141031-a
Everglades rescue
Miami Herald – Letter to the Editor by Frank Jackalone, Florida staff director, Sierra Club, St. Petersburg
October 31, 2014
Jeb Bush’s penchant for playing politics is understandable.
However, his gross distortion of Charlie Crist’s role on Everglades restoration is inexcusable in the Oct. 26 Other Views column, Charlie Crist stood in the way of Everglades restoration.
Bush’s own record on the Everglades was as murky as the polluted waters of Lake Okeechobee. By the end of his second term, he had redirected the state’s efforts on Everglades restoration to the Acceler8 water supply plan.
He also signed a bill that delayed clean-up of the sugar industry’s phosphorus pollution, the major culprit that’s killing the Everglades. Crist recognized the inadequacies of Bush’s Acceler8 plan, and replaced it with the historic agreement which gave the state the option to buy U.S. Sugar Corporation’s holdings in the Everglades — 187,000 acres.
It was the holy grail of Everglades restoration, giving water managers enough land to convey excess Lake Okeechobee water to treatment and storage areas, and then send the water to Everglades National Park and Florida Bay where it is desperately needed.
Crist pledges to complete the U.S. Sugar purchase if elected again as Florida’s governor, and I believe him.

141031-b
Florida's vital challenge: to save the Everglades
Associated Press – by Bill Maxwell, Opinion Columnist 
October 31, 2014
Historically, the Everglades ecosystem encompassed 18,000 square miles. Because of urban and agricultural development, half of that remains. Scientists call it the "remnant Everglades."
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK - The health of Florida's environment never should have become a partisan issue, but we keep electing officials who make it partisan. As a result, we see the continued degradation of our water and land and serious threats to many plants and animals.
Many ecologists and other experts argue that as the health of the natural world diminishes, the quality of human life diminishes in equal measure.
In Florida, nothing epitomizes our need for vigilance and challenges our commitment to environmental stewardship more than the health of the Greater Everglades, the state's most vital wetland ecosystem.
The Greater Everglades is not just the iconic national park near Homestead. It is the region that stretches from north of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes south into Florida Bay. Historically, this ecosystem encompassed 18,000 square miles. Today, because of agricultural and urban development, just half of it remains. Scientists call this leftover the "remnant Everglades."
Proposals to help restore and protect this treasure and many other sensitive places are divisive. Even in South Florida, where some 7 million residents of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties depend on the Everglades for potable water, politicians who oppose water-related projects still get elected.
In addition to being a source of drinking water, the Everglades brings in more than $146 million in tourist and recreation spending and creates thousands of jobs annually.
To their credit, some lawmakers are working with environmentalists to make the Everglades healthy again. The major effort, the $10.5 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, began in 2000 and was to be completed in 30-plus years. That will not happen.
For a century, disastrous projects tried to control the Everglades by building levees and digging canals. Led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the replumbing south of Lake Okeechobee was to prevent flooding in residential areas and to drain the so-called swamp for agriculture, especially sugar. These actions began the slow death of the Everglades by altering the depth, timing and distribution of water flow in the ecosystem.
Engineers apparently did not know or care that the Everglades' flora and fauna evolved and thrived on low levels of nutrients. With human encroachment, levels of nitrogen and phosphorous rose, severely damaging the ecosystem.
Scientists involved in CERP agree that high levels of phosphorous, mainly from sugar production runoff, is one of the major obstacles to restoring the Everglades. And they agree that although the sugar industry has reduced levels of phosphorous discharge in recent years, it must do much more.
But demanding more of Big Sugar can kill dreams of incumbency in Tallahassee. Only a few politicians will take the gamble. Worse, it is such a corrosive issue that few scientists will say publicly that the sugar industry is the proverbial elephant - the big polluter - in the room.
As far back as 1996, nearly 70 percent of Florida voters approved the "Polluter Pays" constitutional amendment that calls for Big Sugar to pay its fair share of the then-estimated $2 billion to clean up water in the Everglades. Evidence strongly showed that the industry produced 62 percent of the pollution. But with powerful friends in the Legislature and in select government agencies, Big Sugar has yet to pay its fair share for cleanup, saddling taxpayers with most of the tab.
A viable way to restore the Everglades emerged in 2008, when then-Gov. Charlie Crist announced that Florida intended to buy up to 187,000 acres of land from the state's largest cane grower, U.S. Sugar Corp., for $1.75 billion. Although the deal had drawbacks, it would have given the land back to the people and let scientists implement programs that would effectively reduce levels of phosphorous flowing south.
But the recession and politics killed the deal, and the state settled for a much smaller parcel of land, too small to aid in significant cleanup.
Today, the reality of restoring the Everglades remains as it was: The state needs to buy out U.S. Sugar. Not surprisingly, the company is threatening to develop the land for housing, perhaps looking for more money than in 2008. If the state does not buy the land, a handful of noncontroversial CERP projects will remain on the fringes, doing little to clean the dirty water.
Florida's gubernatorial election is Tuesday. There is not a proposed amendment on the ballot that specifically earmarks funds for restoring the Everglades. But there is Amendment 1, calling for land and water preservation statewide, allocating one-third of an existing tax that is already used to fund water and land protection. More state-owned land and clean water in other regions will benefit the dying Everglades.
Furthermore, Amendment 1 tests politicians' long-term vision for the natural world. Republican Gov. Rick Scott opposes the amendment, and his first-term record on the environment lacks vision. Democrat Charlie Crist supports the amendment. He has a positive environmental record and promises to restore programs and funds Scott has gutted or eliminated.
More than ever, paradise needs a pro-environment governor, a steward, who has the courage to renew the buyout of U.S. Sugar, putting us back on course to restore the Everglades and in a position to safeguard precious land and water statewide.

141031-c
Funding climate change solutions is tough, leaders say
South Florida Business Journal – by Emon Reiser, Reporter
October 31, 2014
Despite there being many studies on South Florida's coming climate dangers, the region has been slow to create an organized task force dedicated to getting developers, builders, businesses and property owners to execute real solutions to climate issues.
"Sea level rise is a Sandy-like storm surge in slow motion decade-by-decade. It never seems like an immediate danger, which is why it's hard to get public support," said Steven Slabbers, director of Netherlands-based Bosch Slabbers Landscape and Urban Planning. "But there's no plan B because there's no planet B."
Many business owners don't have a plan B. More than 40 percent of businesses never reopen after natural disasters, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
RELATED CONTENT: Climate leadership summit draws more than 650 attendees to Miami Beach
The disasters intensify as the world gets warmer, studies show. One of Fort Lauderdale's Pelican Grand Beach Resort had to pay more than $1 million to fix flooding and tide issues brought on by a hurricane that passed more than 200 miles offshore.
"This place was once the Everglades, and when it rains, it remembers," said Mark Woerner, Assistant Director of Planning in Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources at an October climate event.
Check out 'Rising Seas, Rising Costs' in online or print for more on how much climate change could cost your business

141031-d
'Watershed' exhibit portrays complex relationship of man and river
Herald-Standard – by Diana Lasko
October 31, 2014
Jeff Rich grew up in Satellite Beach, Florida. His childhood home overlooking a salt-water canal, seawalls, docks, boats, and a small uninhabited island.
"I spent a lot of time paddling my canoe around the island, fishing and watching the Pelican rookeries. I first became aware of environmental issues as I saw the growing development threatening the wildlife on the island. As the community became more concerned over the fate of the island, I witnessed citizen activism to help preserve and rehabilitate the area."
"Aside from loss of habitat, we had water quality issues in Satellite Beach as well. In the warmer months the canals and estuaries would turn a deep green with the bloom of algae. This algae was caused by the runoff from the fertilizer used on the perfectly maintained yards," Rich said in an interview with photo-eye Blog.
As professional photographer residing in western North Carolina, Rich encountered similar issues in the creeks and rivers that flowed through Asheville -- his activism borne as he began to capture and chronicle digital stills.
"I was drawn to documenting the environmental organizations like Riverlink and the Western North Carolina Alliance in the area, which were attempting to educate the public about these issues, as well as manage the issues of runoff and habitat loss. As I learned more about watershed science and management, I became very interested in how the system works."
A compilation of his ongoing work is on view in "The Watershed Project" exhibit in the Laura Mesaros Gallery at the Creative Art Center of West Virginia University in Morgantown through Dec. 9. Rich's work explores the complex relationship of man and rivers, showing both damage done to waterways and those striving to be good stewards.
Beginning in 2005, Rich began to photograph and document the environmental issues surrounding waterways of the French Broad River Basin Watershed.
"I do a lot of research beforehand and find specific locations that demonstrate either exceptional pollution of the river, or on the other hand exceptional stewardship by an individual or organization," Rich said. "I saw the measures being taken to clean up the watershed and educate the public on how to have a more sustainable relationship with the rivers, I decided that this stewardship was going to be another focus of the project," he said.
Rich's monograph "Watershed: Part I - A Survey of the French Broad River Basin" chronicles the human impact on land and water.
"In 'Watershed,' I intended to highlight this relationship between land, water, and man within the Mississippi River watershed, the largest watershed in North America. Every watershed is made up of smaller watersheds or basins, and the Southern portion of the Mississippi Watershed is made up of three major river basins, The French Broad River, The Tennessee River and The Mississippi River. Each of these basins forms a chapter of the 'Watershed' project," Rich writes.
Documenting the development of the river itself, the landscape of industry and homes and citizens who use the river and work to protect it creates a portrait Rich said of the varied aspects that make up a watershed and stress the importance of sustainability.
In 2010, his French Broad River photographs earned him a Critical Mass Book Award from Photolucida of Portland, Oregon. His work chosen from among 500 photographers whose photographic essays were judged by over 200 jurors and then narrowed down to a Top 50 list.
Photolucida published the first chapter of Rich's project, "Watershed: the French Broad River," that included essays from French Broad Riverkeeper, Hartwell Carson, and Rod Slemmons, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago.
Today, Rich's work continues downriver as the next two chapters of his 'Watershed' project flow into the Tennessee River and the Tennessee Valley Authority (or TVA) and how the river is harnessed and controlled in the Tennessee Valley for power production, flood control, and recreational and commercial use; and then the Mississippi River Basin, which faces several issues such as pollution from agricultural run off and flood control, as well as a constantly shifting channel that threatens use of the river as a commercial waterway.
"My work on the river has focused on the Army Corps of Engineers which manages the flow of the river in spite of the constant cycle of drought and flooding through the use of a complex system of levees, dams, and locks," Rich said.
Rich hopes to turn both chapters into their own book and accompanying exhibits that will tour North America. But he also wants to include a more interactive aspect to the work. Rich has started the process by creating a Google map that locates each of the photographed images within a map on his website jeffreyrich.com.
The most important impact Rich wishes his work to have, is making people think on a larger scale, to consider water issues more broadly.
"I want people to think about the creek running through their back yard, and their effect upon it, but also consider the larger watershed and how cumulative our effect can be when we consider the larger system of rivers. 40 percent of the United States all ends up in one place: The Mississippi River," said Rich. "By looking at the condition of that river, we can see a reflection of how we treat our own backyard waterways. I think ultimately this project does get people to think on a larger scale, and be more aware of problem spots in their neighborhood."
Mesaros Gallery hours are noon-9:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The gallery is free and open to the public. For information, call 304-293-2312.

141030-a
Crist's positive record on Everglades
Tampa Bay Times - Saturday's Letters, by Ray Judah, Fort Myers
October 30, 2014
Everglades - Crist took lead on cleanup.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush's recent comment that "Charlie Crist stood in the way of Everglades restoration" is a distortion and misrepresentation of the cleanup efforts.
In fact it was Bush, during his first term in office, who derailed Everglades restoration when he signed into law the extension of the deadline, from 2006 to 2016, for cleaning up phosphorus pollution running into the Everglades from sugar farms and cities.
Bush also praised his own involvement in developing the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, or CERP, and Acceler8 as solutions to restore the Everglades. And he criticized Crist for abandoning the construction of a reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee and other planned water management projects in favor of state purchases of land to restore a flow way from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades.
A comprehensive review shows that CERP and Acceler8 capital improvement projects of reservoirs and special treatment areas are insufficient to address excessive releases of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee, resulting in prolonged devastation of coastal estuaries on the west and east coasts of Florida.
From every economic, environmental and scientific perspective, a flow way in the Everglades Agricultural Area that would provide sufficient storage, treatment and conveyance of water south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades makes the most sense. Crist understood the critical importance of a flow way and demonstrated courage and vision in supporting purchase of additional lands south of Lake Okeechobee to finally "get the water right" and provide a meaningful solution to restore the Everglades.
While Crist initiated the action plan to secure land from U.S. Sugar Corp. needed for a flow way, Gov. Rick Scott opposed the effort and passed on the opportunity to finalize the most critical piece of the Everglades restoration puzzle by not exercising the state's option to complete the land purchase. Interestingly, the Times recently reported that Scott took a secret hunting trip last year to the King Ranch in Texas, where he stayed at a hunting lodge built by U.S. Sugar on land leased from King Ranch.

141030-b
Escambia County students raise money to improve waterways
Pensacola News Journal - from staff reports
October 30, 2014
The Escambia Marine Science Education program is having a fish fry from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Bayview Park on Bayou Texar to raise money for the Bringing Back the Bayous Community Project.
Bayou Texar is among the area waterways students assess and track during the Bringing Back the Bayous Community Project.
About 20 high school students on Saturday will be educating the community on water quality and raising money to help cleanup area waterways at a fish fry at Bayview Park on Bayou Texar.
Students from Washington, West Florida, Escambia and Pensacola high schools who are in the Escambia Marine Science Education program will be selling plates of fried mullet with two side dishes for $8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park. They also will be doing water quality and other demonstrations for the public, which will cover topics like shorelines, biodiversity and sea turtles.
Proceeds from the event — which also will feature music, shaved ice treats and cookies — will benefit EMSE's Bringing Back the Bayous Community Project.
For the Bayous project, students assess, track and educate the public on possible solutions to improve the water quality of local waterways, including Bayou Texar, Bayou Chico, Bayou Grande and Perdido Bay.
"What's cool about (the EMSE program) is that not only are the kids assessing water quality, but they also are involved in finding solutions," said Edward Bauer, one of the instructors at Washington's Marine Science Academy.
The academy is a four-year honors program that began seven years ago with about 15 students. Now, about 100 students are enrolled, Bauer said.
"We're one of the few honors academic academies in Escambia County," Bauer said. "The meat of the program is when students are in their junior year when we do field work fairly often."
EMSE students also work with the Department of Environmental Protection and other groups during instruction and field study.
At the fish fry, students will be eager to show off all of the projects they're involved in, Bauer said.
"We'll have several displays and will be talking to citizens about what we're doing," he said.
For more information, contact Bauer at ebauer@escambia.k12.fl.us or call 494-7297.

141029-a
Environmentalists seek changes to water, land conservation
ABC-7.com - by Hollie Hojek, Reporter
October 29, 2014
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - Local organizations are calling to change the state constitution in order to protect waterways and land in Southwest Florida.
"I enjoy it on a daily basis.  Look at the water, take pictures of the water," Allison Godin of Fort Myers said. The water and the wildlife are the reasons Godin goes for a walk along the Caloosahatchee River every morning.
"How you could not love Fort Myers ?" Godin said. 
Over the past five years, funding to protect the water that Godin and Floridians love so much has decreased significantly.  It went from $300 million a year to $17 million in 2014. 
"That's very upsetting.  We need to work together and figure this out," Godin said. 
Environmentalists say over the years, the money has gone to help balance the state's budget -- at the expense of what some believe is more important.  
"We're continuing to see deteriorating quality.  So we need to make these added investments, if we're going to protect our quality of life," Jennifer Hecker said.
That's where Amendment One comes in.  After several failed attempts to get the legislature to reallocate funds back to its intended purpose, local organizations took matter into their own hands. 
"That's why you see this grassroots effort," Hecker said.
Hecker says Amendment One was not created out of greed, but rationale -- to get more money back, they say was rightfully theirs in the first place. 
"If they're not going to do what they should be doing or what they need to be doing, we're going to give the power back to the people," Hecker said.   
Voters will have the chance to vote on Amendment One on the November 4 ballot.  If it passes, it will secure one percent of the state's budget for land and water quality conservation for years to come.
Florida is not the first state to propose an amendment like this.  If it does pass, Florida will become the 12th state with a land and water conservation amendment.

