaliga alone.

"Toho has been one of the main producers (of snail kites)," Welch said. "We've never seen the kites nest (this well) with the water level as low as it was in January and February."

East Lake Tohopekaliga in St. Cloud has 21 nests, beating its previous record of 20 nests, Welch said.

"We're ahead of the past couple years," he said. "Toho is the only (lake) we manage hydrilla for snail kites."

Hydrilla limits boat navigation, blocks sunlight to other aquatic vegetation and deprives fish of oxygen. Less than 1,500 of the more than 10,000 acres of the plant were treated this winter on Lake Tohopekaliga.

Due to warmer weather, hydrilla is growing more rapidly, filling in the water navigation trails previously formed by herbicide treatment, state officials said.

The trails hit hardest, according to Ed Harris, wildlife commission biologist, are Goblet's Cove, Cypress Cove and the southwest side of Makinson Island near the dock. Harris said the commission is currently determining whether to treat the areas – up to 75 acres – now by airboat or during scheduled treatment this fall.

"We want to make sure (the trails) don't get to that problem stage again," Harris said.

The agency also is varying the type of herbicide used during treatment as hydrilla was shown to be building a tolerance against the "bread and butter" herbicide frequently used.

Harris requested any comments or concerns be directed to him at ed.harris@myFWC.com or 407-858-6170.

Bad Parents? Or Smart Ones? Cliff Swallows are colonial—that is, they nest in colonies, sometimes numbering in the thousands of birds. In many ways the members of a colony appear to display remarkable social cohesiveness. They work together to mob predators and will even learn from each other where the good food sources are.

But if you look closely at a Cliff Swallow colony, you'll see that this seemingly cooperative community also harbors its share of dastardly misbehavior. Or is it actually a smart way to parent?

In every colony there are a few swallows (you might call them bad eggs) that parasitize their neighbors. They do this not by sucking other swallows' blood or stealing food, but by putting their eggs in nests other than their own. Sometimes the sneaky swallow will even toss out one of the nest owner's eggs before laying her egg in its place! This behavior is known as brood parasitism. The extra eggs go undetected, and the surrogate parents end up doing the work of raising the slacker's young.

These parasitic egg-laying visits are clandestine and quick, but some Cliff Swallows have been spotted launching an even faster, more remarkable sneak attack: carrying eggs in their very small beaks (adapted for catching tiny insects on the wing) and quickly dropping them into a neighbor's nest.

Invasive species

New Project Looks to Insects to Control Invasive Exotic Plants Responding to invasive exotic species is one of the most complex challenges to protection and restoration of South Florida's unique environment, and it is estimated that despite considerable conservation efforts, non-native plants account for one-third of all plants in Florida. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) has a goal of reducing and eliminating further expansion of these non-native species that can greatly impact ecosystem restoration efforts. Combating threats from exotic plants including melaleuca, Australian pine, lygodium and Brazilian pepper are an important part of the equation for restoration efforts.

This week construction began on a study facility that will raise insects that will take on some of the work needed to control the population of exotic plants. This cooperative project, made possible through a joint effort of the US Army Corps of Engineers, SFWMD, University of Florida, US Department of the Interior and US Department of Agriculture, will raise, release and monitor these "biocontrol" agents which can decrease plant size, flower and seed production and increase leaf mortality. The insects will be cultivated to specifically impact the targeted plant species and undergo extensive testing and permitting to ensure they are safe for release with no unintended adverse impact on the ecosystem.

Genetically Engineered Tree Company ArborGen Decides Not to Go Public with Stocks The genetically engineered tree (GE tree) company ArborGen, a joint project of timber corporations International Paper (NYSE: IP), MeadWestvaco (NYSE: MWV) and Rubicon (NZSE: RBC.NZ), decided suddenly yesterday to change its plans and not sell shares in ArborGen publicly on the NASDAQ exchange.

On July 1, 2010, three member organizations of the STOP GE Trees Campaign (Global Justice Ecology Project, Dogwood Alliance and Sierra Club) teamed up with attorneys at the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety to sue the US Department of Agriculture over their approval of a series of field trials involving more than a quarter of a million GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees because the Environmental Assessment the USDA used to approve the field trials was inadequate.

The lawsuit demands that the USDA prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement regarding the field trials because of their potential impacts on forests, ground water, wildlife and endangered or threatened species. The groups that filed the suit charge that GE trees carry serious social and ecological risks; and that these risks were either downplayed or outright ignored in the USDA's Environmental Assessment.

