Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 #1313

In This Issue

Estero Management

Estero Bay Management

Earth has a fever

Estuaries: Restore-Adapt-Mitigate

Restoring Reefs

Losing Seagrass

EvCo Conference Date

Who Pollutes? Who Pays?

Waterfowl Summit

2012 Environmental Report

Birding Trail Guides

Everglades News and Views

Rains Resume

Green News Links

A founding sponsor of Eco-Voice

http://www.esterofl.org/

Estero, Florida is an unincorporated area of southern Lee County, located north of the City of Bonita Springs and south of Fort Myers, Florida. Since 2000, Estero has been one of the fastest growing areas in the U. S. Until recently most of Estero's growth has been residential, over 11,000 housing units have been permitted during the last 5 and one half years. Currently, commercial development is leading the growth curve in Estero, Florida.

Estero Bay Agency on Bay Management

The ABM is a non-regulatory advisory committee to the SWF Regional Planning Council. Its directive is to make comments and recommendations regarding the management of Estero Bay and its watershed. The ABM collects and maintains data and it reviews and comments to regulatory agencies on issues affecting the watershed. Its members include Lee County legislative delegates and representatives of the Council, local chambers of commerce, citizen and civic associations, the Responsible Growth Management Coalition, Lee County, Collier County, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, the SFWMD, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Gulf Coast University, Federal agencies involved in natural resource management, commercial and recreational fishing interests, environmental and conservation organizations, scientists, affected property owners, and the land development community.

The ABM typically meets on the second Monday of each month beginning at 9:30 a.m. Most meetings are held in the conference room of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, and are open to the public.

Forget yesterday. Today is your day.

Mark Renz photo art

Must-See CBS News: We Are "Living On A Planet With A Fever"

.... This Is Our Society " Sink Or Swim Moment"

The CBS Evening News had one of the best segments ever on manmade global warming. The piece is headlined on their website, "Assessing the risk of climate change" with this description:

The past 12 months were the hottest on record, and forecasters are predicting high temperatures across the U.S. this summer. Science and environment contributor M. Sanjayan explains the risk of climate change.

Watch it:

Kudos to CBS News for running this segment with Sanjayan, who is "the lead scientist for The Nature Conservancy." Let's hope CBS makes it a regular feature.

Restore-Adapt-Mitigate:

Responding to Climate Change through Coastal Habitat Restoration

Restore-Adapt-Mitigate: Responding to Climate Change through Coastal Habitat Restoration, a new study released by Restore America's Estuaries on April 19, 2012, for the first time links ecologically important coastal habitat restoration with adaptation and mitigation strategies as a way to reduce the impacts of ongoing global climate change. The report demonstrates that coastal wetland restoration--everything from restoring salt marshes, to protecting mangroves, and creating new coastal wetlands--can be an integral part of public and private initiatives to combat climate change.

Tourist Tree -- Always red and peeling

(gumbo limbo)

Mark Renz photo art

Florida Keys fight to aid coral, reefs

by Kevin Kollar

......For decades, divers, snorkelers, fishermen, boaters and scientists have watched corals die throughout the Keys and Caribbean.
During that time, disease, pollution, poor water quality, storms and boat groundings have turned three-dimensional reefs, loaded with fish and invertebrates, into barren patches of rubble. Two of the hardest-hit coral species, elkhorn and staghorn, are two of the most important because they are fast-growing reef builders that create habitat for marine species.
Now, state and federal agencies, environmental organizations and universities have teamed up for the largest reef restoration project in history: Researchers are growing elkhorn and staghorn corals in open-water nurseries and then planting coral fragments on Florida's reef tract and in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"We're looking at the ecosystem in 20 years - hopefully, it's not lost," said Sean Morton, superintendent of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. "We've gone from 30-percent coral cover in the Keys to 5 or 6 percent. We've got to take a more active role."
Since the 1970s, elkhorn and staghorn corals have experienced a 97 percent decline - the two species were listed as threatened in 2006 under the Endangered Species Act, and in 2008, they were listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. .....

Seagrass meadows are disappearing at an annual rate of 1.5 per cent

(Image: Roger Munns/Science Faction/Getty Images)

Mowing down seagrass meadows will cut loose carbon

by Michael Slezak

They may be trickier than trees for environmental protesters to chain themselves to, but it turns out that seagrass ecosystems hold as much carbon per hectare as the world's forests - and are now among its most threatened ecosystems.

