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Monday, July 23rd, 2012 #1374 |
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Fool's gold
(possibly paper pondshell -- Utterbackia imbecillis)
Mark Renz photo
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Sun Sentinel - Editorial
July 22, 2012
Rains aside, water managers say, Lake Okeechobee is in need of water. Is their solution - rolling back restrictions on "backpumping" to allow polluted stormwater to be discharged into the lake - backpedaling? Not exactly.
The discharge plan under consideration by the South Florida Water Management District is a far cry from the days when backpumped stormwater from agricultural lands was routine way of doing business - and of polluting Lake Okeechobee. Water managers stress this new version - call it "backpumping lite" - is limited, strategic and badly needed to address serious environmental concerns.
Lake Okeechobee remains a major source of freshwater for the region, and the demand for water from agriculture and urban communities is relentless. Add the ongoing efforts to rid the lake of pollution from water tainted with nitrogen, phosphorus and other pollutants and, well, the problem gets plenty more complicated. Water managers also face the challenge of pumping more freshwater into southwest Florida's Caloosahatchee Estuary, which often experiences a devastating level of salt-water intrusion and could benefit from an increased flow of freshwater from Lake Okeechobee.
Still, backpumping seems counterintuitive. Adding polluted water to an already polluted lake just doesn't make much sense. For years, water managers have tried to rid Lake Okeechobee of pollution. Those efforts prompted local agriculture, particularly Big Sugar, to improve farming techniques to significantly reduce phosphorus and other pollutants from water flowing through their vast holdings. Over the years, indeed, the water quality in Lake Okeechobee improved.
The district is now studying ways to draw stormwater with low levels of pollutants from basins in nearby farmlands. The goal is to keep lake levels high enough to divert water to the Caloosahatchee, meet the demands of the region's farms and urban centers, and provide the natural flow of water to nourish the Everglades to the south.
This time, though, water managers want to use far less stored stormwater than the historic high discharges that helped pollute the lake. The discharges under the new backpumping plan typically would be activated during rainstorms, and then only if lake levels and the water needs of the southern portions of the Everglades warranted them.
The onus is on water managers to craft a strategy that makes sense and calms valid concerns about backpumping resulting in an environmental catastrophe for Lake Okeechobee. Old fears die hard, so it's incumbent upon district officials to take the time and expend whatever energy is needed to educate the public on the proposal's merits.
Backpumping isn't the ideal solution. There isn't one, short of consistent and heavy rains or the quick appropriation of government funding to complete the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir and the rehabilitation of the Herbert Hoover Dike. Both are necessary to provide consistent water storage and supply to feed freshwater to the Caloosahatchee without skimping on the needs of a thirsty region, but they are still future rather than present solutions.
In the meantime, some form of backpumping is about as reasonable as we can expect and as risky as we can accept. |
In My Opinion: Glades vows kept thanks to the courts
Carl Hiaasen The Miami Herald
By Carl Hiaasen chiaasen@MiamiHerald.com
Politicians in both parties have resumed rhapsodizing about the magnificence of the Everglades, a phenomenon that occurs every four years with varying degrees of sincerity.
Polls show that most Floridians want the Everglades restored and preserved. This requires candidates to show some love. Neither Democrats nor Republicans want to look like obstructionists on this issue in an election year.
That's one reason why the Obama administration and the state have reached an agreement tentatively resolving 20 years' worth of lawsuits that have hobbled efforts to clean the polluted water being pumped into the Everglades.
It's true that under Obama, funding for Everglades restoration is way up from the Bush years. It's also true that Gov. Rick Scott pushed for the recent settlement with Washington, which should restart some projects that will help the cleanup.
However, the semi-miraculous truce between Florida and the feds wouldn't have happened if it weren't for a fellow named Alan Gold. He's a U.S. district judge in Miami who got so fed up with the stalling of both sides that he gave them a glorious reaming two years ago.
You couldn't blame the man for being ticked off.
Gold was presiding over drawn-out litigation that was holding up some of the Everglades projects. The Miccosukee tribe had sued because phosphorus pollution from farms, ranches and subdivisions was being flushed into the reservation.