141028-a
Florida voters poised to give huge boost to Everglades restoration
HatchMag.com - by S. Chris Hunt
October 28, 2014
One of America’s most iconic — but troubled — fishing destinations might be getting a helping hand from the voters of Florida on Nov. 4.
If the Land and Water Conservation Amendment is approved by Sunshine State voters, a full third of state fees collected from real estate transactions will go into a conservation fund that could be used to purchase or preserve important lands and waters that are vital to the health of the sport fishery in Florida.
According to Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg, some of the money could be used to purchase thousands of acres of land directly below or adjacent to Lake Okeechoboee, allowing for water to be reintroduced into the Everglades rather than channeled into the Caloosahatchee and Indian rivers. If the amendment passes, it could create a $20 billion revenue stream over the next 20 years that can be used solely for conservation purposes in Florida.
The state’s population has doubled in size over the last 35 years, which has put a great deal of stress on Florida’s water resources. Additionally, agricultural use in Florida’s Kissimmee River basin — which includes Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades — has tainted the lake’s water, which makes the artificial discharges into the rivers troubling. Estuaries on both the east and west coasts of Florida are getting frequent doses of polluted fresh water at unnatural times over the course of the year. Fish and wildlife in the Indian River Lagoon have developed cancerous lesions and other maladies that have been blamed on tainted water discharges. The Caloosahatchee River estuary is tainted brown from its normal emerald green hue thanks to the frequent discharges.
Ideally, Eikenberg told a group of journalists gathered at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Saltwater Summit last week in Cape Coral, Fla., money from Amendment 1 would be used to not only purchase some of the land that is currently owned by sugar companies, farmers and ranchers, and is the source of much of the pollution, but it could be used to construct man-made artificial wetlands to treat the tainted water before letting it flow in the Everglades.
"Improving the water supply—improving the amount of water on the peninsula—it's for the betterment of all of us and it's a public health issue," Eikenberg told a local TV station.
While reducing toxic discharges into Florida’s rivers from Lake Okeechobee would be of great benefit to the state’s inshore fisheries and the Everglades, it won’t, by itself, solve all of the Everglades’ problems. The famed Tamiami Trail still cuts across the Everglades from one side to the other, effectively limiting the flow of water from the north to the south. Some progress has been made by elevating the road across portions of the trail — and more bridges are in the works — but until water can flow freely from the north to the south and eventually into Florida Bay, the Everglades will be still be starved of the one resource it needs most to keep its unique habitat and angling opportunities intact — water.
And, just like anywhere else, water is a resource worth fighting for in Florida. Amendment 1, while not the silver bullet that will solve Florida’s water problems, would represent a huge step forward in providing conservationists and state and federal water managers (the Army Corps of Engineers operates the locks that dump water into the Indian and Caloosahatchee rivers) with more tools to acquire land that could be used for things like storage and settling reservoirs, water treatment facilities and simple protection of intact resources, like springs and creeks that contribute to both salt and freshwater habitat that is so important to anglers.
Keeping in mind that fishing in Florida is worth $8.6 billion every year to the state’s economy (according to an American Sportfishing Association study), Amendment 1 would also seemingly make good economic sense. Additionally, the amendment wouldn’t add to the taxpayer burden — it would simply reroute existing revenue into conservation, taking the spending decision out of the hands of a state Legislature that is heavily influenced by the Big Sugar lobby. One potential pitfall — the amendment must be approved by 60 percent of the state’s voters.
But the amendment, according to Eikenberg, has cross-party support, and is largely supported by the state’s real estate industry. The toxic water discharges into rivers running into both of Florida’s coasts is apparently none too appealing to real estate brokers trying to sell waterfront homes while dead manatees and sea turtles wash ashore, riddled with tumors.
Anglers, too, stand to gain, for obvious reasons. Both the Indian and Caloosahatchee river estuaries are prime inshore fishing destinations known for everything from redfish and snook to tarpon, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead.
“These are the estuaries that serve as nurseries to our prized fish populations,” said Jim Bandy, chairman of the Snook and Gamefish Foundation. “We need to be creative with our solutions and find ways to overcome great political challenges in order to clean up these waters and keep fishing strong and viable in Florida. Amendment 1 makes good sense economically and environmentally—this should not be a political issue, but a common-sense issue that’s good for all Floridians, especially the millions of us who fish.”

141028-b
(Florida) Southerners fear being set adrift, vote to steer their own ship of state
Sunshine State News - by Lloyd Brown
October 28, 2014
There's unrest in the left-wing world of South Florida. Some are so dissatisfied that they want to break away and form their own state.
After the vice mayor of South Miami proposed a resolution to secede and become the 51st state, the mayor boo-hooed that he didn't feel the love from North Florida. “It’s very apparent that the attitude of the northern part of the state is that they would just love to saw the state in half and just let us float off into the Caribbean," he reportedly huffed.
The South Miami politicians are concerned that the rising seas, which they attribute to “climate change,” will soon swamp them, and they are upset that the folks in Tallahassee are not as worried about this possibility. Apparently, they missed the news that we now have a president who has promised to top King Canute and still the waters.
The secessionists also were upset that the Yankees in North Florida are farther above sea level than they are, although they stopped short of demanding elevational equality.
The mutinous declaration passed 3-2, with a city commissioner who also is a history teacher warning, "I just want you guys to be careful, because if you vote for this you’re setting a precedent that if other people in this city don’t like our representation or feel we’re not responsive to them, they might say ‘we want to break away from the city of South Miami.'"
The resolution calls for peeling off 24 counties and it was careful to include that big money machine, Disney World. Liberals always ensure they have a rich source of funding for their wacky socialist schemes.
It's not a new idea. Four of the existing 50 states (not 57 as el presidente says) were split from other states and from time to time someone in places such as California, Texas, Michigan or Colorado will suggest a breakup. It also has come up in Florida before, notably North Lauderdale in 2008.
Residents of the Florida heartland, north of Interstate 4, probably would not be unhappy to see the liberals form their own perfect union, but there are a few practical problems.
One question is whether the Florida National Guard would have to be called out to stop the rebels from seceding. A state divided against itself cannot stand -- although it might be able to sit comfortably.
An underground railway probably would be formed to smuggle harried conservatives out of the rebel territory.
It is unclear whether the southern politicians cited “city's rights” in promoting division.
Presumably, however, they would immediately ban all auto traffic and the production of electricity, once they had autonomy. Can't be warming the world up, you know, even if the trees in the Everglades do appreciate the carbon dioxide.
One mutual benefit would be that the rebs could have Charlie Crist/John Morgan as governor, and everything would be harmonious and copacetic in the brave, new state of South Florida.

141027-a
Comprehensive study in progress to examine Florida's water reuse
WJHG.com - by Tyler Allender
October 27, 2014
PANAMA CITY-- Bay County has one of the most innovative water treatment systems in the state.
But oficials are in the midst of evaluating that system.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) held a workshop at Gulf Coast State College on Monday afternoon. It's the beginning of an evaluation process involving the use of reclaimed water and storm water sewage.
Tyndall Air Force Base is home to the advanced waste water treatment.
It goes through a six-step filtration process before it comes out of the tap at your home.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 536 requiring water officials to check on the efforts and submit a report regarding the reclaimed water projects, which is spearheaded by the FDEP.
So far, three meetings have taken place to gather public input, which is already above the state mandate of two.
"It requires the department to coordinate with the stakeholders in the state to do a study and report on how we can expand the beneficial use of three types of water: reclaimed water, excess surface water and storm water," Tom Beck, the Director of the Office of Water Policy at the FDEP, said.
Nearly 1,000 surveys have been collected from individual water users, local government and public utilities.
Respondents were concerned with how the water affects public water supply and agriculture.
If you would like to learn more about the Senate Bill and its requirement, visit: dep.state.fl.us/water/reuse/study.htm.
It describes the study requirements, provides more information about the surveys and shares the latest findings.

141027-b
Lake Okeechobee waters rise, but dry season's arrival may mean no water release
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid
October 27, 2014
Draining Lake Okeechobee water out to sea can hurt coastal fishing grounds.
Lake Okeechobee is also relied on to water South Florida crops and back up community water supplies.
South Florida's dry season may have arrived just in time to avoid dumping more Lake Okeechobee water out to sea.
Last year, flooding fears from rising lake waters triggered the dumping of hundreds of billions of gallons of lake water out to sea — with damaging environmental consequences on coastal fishing grounds.
Last week, rising lake levels raised concerns that more lake dumping could resume, but a return of drier weather may instead enable the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the lake floodgates closed.
"They are trying to hold on and not discharge [lake water] if they don't have to," said Mark Perry, of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, where waterways have suffered from past lake draining. "It would just make matters worse."
Flooding concerns grow when the lake level creeps near 16 feet above sea level — a point that the lake briefly exceeded last week after heavy rains.
On Monday, the lake was back down to 15.9 feet. That's still about 6 inches higher than this time last year and above the 12.5- to 15.5-foot range targeted for the lake.
Yet with the rainy season cycle of near daily rain showers coming to an end this month, the Army Corps is trying to avoid draining more lake water to the east.
Army Corps spokesman John Campbell on Monday said that the corps isn't planning to release lake water to the East Coast this week and would continue to monitor conditions.
Instead, the Army Corps and the South Florida Water Management District are coordinating to move more lake water south, where it once naturally flowed, to try to avoid more discharges to the coast.
If no more big storms hit the lake this year, draining lake water to the East Coast could be avoided and this could be the "perfect ending" to the wet season, said Paul Gray, an Audubon Florida scientist who monitors Lake Okeechobee.
"We don't want to go above 16 feet," Gray said about the lake. "Anything past that and we would have started to be concerned."
The lake that serves as South Florida's primary backup water supply can also pose a flooding risk, due to its aging dike that is considered one of the country's most at risk of failing.
To ease the strain on the dike, the Army Corps of Engineers dumps lake water to the West and East Coast. But that infusion of lake water into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers can foul water conditions and hurt coastal fishing grounds.
In 2013, months of draining freshwater from the lake into the normally salty estuaries was blamed for killing sea grass and oyster beds, scaring away fish and fueling toxic algae blooms that made some waterways unsafe for swimming.
The Army Corps this year has been making low-level lake water releases into the Caloosahatchee River, but has held off draining lake water into the St. Lucie River, which is more sensitive to large infusions of lake water.
Aside from causing environmental problems, dumping lake water to the coast also wastes water that may be needed to bolster South Florida supplies during the fall-to-spring dry season.
The Army Corps is in the midst of a decades-long effort to strengthen Lake Okeechobee's dike.
While draining lake water to the east and west hurts the estuaries, allowing levels to climb too high can cause environmental problems within the lake itself.
If water levels stay above 16 feet for too long, that can drown plants in the marshes rimming the lake that provide habitat for wading birds, fish and other wildlife.
The lake's brief flirtation with 16 feet during the past week shouldn't be a problem for the health of the lake, as long as more storms don't bring a new rush of water, Gray said.
Forecasters have officially declared an end to the rainy season, but hurricane season still lasts through the end of November.
"We may be out of trouble for today … but you are never completely out of trouble with Lake Okeechobee," Gray said.

141026-a
Charlie Crist promises renewed focus on climate change, environment
Tampa Bay Times – by Craig Pittman, Staff Writer
October 26, 2014
During a heated moment in the second gubernatorial debate, Gov. Rick Scott said of his opponent, "Charlie Crist never did anything for the environment."
"That's the most absurd statement anybody could make," Crist said in an interview afterward.
During Crist's term as governor, he took a number of actions on environmental issues:
• He blocked a coal-fired power plant from being built near the Everglades.
• He halted a drive to have manatees removed from the state's endangered list.
• He convened a summit on climate change, vowing to make it an annual event.
• He initiated an attempt to buy all of U.S. Sugar's land for use in Everglades restoration.
But when Crist ran for a U.S. Senate seat, he dropped most of his environmental initiatives.
He canceled his climate summit. He didn't fight the Legislature's move to cut funding for the popular Florida Forever environmental land buying program. And after spending years opposed to offshore drilling, he said he was open to the idea.
Crist's offshore drilling change in 2008 was viewed as an attempt to persuade Republican presidential nominee John McCain to pick him as a running mate. But McCain picked former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who was fond of the chant, "Drill, baby, drill!"
And in 2009, business leaders and environmental activists alike figured Crist had backed away from green causes because he was courting conservative Republicans in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat (which he lost to Marco Rubio). But in a 2009 interview, Crist denied that.
"It has everything to do with the economy," he said.
After the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Crist vowed he was again against drilling.
During this year's election, Crist and his supporters are playing up his record on climate change issues as one toward which he has a distinctively different approach from Scott. Even after meeting with scientists, Scott would not say whether he believes in climate change or that humans are causing it. Crist is quite adamant that he believes both.
In an interview, Crist said that he plans to, if elected, revive his climate summits and the executive orders he issued during his term that called for cutting power plant emissions, requiring the use of alternate fuels and rewriting building codes to require more energy efficiency. He said he would also explore additional steps to expand the use of solar and wind power.
When he first ran for governor in 2006, Crist did not emphasize environmental issues, although in the state Senate he supported manatee protection and opposed a coal-based fuel for utilities.
But in his first State of the State address in 2007 he called climate change "one of the most important issues that we will face this century." He pledged to "bring together the brightest minds" and "place our state at the forefront of a growing worldwide movement to reduce greenhouse gases."
That year he convened a two-day climate change summit in Miami that attracted 600 participants, including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Then Crist announced he would make far-reaching changes in the state's energy policies: cutting power plant emissions, requiring the use of alternate fuels and increasing energy efficiency.
In 2008 he held a second climate summit and flew to London to talk about climate change with British leaders. As a Republican, his climate stance attracted national attention. He shared a stage with Sheryl Crow, met with Robert Redford and was interviewed on CBS's Early Show.
When Florida Power & Light, the state's biggest utility, tried to put a $5.7 billion coal-fired power plant next to the Everglades, Crist prodded his appointees on the Public Service Commission to turn it down based on climate concerns — the first time the PSC had rejected a new power plant in 15 years. That decision effectively quashed other proposed coal-fired plants.
Crist called the vote "the right decision for the environment, the right decision for the Everglades and the right decision for Florida." But it earned him the enmity of the state's major electric utilities, which are supporting Scott.
Crist's state wildlife commission appointees were all connected to the development industry. But then he incurred the wrath of developers and boating interests by telling his appointees not to vote for moving manatees' status from endangered to threatened.
He took that step after conferring with Jimmy Buffett just before a Tampa concert during which Crist introduced the singer and co-founder of the Save the Manatee Club.
Crist's grandest gesture toward the environment, though, ended up falling far short.
In 2008, a judge ruled that the sugar industry's long-standing practice of dumping polluted water into Lake Okeechobee was illegal, and a state agency voted to forbid the practice. U.S. Sugar lobbyists went to see Crist seeking his help.
Crist proposed that the state buy all the company's 187,000 acres for Everglades restoration. But in 2010, amid the economic meltdown, the state bought just 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar for $197 million, with an option to buy the rest later — although now U.S. Sugar has announced development plans for that land.
But if he's elected, climate change is where Crist intends to focus much of his energy. He said that because it's such a low-lying state, surrounded on three sides by water, "Florida is the epicenter of this debate."