In the past century, 29 per cent of seagrass has been destroyed globally", mostly by water pollution, dredging for new developments, and climate change. With seagrass meadows disappearing at an annual rate of about 1.5 per cent, 299 million tonnes of carbon are also released back into the environment each year, according to research published this week in Nature Geoscience (DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1477)

Piecing together old and new data from 946 seagrass meadows around the world, an international team of researchers estimated that seagrass captures 27.4 million tonnes of carbon each year, burying it in the soil below. And unlike forests that hold carbon for about 60 years then release it again, seagrass ecosystems have been capturing and storing carbon since the last ice age.

That means that up to 19.9 billion tonnes of carbon are currently stored within seagrass plants and the top metre of soil beneath them - more than twice the Earth's global emissions from fossil fuels in 2010. If the seagrass dies, all of that could be released into the environment, says marine ecologist and study author James Fourqurean from Florida International University in Miami, US.

"These are scary numbers," says Gary Kendrick, a co-investigator on the project from University of Western Australia at Crawley, Australia. "It would put us very much into the extreme of greenhouse situations very very quickly."

This grim outlook is reinforced in a study published at the same time in Nature Climate Change (DOI: 10.1038/nclimate1533). Gabriel Jorda from the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Esporles, Spain, found the warming climate is eradicating the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, which is likely to be extinct before 2050. That is particularly worrying because Posidonia oceanica holds about 10 times as much carbon as most other species.

"It does look like there's going to be a global tipping point for many of these environments," Kendrick says.

Seagrass physiologist Peter Ralph from the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, who was not involved in the research, said continued destruction of seagrass meadows could ultimately "release the genie from the bottle".

"Destroy them and we're going to release a lot of carbon that we have assumed is sequestered and tied up for a very long period of time," says Ralph.

Who Pollutes? Who pays?

Who Pollutes? Who Pays? Enterprise Assessment for the Reduction of Nutrient Pollution in South Florida Waters:A study by RTI International

As part of the Everglades Foundation's ongoing scientific and economic research efforts, the Foundation commissioned RTI International, a respected and independent research institute, to conduct a comprehensive study involving the collection and analysis of public data with the goal of answering several questions: Who contributes what share of the pollution flowing directly into 1) the Everglades and 2) the broader footprint of the South Florida Water Management District? Who pays for the cost of cleaning up this pollution?

The findings of this study are especially timely considering the ongoing discussions underway between the federal government and the state of Florida over water quality standards that have been the subject of litigation for two decades.

While the RTI study assembles a wide range of data from a variety of sources, perhaps one of the most striking findings is the fact that the agricultural industry is responsible for 76 percent of the phosphorus pollution entering the Everglades. In addition, researchers determined that the agricultural industry pays ONLY 24 percent of the cost of phosphorus removal, leaving the balance of the burden on the shoulders of taxpayers.

In 1996, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved, with 68 percent of the vote, a "Polluter Pays" amendment to the state Constitution. This amendment clearly states that those who cause pollution in the Everglades Agricultural Area must be primarily responsible for paying the cost of cleaning it up.

Now, 16 years later, Florida policymakers and the public for the first time have a comprehensive, independent study that examines the sources of pollution in the Everglades, an analysis of the costs that have been incurred to clean up this pollution, and an accounting of who is paying these costs.

RTI evaluated pollution within the boundaries of the South Florida Water Management District and in the more narrowly focused regions or "subbasins." To conduct the analysis, the study area was subdivided into six major subbasins and three minor subbasins. Within each subbasin, RTI grouped (nutrient) pollution reduction activities into four major categories: Domestic Wastewater Treatment Facilities; Urban Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs); Agricultural BMPs; and Public Works Projects.

When pollution levels exceed scientifically determined limits, harm is done to the ecosystem, its fish and other wildlife, the drinking water supply and human health.

To meet the water quality and supply objectives of Everglades restoration, new measures to control pollution at its source must be coupled with public works projects, some of which have been fully constructed and others which are planned or under way.

These public works projects - primarily filtration marshes, commonly called stormwater treatment areas (STAs), flow equalization basins (FEBs), and other structures - will be focused on removing agricultural pollution before it enters the fragile Everglades ecosystem that supplies 1 in 3 Floridians with their daily supply of fresh water.