In the summer of 2008, Gold had ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida's Department of Environmental Protection to start enforcing clean-water standards that had been set to take effect back in 2006.
But in the face of heavy lobbying, the feds and the state decided on a 10-year extension - a nice break for the polluters. That didn't sit well with the Miccosukees, most environmental groups or the judge.
In 2010, Gold issued a ruling that scalded the EPA and the DEP for showing "glacial slowness" in cleaning up the flow into Everglades. He characterized the restoration plan as "rudderless."
"The hard reality," he wrote, "is that ongoing destruction due to pollution within the Everglades Protection Area continues to this day at an alarming rate."
Here's what else Gold did, which got all sides scrambling:
He threatened to hold state and federal administrators in civil contempt if they didn't comply with the court. Then he ordered the head of the Environmental Protection Agency to personally appear in front of him and answer some questions.
This is why you never, ever want to piss off a federal judge.
A month before her hearing date, EPA chief Lisa Jackson said she needed to fly to China. She offered to send another official to Miami in her place, but Gold said no. Jackson appealed and got an emergency stay.
That's how desperately she wanted to avoid Gold's courtroom.
Ever since then, the EPA and environmental regulators in Florida have been toiling over a compliance plan that would satisfy the judge and save them further humiliation. On July 12, Gold approved a settlement that should trigger about $880 million worth of cleanup projects designed to reduce nutrient levels in agricultural waters feeding the Everglades.
The next day, the Obama administration announced it will pay $80 million to farmers and ranchers for conservation easements on about 23,000 acres in the northern Everglades, protecting key wetlands from development.
All this is encouraging, but turning cartwheels is premature. Restoration is an extremely complex and expensive project with multiple layers of exasperating bureaucracy.
The commitment of Gov. Scott has yet to be tested, but his gator-skin boots send a disquieting message. So far, Mitt Romney hasn't uttered a peep about continuing Everglades funding if he wins the White House, but he'll come up with a sound bite between now and November.
However the political prospects for the Everglades might change after the election, let's hope Alan Gold will still be on the bench trying to make sure the clean-water laws are obeyed. It's a titanic challenge in South Florida, and he isn't the only judge with an important role.
In another case, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno has told state officials they must do more to clean up the runoff being sent into the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Neither Gold nor Moreno are radical, firebrand jurists. Nor was William Hoeveler, the senior district judge who for years steadfastly fought to make Big Sugar clean up its mess.
These guys didn't write the pollution laws, or the lawsuits. They got jurisdiction, period. To preside over these cases is to have your patience, if not your sanity, pushed to the limit.
But without judges who are willing to yank a federal agency chief or even a governor into court, what remains of the Everglades has no chance of rebounding. To leave its fate in the hands of Tallahassee and Washington would be a death sentence.
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What they take with them now
will determine what they leave behind later
Mark Renz photo & words
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Ocala.com - Editorial
July 22, 2012
Maybe now they will listen.
On Tuesday, a contingent from the Florida Conservation Coalition, led by former governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, will deliver more than 13,000 petitions to Gov. Rick Scott. The petition calls on the governor to exert his executive powers to begin confronting "the degraded conditions of Florida's imperiled rivers and springs."
Specifically, the FCC and Graham are asking Scott to direct the Department of Economic Opportunity to establish a "Resource Planning and Management Committee," which is authorized by Florida statute. The committee could bring "the appropriate stakeholders" together to develop action plans for halting the rapid deterioration of Florida's 700 springs and its other waterways, plans that could later be presented to the Legislature.
The time has certainly passed for action out of Tallahassee, where our elected leaders seem ignorant about or insensitive to what is happening to our water supply and waterways. Spring flows are declining across the state, some of which is attributable to drought and some to overpumping due to overdevelopment. At the same time, environmental emergencies are erupting as algae blooms slime rivers and beaches from one end of the state to the other.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Protection dithers, with its leadership promising to "get water right" - just as soon as it "gets the science right."
Florida cannot wait any longer.