Read the article

Pythons find Fla. swamps to liking Neither record cold temperatures nor water shortages have stopped the Everglades python menace, say water managers bracing for the springtime peak of python mating season.

The South Florida Water Management District reported recently that it removed six pythons from territories previously thought to be un-invaded, including areas deep in the Everglades and north of Alligator Alley.

Burmese pythons and other giant constrictor snakes that aren't native to Florida were probably introduced to the Everglades by pet owners seeking watery disposal.

The pythons, which started appearing in the 1980s, are considered a threat to multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration efforts because they prey on bobcats, wading birds, white-tailed deer and other native Florida species, including alligators - a gory battle between a 13-foot Burmese python and a 6-foot gator made national news in 2005 when the python attempted, but failed, to swallow the gator whole.

When dead pythons were discovered after the record low temperatures in 2009 and 2010, scientists hoped it meant the snakes wouldn't survive the extreme weather swings.

But water managers have now concluded otherwise.

"Almost nothing stops them. It tells us they're tough and rugged," said Dan Thayer, the water district's director of vegetation and land management. "The survival of an invasive species often depends on its ability to endure extremes. The Burmese python is overcoming a wide range of conditions in Florida, including extreme colds and a water shortage."

Since 2000, the water district says it and other agencies have removed 1,360 Burmese pythons from the Everglades. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the python population at anywhere from 5,000 to more than 100,000 in Florida's "River of Grass."

Florida last year banned new ownership of Burmese pythons and six other types of giant constrictors as pets.

Florida Panthers

Big Cypress Preserve wildfire consumes panther den killing 4 kittens The wildfire burning at the Big Cypress National Preserve consumed the den a female panther on Monday, killing 4 panther kittens.

The remains of the kittens were discovered Tuesday. The kittens, a female and three males, were 5 weeks old and had been handled and marked by Big Cypress staff on April 15.

The mother had been in attendance at the den until 2:30 Monday when the fire reached the den.

She has returned to the den site and has been documented in the area. She will likely return to the site until the female-kitten bond has been broken.

Vehicle strikes, kills panther on U.S. 41 near Big Cypress preserve A Florida panther died Saturday, the sixth wild cat to be killed by a vehicle and 12th to be reported dead this year, officials reported.

The panther, tagged UCFP160, was found at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday on U.S. 41 at Fifty-Mile Bend in Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County, reported Big Cypress law enforcement. Big Cypress Ranger Anne Pestolesi responded and confirmed that it was an uncollared male panther, according to a prepared statement.

"A cursory check of the teeth and the presence of faint spotting on its coat suggests that it may be a young male. It also had a cowlick, one descended testicle, no kink, and no microchip. The necropsy may prove otherwise," according to the statement.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Dave Onorato concurred the death was likely caused by being struck by a vehicle based on the fresh blood coming from its mouth and nose, numerous coat abrasions and fresh blood on the roadway, according to the report.

The remains will be archived at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Motorists urged to slow down, save lives of Florida Panthers Four nights. Nine officers. Eighty-four citations resulting in costly fines. Forty-six warnings issued. Hundreds of motorists educated.

These are the significant results of the recent "Save a Panther" detail, conducted by officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Division of Law Enforcement.

From April 18-22, FWC officers patrolled and enforced panther speed zones on State Road 29 and U.S. 41 in Collier County.

It's worth noting that most of the citations written during the detail were to motorists driving more than 20 mph above the posted speed limit.

To help protect the large cats from increasing traffic threats, FWC officers and their law enforcement partners regularly patrol panther speed zones.

Panther speed zones are well-marked, with speed limits reduced to 45 mph at night.

So far this year, five Florida panthers have met untimely ends on roads and highways in Collier County.

On Saturday, the body of what appears to be a young male was recovered on U.S. 41 at Fifty-Mile Bend in Big Cypress National Preserve.

The animal was likely struck and killed by a vehicle. A necropsy will confirm the cause of death.

The panther population has grown five-fold since the 1980s, when its numbers had dwindled to 20-30.

Its increase to a current estimate of 100-160 adult panthers is a success story, but one tempered with the knowledge that an increasing population means a greater chance for vehicle collisions.

"The increase in panther numbers also means that more panthers are crossing roadways," said Capt. Jayson Horadam, supervisor of the FWC's Collier County law enforcement office.

"The vehicle collisions that have occurred to date this year were all outside of panther speed zones. We urge drivers to slow down and watch for panthers on all rural roads in panther country."