Other key findings:

According to the RTI Study, agriculture pays 24% of the costs of phosphorus removal, residential/commercial/industrial rate payers fund 10% of the cost, and the remaining 66% is funded by taxpayers. (RTI, page ES-8, Figure ES-7)

Agriculture contributes about 76% of the total phosphorus entering the Everglades. Urban phosphorus loads are about 23% of the total. The remaining 1 % of the total phosphorus is originating from natural areas. (RTI, page ES-8, Figure ES-7)

Within the South Florida Water Management District, agriculture discharges 1,449 metric tons of phosphorus and 12,845 tons of nitrogen into surface water. (RTI, page 7-2, Table 7-1)

Of the 216 metric tons of phosphorus reaching the STAs, only 28 metric tons are coming from Lake Okeechobee. (RTI, page 6-10, Table 6-3).

Waste water treatment facilities - in residential, commercial and industrial sectors - remove 93% of the total phosphorus they produce each year, and account for 16% of the total phosphorus load to the environment within the South Florida Water Management District. (calculated from Table 7-1, page 7-2, RTI)

Residential, commercial, and industrial sectors pay 99% of the cost to remove the phosphorus they produce (Table 7-2, RTI), and remove 93% of the phosphorus they produce within the South Florida Water Management District. (calculated from Table 7-1, page 7-2, RTI)

It costs $47 to remove 1 pound of phosphorus with Best Management Practices (BMPs) and $350 per pound to remove it with Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) (calculated from Table 7-1, page 7-2, RTI). By comparison, it costs less than $10 per pound to add phosphorus as fertilizer. (Average US farm prices of selected fertilizers, USDA, www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FertilizerUse/, Table 7)

Mark your calendars; The 2012 Florida Waterfowl Summit is scheduled for August 23-24; with a free Wild Game Reception Thursday evening behind the Ocala Hilton pool and the Conference being held all day Friday starting at 0800 in the Ocala Hilton Ballroom. The event is no-cost...everything is FREE...a Hilton prepared Gourmet Lunch will be provided at the conference, courtesy UW-F.

Please consider donating at the link provided...

The Waterfowl Summit Mission:

Present the latest wetland/watershed science, current state project reports, and historical context.
Provide a forum for networking among agency staff, professionals and other stakeholders.
Identify new restoration funding partnerships and new funding ideas through discussion and awareness.
Identify creative restoration solutions that fit industry, agriculture, and the priorities of sportsmen and other stakeholders.

"As Waterfowl Hunters, public wetlands and liberty go hand in hand. For so many of us, our public wetlands and our watersheds in Florida define our heritage. So it's fundamental and imperative that we work together to preserve and restore the remaining public wetlands and wetland buffer areas in Florida. We must find solutions to facilitate and fund these restoration projects, and find solutions that accomplish what is necessary in ways that all stakeholders can come to agree upon. "

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2012 Human Summit

Our Mission: To convince humans that we're not just a bunch of quacks

At hunting conventions, we'll hand out firearm blanks, then convince humans we'll still flap our wings and act scared when they pull the trigger.

Distribute potent sleeping pills during hunting season so ducks and humans will sleep through it. (Rename it "Quiet Season" and
charge the public big bucks to hike quietly in these areas. -- No noisy camera clicking either!)

Sell duck stamps, hats and post cards that are micro-chipped with a tiny speaker that plays each duck's unique sound. The increased revenues will not only help preserve and restore wetlands, but will keep the postal service in business delivering the cards.

For 2013: Bringing waterfowl to the city:
Reprogram car and truck horns to sound like ducks

Mark Renz photo art & mock press release

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD):

An early start to the wet season provided a significant boost to water supplies in most areas of the 16-county region. Rainfall levels in May are already above-average for the month in many areas. However, it takes time for the seasonal increase in rainfall to replenish water supplies. Some areas-including the Kissimmee region-are still experiencing below-normal rainfall levels.

You are what you eat...

Although iguanas are chiefly herbivores (leaves, flowers, fruit, shoots), they have been known to consume bird eggs, dead fish and mice.

Mark Renz photo

It's not what's thrown at you that really matters
It's how you grow through it

Mark Renz photo

Everglades Hub- lots and lots of info

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