Appropriately, the petition drive that has garnered so many signatures was launched at Silver Springs on June 23 when Graham and 1,700 other Floridians gathered at Silver River State Park to raise awareness about the state's growing water crisis, especially the startling decline of its waterways, even those in remote locations.
Silver Springs has become the symbol of Florida's water crisis because of its iconic status. But it is merely one ailing example. Policymakers and policy enforcers have been asleep at the switch, and the evidence abounds.
Besides the fact that the vast majority of Florida's springs are experiencing diminished flows - and some have simply dried up - and nutrient levels have multiplied many times over in the past couple of decades - they are up 500 percent in Silver Springs - the state simply has failed to adhere to its own water policy.
Consider that a 40-year-old law requires that the five water management districts establish minimum flows and levels for the state's springs and thousands of rivers and lakes. So far, though, only 322 MFL studies have been completed. Silver Springs is arguably the most studied and measured, not to mention historic, water resource in the state, yet the St. Johns River Water Management District still has yet to complete an MFL study of it. And with the spring at an all-time low, how useful will the one that is under way be?
Finally, LobbyTools, a Tallahassee outfit that keeps lobbyists informed on key legislative and policy issues, conducted a recent poll asking if Florida should put a moratorium on water consumptive-use permits until the MFLs are done or keep permitting while waiting out the drought. The results: 83 percent favored the moratorium.
Floridians are aware that we have a water crisis on our hands and are trying to be heard in Tallahassee. Let's hope that come Tuesday, Scott and his administration show that they are listening - and acting. |
Top Ten Impacts Climate Change Is Making Worse Right Now
By Rebecca Leber and Ellie Sandmeyer
The onslaught of extreme weather and record temperatures this year have had an impact on people globally, directly through drought and temperature, and more indirectly impacting food prices and public transportation.
Here are 10 impacts we're seeing right now that climate change is very likely worsening, in some cases playing a major role:
Rising Food Prices
Over half of the Continental U.S. is now facing severe drought-the worst in fifty years. As a result of extreme temperatures and little rain, corn production suffers although analysts predicted record production at the start of the year. In coming months, record-high food prices will continue to rise, affecting thousands of supermarket products. See also "Story of the Year: Warming-Driven Drought and Extreme Weather Emerge as Key Threat to Global Food Security."
Goodbye Glaciers, Sea Ice
This week, an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan tore itself off of one of the largest glaciers in North Greenland, following another break of comparable size in 2010. Scientists say that such dramatic change is unprecedented, and report that "the Arctic had the largest sea ice loss on record for June." [ClimateProgress]
Landslides
A recent landslide on an Alaskan glacier was massive enough to register as a 3.4-magnitude earthquake, even recorded in Canada. "We are seeing an increase in rock slides in mountain areas throughout the world because of permafrost degradation," a scientist said. [Huffington Post]
Massive Dust Storms
In addition to dangerous wildfires and drought, the current heat wave is helping to create massive dust storms in Arizona. These walls of dust and strong wind can be thousands of feet high, destroying property, setting of a chain of further environmental damage and killing an average of five people per year. [New York Times]
Toxic Algae Pollute Drinking Supply, Lakes: Spurred by warmer winters that prevent seasonal a die-off, Lake Zurich in Switzerland is seeing an increase in a toxic species of algae known as Burgandy blood algae. "Research on Lake Zurich in Switzerland reveals that Burgundy blood algae, a toxic cyanobacteria species, has become more dense in the last 40 years as warm winters prevent seasonal die-off." [CBS News]
$1.5 Billion Hail Damage: In a striking example of current dramatically unpredictable weather patterns, some cities now experiencing record-breaking temperature highs are also dealing with the after-effects of extreme hail damage. Estimates suggest that total damage in places like Dallas, St. Louis and Norfolk, Nebraska could exceed $1.5 billion. [Inside Climate News]
Wildfire Causes $450 Million Damage In Colorado
States like Colorado and New Mexico have experienced their worst wildfire season on record, and the damage totaled an estimated $450 million in Colorado alone. However, there are additional costs of the fire. "Water quality, for example, is being compromised up to 100 miles from burn sites," and air quality has been damaged, even indoors. [Washington Post]
Greater Terrors For Mountain Climbers: "Sharper seasonal variations of ice and snow and temperature are being repeated all across the world from the Himalayas to the Andes, which scientists say are driven by a higher level of energy in the atmosphere from global warming." Veteran climbers "say today's conditions are combining to create a volatile highball of risk." [NY Times]
More Drilling In The Arctic, Taxpayers Pay For Risks: Ironically, oil companies are capitalizing on ice melt in the Arctic caused by global warming. "Royal Dutch Shell has spent $4.5 billion since 2005 preparing to explore for oil off Alaska's north coast in the Arctic. U.S. taxpayers may end up paying almost as much to supervise future operations in the region." [Bloomberg]
Blackouts
Extreme temperatures stress the power grid, and Con Edison recently took action to lower power voltage, known as a "brown out" in NYC, to prevent mass black outs. Of course, millions suffered from blackouts during brutal heat after a rare, heat-fueled derecho impacted the Washington area. [Reuters]
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We all need our quiet times
Mark Renz photo
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Popular Mechanics - by Jeff Wise
For this installment of "I'll Try Anything," PM contributor Jeff Wise heads to Florida for a scary but exhilarating ride through the swamp.
