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Thursday, Jan. 19th, 2012 #1187 |
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I'm warning you, Bill...You start allowing those featherless primates in here and the Everglades will go to hell in no time!
Mark Renz words and photo
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Exemplifies Administration's Successful Approach to Working Landscape Conservation
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - As part of PresidenVSalazar announces establishment of Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge & Conservation Area: http://on.doi.gov/y0wreHt
Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative, Secretaryof the Interior Ken Salazar today accepted the first donation of land in south-central Florida to officially establish the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area - conserving one of the last remaining grassland and longleaf pine savanna landscapes in eastern North America.
The new refuge and conservation area - the 556th unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System - is being established with the support of local ranchers, farmers and landowners who are working cooperatively with Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to conserve the wildlife values on their lands while retaining their right to raise livestock or crops, an approach championed by the Obama administration.
If fully realized, the refuge and conservation area will span 150,000 acres north of Lake Okeechobee. Two-thirds of the acreage, or 100,000 acres, will be protected through conservation easements purchased from willing sellers. With easements, private landowners retain ownership of their land, as well as the ability to continue farming or ranching the land. The easements would ensure the land could not be subdivided or developed.
"This is an outstanding example of the 21st century approach to conservation envisioned by President Obama when he unveiled his America's Great Outdoors initiative last year," Salazar said. "Working in close partnership with landowners, we are taking a major step to safeguard the long-term health of the Everglades in the Kissimmee Valley, while ensuring the area's ranching and farming heritage and economy remain strong. Just as we have done in Kansas, Montana and the Dakotas, our locally-driven, cooperative approach to conserving the Everglades Headwaters will help grow a robust outdoor recreation economy for central Florida, while preserving ranchers' rights to live off the land."
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), which manages the National Wildlife Refuge System, is working closely with ranchers and other private landowners, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and other state agencies, conservation organizations, users' groups, Native American tribes and federal agencies in the creation of the new refuge and conservation area.
"We are inspired by the excellent conservation opportunities that exist here as a result of the efforts of our ranching community to protect working lands across generations," said Service Director Dan Ashe. "The extraordinary vision of our many partners will help protect significant wildlife species while supporting a way of life that is vital to our citizens. This effort will restore wetlands in the headwaters area, preserve working ranches, and support a healthy environment for central and south Florida, as well as increase opportunities to hunt, fish, hike, bird watch, and learn about the importance of this landscape."
The establishment of the new refuge and conservation area is one of a series of conservation projects under the Obama administration to work locally with landowners, conservation stakeholders, and state, tribal and local governments to conserve vital habitat on working landscapes.
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Florida Conservation Coalition
We have been asked for rapid feedback on bills of high concern to us. As you can see HB 639 and HB 1103continue to move along, albeit with some modest opposition now. Especially on HB 1103, we are being joined by boaters, hunters and fishers in opposition. Preston Robertson of the Wildlife Federation on 1103 and Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida (on 639) did outstanding jobs representing the environmental community. We need to keep letting our representatives know how we feel about these two bills as well as the leadership and the sponsors.
HB 639: Alert Even though all the waters in Florida are a public resource, HB 639 would put reclaimed waters under the exclusive control of utilities with no oversight by the water management districts. Twelve members voted for this bill and only two legislators, Representatives Vasilinda Rehwinkel and Garcia voted against this bill. Its next stop is the Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee. No meeting is currently scheduled. Unfortunately key legislators, support this bill, and the South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Melissa Meeker supports the concept if not the specific language. The City of Tampa is the prime mover behind this bill. Environmental groups are working hard to stop it, but it is moving quickly through the committee process. Your urgent assistance is needed to contact the chair and members of the Rulemaking and Regulation Subcommittee. The chair is Representative Chris Dorworth (R) a real estate investor from Lake Mary and his phone number is 850/488-5843. To see the names and contact information for the other committee members go to www.myfloridahouse.gov and click on committees and then click on the representatives names.