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.

Conservation groups appeal Federal judge's ruling Conservation groups have appealed a federal judge's ruling in the hopes of finally protecting critical habitat for the Florida panther, which has been listed as endangered for more than 40 years. The appeal, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, challenges a ruling earlier this month that upheld a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision not to identify and protect what is left of the panther's shrinking habitat among sprawling development in South Florida.

In February 2010, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the Council of Civic Associations, filed a lawsuit challenging the Service's denial of their petitions to designate critical habitat for the panther. This designation would give the panther the greatest protection available under the federal Endangered Species Act and promote its recovery from the brink of extinction. At present, about 120 Florida Panthers survive in the wild – clinging to less than five percent of their historic range.

On April 6, 2011 a federal district judge dismissed the groups' lawsuit. The judge's order recognized the panther's gravely imperiled status, citing to prior cases which called the panther "one of the rarest large mammals in the United States" and "one of the most endangered large mammals in the world." Nevertheless, the judge found that, because the panther was listed as endangered before the critical habitat provisions were added to the Endangered Species Act, the Service's action was entirely discretionary and therefore not subject to judicial review.

Andrew McElwaine, President of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, pointed out that "in effect, the Judge said the Service does not have to designate critical habitat for the panther because the panther has been endangered for too long. We trust the 11th Circuit will reverse."

Read the article

Click here for more information about the Florida Panther

Endangered Species

28 Florida species among 251 feds would consider for endangered species list under deal A partial truce between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and two environmental groups requires the agency to decide within six years whether 251 imperiled species, including 28 plants and animals in Florida, belong on the endangered species list.

The proposal stems from a court agreement between the federal agency and WildEarth Guardians, one in a handful of groups that have filed hundreds of legal actions against the agency over its handling of petitions for endangered status for hundreds of imperiled species.

With too few resources, the agency has placed imperiled species on a waiting list of "candidates" for greater protections. Some of the species have languished on that list for more than 30 years.

Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes said the backlog has been made worse by lawsuits that have bogged down the Fish and Wildlife Service and prevented it from doing needed scientific reviews. "Priorities are being set by plaintiffs in courts, instead of by wildlife professionals, by litigation instead of science," Hayes said.

The compromise announced on Tuesday gives the agency six years to review 251 species now on the list to determine if they should be added to the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. Included on the list of candidates are 28 plants and animals in Florida -- six of which have been classified as having high priority: the Florida semaphore cactus, aboriginal prickly apple and Cape Sable thoroughwort, which are all plants; the round ebonyshell and southern kidneyshell, which are freshwater mussels; and the Florida bonneted bat.

Some conservationists said the proposal provides a crucial step toward breaking the courtroom gridlock that has weighed down species recovery efforts in recent years. Interior officials also said they plan to make initial findings on an additional 600 species for which groups have filed petitions seeking greater protections.

The agreement is pending court approval. As part of the deal, WildEarth Guardians said it will limit the number of petitions it files.

"This will be an important step toward protecting the rich biodiversity in the U.S. and stemming the extinction crisis," the group's wildlife program director, Nicole Rosmarino, said.

Another group involved in numerous lawsuits over endangered species said Tuesday it refused to sign the agreement with the Interior Department. Kieran Suckling with the Center for Biological Diversity said the deal leaves some of the most imperiled species, including the wolverine and walrus, "hanging in limbo for political reasons."

The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 to protect plans and animal species facing extinction. The ESA currently protects more than 1,300 species in the U.S. and about 570 species abroad. The law allows citizens, groups and government agencies to petition for species to be protected under the act.

Uncontained fire scorches heart of Big Cypress A wildfire has burned more than 16,400 acres of Big Cypress National Preserve, threatening endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers and Florida panthers.

The fire, located in the remote heart of the preserve between Tamiami Trail and Alligator Alley, began with a lightning strike last Wednesday, with winds driving it to the west.

"Because there are few manmade obstacles, like roads or trails, the fire is hard to contain," said Jim Payne, spokesman for the incident command team.

A female panther with kittens has been identified in the area of the fire, and it's unknown yet whether they were able to escape. Fire is a natural part of the preserve's ecology and the wildlife have evolved to deal with it, officials said.

"There's a lot of wildlife in the area, but fire has been part of the ecology here for eons, and wildlife have adapted to it," said Bob DeGross, spokesman for the preserve.

