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Sunday, Jan. 15th, #1183
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Collier County Audubon Society:
50 years of protecting Southwest Florida's environment 1961-2011
Our mission is to promote an understanding of and interest in wildlife and the natural environment that supports it, and to further the cause of conservation of all natural resources.
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Homo spoonbill -- The Missing LinkMark Renz photo art
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Audubon's 2012 Conservation Priorities
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Wood Storks - Mission Accomplished?
In response to the recent threats to sue the US Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to downlist the endangered Wood Stork to threatened status, the Audubon Wood Stork Research Team are calling attention to stark omissions in the media's coverage and public dialogue on this important issue.
Wood Storks are a system-wide indicator species for the multi-billion dollar Everglades Restoration effort and its nesting remains decimated there due to wetland destruction. Thus, Wood Storks have moved in big numbers to many smaller colonies in Georgia and South Carolina, which Audubon scientists agree may meet the numeric prescription for downlisting.
However, nesting totals in the stork's historic home in the Everglades tells a far more troubling story. There has been no new nesting in four of the past five years at the nation's largest Wood Stork colony at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, located in the Western Everglades.
This raises serious questions about whether the Wood Stork can recover as a species without longterm restoration of its historic Everglades home. This and other questions about long term sustainability of the new small northern colonies must be answered before any claim of "mission accomplished", which has been the tone of many recent news accounts.
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If you missed him at the EvergladesConference,
Hiaasen at Feathers & Friends Gala
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Thursday,
February 9, 2012 · 6:30pm - 9:30pm |
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Come out and support Collier County Audubon Society and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary by attending our Feathers & Friends Gala 2012. With keynote speaker, award winning author, Carl Hiaasen, hors d'oeuvres and dinner, it's an evening not to be missed! |
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Get out and paint the town Mark Renz photo
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WHAT: The Everglades Opera
Pahayokee: A Plea for Life - A Song Cycle of the Everglades Life
Everglades Opera is a nature oratorio about the Everglades and is a fervent call to save one of the most unique environments on Earth. Pahayokee features the music of Jack Tamul and Operatic Baritone John Boehr coupled with piano by David Boehr and lyrical poetry and ambient recordings by Jim Miller. The 50-minute performance is a transporting ode to the beauty of the Everglades and a plea for its life. It combines wonderful vocals and piano music, ambient sounds of the Everglades and breathtaking Everglades photography by Mac Stone.
WHEN: Saturday, January 28, 2012 - Registration extended to January 18, 2012
Schedule:
11 to 11:45 - Boarding and Check-in
12 to 12:45 p.m. - Cocktail Reception (Passed hors d' oeuvres <http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/hors.html> and food stations)
1 to 2 p.m. - Everglades Opera Performance with the Photography of Mac Stone
2 to 3 p.m. - Dessert Reception and Coffee and Tea with the Artists
WHERE: Celebrity Cruises ® on the Constellation, Port Everglades
WHO: Open to all who are interested in the arts and environment.
Ticket Price: $125
Maximum Attendance: 100
Register by January 18, 2012 by clicking on the event link at www.audubonoffloridanews.org <http://www.audubonoffloridanews.org>
WHY: The author and musicians are from different backgrounds and professions but have banded together to urge salvation of sacred and precious natural environments. They fervently believe that only what is loved and cherished will be saved, and that art is the best means to reach peoples' hearts and minds about environmental issues. Audubon and the producers feel that the time to act on the restoration of the Everglades in now. Pahayokee: A Plea for Life is the beginning of the journey.
CONTACT:
Margaret Hankinson Spontak
Director of Development
Audubon of Florida
444 Brickell Avenue
Suite 850
Miami, FL 33131
mspontak@audubon.org
(352)-229-2887 - Cell |
 My butterfly casa es su casa Mark Renz photo |
http://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/
Burrowing Owl Festival Feb. 25th, Cape Coral Rotary Park
Butterfly House
A new butterfly house has been donated to Rotary Park by the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife. The butterfly house will attract native butterflies, which are fascinating to watch as they transform from egg stage to a beautiful butterfly. All stages of their life cycle can be viewed in the butterfly house.
Not only are butterflies enjoyable to watch but they also serve an important role in the ecosystem as pollinators and food for birds. At Rotary Park, you can walk through the butterfly gardens around the butterfly house and see the native plants that can attract these beautiful creatures to your yard.
The butterfly house was built by volunteers with the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, who also donated plants and supplies. Home Depot donated construction supplies, and Coral Parks and Recreation also worked on the project as well. The North American Butterfly Association has donated money to help maintain the butterfly house, and Cape Coral's Special Populations Division will help maintain the butterfly house and garden. In addition, friends and neighbors of Rotary Park donated time, plants and flower pots.