The 5000-pound metal beast pitches me forward as it lurches to a stop. Eight feet below, swamp water sloshes in front of our 4-foot-high tractor tires, rousing an alligator that wriggles away for cover.
I ease the accelerator forward and begin to move, feeling my way across the submerged potholes. It's like riding a swaying, noisy metal elephant. There are reasons to take things slowly-vehicles have vanished into the sucking mud of the Everglades. "It's an extreme environment," says Gene Van Schaick, 70, the builder and owner of the behemoth I'm piloting. "It'll kick your ass."
I've met up with Van Schaick to experience the landscape he loves best-the wetlands of southern Florida-aboard the machine he's most passionate about: the swamp buggy. Most Americans tend to associate "swamp" with words such as "stagnant" and "malaria" and think of swamp buggies as dirt-flinging hot rods that race up and down mud wallows. But Van Schaick's swamp buggies are slow, utilitarian vehicles, and as for the swamp-well... "I don't know what people think of when they trash-talk swamps," he says. "I love the swamp. I love the views. I love the smell."
One point he'll concede: The swamp is hard to navigate. In recent geological time the area was limestone and coral reef, and it's still so flat that the torrential rains of summer and fall are slow to drain. For all but a brief dry season, waterlogged marshes and open water predominate. Anyone trying to hike in has to contend not only with the sheer physical exertion but dense vegetation, hungry alligators, clouds of mosquitoes, and four kinds of poisonous snakes.
For all its rigors, the backcountry has much to offer in the way of recreation; though an easy drive from Miami, it's full of game to hunt, as well as exotic specimens to lure the bird-watcher and flora enthusiast. To tap those opportunities, intrepid Floridians began a century ago to retrofit Model A and T Fords with big wheels and extra-low gearing. Today, a small but passionate subculture of builders-including a group founded by Van Schaick in 1990-carries on that legacy.
On a warm day in early February, Van Schaick takes me to a lot at the edge of an airstrip halfway between Miami and Naples, Fla. Some two dozen beefy, hard-driven machines are lined up, each one unique, having been designed and cobbled together-mostly out of plate metal and parts of other vehicles-by one of the 65 members of his club.
Van Schaick, a retired carpenter, spent six years building his behemoth, Gray Ghost. The Goodyear tires yield 27 inches of clearance. The solid-steel tie rods are behind the axle for protection against cypress knees, the club-like growths that sprout from the roots of cypress trees. (If the knee hits the axle first, it won't be able to take out the tie rods.) The engine is a 2.8-liter V-6 from a 1982 Chevy Citation, without the fuel-injection system-Van Schaick stripped it out and replaced it with a carburetor. "Everything needs to be rugged and simple," he says, "so you can fix it while standing in 3 feet of water."
Van Schaick and I clamber on top of the buggy, which, from up here, looks like a boat-fitting for a vehicle that can negotiate 6 feet of water. I fire up the engine and we head out.