Using helicopters and swamp buggies, firefighters from across the United States are creating firebreaks to try to prevent the blaze from spreading. As of Tuesday afternoon, it was just 15 percent contained.

See the new Maps of Federal Manatee Protection Areas http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/manatee/Documents/MPARules/index-federal-mpa-maps.htm

Follow Satellite Tracked Sea Turtles From Cocos Island
Follow Back Country and Adrienne, as well as other green sea turtles who were captured at Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica, equipped with satellite transmitters and then released. Back Country has traveled 1,062 miles and is currently offshore of El Salvador. Yuri headed east toward the Central American coast, then south, traveling all the way to the coast of Panama before we lost transmission. Adrienne (still transmitting) prefers to stay around Cocos, indicating the importance of Cocos Island National Park as a foraging area for young turtles where they can grow to maturity before migrating to their nesting grounds.

Kemp's Ridley Nesting Season Has Begun! Nesting season for Kemp's ridleys in the Gulf of Mexico lasts from April through July. So far this year, 41 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast, with the first nest laid at Padre Island National Seashore on April 7. It is the smallest of all sea turtle species, growing to two feet long and weighing approximately 90 lbs. The oval, or heart-shaped shell ranges in color from an olive to gray-green. Kemp's ridleys live in the shallow coastal areas, bays, and lagoons of the Gulf of Mexico where they breed, but often head up the Atlantic coast to forage for food. These long-lived turtles don't begin to lay eggs until they are 11-35 years of age. Read more about the amazing Kemp's ridleys here.

Illegal Wildlife Still on the Menu in Vietnam One year ago, Vietnam lost its last known rhino. Now, it could be on its way to losing its gaur, its gibbons, and its pangolins, too.

In the city of Da Lat, Vietnamese enforcement teams raided a series of restaurants and seized entire or partial specimens of wild pig, porcupine, sambar deer, mouse deer, bamboo rats, snakes, civets, and pangolin. All are considered illegal to hunt and sell. It was just the latest action by the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department (FPD) in an ongoing effort to crack down on wildlife crimes within Vietnam's borders.

All together, the FPD teams carried out raids on 27 restaurants and one souvenir shop across Da Lat, capital of the southern province of Lam Dong, seizing 194 pounds of wild meat. They confiscated mounted horns and antlers of gaur (a wild cattle species), Eld's deer, and serow (a goat-like animal), along with stuffed gibbons and douc langur (a type of monkey). The raid teams also seized over 100 live animals including bamboo rats, wild doves, monitor lizards, jungle fowl, pheasants, ferret badgers, masked palm civets, and brush-tailed porcupines.

The raids follow a WCS survey that found 57 out of 68 of restaurants in Da Lat were serving wildlife, including those fined last August in Lam Dong's biggest raid.

"We applaud the efforts of the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department to stop the illegal sale of wildlife, but the impact of these seizures to stop wildlife criminals in Da Lat is limited by the lack of effective punishment," said Dr. Scott Roberton, of WCS-Vietnam. "We urge the authorities to revoke business licenses for any repeat offenders. This will ensure that the risk of serving wildlife outweighs the potential profit."

Mr. Vo Giang Tuyen, Vice-head of Lam Dong Forest Protection Department, sent a clear warning. "Da Lat does not tolerate anyone selling wildlife illegally," he said. "A two-strike rule for restaurants would send the right message. If the provincial authorities won't close these restaurants down, FPD will have to keep checking and issuing fines until they stop serving wildlife illegally, which takes a significant amount of both human and financial resources."

In recent years, Vietnam has made a number of large wildlife seizures, but relatively few criminals in these cases have received strict punishments and almost none have been given the maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment. For instance, the biggest offender ensnared in August's raid—Tu Loan Restaurant and Zoo—is still under investigation by police and prosecutors. The restaurant has since reopened and is once again selling illegal wildlife to customers.

See a video

Everglades and Water Quality Issues

Gov. Scott appoints new majority to South Florida water board Gov. Rick Scott appointed five new members to the South Florida Water Management District today, creating a new majority on the nine-member board that oversees water management in 16 South Florida counties, including Collier and Lee.

Among the appointees is Fort Myers planning and engineering consultant Daniel DeLisi, 37, who replaces Charles Dauray as Southwest Florida's representative on the West Palm Beach-based board.

Other appointments announced today are self-employed attorney James "Jim" Moran, 63, of West Palm Beach; Shutts and Bowan attorney Daniel O'Keefe, 43, of Windermere; Huizenga Holdings Chief Financial Officer Timothy Sargent, 41, of West Palm Beach; and self-employed attorney Glenn Waldmann, 51, of Weston.