The new butterfly house is an excellent community partnership to help educate the public about butterflies and their role in the environment.
Stop by the Rotary Park Environmental Center, which is open from 8a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 5505 Rose Garden Road, Cape Coral Florida. Call (239) 549-4606 to tour the butterfly house or register for one of the butterfly gardening classes offered at the park.
Article courtesy of City of Cape Coral, Summer 2010 'On the Move' newsletter.
New! Tours of the Butterfly House every Monday, Friday and Saturday at 10:30 |
Everglades Headwaters Proposal- 150,000 acres!
"This initiative is aimed at preserving a rural working ranch landscape to protect and restore one of the great grassland and savanna landscapes of eastern North America. The partnerships being formed would protect and improve water quality north of Lake Okeechobee, restore wetlands, and connect existing conservation lands and important wildlife corridors to support the Everglades restoration effort."
- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
http://www.fws.gov/southeast/evergladesheadwaters/
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JAXSTRONG - Jacksonville District's Newsletter
JaxStrong is electronically published quarterly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, to provide information about the people, activities and projects of the district.
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Transforming the Picayune Strand
View the Transforming the Picayune Strand video
Together the federal government and state of Florida are transforming this area into an ecological gem, where the endangered Florida panther and other native plants and animals may once again thrive. Overland water flows will benefit the coastal estuaries and surrounding parks and wildlife preserves, and will recharge the aquifer. The short video story explains the transformation in more detail.
This project involves the restoration of natural water flow across 85 square miles in western Collier County that were drained in the early 1960s in anticipation of extensive residential development. This subsequent development dramatically altered the natural landscape, changing a healthy wetland ecosystem into a distressed environment. Wetlands will be restored in Picayune Strand (Southern Golden Gate Estates) and in adjacent public lands by reducing over-drainage, while restoring a natural and beneficial sheetflow of water to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The refined project includes 83 miles of canal plugs, 227 miles of road removal, and the addition of pump stations (3) and spreader swales to aid in rehydration of the wetlands.
Protection levees are planned for adjacent private properties impacted by the project along with maintenance of flood protection for the Northern Golden Gate Estates residential area. The project significantly increases the size and improves major wetland ecosystems in adjacent lands including the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and Collier Seminole State Park; benefiting threatened and endangered species such as the Florida panther and the red cockaded woodpecker. Water quality and large salinity fluctuation, caused by freshwater flowing from the Faka-Union Canal into the estuaries, will also be improved. In addition, the project provides public access and recreational opportunities. |
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Mark Renz photo - Click image for more "Storms" |
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A fun-filled weekend of education, photography, birding and more. Each spring wildlife photographers, birders and nature lovers flock to Lake Okeechobee for this annual festival which is sponsored by the Tourism Development Councils in Glades and Hendry Counties.
The Big "O" Birding Extravaganza is a Glades/Hendry County cooperative event in South Central Florida on the Southwest shores of Lake Okeechobee, the state's largest lake. Glades and Hendry counties are becoming a mecca for bird watching. We're home to more than 300 species of birds, including Limpkins and migratory Swallow-tailed Kites, and Painted Buntings which pass through during October and April. Five Great Florida Birding Trail sites are within the region: Dinner Island Ranch and Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest and Wildlife Management Areas, and Stormwater Treatment Area #5 (STA5) are in Hendry County, and Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area-East & West are in Glades County. Expect to see ducks such as the Fulvous Whistling-Duck and the Mottled Duck; shorebirds like Black-necked Stilt; waders such as Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork and Least Bittern; and specialty raptors including Crested Caracara, Snail Kite, Short-tailed Hawk and Barn Owl. Plus, we're always on a quest for that elusive Smooth-billed Ani. Come help us look!
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CCAS is now on facebook. Please log in and "Like" the CCAS page to stay updated on our news and activities during our 50th anniversary season.
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Last day.
8th Annual Southwest Florida Nature Festival January 13-15, 2012
Explore the local environment through more than 40 guided field trips to 20 wildlife hot spots around Southwest Florida, on-the-water adventures and activities at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center as well as at Naples Botanical Garden. The field trips, including birding walks and boat tours, are offered in conjunction with partners including Naples Botanical Garden, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Big Cypress National Preserve and Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Become a member of the Friends of Rookery Bay and enjoy advance field trip registration
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Mark Renz photo art Click image for more "Okeechobee Sea" |
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The goal of the Central Everglades Planning Project is to deliver within two years a finalized plan, known as a Project Implementation Report (PIR), for a suite of restoration projects in the central Everglades to prepare for congressional authorization as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). USACE is leading this planning effort in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District.
More information on CEPP may be found at the following web links:
-- Read the Notice of Intent (NOI) published in the Federal Register on Dec. 2 at http://1.usa.gov/thVkIf
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