141026-b
Charlie Crist stood in the way of Everglades restoration
Miami Herald - by Jeb Bush
October 26, 2014
When I entered office in 1999, the greatest environmental challenge facing Florida was the rapidly deteriorating state of America’s Everglades. For years, the sensitive subtropical ecological system had suffered the side effects of a massive manmade drainage system and rapid regional development that harmed the water supply, diverted water from the natural habitat and threatened the many species that call these unique wetlands home.
During the next eight years, we would make the restoration of America’s Everglades one of the state’s top priorities. We convened a broad and diverse coalition of stakeholders to develop a strategy that became known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. In 2000, through a historic partnership, the State of Florida and the federal government each committed to a 50-50 percent share of costs to implement a series of more than 60 projects during the next two decades that would clean up and restore the Everglades.
We were dedicated to repairing and protecting one of our nation’s greatest treasures — in a fiscally responsible way that ensured we did not overcommit the state beyond taxpayers’ ability to pay for the projects, and invested wisely to yield real environmental benefits.
Unfortunately, Congress did not live up to the promise it made.
Instead of forgoing the state’s commitment to restoration, we aggressively expanded it. To accelerate our work, we developed a creative solution to fast-track the most critical projects. Our $1.5 billion Acceler8 plan prioritized for early construction the most beneficial projects across the system, including storage and treatment reservoirs for the Caloosahatchee, St. Lucie and Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) regions.
The necessary land was acquired, the projects were designed, and the state was proud to stand with the South Florida Water Management District as we broke ground on six Acceler8 projects, including the massive 17,000 acre EAA reservoir.
By 2007, Florida was on its way to realizing a restored habitat and a more adequate, cleaner water supply for the state. We were on a steady and reliable path to restoration that enjoyed broad support from members of the business community, environmental advocates and the general public.
Unfortunately, this tremendous progress came to a halt under Gov. Charlie Crist’s failed leadership. In 2008, after hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars had been spent constructing the critical EAA reservoir and other planned projects, Crist ended the Acceler8 plan midway, leaving these projects abandoned and unfinished. It was a massive disappointment to so many leaders and residents across Florida who were committed to restoring the Everglades and who expected the state and local partners to live up to their promises.
Rather than focus on what the Everglades needed and the projects already underway, Charlie Crist had an irresponsible plan to spend $1.75 billion on land and assets that the state could not afford. From the day the boondoggle deal was announced, Everglades restoration stalled out, stuck in litigation and political controversy.
Like many of his failed initiatives while in office, Charlie Crist’s $1.75-billion proposal to buy out the U.S. Sugar Corporation was nakedly political, lacked a thoughtful plan or vision for achieving results and contained astronomical hidden costs for taxpayers.
Fortunately, Charlie Crist did not run for re-election to the state’s highest office, and during his tenure, Gov. Rick Scott has worked to put Everglades restoration back on the right track.
Scott, together with partners in the Florida Legislature, last year passed a new $880-million restoration plan with real, enforceable goals, and a steady stream of annual funding. Through the plan, the state is once again fulfilling its responsibility to restore the quality of water flowing into the Everglades. Work is also being fast-tracked on water projects again to help the embattled Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries. And, Scott secured $90 million in state funds to support completion of a federal project that is raising the Tamiami Trail Bridge so more clean water can flow to Everglades National Park.
Scott has fulfilled his commitment to move forward with Everglades restoration and strengthen Florida’s environment. His record stands in stark contrast to Charlie Crist’s failure to make real progress on this critical environmental challenge. In an effort to grab headlines, Crist undermined Florida’s history of comprehensively and aggressively working to restore the River of Grass. We know exactly what four more years of Charlie Crist would bring — empty promises, petty political gamesmanship and initiatives Florida cannot afford.

141025-
Plum Creek is another outsider seeking to exploit environment
Gainesville.com - by Joe Little, Special to The Sun
October 25, 2014
How Tom Sawyer scammed his gullible juvenile chums in fictional St. Petersburg, Missouri, seems to be the model for Plum Creek/Envision Alachua's pitch to gullible adults in real Alachua County.
Tom ended up with a whitewashed fence, clean hands and accolades from Aunt Polly. His chums wound up with blistered hands, splattered clothes and maybe whuppins for messing them up. (Those were the days when whuppin' children was no crime.)
To be equally successful, Plum Creek/Envision Alachua must persuade the Alachua County Commission to convert thousands of acres of wetlands Plum Creek purchased for peanuts into high-value uplands, damn the environmental consequences. Like Tom, it will walk away sittin' pretty. Like Tom's chums, Alachua County taxpayers will wind up chagrined and with a despoiled ecosystem that could cost them dearly to clean up or sustain.
This is nothing new for Florida. For 100 years, enterprising outsiders have exploited Florida by selling undevelopable wetlands to eager bargain seekers. Many buyers simply lost their money, and others prevailed upon taxpayers to bail them out.
The biggest boondoggles have been the most costly. Somebody had the bright idea to drain and develop the Everglades. Growing sugar cane on the cheap was good for everybody. Somebody else thought it good to channelize the Kissimmee River.
Still others thought it would be swell to dig a ship canal right through the northern neck of the Florida isthmus. This metamorphosed into a barge canal and proceeded just far enough to turn portions of the beautiful Ocklawaha River into an ugly ditch and drown other portions under an expensive fishing hole impounded by the Rodman Dam.
Much of this was done at a time when wetlands were “wastelands,” maybe even public enemies, fit for nothing but mosquitoes, rattlers, alligators, “Injuns” and renegades on the lam. That's what people thought back then.
Water in Florida — just like air in the industrial Northeast — was treated as an inexhaustible freebie available for the taking by those with the wherewithal. This was not true in latter years, as proved by the army of Florida Defenders of the Environment who, lead by the late Marjorie Harris Carr, brought that project to a halt and still fights to restore the free flowing Ocklawaha River. Carr understood better than anyone that natural areas are required to sustain human life in Florida and make it livable.
Some of Florida has awakened to the truth. Taxpayers have spent millions of dollars to restore the Kissimmee River to something approaching its natural state and many millions more — maybe billions — to reclaim some of the despoiled Everglades and protect what remains. We Floridians have even adopted amendments to our state constitution to try to undo the damage to the Everglades.
But who in Alachua County heeds this history ? Who among us isn't beguiled by Plum Creek/Envision Alachua's siren cry of goodies for all at the mere price of a local environmental calamity? Like Tom Sawyer, a successful Plum Creek will stroll away with a jaunty whistle plus many millions of profit. And Alachua County ? It will be left to cope with the rubble of fallen castles in the air.
Most troubling about Plum Creek/Envision Alachua's pitch is its not-too-subtle attempt to set the east side of Alachua County, i.e., the poor black side, against elite environmentalists, i.e., the wealthy west side. This denigrates what I believe to be true: the same humane impulses that motivate people to protect the environment also motivate them to support civil rights and equal economic opportunities. It ignores what I also believe to be true: Big developers have shown disdain for both, except when it disguises a profit motive.
In Tom Sawyer's day ailing folks were administered castor oil with the admonition to “hold your nose and drink it down.” Sometimes a little sugar was added “to make the medicine go down.”
Plum Creek/Envision Alachua urges Alachua County to hold its nose and swallow. The difference between castor oil and Plum Creek? Castor oil won't hurt and might actually do some good.

141024-a
EPA should let states handle water quality issues
Miami Herald – Op-Ed by Tom Feeney, President and CEO of the Associated Industries of Florida
October 24, 2014
Florida’s geology, topography and watercourses are like no other state’s in the nation, dominated by vast floodplains along the coast and countless wetlands, rivers, streams and lakes inland.
Virtually all of these features are connected underground by our precious aquifer system through sandy soils and porous limestone. Because Florida’s elevation is only slightly above sea-level and relatively flat, its history tells the story of, and its lifestyle is dependent upon, effective management of stormwater.
Additionally, Florida leads the nation in water-quality efforts, recently approving numeric nutrient standards designed to keep its waters healthy and clean. As a result, Florida is crisscrossed by manmade ditches, canals and ponds for flood control, irrigation, stormwater management and water-quality improvement. All of these factors, both natural and manmade, make Florida particularly susceptible to the proposed rule changes by the Environmental Protection Agency to the Waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act.
The Florida H20 Coalition, of the Associated Industries of Florida, urges tha tthe EPA use caution when defining what waters will be covered by the Clean Water Act. The scope of the proposed changes and the legal reform in terms of permitting is pretty drastic.
We think that if the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were to expand the scope of federal jurisdiction under the definitions currently laid out, it would negatively affect local governments, farmers and other landowners. Already, Florida is getting ready to implement the new numeric nutrient criteria (NNC). This will be an expensive water-quality program, which utility-rate customers will have to pay for.
Just last year, Florida negotiated the right to write its own NNC rule, after the EPA was scientifically off the mark when first presenting the rule. Now, the EPA is looking to put another federal mandate on the backs of Floridians, using the same confusing tests to make their decision that they claim to be “clarifying.”
We also have reason to believe that the economic projections prepared by the EPA significantly underestimate compliance costs. While the EPA’s economic impact analysis estimates all 50 states will be on the hook for $231 million, a recent fiscal impact study completed in Florida indicates that just four of Florida’s 67 counties is looking at an estimate of $4 billion, with Seminole County alone facing an estimate of $1.53 billion. Florida simply cannot afford for the EPA to move forward with this rule-making without sufficient opportunity for engagement by affected stakeholders.
How will local governments will be negatively affected by the outcome of the EPA’s ruling? Pinellas County, for instance, is a member of a coalition with the sole mission of restoration and protection of Tampa Bay, and should the proposed rule be adopted, “Pinellas County would have to divert funds from these critical waterbodies” to meet the NNC in the newly identified jurisdictional waters.
This is contrary to enhancing Florida’s overall environmental quality, and the expansion of the Clean Water Act jurisdiction to marginal waters, such as stormwater ditches and ponds, will prevent financially constrained local governments from addressing other important environmental initiatives.
galleryWidgetIds6 = []; $(document).ready(function() { googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-6"); });}); globalWidgetEventManager.subscribe( new mi.WEB.subscriber.WidgetSubscriber(6,"ad","ad_group",[new mi.WEB.eventHandlers.ad.AdEventHandler(galleryWidgetIds6, "div-gpt-ad-6")])); It is time for the EPA and Army Corps to take a renewed and hard look at their economic analysis and extend the comment period for affected stakeholders in an effort to gain a more accurate cost estimate, while creating opportunities to identify more cost-effective approaches that still protect the environment. Even the Small Business Administration Office of Agency, the federal agency tasked with providing support and advocating for America’s small businesses, agreed recently that the rule would hurt small businesses, as it will be too expensive to comply with, and urged the EPA to withdraw the proposed regulation.
We support U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland’s H.R. 5078, the WOTUS Regulatory Overreach Protection Act, which recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill leads to a better rule and requires the EPA and Army Corps to conduct a transparent, representative and open consultation with state and local officials to develop a consensus about those waters that should be under federal jurisdiction. H.R. 5078 is consistent with the CWA and would allow all other waters to remain under the jurisdiction of the various states where they can appropriately address the diversity and availability of water and land features and how best to protect them. This legislation will lay a foundation that will achieve environmental benefits and ensure our nation’s ability to engage in the kind of robust economic activity that sustains and supports Americans working in all sectors of the economy.

141024-c
Scott and Crist: A rare point of agreement ?
Florida Today – by Bill Golden, Guest columnist
October 24, 2014
During the three gubernatorial debates, something more profound than a breakdown over a personal cooling device occurred, and it happened so quickly many of us almost missed it.
Amid the bickering, the puffery and the ceaseless back-and-forth, it appears that Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist — two men who clearly can’t agree on almost any issue — met on common ground.
Though only briefly, both seemed to agree now is the time to rely on what science, accompanied by tangible, irrefutable facts, is telling us. Instead of continuing a philosophical debate on what is causing a host of calamities, which now and increasingly will plague this state, it seems they agreed we must begin to work on fixing them.
How refreshing.
The sobering truth is that with the longest coastline in the continental United States, Florida is facing significant vulnerabilities. They include coastal and inland flooding, storm surge, saltwater contamination of drinking water supplies, impact on water supply and wastewater systems, beach erosion, and threats to public and private property and infrastructure.
We will also experience or are already experiencing public health challenges, ocean acidification with effects on coral reefs and fisheries, not to mention additional stresses on the Everglades. Many of these impacts will affect critical resources, community sustainability, and the very heart of our economic engine —tourism.
Too much of Florida’s coastal and inland infrastructure is crumbling or inadequate to meet our current — never mind our future — needs.
Seawalls across our state are literally falling into a rising ocean while once high-and-dry areas are now flooding on sunny days. Bridges, culverts and roads, once built on stable foundations, are now shifting and some have collapsed. Many of South Florida’s coastal drinking wells have gone from fresh water to salty water and now inland wells are threatened as saltwater intrusion continues to advance. Neighborhoods that used to rely on gravity to drain after rainstorms are now in need of expensive pumps in order to keep their homes above water.
We no longer have the luxury of getting lost in partisan or philosophical debates about what caused the proverbial pothole that needs fixing. True leaders understand the days of intractable positions and unwinnable battles are over. Florida’s future prosperity will hinge on genuine roll-up-your-sleeves governing.
It is also vital that Florida’s next governor, no matter who he may be, will not just commit to fixing our crumbling infrastructure, but seek to understand underlying causes and face head-on the need for mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
He must do so for the most basic of economic reasons.
How can our state continue to grow when saltwater intrusion threatens our fresh-water supply? How can we transport goods on roads and bridges that are literally falling into the sea? How can we have a stable real estate market if insurers refuse to cover even inland homes?
We need to act now, at a time when the costs of resilience, adaptation and mitigation are within our reach and not when repairs and rehab will be far too expensive for our citizens to afford. In short, the few dollars we spend today will save billions in the future.
It seems that amid the many disagreements, two men who have walked — and continue to walk — very different journeys, agreed that now is the time to begin the task of fixing Florida’s crumbling infrastructure, regardless of what is causing it.
Let’s get to work indeed.
About the writer
Bill Golden, executive director of the National Institute for Coastal and Harbor Infrastructure (NICHIusa.org), has worked as a businessman, lawyer and government official on the resolution of complex environmental infrastructure issues, including the creation of US EPA, the cleanup of Boston Harbor and the development of renewable energy. Column courtesy of Context Florida.

141024-d
‘Yes’ on Amendment 1
Pensacola News Journal - Editorial
October 24, 2014
Traditionally, we have condemned the practice of loading November ballots with Constitutional amendments. It’s too often a perversion of governmental process: Elected representatives avoid tough decision-making by hiding behind amendments and pushing what should be their representative duty — legislating — back onto voters.
This is — in part — why we oppose Amendment 2. As we have said, the Constitution is not the place to make decisions that we may want to change from year to year. A constitutional amendment should be reserved for large, lasting acts of statewide interest. In the case of medical marijuana, there is no reason that legalization and regulation should not be a normal act of the Florida Legislature.
But some issues are inherently larger than that. Some things are so lasting, so long in scope, so quintessentially Floridian that they deserve to be constitutional matters. Conservation of Florida’s natural lands is one such issue. It requires a strategy that is consistent, long-term and immune to politics. It is a matter not simply of state interests, but of our birthright. For that reason, we believe that Amendment 1 deserves a yes vote on November 4.
The amendment would put 33 percent of state documentary stamp tax proceeds (collected on real estate transactions) into the state’s Land Acquisition Trust Fund over the next 20 years. The state estimates that this would amount to $648 million in fiscal year 2015 to 2016 and could potentially grow to more than $1 billion by 2035 when the amendment would expire.
Currently, the Legislature determines the amount of money to go toward land acquisition in its annual budgeting process. In recent years, this has resulted in drastic cuts to conservation spending. We cannot afford to be so fickle with our future. There would be no new tax with this amendment. Just a committed investment.
This is a tough call. Like lawmaking, the state’s budgeting priorities should not be a function of the Constitution. But Florida’s natural environment is an exception. In context of our reccomendation on Amendment 2, natural Florida simply is, and forever will be, an issue of far greater importance than medical marijuana. This is not just a legislative initiative or a budgeting priority — this is our lifeblood.
We have long maintained that nature is our state’s most vital organ. Both environmental health and economic health are impossible without it. Whether it’s the Keys, the Everglades, the St. Johns River or Pensacola Bay, Florida’s incredibly diverse and unique natural environment is what has always defined us — spiritually and economically. It is simultaneously our soul and our business card. The Florida brand does not exist without it.
Like a commitment of faith we must be daily in our devotion. Like a financial investment strategy, we must be steadfast and consistent. That’s why funding for conservation lands must be made as permanent as possible.
Shamefully, the Florida Legislature cannot be trusted with that commitment year in and year out — especially in this political climate, where we have a governor, a commissioner of agriculture and state legislators who have taken secret hunting trips financed by some of the state’s biggest polluters. When it comes to our environment, the people in power have proven themselves unworthy of Florida’s trust.
This amendment can help take trust out of the equation. Voters have the opportunity to show that our environment transcends the many lesser whims and questionable ambitions of Florida’s political animals. With so many grubby paws and talons clinging to budgetary power, this is a chance to keep some control in our own hands. On Amendment 1 on the Nov. 4 ballot, the Pensacola News Journal recommends voting “YES.”
Related:           What you need to know about Amendment 1           Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Amendment 1 analysis: Investment in Florida brand or government ...         The Northwest Florida Daily News