Past the parking lot are 38 square miles of county-owned land. Though the landscape is nearly identical to the federally administered Big Cypress National Preserve next door, there are fewer restrictions on its use. Soon we're axle-deep in muddy water, moving across the cypress prairie. The landscape looks like something out of Dr. Seuss, an expanse of twisted gray trunks garlanded with bushy bromeliads bearing spiky red flowers. Farther on, the road becomes hemmed in by a forest so dense it feels like we're driving through a tunnel. Our wheels churn up mud the consistency of brownie batter. We never move faster than walking pace, and after an hour and a half we've covered only 5 miles.
Van Schaick takes the wheel and gives me a tour, from the high ridges and island-like hardwood hammocks that remain partially dry year-round to the sediment-filled saw-grass ponds that during the wettest months become, as he puts it, "bottomless." Van Schaick has seen lots of things in these wetlands over the years. Once he surprised a panther while on foot. "It was less than 10 yards from me," he says. "It went straight up, turned in the air, and headed the other way."
I'm surprised at how pleasant it is. There's no oppressive stench; the water in the Everglades isn't stagnant but part of a broad, slow-moving flow. Snakes and alligators thrive here; so do deer, wild hogs, and turkeys. Without buggies, much of this verdant wilderness would be all but inaccessible. "It's uncomfortable for hiking, and it's easy to get turned around," Van Schaick says. "Anyone who doesn't know the area well isn't going to be able to penetrate the interior."
Nevertheless, the machines have their detractors. "They are detrimental to the environment," says Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the South Florida Wildlands Association. "The ground is very fragile, and when you put that much weight on it, the soil doesn't recover. It erodes right down to the limestone." Schwartz's group wants to keep motorized recreation from expanding within Big Cypress. But Van Schaick counters that most of the soil eroded by swamp buggies is replenished during each yearly cycle of flooding.
As we stop at a saw-grass pond and kill the engine, we can imagine that except for the machine under our butts, there is no sign of civilization. We could be in some remote wilderness, not an hour from one of the East Coast's biggest cities. A breeze moves across the tall green stalks of the saw grass, bearing a sweetly resinous tang. Overhead, two hawks coast, circling stiff-winged on the warm air. "I love the tranquility of this place," Van Schaick says. "Apart from the buggy tracks, it's just the way it's been for hundreds of years."
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By SCOTT BUTHERUS - News-Press
MARCO ISLAND -Each summer, Southwest Florida is the home to a wide variety of giant sharks. Bulls, lemons, hammerheads and tigers of gigantic proportions - routinely reaching lengths of 10 feet or more - cruise the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico in search of a meal and a mate.
Thanks to a steady supply of food and a natural habitat that is ideal for spawning and the early development of their young, the local waters provide a great opportunity for anglers who appreciate a head-to-head match with nature's greatest apex predator.
"I don't know if it is the best in the world but it's definitely very good," said Capt. John Brossard of Shark Chaser Charters in Naples. "It's pretty much a nursery ground for them with all the estuaries like the Everglades, Lemon Bay and Estero Bay so there are always a lot of sharks out there."
"It's exciting to catch something that could possibly eat you," Capt. Chris DeWitt of Big Shark Fishing said of the allure of shark fishing. "We have a large number of sharks up and down the coast and when you can catch one of the big ones it can be a lot of fun when they pull so hard. I like to use light or medium tackle so the fight can take half-hour, hour or more. When you see the look on someone's face right after they just caught the biggest fish of their lives, that is a dream come true."
Some of the biggest sharks in the world have been caught locally. In May 2010, Bucky Dennis caught a 1,280-pound great hammerhead in Boca Grande Pass. In 1982, Warren Grille caught a 764-pound dusky off Longboat Key in Sarasota. Both are recognized as world records by the International Game Fish Association.
"Estuaries are highly productive nursery areas that provide shelter and ample food resources that allow sharks to grow quickly to sizes where they don't become prey for larger sharks," Rookery Bay Reserve researcher Patrick O'Donnell said.