Their terms begin this week. Waldmann's and Sargent's terms end in 2014. O'Keefe's term ends in 2012. DeLisi's and Moran's terms end in 2015.

The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

A spokesman for the Everglades Foundation, which advocates for Everglades restoration, issued a statement praising the choices.

"For some environmentalists who were expecting the governor to pack the board with stooges for big polluters, they will be pleasantly surprised," the statement reads.

"Several of the governor's board appointments are exceptionally well-qualified and should prove to be dedicated defenders of the Everglades and our water supply."

Lake Okeechobee drops below 11 feet as drought persists Lake Okeechobee took a dubious dip over the weekend, dropping below 11 feet for the first time this dry season.

With replenishing summer rains still weeks away, the lake breaking the 11 foot mark on Friday was another unwelcome sign of South Florida's water supply being strained by a drier-than-normal dry season as well as past water supply decisions.

In addition to serving as vital animal habitat, the lake is South Florida's primary backup water supply – tapped for irrigation by agriculture and also used to supplement some community supplies.

The lake on Monday was 10.92 feet above sea level, 2.68 feet below normal and more than 4 feet below lake levels this time last year.

Hitting 10.5 feet would dry out most of the lake's marshes, which is where the endangered Everglades snail kite hunts for food.

Dropping to 10.5 feet could also interrupt the gravity flows of water to drainage canals south of the lake that sugar cane growers, vegetable farmers and other agricultural operations tap for irrigation.

If the lake nears that point, the district plans to install temporary pumps that would keep lake water flowing to the canals.

But the pumps don't deliver as much as farms say they need. Also, environmentalists are concerned about the pumps further reducing water levels already threatening the snail kite.

To try to boost conservation in response to dry conditions, the district in March moved all of South Florida to twice-a-week landscape watering limits and required golf courses and agriculture south of the lake to cut back water use at least 15 percent. Those emergency restrictions could intensify if conditions worsen.

"Water conservation will continue to be critical to see the region through the rest of the dry season and protect water resources for residents and the environment," said Gabe Margasak, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.

The water use cutbacks come just a few months after the Army Corps of Engineers was draining lake water out to sea because of flood control concerns. During 2010, the corps drained more than 300 billion gallons of lake water into rivers that lead to the sea. The lake releases are intended to ease the strain on the 70-year-old dike that protects lakeside communities from flooding.

Lake Okeechobee's water once naturally replenished the Everglades, but decades of draining South Florida to make way for agriculture and development brought people and crops to land that used to naturally hold water.

Now, lack of water storage space leaves South Florida dumping stormwater out to sea instead of holding onto it for times of drought.

Aside from the lake releases, the South Florida Water Management District dumps about 1.7 billion gallons of water out of its drainage canals following a typical summer rainy day.

Palm Beach County and Broward County utilities lose 33 million gallons of water a day; problems will cost local utilities millions at same time conservation measures are in place. The utilities that supply water to South Florida residents can't account for more than 33 million gallons of water lost in delivery every day — all while users are being asked to cut back lawn watering in the name of conservation.

Leaking pipes, faulty water meters and unauthorized users result in missing water that records show is flowing out of water plants but not making it to customers or not being billed appropriately.

The lost water is costing cities hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Fixing the problems will cost millions.

The total amount of water considered "lost" each day by utilities in Broward and Palm Beach counties is about what Plantation, Miramar, Coral Springs and Hallandale Beach combined use every day, according to 2010 pumping reports to the South Florida Water Management District.

Some "unaccounted for water" — 5 percent to 10 percent annually — is considered acceptable for utilities running the vast system of water plants and pipelines that keep water flowing throughout South Florida.

But some utilities are plagued with larger water loses that cost them revenue at a time when budgets are already strained by a struggling economy. The lost water also raises conservation concerns in the midst of a lingering drought.

Delray Beach initially couldn't account for 28 percent of the water it pumps out to homes and businesses, almost triple the water-loss threshold considered acceptable by the South Florida Water Management District. An audit later found the loss wasn't that severe, but identified aging, inaccurate water meters as the source of much of the lost water.

Utilities at or above the district's 10 percent threshold for "reported water loss" include Hollywood, 10 percent; Deerfield Beach, 12 percent; North Lauderdale, 11 percent; and West Palm Beach, 13.6 percent.