141023-a
Climate change worries drive South Florida 51st state plan
GovExec.com - by Kaveh Waddell
October 23, 2014
When a region wants to break away from its state or from the U.S.—whether we're talking about Texas, Vermont, or the former Confederate states—it's usually because of government, politics, and money. But for the city of South Miami, which earlier this month passed a resolution to separate southern from northern Florida, the main concern is climate change.
North and South Florida have had their differences for decades, says Walter Harris, vice mayor of South Miami. South Florida is largely urban and leans left, he says, whereas the north—where the capital, Tallahassee, is located—is mostly rural and much more conservative.
These long-standing political divisions are further fueled by an economic imbalance: according to the resolution for independence, 69 percent of Florida's 22 billion dollars of tax revenue comes from the 24 counties in the southern part of the state.
But the recent acceleration of climate change is what drove Harris, who put forward the resolution for independence earlier this month, to action.
The Everglades are in danger of drowning, Harris says, as is a pair of aging nuclear reactors toward the very southern tip of Florida, which is situated fewer than five feet above sea level. He notes that more than 2.5 million pounds of nuclear waste are buried at the site.
Further complicating matters, Harris says, is the fact that much of southern Florida is built on limestone. This means that a rising sea level affects more than just the coastal areas, as water rises up through the permeable bedrock and affects drainage inland.
But Harris says Tallahassee won't do what needs to be done to address these problems. "We need to be able to deal with this situation with a government that recognizes that we're not North Florida," he says.
Harris has a particular bone to pick with Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who he says won't pay attention to Floridians' concerns about the climate. "This is a reality, even though our present governor doesn't think so," Harris says. "Other than the governor of this state, it's an issue that everyone recognizes." Scott is currently in a tight, ugly race against former Republican governor Charlie Crist, who is now running as a Democrat.
Reached for comment, the governor's spokesman pointed to an comment Scott made at a gubernatorial debate Tuesday night. Although Scott refuses to acknowledge that climate change is man-made, he said that he spent $350 million to address sea level rise in the Miami area, and mentioned other large spending packages aimed at protecting Florida's coral reefs and springs.
Gov. Scott's office did not comment on Southern Florida's moves toward independence.
Secession is an uphill battle, and the vice mayor knows it. "I'm called Don Quixote about the whole thing," he says. "But I believe it will happen because, basically, it has to. This is unprecedented in man's existence."
Economic and political divisions "would be reason enough" to split, says Harris, "but now you add the reality of global warming." The rising sea level is of particular concern. Where the northern part of the state is on average 120 feet above sea level, much of the southern portion averages 15 feet above sea level, the resolution reads.
The city's mayor, Philip Stoddard, is on board. He told the Sun Sentinel he's been pro-secession for 15 years, but never put forward a resolution.
"The world is watching us," Harris says. And when it comes to the consequences of a rising sea, "right now, we're ground zero in the United States."
Related:           South Florida City Council Votes to Secede From Florida, Citing ...           Newsweek
South Miami commissioners want to split Florida into two states     WPTV-Oct 22, 2014
South Florida to Become Nation's 51st State?           Courthouse News Service

141023-b
Stop fracking in Florida
Tallahassee Democrat - My View by Karen Dwyer and Vickie Machado
October 23, 2014
Florida families and businesses are facing severe water- and air-quality issues related to climate change — and that problem will get dramatically worse if fracking continues in our state.
Many in Collier County still remember getting the letter in the mail from a Texas company warning of the potential for an explosion, gas leak or other drilling disaster in our neighborhood. We were terrified to be living in an emergency evacuation zone, and after some investigating, we discovered that the Dan A. Hughes Co. planned to drill for oil and that it could at any time use a process known as acid or hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, near our backyards. This is why all of us joined together to speak out against the proposal to drill, and possibly frack, so close to residential neighborhoods and in the cherished Everglades.
It took a concerted effort for a year and a half by local citizens to force the state to intervene. Unfortunately, although we’ve beaten back one company, many more fracking projects could endanger thousands of Florida families in the future.
Fracking, injecting toxic chemicals into the earth to release oil and gas, is often viewed as a bridge to cleaner, renewable energy sources. So why are we opposed to fracking in our backyards?
Most of us know about the climate change threats Florida faces. Our beautiful beaches, long coasts and tropical weather put us at greater risk to the negative effects of the increase in global temperatures. Experts warn that rising sea levels and retreating shorelines will lead to property damage, reduced tourism, lower yields of key crops. Severe flooding, saltwater contamination of our water supplies, increasing numbers of forest fires, and dying coral reefs threaten our economy as well as the natural beauty we love. But that doesn’t have to be the reality of living in the Sunshine State.
We spoke up to stop fracking in Collier County because we love living here and know that making smart choices matters when it comes to addressing climate change. Scientists have found that inherent in the fracking process is the release of large quantities of methane, which is at least 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a cause of climate change. Fracking will only make the threats to Florida worse.
Fracking in our state would particularly undermine jobs that are generated by tourism. Who will want to visit South Beach or Daytona Beach if our coasts are constantly under threat of flooding?
Allowing fracking in Florida not only would make climate change worse, but also would harm local residents and businesses. In Pennsylvania and many states across the country, water contamination and dangerous air pollution as a result of fracking are increasingly common. In West Virginia, Colorado, Utah and elsewhere, researchers are finding alarming levels of benzene air emissions, which are linked to neurological and respiratory problems and cancer. In Oklahoma, fracking has triggered increased earthquake activity, both in magnitude and frequency.
Unfortunately, despite these grave threats, Gov. Rick Scott continues to support future fracking projects in the state. Not only has he remained quiet on the future of the fracking permits in our neck of the woods, but he also has supported a major pipeline in North Central Florida. This massive project to transport fracked gas will cross private landowners’ property, with or without their consent, as well as environmentally sensitive areas such as Florida’s renowned natural springs.
There’s hope. As more residents learn about fracking and more science becomes available, it gives us the opportunity to pause and reconsider what direction we want for our state.
Protecting Florida’s jobs, businesses, property, public health and environmental treasures is the responsibility of every elected official.
Karen Dwyer is the co-founder of the Stonecrab Alliance, a group of local residents in Collier County who helped stop fracking near homes and the Everglades (on Facebook at on.tdo.com/1wmMHJD). Vickie Machado is the Florida organizer for Food & Water Watch (http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org), which has been working to stop fracking in Florida.
Related:           37 eco-groups ask governor to ban fracking in Florida          Akron Beacon Journal (blog)

141022-a
Florida utility seeks public funds to fight clean-water rules
Public News Service – by Stephanie Carson
October 22, 2014
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, Florida Power and Light (FPL) will appear before the state's Public Service Commission to ask for Florida tax dollars to fund its efforts to fight an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to close existing loopholes in the Clean Water Act. The utility is asking for almost $230,000 to fight the rules, which would affect regulation of cooling ponds at its plants in the state. Susan Glickman, state director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, explains why her organization is asking the state to deny the power company's request: "Water is our most precious resource, and to think that the utility would not only want to weaken water protections, but would want to use ratepayer money against our own interests is really outrageous." An FPL spokesman says the additional regulation would cost the utility company millions of dollars it would ultimately have to pass on to consumers. The EPA is expected to issue a final decision on its proposal in November. If approved, it would reinstate rules placed in limbo after two Supreme Court rulings. The court's decision impacted the protection of small streams and wetlands, which can be found throughout the state. George Cavros, energy policy attorney, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, says the intended purpose of the taxpayer funds for which FPL is applying is to help it comply with environmental regulations, not change them. "What's different here is that Florida Power and Light, the biggest power company in the state, they are preemptively attacking a draft Clean Water protection rule - and that's just simply not allowed under Florida law," explains Cavros. Glickman says she hopes the state refuses the utility's request for the money, bucking what she calls a historical trend. "Utilities seem to get, under this Public Service Commission, everything that they ask for, so why wouldn't they ask for the moon and expect it?" she says. So, we can only hope that the Public Service Commission will understand that this is an outrageous request." The Florida Public Service Commission is expected to make a decision on the funding request by the end of October.
Related:           Another test for the state's utility regulators  TBO.com

141022-b
Keys scientists: Climate change apparent at Cape Sable
Miami Herald - by Jenny Staletovich
October 22, 2014
From the sky, Florida's rugged tip looks like a scrap of emerald green lace: Marshes and mangroves and tree islands all knit together by ribbons of creeks and lakes.
But at Cape Sable, due north of Marathon and west of Flamingo on the edge of Florida Bay, a remote outpost where the Atlantic meets the Gulf of Mexico, the coast is fraying.
Usually, geological change is so slow that "you never see something in your lifetime," Audubon Florida biologist Peter Frezza, based in Tavernier, said recently as he piloted his boat around acres of mud flats filling Lake Ingraham. "But we're watching this happen."
For more than a decade, scientists have seen the cape as the tip of the sword in climate change. Sliced open by canals dug through the marl dividing marshes from the bay a century ago by Henry Flagler's land company, the cape is particularly vulnerable to rising seas. Flagler was hoping to drain the wetland and lure homesteaders and ranchers.
A 10-foot crocodile swims in remote Lake Ingraham near a mud flat created by decades of sediment washing up canals dug to drain marshes at Cape Sable nearly a century ago. Wildlife managers dammed two canals in 2011 and are now considering plugging four more.
No one ever came that far south -- swarms of mosquitoes were said to suffocate cattle -- but the canals widened. And as they expanded, the coast and marshes where crocodiles nest and migrating birds refuel for transcontinental flights started collapsing like a sandcastle pounded by waves.
Wildlife managers are now in a race.
The more saltwater flows into marshes, the faster they die. And the faster marshes die, the more damaging nutrients from the dead sedge and other vegetation wash into the bay.
Little money to tackle problem
Scientists think they have a fix. Simply plug the canals. But getting money to repair a problem accessible only by boat -- and easily lost in the long list of Everglades restoration projects -- has been tough.
Three years ago, Everglades National Park constructed $7 million dams to plug the two most damaging canals using federal stimulus grants. Now, tired of waiting for work to continue, the nonprofit Everglades Foundation has supplied $143,000 to the National Park Service, half the cost of completing an environmental assessment needed before more money -- an estimated $10 million -- can be sought to plug four smaller canals.
"With the canals plugged, we may not be able to stop" the damage, said acting Everglades Superintendent Bob Krumenaker. "But we can slow down the action and make the system more resilient for a considerably longer time."
As early as the 1950s, wildlife managers spotted trouble at the two main canals, the East Cape and Homestead. Originally dug only 15 to 20 feet wide, the canals broadened to 10 times their width with the constant scouring by tides. Workers erected earthen dams to stop the canals from widening.
But hurricanes and erosion washed away the dams. About 2005, damage started increasing exponentially, Frezza said.
"Even in the last three years the rate water is moving in and out is truly astonishing," said Carol Mitchell, deputy science director at Everglades and Dry Tortugas national parks.
At the Raulerson Brothers Canal at the western tip of Lake Ingraham, water rushes down the canal at low tide in white-capped rapids.
One morning last month, Key Largo resident Tom Van Lent, director of science and policy at the Everglades Foundation, pointed to three feet of exposed grass and mangrove roots, a sign of just how quickly the marsh has shrunk "like letting air out of a mattress." A side creek that Van Lent said was impassable five years ago sends water gushing out.
Scientists fear that all the nutrients washing out of the dying marsh could profoundly damage the bay.
In 1992, when a massive algae bloom turned much of Florida Bay into a smelly, slimy dead zone, scientists believe the trigger was nutrient run-off. In recent years, the amount of algae-feeding nutrients in Lake Ingraham has remained much higher than in the Everglades to the north.
"We'll never know what triggers an algae bloom," Van Lent said. "But adding nutrients to Florida Bay is not a good thing."
On the flip side, sediment carried by incoming tides over the last 30 years has dramatically changed Lake Ingraham. Once a freshwater lake, it is now salty and filled with acres of barren mud flats.
Audubon's Frezza said the food chain has shrunk, with small fish declining and larger fish and seabirds going elsewhere to hunt.
"It's not quite the dead sea, but it's pretty bad," Van Lent said.
Park officials hope to complete the environmental assessment within the next 18 months, Krumenaker said. The assessment will look at whether plugging the four remaining canals can slow the process and improve water quality.

141022-d
Reusing treated wastewater improves water quality
Florida Times-Union - by Staff
October 22, 2014
NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Roy Undersander hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony with representatives from state and local environmental agencies Oct. 17 for the final phase of the $4.2 million NAS Jacksonville Wastewater Reuse Project.
When completed next fall, it will result in the air station being the first major wastewater system in Northeast Florida to attain zero discharge of treated wastewater to the St. Johns River.
This phase involves installing pipeline from the reuse pond at the NAS Jacksonville Golf Club course, through the weapons area, to spray fields around the antenna farm in the southern area of the station. 
The project will eliminate 315 million gallons a year discharge into the St. Johns River and 48 million gallons a year of withdrawal from the Floridan Aquifer. 
The success of the project has been accomplished through a long term State/City/Navy partnership committed to improving the water quality of the St Johns River.
“This is a prime example of partnerships focused on achieving a common goal. This final phase, ending with a spray field at the antenna farm, will achieve zero-discharge of wastewater into the St. Johns River,” said Undersander.
“It’s gratifying to see the enthusiasm people have for our river and how excited they are to see the progress of this multi-phase project,” he continued. “We’re proud that NAS Jax is leading the way to be a responsible environmental steward of the river – we couldn’t be more proud of this partnership,” explained Undersander.
NAS Jax Environmental Director Kevin Gartland praised those involved in the project.
“It’s the partnerships with our city and state counterparts that are making this all happen. We couldn’t have done this without them. It’s a win-win for all of us,” he stated. 
“This wastewater reuse project is another superb example of the partnership between the Navy, the City of Jacksonville, and the State of Florida,” said retired Rear Adm. Victor Guillory, director, City of Jacksonville Military and Veterans Affairs Department.
“This groundbreaking represents another milestone in making our local military installations more efficient, cost effective, and a terrific example of environmental stewardship that is so important in our community and state.”
NAS Jax has a history of reusing treated wastewater for irrigation, rather than discharging directly into the St. Johns River. In 1997, the base and the adjacent Timuquana Country Club agreed to construct a 200,000-gallons-per-day treated wastewater reuse system for the club to irrigate its golf course and eliminate groundwater withdrawal.
In 2010, the station constructed an additional 300,000 gallons per day wastewater reuse system for its ball fields and the NAS Jax Golf Club course.
The retention pond at the golf course is now separated into two reservoirs – one for stormwater and one for treated wastewater.

141022-e
Tale of two states: Miami politicians press for South Florida’s secession as 51st state
New York Daily News – by Meg Wagner
October 22, 2014
South Miami passed a resolution to split Florida in half, making ‘South Florida’ the 51st state. The move — inspired by the North’s alleged apathy toward climate issues in the South — would divide the state into two weird territories: the Redneck-Christmas-parade-hosting, 'Don’t-Tase-me-bro' screaming north, and the manatee-riding, gator wrangling south.
South Miami politicians passed a resolution to split Florida in half, making South Florida a new state.
Florida comes in many shades of weird.
There's the beer-guzzling, Redneck-Christmas-party-hosting, "Don't-Tase-me-bro" yelling north. And then there's the manatee-riding, gator-wrangling, face-eating-cannibal inhabited south.
But if there were two Floridas, which would be the quirkiest?
South Miami politicians passed a resolution to split Florida in half, making South Florida the U.S.'s 51st state.
North Florida just doesn't understand South Florida, South Miami Mayor Mayor Philip Stoddard told the Sun-Sentinel.
"It's very apparent that the attitude of the northern part of the state is that they would just love to saw the state in half and just let us float off into the Caribbean," he said. "They've made that abundantly clear every possible opportunity and I would love to give them the opportunity to do that."
Under the proposed resolution, South Florida's northern border would be the tops of Brevard, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.
That means the 51st state would claim Tampa, St. Petersburg and all of Disney World in addition to the Miami area, the Florida Keys and the Everglades.
North Florida — or just Florida at this point — would be left with Jacksonville, the Florida Panhandle and both the University of Florida and Florida State University.
The resolution was inspired by a serious concern. Tallahassee, the capital located near the state's border with Georgia, doesn't understand the south's concerns about rising sea levels and climate change, the South Florida activists claimed.
But despite its thoughtful political roots, the proposed separation would also mean America would have two very weird states on its hands.
South Florida would be home to some of the state's most bizarre people, places and headlines.
A woman was arrested for riding a manatee off a St. Petersburg beach in 2012. A year later, a homeless man tried to trade a live alligator for a 12-pack of beer in a Miami supermarket. Fort Meyers goats once earned a world record for skateboarding.
Plus, the Everglades was home to 2013's "Python Challenge," where hunters competed to see who could capture the most Burmese pythons.
And in Miami, 'cannibal' Rudy Eugene gnawed on a homeless man's face before police shot him dead.
And the south would claim Polk County, infamous for drug bust after drug bust.
But North Florida has its own unique brand of bizarre, too.
A University of Florida student coined the line "Don't Tase me, Bro!" when campus cops tried to subdue the unruly 21-year-old during a 2007 John Kerry forum — could it become North Florida's motto ?
The northern half of the state was once home to Chumuckla's annual Redneck Christmas Parade, which was canceled this year because its beer-guzzling attendees got too drunk and fought too much.
The redneck weirdness extends throughout the north: In Escambia county, a 71-year-old dad once shot his son, who was fleeing a family fight on a riding lawnmower.
Since the resolution passed in South Miami, it will be sent to the other counties in the proposed new state for consideration, the Sun-Sentinel explained.
But if South Florida were to ever secede, it would need all of Florida's approval — and support from the U.S. Congress.
Related:           Officials propose making 'South Florida' 51st state   Detroit Free Press
South Miami commissioners want to split Florida into 2 states ...     ABC Action News
Sea Level Rise Brings Secession Talk            The Ledger (blog)