HB 1103: Alert This bill proposes to remove half a million acres of public land and put it in private ownership by changing the definition of ordinary high water line to the low water line. This in essence will make it illegal for you to hunt, fish, camp or picnic along Florida's freshwater bodies where these activities have traditionally taken place. Nine members voted for this bill and four voted against it. The four who voted against this bill are Representative Vasilinda Rehwinkel, Sands, Perman and Bullard. The next stop for this bill is the Civil Justice Subcommittee. It is not on its agenda today (January 18) and its next meeting is not scheduled. This bill is also moving quickly through the process in spite of the valiant efforts of the different environmental groups. The chair is Eric Eisnaugle(R) an attorney from Orlando and his phone number is 850/488-9770. His hobby is wildlife watching.
PCB SCWP 12-01: This committee bill was heard today by the Select Committee on Water Policy. It increases the consumptive use permit length for alternative water sources to 30 years in order to coincide with bond expiration of a utility. The problem is that the length of consumptive permits keeps getting longer. This can be good for the applicant, but in water scarce areas it reduces the flexibility of the water management districts to meet the needs of all users. If harm occurs to the natural systems it is very difficult to revoke a permit and thirty years is a long time to wait for the permit to expire. Currently a utility could get a permit for up to 20 years. The good news is that this is only for permits for alternative water supplies. This means salt water; brackish surface and groundwater, reclaimed water and any water that is designated nontraditional. If HB 639 passes, the effects on permitting of reclaimed water would not be there. This is a proposed committee bill. The chair of the Select committee on Water Policy is Representative Trudi Williams (R) a civil engineer from Fort Myers and a governing board member from the South Florida Water Management District. Her phone number is 488-2047.
Tomorrow, January 19, the State Affairs Committee meets to consider HB 115 (Drake(R)) that eliminates the prohibition on spreading septic tank sludge on the ground and HB 989 (Gonzalez (R)) that postpones the deadline for ocean outfalls that discharge of domestic wastewater facilities to meet more stringent treatment requirements. The Ocean Outfall bill is particularly unfortunate from the standpoint of freshwater conservation. Both bills exemplify the disregard for protection Florida's natural resources by many members of the Florida Legislature. This committee meets in House Office Building 17 from 8:00 - 10:30, tomorrow.
Founder and Chairman, Bob Graham; Vice-Chairman
, Nathaniel Pryor Reed
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Central Everglades Planning Project Working Group-sponsored public workshop Jan. 25 and PDT meeting Jan. 31
Central Everglades Planning Project Working Group-sponsored public workshop Jan. 25 and Project Delivery Team meeting Jan. 31***
The next South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Working Group-sponsored public workshop for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) will be held Wednesday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the South Florida Water Management District Headquarters in the Governing Board Auditorium, Building B-1, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406. This is the third in a series of public workshops being sponsored by the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to engage the public in the Central Everglades Planning Project. The Task Force will provide feedback from the workshop to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) during the Central Everglades Planning Project. The public is advised that it is possible that one or more members of the Water Resources Advisory Commission and Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District may attend and participate in this meeting.
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> Additional information on the Task Force's Working Group-sponsored public workshop is available at: www.sfrestore.org/cepp/cepp.html
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> The agenda for the Task Force's Working Group-sponsored public workshop is available at: http://www.sfrestore.org/cepp/meetings/012512/CEPP_01_25_12_Agenda.pdf
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 | Spreading the wealth
Mark Renz photo art (click image for Florida Time Forgot website) |
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The database contains nearly 380 trees, palms, shrubs, flowers, groundcovers, grasses and vines that are recommended by University of Florida/IFAS horticulture experts.  |
Landscape Ordinance Handbook
Conservation Clinic
University of Florida Levin College of Law
Erika Zimmerman, J.D. Candidate
Thomas T. Ankersen, Director
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 | Discovery
We
are the one billionth shell
on a beach
Empty
and waiting
to be discovered
by a...
Click Mark Renz photo for rest of "Discovery" |
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Watery Foundation
We show how the prevailing majority opinion in a population can be rapidly reversed by a small fraction p of randomly distributed committed agents who consistently proselytize the opposing opinion and are immune to influence. Specifically, we show that when the committed fraction grows beyond a critical value p_c \approx 10%, there is a dramatic decrease in the time, T_c, taken for the entire population to adopt the committed opinion.