The worst case was the new Lake Region Water Treatment Plant in western Palm Beach County, which can't account for 40 percent of the water it produces.

Utility officials contend that maintaining a largely underground system makes some water loss unavoidable.

But protecting Florida's water supplies requires ongoing maintenance work to limit losses and improve water delivery efficiency, according to Robert Nunes, chairman of the Southeast Florida Utility Council, which represents water providers serving nearly 5 million residents.

"We are pumping out the water. The only responsible thing to do is make sure you get it to the customers," said Nunes, utilities director for Parkland, which reported a nearly 7 percent water loss during 2010, equating to about 15,000 gallons per day.

With Wet Season a Month Away, Dry Conditions Worsen and Everglade Snail Kites Still At Risk As Lake Okeechobee water levels continue to drop, a game of Russian roulette is being played with the fate of a majestic hawk, the endangered Everglade Snail Kite (Kite). This past weekend, the lake level dropped below 11 feet, which is the level where further drawdowns of water start to lead to harmful over-drying, and Kite nest success turns toward failure and starvation. Yet, water rationing is only in Phase 1, a mere 15% cutback for agricultural users, golf course irrigation, and landscape irrigation in areas south of Lake Okeechobee.

Kites depend on aquatic apple snails for their diet. When lake levels drop below 11 feet, the marsh is almost completely dried and many apple snails may die, leaving the Kites without a dependable food source this year, and for many years until snail populations can recover.

The plight of the Everglade Snail Kite has recently gained media attention. The Sun Sentinel profiled the South Florida Water Management District's coordination with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute to farm apple snails in a hatchery close to Lake Okeechobee. While Audubon is pleased that there is increased attention to the health of apple snail populations, apple snail farming is of limited use. Past attempts to farm apple snails show that the costs of these projects outweigh the benefits and it is not the most realistic solution.

Snails and Kites are not all that suffer serious damage from extreme droughts. Organic soils of the southern islands oxidize making the islands permanently lower and submerged plant beds are dried and lost. Turtles, frogs, and other denizens of the marsh have massive population losses. The economies of lakeside communities depend on a healthy, vibrant lake for tourism, fishing, and other activities.

Maintaining water levels as high as possible in Lake Okeechobee is the only viable solution to help prevent as much harm as possible from this year's drought . Audubon continues to urge the SFWMD to increase rationing levels from Phase 1 to Phase 3 to save as much water as possible for this critically endangered bird, and other species dependent on the lake. Click here to learn more about the impact of water levels on the kite.

CLEAN WATER ACT GUIDANCE REQUEST FOR COMMENTS On May 2, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) jointly published in the Federal Register their proposal to issue clarifying guidance for determining which waters and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA) programs.

The agencies are soliciting comments on the proposed draft guidance from interested parties.

A public notice for the action described above has been posted at

http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Divisions/Regulatory/publicnotices_special.htm

Federal official says Everglades restoration will continue despite state budget slashes Despite dire warnings from environmentalists that Everglades restoration is doomed if drastic cuts to the state budget are approved, federal agencies say they have the money to keep the programs going and are ready to step up and fulfill their commitment to share the costs.

"The fact that they don't have the financial wherewithal right now, does that mean we stop dead? No, not at all," said Stu Appelbaum, deputy district engineer for Everglades restoration at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This year's federal commitment to restoration construction programs is $180 million, Appelbaum said. Next year's federal budget proposal is $163 million.

Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a 66 percent cut in Everglades restoration spending, from $50 million this year to $17 million. House and Senate proposals each stand at about $19 million.

Scott also has proposed cutting by 25 percent the property tax collection rate of the South Florida Water Management District, the state sponsor of the program. During the restoration's peak years, the state allocated as much as $100 million for the project.

"If the governor's budget goes through, it will derail Everglades restoration," said Eric Draper, the Executive Director of Audubon of Florida. "It will stop it in its tracks. It will take away the money needed to build projects."

Read the article

Everglades suffering from sulfate runoff, Methylmercury contamination The Florida Everglades are often thought of as the state's wildest and most untamed area, well-protected and far from the grind of urban civilization, a lush wetland with a folkloric reputation that separates it from the hustle and bustle of nearby Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Some of the state's most ubiquitous creatures call the area home: manatees, alligators, wading birds. But lurking below the surface, amid the highly diverse flora and fauna, is a surprisingly large amount of a notoriously toxic substance: Methylmercury.