141022-f
Why is Florida reshaping an entire river?
Care2.com - by Kevin Mathews
October 22, 2014
Why in the world would Florida try to reshape the Kissimmee River ? An ongoing attempt to give the river more “curves” seems both drastic and expensive – isn’t it best to leave Mother Nature alone?
Actually, the current plan isn’t exactly messing with Mother Nature, explains NPR. If anything, it’s an attempt to put nature back to the way she was before human intervention 50 or so years ago. At that time, Florida officials decided to “straighten” the river by eliminating its natural curves in order to speed the waterway along for commercial interests. In the long term, though, the state realized the damage this plan had on the ecosystem.
The Kissimmee River was originally modified to help drain the swamplands, but ultimately it did the job too successfully. As a result, in dryer periods, the area lacks the water necessary for humans and animals to comfortably survive. Additionally, several dams were constructed to control the flow; these, too, are now marked for destruction to help return the river to normal.
Although there have been deliberate plans to reengineer rivers around the world, a project of this size has never been attempted previously. The plan will ultimately cost Florida more than $1 billion, but that cost seems worthwhile since the Kissimmee River is a main water source for 6 million people in the region. This move is especially important since experts already anticipate a major water shortage in Central Florida within another two decades.
Despite still being another three years from completion, the early stages have already yielded noticeable improvements. Paul Gray, a prominent Florida conservationist, is already impressed with the progress. “Birds are back, both wading birds and ducks. They’re all over the place. The oxygen levels in the river are better. There’s a lot more game fish in the river like bass and bluegill and stuff. Most of the biological perimeters, the goals of the restoration we’ve already met.”
Returning the river to its former slow, windy pathway is not conservationists’ only goal for the Kissimmee at the moment. Another ongoing effort includes getting the river’s water designated for protection in order to limit how much of it can be used for commercial interests. If environmentalists are able to establish a “water reservation,” that designation will similarly prevent the Kissimmee from drying out at certain points.
The debate on that effort continues to rage on, with many expecting the upcoming local elections to determine how the issue will ultimately shake out. In the meantime, eco-activists and residents alike will have to take comfort in knowing their once majestic river is returning to its curved glory. Let this story be a lesson to other regions of the world – “fixing” nature isn’t always a great idea. In the end, you might just wind up wanting to “fix it” back.
Related:           Re-curving a river to restore its meandering path       Minnesota Public Radio News
The Kissimmee: A River Re-Curved  North Country Public Radio

141021-a
Patrick Murphy recognized as the 2014 Audubon Champion of the Everglades
SaintPetersBlog - by Phil Ammann
October 21, 2014
For going “above and beyond” to protect South Florida water and wildlife, Congressman Patrick Murphy was recognized as the 2014 Audubon Champion of the Everglades.
The Jupiter Democrat received the award in a ceremony Friday before an audience of 300 activists in Stuart during the annual Audubon Assembly at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Resort & Marina. Murphy is the freshman representative of Florida’s 18th Congressional District, which covers much of the Treasure Coast.
Each year, Audubon selects a Champion of the Everglades for individuals committed to protecting the Everglades. Previous winners were Nathaniel Reed, former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham and Gov. Jeb Bush.
“Patrick Murphy has shown extraordinary leadership on behalf of the Everglades, the St. Lucie estuary, and the Indian River Lagoon,” said Audubon Florida executive director Eric Draper. “He has galvanized support in Congress for legislation to speed up the pace of constructing restoration projects that are so important to improving regional water resources.
“Murphy is a true champion.”
Projects championed in Murphy’s first term include the Central Everglades Planning Project, where he convened a summit of Congressional leadership and advocates for the St. Lucie River, and continuation of the Kissimmee River Restoration project.

141021-b
Unintended consequences of messing with Mother Nature
ChicagoNow.com - by Nancy
October 21, 204
NPR recently aired a story about the Kissimmee River in Central Florida. In the 1960s, federal and state officials attempted to straighten the river. They did this to drain the swamps to accommodate the building boom. The engineers dug a canal and achieved their goal, but they got what they didn’t expect—an ecological disaster and a water deficit. The drainage worked too well and Central Floridians found themselves facing a drinking water shortage and the disappearance of wildlife.
The story focused on attempts to restore the river to its natural meandering pathways. Even though this project is in its early stages, the results are astounding—wading birds have returned; alligators and fish are back. Oxygen levels are up. The Kissimmee River can breathe again. OK, I know that’s a bit melodramatic, but you know what I mean.
As much as we try to mess with Mother Nature—often with good intentions—we are unable to predict the outcome. In the 1980s, the apple snail was brought to Taiwan as a protein source. However, the people didn’t particularly care for this escargot, and it was discovered the critters carry a dangerous parasite.
Nature seems to function at its best when everything is in balance. And our bodies are the same way. So much of our shapes and sizes are determined by genetics. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try to reshape and rework. We’re not above adding an invasive species or two. But like in Central Florida, we suffer unintended consequences.
Denying our bodies nourishment may lead to slimmer physiques, but we also lose muscle and might become fatigued or depressed. Women might become amenorrheic. Chronic dieting can contribute to metabolic difficulties, hormonal imbalances, and insulin resistance. Over-exercising can cause injury and joint damage.
The movement toward intuitive eating has been gaining traction for some time. The philosophy behind this approach is that—are you sitting down?—your body knows exactly what it needs. Intuitive eating supports your body but does not make any promises about dropping inches.
Central Floridians learned that they could not successfully fight the Kissimmee River; they are better off embracing its curves and natural movement. Trying to reshape the body into something it isn’t just leads to a draining of its gifts.

141020-a
$1 million fundraising week gives late boost to land conservation amendment campaign
Gainesville.com - by Christopher Curry, Staff writer
October 20, 2014
A $1 million fundraising week brought a late-in-the-game infusion of money to the political committee behind the state's water and land conservation amendment.
In the single most prolific fundraising period of its more than two-year existence, Florida's Water and Land Legacy received $1.08 million in contributions statewide from Oct. 4 to Oct. 10, bolstering its campaign coffers in the final weeks before the Nov. 4 election.
"It's a huge help, a huge boost to our campaign," said Will Abberger, the campaign manager for Florida's Water and Land Legacy.
He said the money could go toward television and radio advertising and direct mail pieces.
The Water and Land Conservation Amendment, or Amendment 1 on the November ballot, would require the state to put at least 33 percent of the revenues raised from the document stamp tax on real estate transactions and loans into its land acquisition trust fund each year for 20 years.
The money could go toward the purchase of environmentally sensitive lands as well as the water restoration projects to clean up springs, rivers, lakes and spring sheds; projects to enhance the recharge of aquifers; projects to open conservation lands to public access and put in recreation trails; projects to purchase and improve historic properties; projects to restore beaches and shores; and the Everglades restoration.
Prior to the big fundraising week, the committee had raised more than $4.3 million in contributions and loans since July 2012 and spent a little less than $3.5 million. About half of those expenditures went to PCI Consultants, a California firm specializing in gathering signatures in voter petition drives.
The political committee has now brought in nearly $5.4 million and spent a little less than $3.8 million.
More than half of the money during the latest fundraising period came through one $600,000 contribution from Connecticut hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones II. Jones, who has a home in Florida and is chairman of the nonprofit environmental group the Everglades Foundation, has now contributed $1.125 million to the Amendment 1 effort.
During the most recent reporting period, the nonprofit Florida Wildlife Federation also contributed $100,000. Alachua County resident Gladys Cofrin, a major political contributor to Democratic candidates and a donor to environmental causes and animal welfare groups, contributed $50,000 during the latest period and $456,000 to date.

141020-b
Biologist reels in data to predict snook production
News.FIU.edu – by Evelyn Perez
October 20, 2014
FIU researcher Ross Boucek wants to give more predictability to anglers hoping to catch a bounty of snook.
In Everglades National Park, snook are the most sought-after fish with nearly 40 percent of anglers in pursuit. However, the snook population is in decline. Changes in waterflow and rainfall may be partly to blame.
“Little is known about how these deviations influence the population of snook and other tropical species, including tarpon, bonefish and permit,” said Boucek, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biological Sciences. “To mitigate these declines and to develop appropriate conservation strategies, it is important that we identify the physical, climatic, biological and anthropogenic factors that drive the dynamics of these fisheres.”
Boucek hopes by examining rainfall patterns and angler catch rates, he will be able to predict snook reproduction efforts two years out. The statistical approach could help key tourism agencies give some stability to Florida’s multi-billion dollar recreational fishing industry. According to Boucek, if the right amount of rain will fall in a given year and produce a lot of snook, tourism agencies could advertise the good fishing years two years in advance, increasing angler tourism rates and expenditures. Similarly, if scientists can predict bad years before they happen, those who rely on snook fisheries, including fishing guides, can adjust their efforts to alternate fisheries.
“Results from this study should greatly improve our understanding of how the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, that is predicted to alter many factors of the hydrologic regime, will influence tropical, economically-important fishes in the Everglades,” Boucek said.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan provides a framework to restore, protect and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida. The South Florida Water Management District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are undertaking various projects to help ensure the proper quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of waters to the Everglades and all of South Florida, specifically by capturing fresh water that now flows unused to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and redirect it to areas that need it most.
Boucek’s six-year-long study is funded by the Everglades Foundation and will be completed by 2017.
Related:           Biologist reels in data to predict snook production    Phys.Org

141020-c
Who is qualified to evaluate oil well risk, benefits
Naples Daily News - Guest commentary by George Ahearn
October 20, 2014
Who is qualified to evaluate risk vs. reward on economic projects in Collier County?
My answer to that question is to leave it to the professionals, not the special-interest groups. That's why the county has an excellent and experienced executive named Bruce Register to help evaluate and attract businesses to Collier.
The rebuttal to my Sept. 30 guest commentary by Dolph von Arx is an excellent example of how anyone with credible credentials who may not be in sync with environmentalists' or conservationists' theories is immediately attacked in public.
I respect Mr. von Arx for his advocacy and his philanthropy and support of many worthy organizations in our community. But I don't think his "past investment participation in oil-gas drilling partnerships" or his tenure as CEO of Planters Lifesavers Co. gives him credentials to evaluate the quality of Southwest Florida's crude oil reserves, as it relates to the Dan A. Hughes Co. drilling debacle. Perhaps his past chairmanship of the board of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida gives him a rather biased opinion of the risk vs. reward aspects.
In the 1970s, Exxon discovered the Jay, Florida, field, which is spread across some 14,600 acres in the Florida Panhandle. It produced 100,000 barrels a day for many years into the 1980s and there was nothing wrong with the quality of that crude. There are still 93 active wells at Jay, according to the data on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection website.
Another large production area, in South Florida, is the Sunniland trend, which spreads over the southwestern Everglades. The DEP lists that area as producing more than 2,000 barrels per day in 2011. No problem selling that crude.
I also take issue with von Arx's assertion that I characterize the Conservancy's approach as "simple-minded" — I don't even imply that. This is just another technique by overzealous advocates to spin their opinion with the real facts.
I also reject his contention that the media campaign was not well-funded. I did have a meeting with Jennifer Hecker of the Conservancy and it was obvious to me that an exorbitant amount of in-house time and an array of outside consultants were engaged to connect the dots in an unsuccessful effort to develop evidence of purposeful environmental contamination by the Hughes Co.
I can only speculate where the other groups got their funding. To me this appeared to be a "Columbo-type" detective story with lots of innuendo but no facts.
Mr. von Arx says that our reliance on real estate, tourism and clean water make this issue more sensitive for us, a point that many other states, I'm sure, would disagree with. He recounts the billions of dollars we are spending on the restoration of the Everglades. But he fails to mention that we have had many of the same problems for the past 30 years, such as nutrient infestation, algae blooms, dead water and fish kills in the Gulf, phosphorus and biological contamination, and we have applied very little new technology to these problems, including the removal of harmful chlorinated hydrocarbons in ground water caused by dry-cleaning institutions in our urban areas.
The Conservancy may not have a "no-drill" policy, but can its members define the "fracking-like extraction methods" they want to regulate? Sounds like anti-drilling to me. The Hughes Co. invested some $50 million in Southwest Florida, only to be run out of town because it might poison our water, make too much noise and inconvenience the panthers in a remote area of Immokalee.
Jackson Lab asked state and county governments for hundreds of millions to build a mouse factory that was supposed to be the cornerstone for a biotech hub that might generate 200 jobs in 10 years and maybe make some money. They were eventually run out of town for the right reason: The project was not economically viable.
Maybe Mr. von Arx could tell us why he so vigorously supported that project ?
Ahearn was entrepreneur of the year for Northeast Ohio in 2001. A former CEO, he co-founded and built two international chemical companies. He was employed at Exxon for 28 years, 10 of which were in research on oil production, recovery and fracturing techniques. A former chairman of SCORE Naples, he continues to mentor entrepreneurs and small businesses locally.

141019-a
Bill before Congress would hurt wetlands, tributaries
Palm Beach Post - Point of View by Sarah De Flesco, Boca Raton, FL - program coordinator for Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund.
October 19, 2014
Rather than protecting the public first, some Florida politicians are catering to big business, agriculture and Washington lobbyists. Right now, the ringleader of this group is U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Panama City. He’s co-sponsoring H.R. 5078, the “Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014,” which would block efforts to restore Clean Water Act protections to wetlands and tributary streams.
The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers proposed common-sense standards this spring to protect better the drinking water sources for 117 million Americans. Southerland’s bill would stop the rule-making from moving forward and would effectively silence the public.
Southerland’s bill ignores the importance of small streams and wetlands – they feed drinking water sources, protect communities from floods, filter pollutants, provide wildlife habitat, recharge groundwater and support outdoor recreation.
Millions of Florida’s small streams, springs, and wetlands provide the flow to our most treasured rivers, including the Suwanee River, St. Johns River and the Kissimmee River Basin, which flows into Lake Okeechobee and is the key source of water for the Everglades ecosystem. Florida’s more than 900 springs offer significant recreational opportunities for visitors and residents who contribute millions of dollars to the local economy annually.
Southerland is clearly not thinking about the 800,000 acres of wetlands in his backyard. These so-called “isolated” waters in the Panhandle currently lack clear Clean Water Act protections because of muddled Supreme Court rulings and President Bush-era policy changes. The EPA and Corps’ proposal is a first step toward fixing this problem.
We need our congressional delegation to stand up for our water and our communities and not join the Southerland bandwagon. We need our representatives to vote against stripping the public of their voice. And we need them to protect our drinking water supply and Florida’s economy.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have already voiced strong support for the proposed rule. Now is the time for our officials to do the job they were elected to do – protect the interest of the public.

141019-b
The Kissimmee: A river recurved
CapeAndIslands.org - by Editor
October 19, 2014
It sounds almost superhuman to try straighten a river and then recarve the curves.
That's what federal and state officials did to the Kissimmee River in central Florida. They straightened the river in the 1960s into a canal to drain swampland and make way for the state's explosive growth. It worked — and it created an ecological disaster. So officials decided to restore the river's slow-flowing, meandering path.
That billion-dollar restoration — the world's largest — is a few years from completion. And so far, it's bringing signs of new life, especially on a man-made canal that was dug through the heart of the river.
"Birds are back, both wading birds and ducks. They're all over the place," says Paul Gray of Audubon Florida. "The oxygen levels in the river are better. There's a lot more game fish in the river like bass and bluegill and stuff. Most of the biological perimeters, the goals of the restoration we've already met."
The man-made canal begins near Walt Disney World in Central Florida and flows 50 miles south. "It messed up our water management infrastructure," Gray says. "Now we drain so much water that when it's dry we don't have enough water for our human needs. We over drained, and so now we're trying to rebuild the system where we're going to catch water instead of wasting it when it's wet."
For decades, piles of dirt dug for the canal have remained heaped on its banks. Now bulldozers are pushing the dirt back into the waterway, filling it and making way for the river's old meanders to recarve their historic path. Five dams controlling the waterway's flow are being blown up, allowing the water to flow naturally.
The 20-year restoration effort is expected to be complete by 2017.
Defending The Water
The Kissimmee also is the backbone of the Everglades. It supports farming and the drinking water for 6 million south Floridians. The problem is now central Floridians are looking to the Kissimmee.
"Groundwater is not an infinite resource," says Joanne Chamberlain of the Central Florida Water Initiative, a group of state agencies, cities and utilities who together are examining how much water the region needs.
The group estimates by 2035 Central Florida's demand will exceed its supply, which it gets mostly from an underground aquifer. So the group's members are considering other sources. One possibility they've identified is the Kissimmee's headwaters.
"There's opportunities under certain situations that water can be used — high-water level situations where that water could be taken, stored and used for other purposes," Chamberlain says.
She means during the summer wet season, when Florida receives the bulk of its rain.
"Florida is not like any other state in the union. We revolve around our water so greatly, not just as a drinking source but as a source of recreation and as source of tourism," says Chuck O'Neal, chairman of the natural resources committee of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
The group supports a state constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would put more money toward land and water conservation, including the Kissimmee.
Other environmentalists hope to protect the Kissimmee's water with a unique legal tool called a water reservation, which would set aside a certain amount of water so utilities can't have it for consumer use.
"The future is going to be trying to defend the water, to make sure the river has the proper hydrology," Gray says.
Cynthia Barnett, a Florida author who writes about water issues. "The key for the future is to learn from those past mistakes and now do things differently. Instead of clashing all the time the idea is to work together to use less."
She says the Kissimmee is a lesson, that Floridians don't need more water but that environmentalists, utilities and farmers together can work toward a future of conservation.