Who could doubt a political science paper with conclusions proven by calculus? In fact, a relatively small group can make an enormous difference. That is the point to the information sources I listed yesterday: they provide people the tools to make the case for better water management to other Floridians. Even ten percent is enough to make a profound difference.
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Hendry-Glades Audubon leads escorted trips to Stormwater Treatment Area 5 (STA-5) south of Clewiston. Trips are open to anyone, but participants must register to reserve a space on the trips. Check website for schedule. To sign up for the STA-5 Birding. |
Florida Community Steward Webinar Series
Reframing the Debate: Building Better Communities through Effective Engagement
Free On-line Webinar
Tuesday, January 24th, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Hosted by 1000 Friends of Florida and ActionMedia
Please RSVP to kmorris@1000fof.org by January 23
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 Ding" Darling lecture series kicks this week
The eagerly awaited 11-week "Ding" Darling Nature Store Lecture Series kicks off at J.N. "Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, with speaker Anne Morkill, an expert on climate change from the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex.
Morkill will speak on the role of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in meeting the challenges of climate change. She manages the Key West, Great White Heron, Key Deer, and Crocodile Lake refuges, which encompass some 500 square miles of marine, coastal, and upland areas that protect unique subtropical habitats and more than 30 listed and imperiled species.
Her focus is on establishing a science-based adaptive management program and fostering partnerships to restore and conserve imperiled wildlife and their habitats in the face of challenges ranging from habitat fragmentation and development to invasive exotic species and climate change.
Visitors attending Morkill's lecture will have the opportunity to view the refuge system's traveling The Changing Refuge climate change exhibit. "Ding" Darling was one of the first to display the temporary exhibit, which will soon travel to another refuge.
This year for the first time, due to their popularity, the free lectures will be held twice each Friday, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Admission is free to the event, which is sponsored by The Sanctuary Golf Club of Sanibel Island and "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis. Future events are listed below.
As usual, Wildlife Drive is closed on Friday, but visitors are welcome to enjoy the free Education Center and recreational opportunities at Tarpon Bay Explorers, the Refuge's official concessionaire located at its Tarpon Bay Recreation Area.
For more information on the lecture series, call 239-472-1100 ext. 241 or log on to www.dingdarlingsociety.org.
UPCOMING "DING" DARLING LECTURE SERIES EVENTS
(*Book-signings will follow all starred presentations)
·Jan. 20 - Anne Morkill, Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex Manager - USFWS' role in Climate Change
·Jan. 27 - Amy Bennett Williams - Images of America: Along the Caloosahatchee*
·Feb. 3 -Larry Richardson - Where Photography Meets Science: Using Remote Cameras to Capture the Florida Panther
·Feb.10 - Charles LeBuff - Images of America: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge*
·Feb.17- Nationally recognized birders, authors Don & Lillian Stokes - Bird Identification*
·Feb.24 - NO Lecture - Volunteer Award Luncheon
·March 2 - Author Blair Witherington - Florida's Living Beaches*
·March 9 - Refuge Biologist Jeremy Conrad - Alligators
·March 16 - Dr. Dale Gawlik - Wading Birds
·March 23 - Roger L. Reep & Robert K. Bonde - The Florida Manatee*
·March 30 - Dennis Giardina - The Importance of Native Snakes, featuring a live indigo snake
·Apr. 6 - Just Ducky - unveiling of new Duck Touch Screen computer with guest speakers decoy carver Jim Sprankle and Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland
As a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, DDWS works to support J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge's mission of conservation, wildlife and habitat protection, research, and public education through charitable donations and Refuge Nature Shop proceeds.
To support DDWS and the refuge with a tax-deductible gift, visit www.dingdarlingsociety.org or contact Birgie Vertesch at 239-292-0566 or director@dingdarlingsociety.org. |
 | Walk a mile in my roots
Mark Renz photo (click image for more "Roots") |
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