According to scientists, the Methylmercury issue rivals other better-known ecological issues in the state, like nutrient overload in Florida waterways. Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen have long been thought of as villains in Florida waterways, due to their capacity to breed toxic algal blooms that lead to fish and dolphin kills.

Sulfate is often used as a means to kill those noxious algal blooms. In this process, sulfate (sulfur combined with oxygen) is added directly to water, eventually finding its way into Stormwater Treatment Areas, manmade wetlands that are specifically designed to filter pollution before it enters the Everglades.

The problem, according to scientists, is that the Stormwater Treatment Areas (known as "STAs") only filter so much. "These STAs are not designed to filter sulfate. They're designed to filter phosphorus," says Dr. Melodie Naja, a water quality scientist at the Everglades Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to restore and protect the greater Everglades ecosystem.

Naja says that sulfate in South Florida canals can come from several sources, including groundwater, Lake Okeechobee water, soil oxidation and fertilizer. But the main sources of sulfate, according to a study conducted by Naja and her colleagues, are the latter two: soil oxidation and fertilizers.

In a paper published in 2011, Naja and other scientists found that high levels of Methylmercury (MeHg) are a serious problem in many wetland ecosystems worldwide:

In the Florida Everglades, it has been demonstrated that increasing MeHg occurrence is driven by the sulfate contamination problem. A promising strategy of lowering the MeHg occurrence is to reduce the amount of sulfate entering the ecosystem. High surface water sulfate concentrations in the Everglades are mainly due to discharges from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) canals. [Emphasis added.]

In addition to using sulfate as a fungicide, farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area use it as a fertilizer counter-ion, and to increase the acidity of the soil, making fertilizer more readily available to plants, which take in sulfate through their roots.

These practices result in sulfate runoff into canals that eventually makes its way to the marshes of the Everglades. Due to the anaerobic conditions of the sediment in the marshes, sulfate is eventually reduced to sulfide by bacteria. Naturally occurring mercury (often present in rainwater) mixes with the sulfide, creating a dangerous cocktail known to scientists as Methylmercury.

Read the article

Landscape Businesses Favor DEP's Green Industries-Best Management Practices Ask any landscaper in Florida if their job has changed over the past several years and they will undoubtedly say yes. Under legislative direction, the state's landscaping industry, and particularly fertilizer application, has evolved into a process that requires training in DEP's Green Industries-Best Management Practices (GI-BMPs) program to ensure that our water quality is protected.

Training for the GI-BMP program is coordinated regionally by three DEP/Coastal and Aquatic Managed Area sites around Florida: Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in the northwest region, Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR in the northeast region and Rookery Bay NERR in the south region. To date more than 200 professionals have been certified to teach the program in English or Spanish and are tasked with training nearly 100,000 landscapers statewide over the next three years.

Students Making a Difference In a grassroots effort to protect the water quality in the Loxahatchee River, students at Jupiter High School in Palm Beach County joined together to create signs on the storm drains in the rural Jupiter Farms community. Using stencils and spray paint, they painted "NO DUMPING. DRAINS TO THE LOXAHATCHEE RIVER on the area's drains.

One of only two Florida rivers federally designated as a "Wild and Scenic River," it consists of 9.5 miles of fresh and salt water ecological resources such as cypress and mangrove swamps, oyster reefs and seagrasses. Several threatened and endangered species, including manatees and woodstorks inhabit the river where blue heron, egret, osprey and ibis come to feed.

The students met with staff from the South Indian River Water Control District who provided maps pinpointing the placement of the signs and DEP's Southeast District Program Administrator, Chad Kennedy, volunteered his time to help shop for project supplies.

Reuse is Responsible Use The third week in May is recognized as Florida Water Reuse Week – a time to bring awareness to Floridians about the importance of reusing this valuable resource.

Did you know that:
• Water Reuse Week was first celebrated in Florida in 2007, the year after DEP's
Reuse Program was recognized by the EPA as a Leader in Water Efficiency?
• Floridians produce billions of gallons of wastewater every day?
• Water reuse reduces the demands on valuable surface and ground waters used
for drinking?
• Reclaimed water is used to maintain many Florida golf courses?
• DEP, WateReuse Florida and the Florida Water Environment Association's
Water Reuse Committee are looking into developing a the Florida Water Reuse
Trail, a route around and through Florida designed to feature exemplary water
reuse projects in Florida?

Learn more about water reuse in Florida and visit DEP's Easy As One webpage to learn about other actions that protect Florida's resources.