141018-a
Miami is a huge sitting duck for the next hurricane
USA Today – by Alan Gomez
October 18, 2014
MIAMI — Over the past half-century, South Florida has exploded from a once-sleepy waterfront retreat to one of the nation's biggest metropolises, which has nearly 6 million residents and 33 million annual tourists.
One thing that has barely changed is an antiquated flood-control system designed more than 60 years ago that leaves the region among the most vulnerable in the USA the next time a hurricane packing a high storm surge roars through.
How would the region, which continues growing and sprouting waterfront condos, stand up to a massive surge of water like those produced by Hurricane Katrina or Superstorm Sandy ?
"It won't survive," Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate says bluntly.
That makes the Miami metropolitan area the second-biggest sitting duck in the country. A study by CoreLogic estimates more than $103 billion worth of property is at risk from hurricane storm surge — only New York City has more exposed property.
Miami's vulnerability is well known, but emergency planners say generations of political leaders have failed to invest the billions needed to keep flood-control systems up to date.
"This is not something that just occurred overnight," said Fugate, who dealt with nearly a dozen hurricanes as Florida's emergency management director before joining FEMA. "A lot of decisions by a lot of people over a long period of time. It's a shared responsibility. The question is: Is there the political will to start addressing that ?"
Local leaders have been able to sidestep that question for decades because of the region's incredible meteorological luck. Even when Hurricane Andrew tore through in 1992 as a top-rated Category 5 storm, it moved quickly, brought low storm surge, little rain and made landfall 30 miles south of downtown Miami.
Other hurricanes have either passed over the region as small-scale storms or just grazed the area. Hurricane Gonzalo developed into a raging Category 4 this week, but it's turned toward the northeast. As this year's hurricane season draws to a close, it looks like the region will luck out yet again.
"We've never had our system tested by an event that brings high winds and storm surge," said Alex Barrios, manager of Miami-Dade County's stormwater drainage design section. "We've always had one or the other. We've never had the super hurricane."
That helps explain why little has been done to protect the region.
"We tend to react when the need becomes so compelling that there is no other way out," said Antonio Nanni, a structural engineering professor at the University of Miami who has studied large-scale flood-prevention projects in cities such as Amsterdam and Venice. "Otherwise, we postpone and procrastinate, because any solution is painful."
UNRULY ELEMENT
Controlling water in South Florida is an incredibly complicated task.
To the east is the Atlantic Ocean. Its waves not only erode the beaches of the area's barrier islands, but it is constantly pushing saltwater into the region's water supply.
To the west are the Everglades, a massive collection of swamps and marshlands that must maintain a certain level of water to survive and help push back that encroachment of saltwater. After attempts to drain it in the early 20th century, state and federal officials are spending more than $12 billion to restore the Everglades.
To the north is Lake Okeechobee, the seventh-largest freshwater lake in the country and the source for most of the water that feeds the Everglades and South Florida. If the water level in the lake gets too low, everything downstream suffers from lack of water. If it gets too high, water can spill over the lake's 6-foot dike and flood communities around it. When that happened during a hurricane in 1928, more than 2,500 died.
There's even water underground. Most of South Florida sits on a bed of porous limestone and the Biscayne Aquifer, a 4,000-square-mile reservoir that provides most of the drinking water for the area. If the water table get too high, water pushes up through storm drains and sewage systems, flooding entire communities. If it gets too low, saltwater intrudes on the drinking supply.
Then there are the canals. To keep water flowing from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades and out to sea, the entire metropolitan region is lined with thousands of miles of canals. They are used to irrigate the expansive farms south of the lake, recharge the Everglades, provide clean water to the residential region and direct floodwaters out to sea.
"It's like putting a marble in the middle of a dinner plate and trying to balance all those competing interests," Blake Guillory, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, said of managing all those waterways.
The district operates 70 pumps that can actively push water, but only four of those are in the residential portion of South Florida — the rest are near Lake Okeechobee and in the Everglades. That means water management officials rely mostly on gravity, and an extensive series of gates, to slowly get water out to sea.
District officials say the system can reduce flooding by about 1 inch of water per day. So if any area gets 14 inches of flooding, it will take two weeks to drain.
"Our system was designed for 2 million people," said Guillory, whose district oversees the primary waterways in a 16-county area. "Everything west … was going to be agriculture. Today, all of that pavement and rooftops, that water has to go somewhere. The canals weren't designed to handle that much water."
NO DOLLARS
Some progress has been made.
Canals have been dug deeper, and their walls have been improved. Some cities, such as Miami Beach, are upgrading their drainage systems. Others, such as Sweetwater, have worked with state and federal partners to create storage basins to hold stormwaters while the system drains the area.
Guillory says the district's budget is mostly dedicated to Everglades restoration and doesn't allow for much more than upkeep and operation of the flood-control system. Less than 10% of the district's $740 million annual budget goes to building flood-control structures. Local governments also face tight budgets. Miami-Dade County, for example, spends about $25 million a year maintaining and operating its flood-control systems and about $10 million on upgrades.
Sea walls erected in New Orleans and New York are cost-prohibitive because there are too many places to protect in South Florida. There are hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of miles of canals criss-crossing the region. Water specialists at the water management district burst out laughing when asked about sea walls.
City officials in Fort Lauderdale, sometimes referred to as the "Venice of America" because of its abundance of canals, marinas and waterfront homes, estimated that a citywide redesign of flood-control systems would cost $1 billion.
Fugate says federal funding isn't a realistic option since Congress has focused on helping cities recover from major disasters, not prepare for them.
FEMA provided $64 million in grants in 2013 for pre-disaster mitigation efforts, but that was for the entire country. Even when Congress approved an $831 billion stimulus package in 2009, only a handful of South Florida flood-control projects received help through the Army Corps of Engineers.
"The dollars just aren't going to be there," he said.
The region's fractured governance is also to blame. In addition to state and federal entities that manage the area's water supply, there are three county governments and more than 100 municipal governments that handle their own water systems. Many of the flooding problems span multiple jurisdictions, and emergency managers say leaders have rarely worked together to address them.
Add it all up, and even residents with little understanding of water management understand what it will take for something to get done.
"They'll only fix everything after the crisis," said Joanna Davis, an author who lives on Brickell Key, a small island across from downtown Miami.
Some, such as former Florida emergency management director David Halstead, simply accept the risk.
"There's a price to living in paradise," he said.

141018-b
Under Scott, Department of Environmental Protection undergoes drastic change
Tampa Bay Times – Craig Pittman
October 18, 2014
In January, Gov. Rick Scott stood in front of a room full of Department of Environmental Protection employees and praised their hard work.
One accomplishment Scott singled out: making it easier than ever to obtain a permit for filling in wetlands, pumping water out of the aquifer or pouring pollutants into the water and air.
"Recently Florida has successfully reduced its environmental permitting time down to just two days, and that's great!" Scott said. "We take care of our environment, but when we know we're going to give a permit, give it to them quickly."
When Jeb Bush was governor, it took an average of 44 days for the DEP to approve a permit. Cutting that to two days means it's now as easy to get a pollution permit from Scott's DEP as it is to buy a Coke from a vending machine, said Jerry Phillips, a former DEP attorney who's now in charge of the Florida chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"That's sad on so many levels," he said.
Scott, running for re-election, has promised that in his second term he would be the greenest governor the state has ever seen, because "Florida's natural beauty is a big reason why this is the best state in the country to call home."
He recently unveiled a $1 billion plan for buying land for preservation, cleaning up springs, restoring the Everglades and saving the Indian River Lagoon, without saying where the money would come from. And he says he'll push for tougher enforcement of environmental regulations.
"We've made record investments in Florida's environment, but there's more work to be done," Scott said. "With a $1 billion investment in Florida's waters, an ongoing commitment to the Everglades, and tougher penalties for bad actors, we'll ensure that Florida's treasures are protected for generations to come."
But Scott's first term was focused less on tough regulation and more on helping businesses get what they want and avoid penalties for wrongdoing. Former employees say Scott made wrenching, drastic changes in the agency that's supposed to protect the state's environment — changes the likes of which the DEP has never seen.
In the past three years the Scott administration has:
• Slashed funding for the DEP and the five water districts;
• Laid off veteran DEP and water district employees, including Everglades scientists;
• Put the DEP in the hands of people connected to the industries the agency regulates;
• Emphasized helping industries avoid fines instead of prosecuting polluters.
Under Scott, the driving force in the DEP became "a hatred of regulation in general and in particular environmental regulations," one laid-off DEP veteran, Mark Bardolph, said.
• • •
When Scott was elected, he picked a transition team to study the agencies he would control.
The team in charge of regulatory review was run by Tampa water use lawyer Doug Manson, whose clients include businesses trying to get state permits. Manson's group told Scott "the greatest need right now that will produce the fastest results is to change the culture and the leadership at the DEP and the water management districts."
Scott, they said, should change the DEP to "create an environment of customer service to help citizens and small businesses succeed while ensuring sound growth."
That's the course Scott has pursued, starting with his appointee for DEP secretary: Herschel Vinyard Jr., a Jacksonville shipyard executive who had served on Scott's economic development transition team.
Vinyard had never run a public agency or worked as a government regulator. But he had been a law partner of politically powerful state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. And, like Manson, he had experience at helping clients get environmental permits.
"Herschel is a man of deep environmental knowledge and practical business experience," Scott said in announcing the appointment. "He has a love for our great state's natural resources and a passion for job creation. He will effectively balance those interests for the benefit of all Floridians."
Many of Scott's agency heads have been pushed out or quit over the past three-plus years, but not Vinyard. He still enjoys the governor's full support, despite embroiling the agency in several statewide controversies.
When asked whether he'd keep Vinyard during a second term, Scott said, "I hope to retain all my good people."
• • •
In his first year, Vinyard made some unusual personnel moves. To run the largest DEP district office, the one in Tampa, Vinyard hired a charter boat captain with no experience with environmental regulation, Gary Colecchio.
Colecchio said he was ordered to quell the complaints of various industries because "the present administration is extremely sensitive to anyone in the regulated community who feels put out or put upon or in any way distressed."
People being regulated noticed the new attitude.
"It was obvious right away that things had changed," said Nancy McCann, who as Tampa's urban environmental coordinator frequently dealt with DEP regulators on such issues as the city's waste-to-energy plant. "We were being treated much more kindly by the staff."
Vinyard also hired Randall F. "Randy" Greene of Brandon, and created the post of chief operating officer for him, paying him $83 an hour for a part-time job. Greene, a former developer and chemical company executive, said his job was "to look at all the operations of the agency and see what could be improved."
One of his tasks: Oversee the layoffs of more than 50 longtime employees.
"They got rid of everyone with any history and knowledge," said Charles Kovach, who had spent 17 years with the agency before he was pushed out. Kovach said he had seen politics influence DEP decisions before "but never like this. It's not about compliance. It's about making things look like they're compliant."
More layoffs cut through the water management districts, which the DEP oversees. The districts protect the state's drinking supply from pollution and overuse. Scott cut their budgets by $700 million — about 40 percent. Then he told the agencies to cut millions more, saying he was just "ensuring that Florida's precious water resources are protected and managed in the most fiscally responsible way possible."
Vinyard hired people who had worked for companies the DEP regulates. An engineer specializing in getting clients development permits was put in charge of regulation. A lawyer who helped power plants get permits was put in charge of air pollution permitting.
DEP's new attitude was spelled out in a 2011 memo to the staff from Jeff Littlejohn, the consulting engineer who became deputy secretary in charge of regulation.
"Where noncompliance occurs, despite your best efforts at education and outreach," he wrote, "your first consideration should be whether you can bring about a return to compliance without enforcement."
That approach was behind one of the biggest changes in the DEP under Scott: how the agency handled pollution complaints.
• • •
Before Scott, if the DEP received a complaint or a company flunked an inspection, the agency would send a warning letter ordering the company to fix the problem. If that didn't spur action, the DEP would send a formal "notice of violation." If that failed, then the DEP would take the polluter to court, going after fines and penalties.
Scott's DEP added a new first step: sending "compliance assistance letters." Instead of hammering polluters, the letters say DEP's experts can help get them back into compliance.
That means DEP now "bends over backwards for the violator," said Christopher Byrd, one of several enforcement attorneys who say they were let go for being too tough.
The DEP cannot say how many compliance assistance letters it has issued since Scott took office. For two years the agency didn't keep track of them.
Since January 2013, though, the DEP has issued more than 800, resolving more than 90 percent of potential violations without taking things any further.
The DEP regulates about 75,000 facilities, everything from wastewater treatment plants to car repair shops to phosphate mines. In 2013, the number the DEP considered to be in significant compliance with all of its regulations hit 96 percent.
That's 8 percent higher than the 88 percent rate in 2006, the last year of Bush's term as governor — when, despite Bush's own pro-business stance, the DEP pursued far more enforcement.
In 2006, the DEP opened about 1,500 enforcement cases. Last year, under Scott, the DEP opened only 225 — a drop of 85 percent.
DEP press secretary Tiffany Cowie contended the only measure that counts is the record high compliance rate: "We believe in prevention: what we can do to prevent impacts to our natural resources. We work with companies allowing them to maintain compliance."
During the Scott administration, she said, the DEP "has made great strides toward protecting Florida's environment. … In 2013 alone, DEP participated in more than 5,800 events in an effort to increase compliance rates, resulting in greater environmental protection."
Actually, Byrd said, one reason for the drop in cases is that Scott's layoffs got rid of anyone looking for violations.
Meanwhile, the DEP made things easier for industry by letting it write the pollution rules.
• • •
In the past 30 years, nutrients have become the most common water pollution problem in the state. Nitrates and phosphorus from fertilizer, septic tank waste and other sources boost toxic algae blooms that kill fish and cause respiratory problems and rashes among swimmers.
In 2009, after being sued by environmental groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new nutrient pollution rules for Florida. Business leaders objected. So near the end of 2011, the DEP unveiled its own rules that state officials said were superior to the EPA's. They wanted the EPA to back off.
Environmental groups said the state's rules were too loose, but those rules drew support from the Florida Pulp and Paper Association, Associated Industries and phosphate mining giant Mosaic, among others. Documents from the DEP show they helped write them.
"It was negotiated with the representatives of the polluting industries," said David Guest of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, which led the lawsuit.
Environmental groups and the public were excluded, he said, until the DEP was ready to hold public hearings. The EPA accepted the DEP rules and dropped its own. But that would not be the only conflict over clean water during the Scott administration.
• • •
When Jeb Bush became governor, he launched an initiative to try to save Florida's ailing springs, suffering from algae blooms and a loss of flow. Experts produced recommendations. The DEP set up advisory groups to take a closer look at what the major springs needed.
When Scott took office, the $25 million Bush springs initiative ended. The DEP disbanded all the advisory groups.
Soon, though, the Tampa Bay Times and other news organizations highlighted how degraded the springs had become. A petition drive turned in 15,000 signatures demanding action.
Scott became a springs supporter. In January he announced a $55 million investment in trying to clean them up, and his re-election pledge calls for another $150 million. But when a coalition of senators tried to push through a measure this spring sending $380 million to springs projects, House leaders killed it, and Scott didn't say a word.
Scott experienced another change of heart, on the Indian River Lagoon, a 156-mile-long estuary that encompasses 40 percent of Florida's Atlantic Coast.
In 2013, Scott vetoed $2 million for a network of pollution sensors designed to help figure out what might be killing hundreds of manatees, dolphins and pelicans in the lagoon. His veto message said the project lacked statewide significance.
But after the die-offs made headlines, Scott visited the lagoon and met with local officials, avoiding a crowd waving signs that read, "Stop Killing Our Lagoon." When senators put $95 million in the 2014 budget for Indian River Lagoon, Scott did not veto it.
One of the DEP's biggest about-faces on pollution happened in Scott's own back yard.
• • •
The news last fall that the DEP had given a permit to the Dan A. Hughes Co. to drill for oil within 1,000 feet of a Collier County neighborhood outraged both residents and local politicians.
But DEP officials said this was routine. They hadn't turned down a permit for oil drilling in nearly 20 years. As for whether it might be too close to where people live, one DEP official said, "A specific distance to homes is not mentioned in the rules."
When the Hughes Co. violated its permit in December, DEP officials kept it quiet until April, after they had negotiated an agreement for a $25,000 fine and a plan to monitor for pollution.
Then in June, the DEP became far more aggressive toward Hughes over its use of a process similar to fracking called "acid stimulation." By July, upset Hughes officials had pulled out of Florida.
Cowie, DEP's press secretary, said the agency has been consistent throughout: "Our number one priority at DEP has always been and continues to be ensuring Collier County families are safe and that the environment is protected."
But local residents say they saw a change in DEP, and it was driven by the gubernatorial race. After a Times/Herald article pointed out that Scott had a six-figure stake in a French energy company that worked on the Collier drilling project, residents said, the DEP abruptly got tougher on Hughes.
"The way we see it, it's an election year," said Joe Mulé, president of Preserve Our Paradise, a citizens group that organized to oppose Hughes' drilling plans. Because DEP hadn't changed the rules that allowed the permit to be issued, he called the change "slapping some lipstick on a pig."
Timeline
Nov. 2, 2010: Rick Scott is elected governor.
Dec. 21, 2010: Scott's transition team recommends changing DEP's "culture."
Jan. 3, 2011: Scott picks shipping executive Herschel Vinyard Jr. as DEP secretary
Jan. 4, 2011: Scott sworn in as governor.
March 2011: After Scott meets with Jack Nicklaus, legislators propose letting Nicklaus build golf courses in state parks. Public uproar persuades them to withdraw the bills.
May 2011: Vinyard selects consulting engineer Jeff Littlejohn as head of DEP regulatory office.
June 2011: DEP proposes adding RV spots and other overnight camping amenities to some parks, including Honeymoon Island in Dunedin. Scott defends the plan until a public hearing draws 1,000 angry people.
June 2011: DEP ends the springs initiative begun by Jeb Bush, disbanding springs advisory groups.
July 2011: Vinyard hires boat captain as Tampa district DEP director to quell complaints from businesses. Also, Littlejohn tells staff to help polluters get into compliance with law rather than penalize them.
August 2011: Scott slashes budgets of the five water districts, forces hundreds of layoffs of veteran employees.
September 2011: Vinyard hires former developer Randy Greene as his chief operating officer, a part-time job paying $83 an hour.
November 2012: DEP lays off 58 people, most of them veteran employees, a move overseen by Greene.
May 2013: Scott vetoes $2 million intended to help clean up polluted Indian River Lagoon.
June 2013: Four DEP enforcement lawyers ousted from agency.
August 2013: DEP begins looking for surplus park land to sell off as a fundraiser for buying more land.
January: Scott announces that the DEP has cut the wait time for getting a permit to just two days, "which is great."
March: After public outcry, DEP ends surplus park land sale without selling any land.