One of the biggest reasons for the number of massive sharks that roam these waters this time of year is the steady amount of available food. The annual northern migration of tarpon that begins in the Keys in early spring to the swarms of cownose rays - the preferred meal of hammerheads - that runs through the end of summer, as well as the large schools of Spanish mackerel in between, provide ample opportunity for the large sharks to engorge themselves so that they can begin their spawning season.
"There are some very big ones over here and I think has a lot to do with the food chain around here," Brossard said.
Another reason for the thriving shark population in these waters can be attributed in part to conservation efforts to maintain that population. Currently, state regulations limit the harvest of sharks over 54 inches in length to one per angler or two total per boat. This year, tiger sharks and hammerheads were added to a protected list that already included lemon, longfin makos and white sharks. Most shark anglers agree with the current restrictions.
"I'm pretty much a catch-and-release man now," Brossard said. "I think (the new laws) are great personally and I don't have a problem with them at all. I want there to be sharks out there for when my kid grows up."
"I think they are really looking out for the sharks and that is a good thing for me," DeWitt said. "I'm entirely catch-and-release and aside from fatigue, every shark we catch is released unharmed."
All these factors make Southwest Florida an ideal place for anglers who want to wrestle with one of these majestic creatures. Although the act of fighting a massive shark is an adrenaline-pumping experience, chasing sharks, however, can be a very specialized task. Not only is this area known for exceptionally large specimens, but the variety of available species can also provide a unique thrill.
"One day I'll go and catch two or three types of sharks and then I'll go two or three days later and catch three or four totally different types of sharks from the same site," said Brossard, who has had an infatuation with sharks since moving to Florida when he was 10. "It just depends on what is cruising by at the time. It's great because that is what we like about it. You never know what you'll catch out there."
"We have an abundance of different types of sharks here so every day is a new adventure," added DeWitt, who has been a licensed captain in the area for the last 13 years.
"A lot of people watch the fishing shows on TV and they think they can just go out there and catch a bunch of sharks but sometimes that's not the case," Brossard said.
O'Donnell urged anglers to take caution when handling fish in order to ensure the shark's safety.
"Keep the shark in the water, remove hook if possible or cut line as close to mouth as possible and release the shark as soon as possible," he urged. "An overly stressed shark can be towed along the side of the boat to force water over its gills before releasing. Any tagged sharks should be reported to the contact on the tag to provide valuable information about sharks."
Ever since Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released in 1975, America has had a fascination with sharks, a fascination that continues to this day as evident by the viral video of a 5-foot bull shark stealing a fish from an unsuspecting fisherman just feet from a dock in South Carolina. Since being posted to YouTube on July 10, the video has received more than 7 million views.
"People think of them as man-eaters," Brossard said. "I think they are afraid of them, just like I used to be, just because they are so big and you never really know what they are going to do out there."
Despite the large numbers of sharks that patrol our coast, sharks pose little threat to humans who choose to share their habitat. According to the Florida Museum of History, which tracks shark incidents for the International Shark Files, there have only been 14 documented unprovoked attacks in Southwest Florida - seven in Collier and seven in Lee County - since 1882. There has never been a documented fatality, and the last bite occurred in 2007.
© 2012 Scripps Newspaper Group - Online |
Noticing the paddleboarder,
a bull shark said to a hammerhead,
"I'm big on catch & release, how about you?"
"You bet!" replied the hammerhead.
"I want paddleboarders to be around when my grandsharks grow up!"
-- Mark Renz
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Do trees ever primp in the mirror?
Mark Renz photo art
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From the sawgrass marshes and tree islands of the Everglades to the mangrove stands along our coastlines and the wetlands, uplands, lakes and river floodplains of the interior, nutrients like phosphorus were once found at very low levels. With decades of residential and agricultural growth, the levels of nutrients and other trace pollutants making their way into these natural areas began to rise. As a result, native ecosystems as well as the plants and animals that are part of those systems began to change. To protect and restore these ecosystems, the South Florida Water Management District is working to remove excess nutrients and other pollutants, or prevent them from entering natural systems.