Excavation, rock crushing expected to give way to Everglades restoration While the long-term results are expected to provide more water for the Everglades and improve wildlife habitat, the short-term reality includes digging up and crushing rock to build embankments, floating in a crane by barge and "dewatering" land to make way for levee improvements.

Construction crews in the fall started a $200 million project to turn 1,600 acres west of Boca Raton into a reservoir and refurbished wetland aimed at increasing water supplies in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge – the northern remnants of the Everglades.

The project is known as the Fran Reich Preserve, named after the Palm Beach County neighborhood activist who marshaled the community opposition that convinced the county not to build a landfill and incinerator on property now being used for restoration.

Contractors for the Army Corps of Engineers in the fall began the initial $44 million phase of the project, paid for with federal economic stimulus money. The work involves reinforcing the levee on the southern edge of the refuge, to keep Everglades water from seeping out and getting drained away for flood control.

The first phase, expected to last until October 2012, also includes refurbishing a 6-acre wetland to create more wildlife habitat.

Thumbs up: Federal judge confirms Florida has done too little to protect its waterways from pollution A federal judge has ruled that Florida has done too little to stop pollution of the Everglades and other waterways and said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must step in to enforce standards under the federal Clean Water Act.

Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers have been fighting the standards to protect water quality, saying pollution restrictions imposed lack sufficient scientific basis and would be too costly and damaging to the state economy to implement.

But U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said, in part, "Protection of the Everglades requires a major commitment which cannot be simply pushed aside in the face of financial hardships, political opposition or other excuses. These obstacles will always exist, but the Everglades will not — especially if the protracted pace of preservation efforts continues at the current pace."

Lake Wales to develop new water source City leaders agree that Southeast Polk County, as well as all of Central Florida, will need more water in the future.

That's why the Lake Wales City Commission voted unanimously to support Polk County government officials' project to develop a water source from the Lower Floridan Aquifer.

Gary Fries, Polk County Utilities director, told the commissioners Tuesday that the Southeast Deep Well Project near Frostproof has the potential to produce 30 million gallons of water per day, which could then be piped all over the county.

Both the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the South Florida Water Management District are on board with trying to develop better water resources, he said.

The county still needs to submit a permit application to Swiftmud. If approved, the project would span 10 to 20 years.

In 2030 - less than 20 years away - Lake Wales could see a 1.2 million gallon per day deficit, Fries said.

By 2050, that could grow to 2.59 million gallons.

"Your demand is part of the overall demand for this project," Fries said.

He warned, also, that there is a commercial application in Osceola County - to the east of Polk County - to get 30 million gallons per day from the Upper Floridan Aquifer.

"(That) could impact our ability to get water from the Lower Floridan," Fries said.

He wants to identify the water resources Polk County has to develop and make sure they are reserved for public use, he said.

Mayor Mike Carter asked if there are conservation efforts on the county level to ensure water supplies are ample.

Global Warming and Climate Change

World's Farmers Feel The Effects Of A Hotter Planet Scientists have long predicted that — eventually — temperatures and altered rainfall caused by global climate change will take a toll on four of the most important crops in the world: rice, wheat, soy and corn. Now, as world grain prices hover near record highs, a new study finds that the effects are already starting to be felt.

"For two crops, maize [corn] and wheat, there has actually been a decline in yields, if you account for the trend in climate — especially the warming trend that we've observed over the last 30 years," says Wolfram Schlenker, who teaches environmental economics at Columbia University. He's a co-author of the study, along with David Lobell and Justin Costa-Roberts at Stanford University.

The scientists looked specifically at places where there are warming trends, and sure enough, they found these staple crops weren't doing quite as well.

For rice and soy, declines in some places were offset by productivity boosts elsewhere in the world, so there was no overall change. But they did see a change for wheat and corn.

The losses caused by warming thus far are still smaller than the gains made though improved agriculture.

"We're not saying yields have gone down, just to make this clear," Schlenker says. "What we're saying is yields are lower than they would have been without the climate trend. So yields have still been going up over the last 30 years."

The study published online by Science magazine, shows that these crops have declined about 5 percent over what they would have been in the absence of warming. That sounds small, until you consider that globally, these crops are worth about $1 trillion a year. Five percent of $1 trillion is $50 billion, "which I think is quite sizable," Schlenker says.

South Florida Audubon Society Conservation Report

Monday, May 16, 2011

0 comments:

Post a Comment

About Me

Volunteers Needed

Followers

Blog Archive