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VIDEO

141017-b
Drilling opponents to converge on Rick Scott's house
Sun Sentinel - by William E. Gibson
October 17, 2014
Waving signs and carrying banners, opponents of oil drilling in the Everglades plan to converge on Gov. Rick Scott’s beachfront home in Naples on Saturday to demonstrate in favor of state limits on energy exploration.
Environmentalists and community activists from across the state plan to bring samples of polluted water to dump on his back yard.
Organizers include the Stonecrab Alliance, Food& Water Watch, Clean Water Initiative and ReThink Energy Florida.
Speakers will call for banning fracking to extract oil, cleaning toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee, curbing agricultural runoff, denying permits for gas-fired power plants and investing in renewable energy to help prevent climate change and sea-level rise.
It starts about 4 p.m. on Saturday and ends with a candlelight vigil.
Comment: Within his first 3 years in office, Rick Scott earned our home the title of "The Second Most Polluted State in the Nation" according to NRDC. His masters, the Koch Brothers must be sooo proud - afterall, Koch Industries is one of our country's biggest polluters. Don't believe me – do the research.
Comment: The demonstrators accuse Scott of supporting the oil industry’s plans to explore for oil. State environmental regulators have issued a number of permits to expand drilling in the ‘Glades, though they cracked down on one Texas wildcatter – the Dan A. Hughes Co. – for using unapproved fracking-like methods.
The demonstration appears to be a major rallying point for a variety of causes, united by the theme: “It’s all about the water”.

141017-c
For Lake Erie’s toxic algae, blame climate change and invasive mussels
ThinkProgress.org -by Jeff Spross
October 17, 2014
Lake Erie is increasingly plagued by toxic algae blooms each summer, and a new study suggests how climate change and mussels, of all things, may be to blame.
On Thursday, the Columbus Dispatch reported on the new research and computer modeling, which show neither rising water temperatures nor runoff from fertilizers and sewage — the traditional causes cited — fully account for the blooms. According to the paper, published in Water Resources Research, climate change may be providing cyanobacteria — the toxic blue-green algae that’s been invading the lake — a competitive edge over other species of algae.
On top of that, invasive species of mussels which were transported to the Great Lakes in the 1980s by ocean shipping may also be killing off the other beneficial species of algae while avoiding the cyanobacteria, again giving them more room to spread.
 “When you have these calmer weather conditions, the cyanobacteria can rise to the surface and create scum layers that shade out other species of algae, which makes cyanobacteria more dominant in the water,” said Daniel Obenour, who was the lead author of the study while still at the University of Michigan Water Center, though now he hails from North Carolina State University.
Climate change also contributes to the rising water temperatures and the phosphorous runoff from agricultural fertilizer and sewage treatment plants. The Earth’s natural cycles plow the vast majority of the additional heat from global warming into the oceans and other major water bodies.
Climate change is also projected to increase the severity of rainfall and flooding in the Great Lakes area over the next few decades. That can overwhelm the infrastructure in many major cities, especially the older ones where stormwater and sewage are handled by the same systems, pushing the nutrients from the sewage into the lakes where the cyanobacteria can feed off it. Runoff from the increased rainfall also carries fertilizer from farms and agricultural areas through the surrounding watersheds, ultimately bringing them to the Great Lakes as well.
“While analyzing all of the factors involved in the algae threat is important, it is imperative to act now on the factors we can influence,” Hugh McDiarmid Jr., a spokesman for the International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canadian agency, told the Columbus Dispatch. The group has called for a 46 percent reduction in phosphorous and fertilizer runoff in Lake Erie’s western and central basins, and a 37 percent reduction for the Maumee River watershed which flows into the lake near Toledo, Ohio.
In 2013, the Ohio Phosphorus Task Force recommended a 40 percent reduction in the phosphorus washing into the northwestern Ohio watersheds that feed Lake Erie. And an international commission called the Lake Erie Ecosystem Priority recently provided 16 specific ideas — including wetland restoration, pollution filtering, biodiversity support, and other policies — to help with the reductions in phosphorous. So far, however, they remain recommendations only.
Don Scavia, a University of Michigan environmental engineer who contributed to Obenour’s study, said the research shows even those cuts may not be enough on their own. “The caution of this paper is that if there’s a continuing trend and if it gets more sensitive, loads may have to be reduced even more than we’re targeting now,” he said.
This past summer, the algae blooms forced 400,000 people in and around Toledo to avoid their tapwater for two days after toxins from the cyanobacteria were found in the water supply. Lake Erie is also suffering from larger and larger seasonal deadzones, as algae blooms consume all the oxygen in the surrounding water and kill off fish and other marine life.
Other places in the United States where the blooms have been spotted include Lake Okeechobee in Florida, California’s Klamath River, the Cheney Reservoir in Kansas and Sodus Bay in New York. Though how precipitation and temperature changes from climate change, and the presence of invasive species will affect the blooms in each case remains an open question.

141017-d
The case for yes on Amendment 1
Tallahassee Democrat - by Paula Dockery
October 17, 2014
With the election about a month away, we're all getting our fill of political ads, newspaper artiscles, direct-mail pieces and poll results on various candidates running for office. Getting less attention, so far, are several constitutional amendments that are also on the November ballot.
Two of the most common ways the Florida constitution can be amended are through citizens' initiatives or through legislatively introduced amendments. In both cases, the amendments must receive 60 percent of the votes in an election in order to change our constitution.
The first two amendments on November's ballot were placed there through the hard work of citizens who jumped through the costly and labor-intensive hurdles set up to make changing the constitution difficult.
It's important for voters to understand the amendments and to be prepared to vote on them prior to getting to their voting precincts. The language can be lengthy and complex so it's best to do a little homework.
Allow me to make the case for a yes vote on the proposed Water and Land Conservation amendment, which appears as Amendment 1.
Amendment 1 would set aside 33 percent of an existing tax and dedicate those dollars to be used for conservation purposes only. This would include land acquisition and management, ensuring a safe and adequate supply of drinking water, restoring the Everglades, protecting our springs, lakes, rivers and coastal waters, providing outdoor recreational activities and preserving our natural areas and wildlife habitat.
Many come to Florida to visit our beautiful beaches, to fish in our lakes, rivers and coastal areas, and to enjoy our 170 or so state parks and other public lands. Tourism is one of our most important industries and our nature-based resources play a major role in attracting visitors — as well as revenues and jobs.
Our agricultural industry relies on a plentiful supply of water to grow crops and raise livestock. Collecting water during wet weather for use during times of drought is another potential use of these funds.
And let's be clear — this is an existing tax, not a new tax or an increase in an existing tax. The documentary stamp tax is paid when real estate is sold. As the housing market improves, more revenue is generated. A third of this one revenue source would be dedicated to water and land conservation.
How much would this be? Estimates say this could generate $10 billion over 20 years or roughly $500 million a year. Of course, the amount would fluctuate with the strength of the housing market, a fiscally responsible way to budget.
Let's put these numbers in perspective.
• First, this year's state budget was more than $77 billion. Isn't the protection of our natural resources worth at least $500 million, which is less than one percent of the total budget?
• Second, under current law the Legislature is supposed to be funding the Florida Forever program at $300 million and the Water Sustainability Act at $100 million annually but has failed to do so.
Florida Forever was fully funded over the eight years under Gov. Jeb Bush and for the first two years under Gov. Charlie Crist. When the recession hit, every major budget area was cut, but as the economy improved and revenues grew, funding for environmental programs was not restored.
Our state parks have $400 million in land management needs and have only received $15 million or so for each of the last few years. Everglades restoration and springs protection will take billions of dollars over the next 20 years.
Citizens who had been patient during the lean times became fearful that the funding might remain at anemic levels, putting our resources at great risk. They collected hundreds of thousands of signatures, paid to have them verified, defended the amendment language before the Florida Supreme Court and are now leading the effort to get 60 percent of the vote required to change the constitution.
For those who argue this doesn't belong in the Constitution, I ask, if not this, what ?  What could be more vital to our very survival than water? And if the Legislature won't fund the very programs it enacted at the levels it specified, then this might be the only way to ensure a steady but flexible funding level that rises and falls with the economy.
Surely our quality of life is worth one percent of our state budget to benefit all Floridians. Vote YES on Amendment One to protect our natural resources and preserve our beautiful state for our children and future generations.

141017-e
To preserve our paradise, expand use of clean energy
Miami Herald - by Pat San Pedro, consultant for the Alliance for Clean Energy.
October 17, 2014
More than two decades ago, I launched an environmental-awareness campaign called A Matter of Pride to promote recycling and the protection of our fragile and endangered resources and species. It brought new consciousness to South Floridians and showed how we all can make a difference to protect the environment while keeping our community thriving for ourselves and future generations.
Unfortunately, we now require much more than an awareness campaign to tackle today’s environmental issues, which have become more complex and more urgent than ever.
I was born in Cuba and came to Miami Beach when I was 4. South Florida, is among the world’s most at-risk regions because of sea-level rise, which threatens our way of life and our wallets. Rising sea levels lead to salt-water contamination of municipal drinking water supplies; an inability to drain water away from roads after heavy rains — which already happens; and higher costs to homeowners for flood insurance and taxes.
Local leaders can and should take action to shore up our communities.
Fortunately, South Florida’s four counties already are working collaboratively to ready the region for the effects of climate change. Yet scientists are clear: We must do more to address the causes of climate change in order to lessen its effects. There are many things we can do to reduce the levels of carbon pollution from fossil fuels that are warming the planet.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently issued a new rule to limit this harmful pollution from both new and existing power plants. States will have greater flexibility to invest in energy efficiency and meaningfully develop clean energy, such as solar power, resulting in cleaner air for kids and an opportunity to grow our economy and create jobs.
The public has until Dec. 1 to submit comments by letter or online about this proposed rule South Floridians should show their support for limits on carbon pollution by filling out the form on www.CleanEnergy.org.
Incredibly, Florida is not a leader on climate action or clean energy, even though we call ourselves the Sunshine State. Shame on all of us.
Case in point: The state’s monopoly power companies have recently proposed to gut energy-efficiency opportunities for customers. FPL — the biggest utility in the state — has asked the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC ) to reduce the company’s conservation goals by 99 percent — effectively eliminating energy-efficiency programs for 4.5 million people in Florida. By gutting conservation goals, the utilities hope to build additional power plants to generate hefty returns for their shareholders.
Why aren’t state agencies and leaders looking out for us ?
The Sunshine State’s record on solar power, isn’t any better. Although the price for solar has dropped 80 percent since 2008, we’re not even in the top 10 states for installed solar energy. Our neighbor to the north, Georgia, installed more solar power in 2013 than Florida installed in the past three years. Currently, there are laws and taxes that restrict solar development and keeps homeowners from reaping the benefits of solar energy. Why doesn’t our state encourage investment in clean power sources, like solar energy ?
As a breast-cancer survivor, I am also concerned about with how oil and gas emit toxic industrial chemicals. It is well known that our risk of cancer increases when we are exposed to some industrial chemicals associated with oil and gas, such as formaldehyde, silica dust and benzene. We must keep toxic emissions out of the air that we breathe.
When so much is at stake for the state, we need bipartisan leadership at all levels, where leaders work hand-in-hand with scientists, and not fossil-fuel industries and power companies.
We are blessed to live in paradise, which is why we have a moral obligation to future generations to protect its natural resources and communities. Money isn’t everything. We deserve better.