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Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulation (33CFR 230.11), this communication constitutes the Notice of Availability of the Draft Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (AEIS) on
Phosphate Mining in the Central Florida Phosphate District. The Draft AEIS is downloadable from the AEIS project website at http://www.phosphateaeis.org Any comments you may have must be submitted in writing to the USACE address shown herein within 45 days of the date on which the notice of availability appears in the Federal Register, July 31, 2012. Comments may be provided using the form on the website, by e-mail to teamaeis@phosphateaeis.org |
About 5,600 tons (5 million kilograms) of P is imported and applied in Lake Okeechobee watershed every year - this is enough to meet Lake Okeechobee's TMDL (P goal) of ~105 t/y, for more than 53 years ! "Legacy" Phosphorus - an estimated 190,000 tons of P have already been deposited in the Lake Okeechobee watershed - - this is enough to meet Lake Okeechobee's annual TMDL (P goal) of ~105 t/y, for 1,800 years ! |
Teaming With Wildlife Coalition Update July 2012
A coalition of over 6,300 organizations supporting increased and dedicated funding for wildlife conservation education and nature based recreation.
1,100 Likes and Counting!
ACTION ALERT (Urgent)
Your Help is Needed to Save Funding for the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program
Once again the US House of Representatives has proposed a massive (50%) cut to the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program for the fiscal year starting in September. This program has already been cut by over 30% since 2010. We understand the fiscal constraints of the country and know everyone needs to do their part. However this large and disproportionate cut to a successful program that is preventing endangered species listings does not make economic sense. We know that when a species has to be federally listed, costs skyrocket! The last two years the US Senate has worked hard to restore funding to this program but only after they heard from the Teaming With Wildlife coalition. Please consider adding your organization's name to the attached letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee. Time is of the essence so the deadline for signing on is August 17th. Send an email with your organization's name and state to mhumpert@fishwildlife.org to sign on. Help us reach our goal of at least 300 organizations by the deadline to send a strong statement of support for the program. Thanks for all that you do to support fish and wildlife conservation.
Click here to view the Teaming With Wildlife National Sign on Letter
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Smalltooth Sawfish (Pristis pectinata)
Although the smalltooth sawfish gained endangered species protection in 2003, coastal development continued unabated in sawfish habitat - including within sensitive mangrove forests that serve as nurseries for young sawfish. In 2007, the Center settled a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, forcing the agency to meet a past-due deadline to designate critical habitat. Finally, in September 2009, the Fisheries Service finalized a designation of 840,472 acres of critical habitat for the smalltooth sawfish.....
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The SFWMD annual budget is funded by a combination of property taxes and other sources such as federal, state and local revenue; licenses; permit fees; grants; agricultural taxes; investment income; and bond proceeds.
The agency is a special taxing district with the authority to collect ad valorem (property) taxes from landowners within its 16-county jurisdiction. The Fiscal Year (FY) starts October 1 and ends September 30 of the following year.
Fiscal Year 2012 SFWMD Budget
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 | | C-43 Reservoir |
Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir - 170,000 acre-feet, and water depth will vary from 15 to 25 feet. Constructed on an approximate 10,500-acre parcel in Hendry County, west of LaBelle it will store stormwater runoff from the C-43 basin and reduce excess water flow to the Caloosahatchee Estuary to maintain its salinity and thus ecological balance of fauna and biota.
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Friday night heron
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Saturday morning heron
Yellow crown night heron -- Mark Renz photos
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The EPA Climate Change site provides comprehensive information on the issue of climate change and global warming in a way that is accessible and meaningful to all parts of society - communities, individuals, business, states and localities, and governments. The site explains climate change science,...
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 The 2012 Florida Waterfowl Summit is scheduled for August 23-24; Ocala Hilton The event is no-cost...everything is FREE...a Hilton prepared Gourmet Lunch will be provided at the conference, courtesy UW-F. 2012 ANNUAL WATERFOWL SUMMIT Ocala, Fl - August 23-24, 2012
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In wine there is wisdom,
in beer there is strength,
in water there is bacteria.
David Auerbach (2002)
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Sincerely,
Eco-Voice Moderator
Eco-Voice, Inc.
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