141016-b
In Florida, it’s billionaire climate hawk vs. climate-denying governor. Who will win ?
Grist.com - by Ben Adler
October 16, 2014
“Florida fleeced by Duke Energy,” says the NextGen Climate narrator. “Rick Scott knew, but he’s letting Duke keep collecting billions anyway.” PolitiFact rated the claim that Scott is letting Duke collect the money only “half true,” since Duke’s agreement with the state is actually up to Florida’s Public Service Commission. The governor appoints people to the PSC, but four of the five members were originally appointed by Crist. PolitiFact does say Scott “has been notably silent” on the issue.
Another ad says Scott “drank from a fountain of campaign cash from the company that profited off pollution,” because he took $200,000 from members of a family whose company leased land for an oil well that would use an unconventional and risky extraction method, similar to fracking, called “acid stimulation.” PolitiFact also gave a half-true rating to that claim, since it’s not clear any pollution occurred. NextGen Climate also has an ad complaining that Scott is raising money from the sugar industry while “bailing out” sugar companies by using public funds to restore Everglades wetlands that were damaged by sugar plantations.
This is all shrewd politics. Even in hot, humid Florida, people respond to their fears that they are being ripped off more than they do to studies showing that global average temperatures are slowly rising. Take a look at state polls: When asked “What is the biggest environmental problem facing Florida today?” 39 percent of Sunshine State poll respondents cite water scarcity or threats to water quality. Nine percent cite air pollution, 6 percent choose “Litter/trash/not recycling,” 5 percent say “Overdevelopment, overpopulation,” and 4 percent choose the Everglades. Only 3 percent choose climate change, while 18 percent choose nothing at all. Doing worse than litter and “none of the above” is not a sign that your issue has grabbed the public imagination. Yes, air pollution could be a proxy for greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change will affect water scarcity, but it’s clear that insofar as climate change resonates with Florida voters, it does so by affecting something more immediate. “The response climate change by itself gets is very low, but the environment means a lot in Florida, including water and pollution,” says McManus.
And so NextGen Climate is trying to illustrate for voters how politicians being in the pocket of entrenched corporate energy utilities hits them in their pockets. “We’re working to make climate change a tangible issue — whether it’s politicians siding with donors instead of promoting clean energy policies or putting taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up pollution,” says Suzanne Henkels, a spokesperson for NextGen Climate. “We’re not talking about polar bears and ice caps. We’re making it an issue that people will turn out to vote on.”
Even an issue that moves only 3 percent of voters matters in a tied race. “In a state that’s evenly divided like ours, if you pull somebody just a little bit in your direction, that can be the difference between winning and losing,” says McManus.
That’s especially true if it helps solve the Democrats’ larger problem this cycle, which is making sure the voters who tend to show up for presidential elections but not the midterms — and who are disproportionately young and Latino — come out this time. NextGen Climate says it is targeting those voters. The group also argues that its ads have moved the race in Crist’s direction. Last month, it released a memo citing its own internal polling, which it says shows that in the media markets it has targeted — Tampa, West Palm Beach, and Ft. Myers — Crist has pulled ahead of Scott, most voters have heard of the Duke Energy and sugar industry donations, and Scott’s negative ratings have increased.
In statewide public polls, the race is a dead heat, with every recent poll showing a margin of five points or fewer. Some might say the trend lines are slightly in Crist’s favor, as more recent polls are the ones that have him up slightly.
Since those polls don’t ask why people are leaning one way or another, it is impossible to say if environmental issues and the NextGen Climate campaign have made a difference for Crist. Elections decided by the environment rather than top-tier issues like abortion or the economy are few and far between. The environment and especially climate change often rank among the issues least frequently cited by voters as important. That’s why, for example, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is focusing on his opponent Rep. Cory Gardner’s (R-Colo.) unpopular opposition to abortion rights, rather than his incoherent refusal to concede the reality of climate science.
But Florida is a bit of an outlier. The state is mostly barely above sea level, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and vulnerable to storms and floods. Its coastal ecosystems and famous Everglades are fragile. Its economy depends on attracting a steady flow of retirees and tourists. So the public’s obsession with immediate economic growth over all else cuts in favor of environmental protection and climate change mitigation, rather than against it.
If nothing else, NextGen Climate may have forced some grudging moderation from Scott. In August, one day after the Miami Herald reported on Steyer’s plans to spend on the Florida race, Scott issued his “Keep Florida Beautiful” plan. The plan is heavy on conservation issues like Everglades restoration, and it makes no mention of climate change.
But it is climate change that will ultimately pose the greatest threat to all of Florida’s top attractions, from the Everglades to Miami Beach. Imagine a whole state’s worth of shuffleboard courts, bingo parlors, strip malls, chain motels, and subdivisions, underwater. No “Redneck Riviera,” no Disney World, nowhere for cruise ships to dock. No “Florida Man” and “Florida Woman

141016-c
Interior secretary pushes for Congress to act
Associated Press - by Susan Montoya Bryan
October 16, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- U.S Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says the Obama administration will continue to use its executive powers to protect public lands until Congress takes action on a number of stalled conservation measures.
Jewell renewed the threat Thursday while speaking to a few hundred wilderness advocates at a national conference celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.
Jewell told the crowd that preserving landscapes that are representative of America's character and important to local economies in the form of tourism dollars will also help the nation better prepare for climate change.
She says scientists will be able to learn from Mother Nature how to adapt.
In her sweeping speech, Jewell also said Congress needs to authorize the use of oil and gas royalties to fully fund conservation efforts as intended through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

141016-d
Restore water level south of Lake O to save ecosystem
Palm Beach Post – Point of View by Ray Judah, a former Lee County commissioner, coordinator for the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition.
October 16, 2014
The sixth annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit recently held at the Miami Beach Convention Center was a tremendous reflection on proactive cooperation among southeast Florida counties and municipalities raising public awareness on the consequences of sea-level rise.
Southeast Florida is on the front line experiencing the impacts of sea-level rise, and in 2009, Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties developed a Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact to address the threat of saltwater intrusion on the public water supply, erosion of beaches, flooding of roads and buildings, as well as to incorporate resiliency action plans in their local Comprehensive Plans to prepare for a projected sea-level rise of 24 inches by 2060.
Lowland areas, wherein the majority of the population and infrastructure are located in areas less than 4 feet above sea level, are already experiencing flooding of streets and neighborhoods during extreme high tides and storm surge.
Of noteworthy interest at the summit was the quality of presenters, including business leaders from the insurance and banking industry who spoke on their concern with the effects of sea-level rise due to increase claim costs and financial risk from flooding. South Florida was frequently mentioned as ground zero for climate change due to low topography and the acceleration of sea-level rise and elevated intensity of major storm events. The insurance industry is no longer able to rely on historical data because conditions are changing so fast due to climate change.
One of the most compelling presentations was given by Shannon Estenoz, director, Office of Everglades Restoration, U.S. Department of the Interior. In her PowerPoint, Estenoz provided a historical perspective on how water from Lake Okeechobee used to flow to the Everglades and Florida Bay. Unfortunately, over 400,000 acres of sugar cane fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) south of the lake have severed the hydrological connection in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, and excessive release of water is redirected to the estuaries on the east and west coasts of South Florida.
One of the most meaningful solutions to counter sea-level rise in South Florida would be to restore some semblance of a flowway in the EAA. Re-establishing the appropriate quantity and quality of water south of Lake Okeechobee would be extremely beneficial in helping to recharge the Biscayne Aquifer to protect Southeast Florida’s primary water supply, greatly reduce the risk of saltwater intrusion of public wellfields and protect South Florida’s ecosystem.

141016-e
Rule of Law:  How Obama’s EPA is trying to regulate your creek beds and ditches
DailyCaller.com – by Jessica Medeiros-Garrison, President, Rule of Law Defense Fund
October 16, 2014
Have you ever seen some water runoff in your yard during a hard rain and attempted to put a boat in it for an afternoon cruise?
I didn’t think so. Such a thing is almost as ridiculous as the continued actions by the Obama Administration, and such runoff isn’t far from the type of “water” it is trying to put under the EPA’s control. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) proposed a new regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA) that would sweep in, as “waters of the U.S.,” millions of new miles of rivers and streams and, more alarming, areas of land that are dry most of the year and aren’t near a body of water.
The 86-page proposed rule, appended with almost 400 more pages of “data,” would put under the EPA and CoE’s jurisdictional thumbs such “waters” as a drainage ditch in Maricopa County, Arizona that carried water five times from 1993 to 2000 in 182 rain events for a total elapsed time of flow of 7.5 hours. A park ditch in Pinellas County, Florida, of the type in which you may see teenagers skateboarding, would cost taxpayers there over $31 million just to maintain for hypothetical “fishable, swimmable” uses under the proposed rule.
The administration is attempting this power grab despite the rule of law and precedent laid out by the Supreme Court in the 2006 case of Rapanos v. United States, which interpreted the term “waters of the United States” as including only relatively permanent, standing or flowing bodies of water. The definition refers to water as found in “streams,” “oceans,” “rivers,” “lakes,” and “bodies” of water “forming geographical features.” All of these terms connote continuously present, fixed bodies of water, as opposed to ordinarily dry channels through which water occasionally or intermittently flows.
As with numerous other federal affronts to the Tenth Amendment, Republican Attorneys General have stepped into the breach. Last week 11 Republican AGs, led by West Virginia AG Patrick Morrisey, Nebraska AG Jon Bruning, and Oklahoma AG Scott Pruitt; filed a thorough criticism of the EPA proposal, citing numerous legal maladies and constitutional violations. They were joined by their AG colleagues from Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota; and six Republican Governors signed on, some of whom do not have a Republican AG defending their states’ authority to manage their natural resources.
“This proposed definition would result in millions of additional acres of land and water coming under federal jurisdiction and would create chaos and confusion for private citizens and landowners,” Attorney General Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia said. “Farmers and landowners should not have to worry that the federal government will show up at their door, claiming that they failed to go through a costly federal permit process before using property that had little to no water — such as a small pond, ditch, or often-dry streambed.”
Texas AG and Republican nominee for Governor of Texas Greg Abbott wrote in August a pointed letter to the EPA  and made clear that “[i]f the proposed rule is not withdrawn and is made final, then the State of Texas will have no choice but to challenge the rule in federal court — where it will surely be struck down as violating federal law, exceeding the agency’s statutory authority, and contravening the U.S. Constitution.”
Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens agrees, recently stating that the new rule “would drastically and unlawfully expand federal control over Georgia’s water resources.”

141016-f
Swamp walks highlight Everglades beauty
News-Press.com – by Chad Gillis
October 16, 2014
Exploring the deep Everglades can be daunting, especially for those who’ve never waded through an alligator hole. Hiking trips can turn into swimming adventures. People get lost, quickly. Critters such as black bears, panthers and pythons call the area home.
But you can experience the Everglades in all its glory and stay relatively safe on a guided swamp walk at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park in Collier County.
This outing isn’t for everyone, though, as the five-hour trip through the swamp is followed by a 3½-hour tram tour.
Fakahatchee Strand is one of the most beautiful spots in Southwest Florida. The preserve is considered the orchid capital of North America and is home to the famous ghost orchid as well as less-known orchids and various bromeliads, sometimes called air plants.
The fall walks start Friday, Nov. 7, and cost $75. Swamp walks are also hosted on New Year’s Day. Friends of Fakahatchee Strand suggests visitors wear long pants, lace-up boots or sneakers, long-sleeved shirts and hats. The group also recommends water, snacks, bug repellent and a change of clothes for the ride home.
Reservations can be made at fofreservation.eventbrite.com
Family Fun Day
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge are hosting their Family Fun Day starting at 10:45 a.m. Sunday at the Sanibel preserve.
Refuge managers are debuting a game app — called Discover Ding — and the first 250 people to download the app will receive an “I Got Appy” T-shirt.
The day will also include a presentation from Heather Jenson — daughter of Muppet creator Jim Henson.
For information, visit dingdarlingdays.com or call 472-1100, ext. 221.
DEP utility expansion
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is working with Lee County to expand sewage utility services for three large-scale developments along Alico Road.
The land is north of FGCU and is sometimes referred to as the Research and Innovation Diamond, a county initiative that seeks to draw technology companies to this area of Lee.
According to the Florida Health Department, about 31 percent of Floridians are connected to 2.3 million septic tanks, or onsite storage and treatment systems. Those tanks discharge 426 million gallons of water a day into the subsurface soil. Septic tanks are one of the top producers of nutrients in the watersheds of the Caloosahatchee River and Estero Bay. Excess nutrients feed algal blooms, which can kill sea grass oyster beds.
The grant is for $761,250, according to DEP records, and Lee County will match those funds. Construction is expected to begin in 2015.

141015-a
EPA Rule change could help Florida's disappearing wetlands
WUSF.usf.edu - by Ashley Lopez
October 15, 2014
 Environmental experts met Tuesday in Naples to discuss massive wetland loss in the state and looming federal policy changes that could help.
The EPA is weighing a big change in how it determines which water bodies it protects under the Clean Water Act.
Right now, those jurisdictions are determined mostly by the federal Commerce Clause. But, due to some recent Supreme Court rulings, the EPA says it’s time to turn to peer-reviewed science.
Thomas McGill is the chief of the Wetlands Coastal and Ocean branch for the EPA in Atlanta. He said right now determining what water the EPA protects is really complicated.
“A lot of our intention is to clear a very confusing landscape right now with respect to what is applicable/what’s not applicable,” he said. “What this rule attempts to do is say here are certain categories of water that are jurisdictional.”
In practice, McGill said these changes will add protections to streams and wetlands. Jennifer Hecker with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said federal wetland protections are badly needed. She said recent studies show that Southwest Florida has some of the highest rates of wetland loss in the country.
“These regulatory protections are not effectively stopping continued wetland loss,” she said. “And wetlands are so important because they are the natural freshwater storage and filtration that provides freshwater storage to our communities, that cleanses water before it goes into our downstream basins and estuaries.”
The EPA is taking public comment on the rule changes—also known as changes to the definition of Waters of the U.S.—until Nov. 14.

141015-c
Water among top priorities for Commissioner Putnam in 2015-16 budget request
WCTV.tv - Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services - News Release
October 15, 2014
Tallahassee, FL – The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services submitted its Legislative Budget Request today for consideration by the Florida Legislature to fund programs and projects during Fiscal Year 2015-16. In a letter to the directors of the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget, the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam highlighted the need for funding to support water restoration and conservation projects.
“Water is our state’s most important natural resource,” Commissioner Putnam said. “Not only is it one of Florida’s defining characteristics, but we need a healthy and abundant supply of water to grow and thrive as a state. Therefore, we must work to restore the health and conserve our supply of water – and we must do so with a policy and budget that is flexible, comprehensive and long-term.”
Water has been one of Commissioner Putnam’s top priorities during his first term as Commissioner of Agriculture. As a result of his efforts, more than 10 million acres of agricultural lands in Florida have already adopted water-saving techniques and implemented new technologies to protect and conserve Florida’s water supply. Collectively, agricultural producers saved more than 1 billion gallons of water last year.
Additional funding will “help us build on our recent success to continue restoring the health of our water and save even more water for future generations to enjoy,” Commissioner Putnam said.
The water-related requests include:
  $15 million to support restoration projects around Lake Okeechobee, including water retention and nutrient reduction efforts surrounding Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee River watersheds.
  $5 million for the Springs Initiative.
  $5 million for the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program Area, both projects aimed at increasing acreage of agricultural lands that are implementing best management practices to reduce impact on the environment.
  $1.5 million for agricultural water supply planning.
  $1.4 million for partnership agreements with water management districts and soil and water conservation districts.
Other priorities reflected in the budget request are the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, citrus greening and wildland firefighters.
The Rural and Family Lands Protection Program provides funding to invest in conservation easements that will protect Florida’s landscape, wildlife habitat and other natural resources, while maintaining private ownership and supporting the local economy. The budget request includes $25 million to support the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and continue investing in conservation easements located in environmentally critical regions of the state.
Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that has spread to every citrus producing county in the state, and there is no cure. As a result, the citrus industry harvested the lowest crop last year in more than three decades. The budget request includes $8 million to continue research efforts, as well as $8 million to help prevent the spread of disease in the citrus industry.
Florida’s wildland firefighters put their lives at risk to protect Florida’s homes, businesses and residents. The budget request includes funding to provide pay increases for Florida’s firefighters and fire support positions. In addition, it includes $7 million to upgrade equipment and protective gear that will help keep our firefighters safe from harm.

141014-
Conservation amendment a question of budget priorities
SunshineStateNews - by Margie Menzel, News Service of Florida
October 14, 2014
Support for a ballot proposal that would set aside money for water and land conservation is so strong that many opponents are all but resigned to its passage. But that doesn't mean they aren't worried about its impact on Florida's budget.
The proposed constitutional amendment would require the state to dedicate a portion of real-estate tax revenue over the next 20 years for environmental preservation. It's estimated the proposal would generate $10 billion to $19 billion from the already-existing tax, with the money going to buy or restore areas crucial to Florida's water supply, such as the land around springs, and to natural systems that have been despoiled, such as the Everglades.
"The numbers show this is going to pass," affordable-housing advocate Mark Hendrickson said last week.
Hendrickson was leading a webinar on Amendment 1 for the Florida Housing Coalition, answering the questions of people who work with the group. He said affordable housing programs would be vulnerable if Amendment 1 passes because they get funding from documentary-stamp taxes, the same pot of real-estate fees that would be used for land and water projects.
"The most likely place you look is to the other trust funds that are funded with doc stamps, and that means transportation and housing," Hendrickson said, adding that housing trust funds have a history of being raided by the Legislature. "We will be more at risk, and significantly at risk, if this passes."
Hendrickson made a point of noting that he supports environmental programs. And Will Abberger, the campaign manager for Florida's Water and Land Legacy, the group behind Amendment 1, said in a separate interview that conservationists have worked "arm in arm" with housing advocates.
"The tragedy is, it shouldn't be environment versus housing," said lobbyist Karen Woodall, who works on homelessness issues and has long sought more funding for health and human services programs. "We have all these false battles."
But backers say Amendment 1 is the only way to force the Legislature to spend money on the conservation efforts after the Florida Forever program has been shortchanged in recent years.
"The Florida Forever program was decimated in 2009, going from $300 million per year down to $17 million this year -- the year in which we had a $1 billion surplus," said Chuck O'Neal, chairman of the League of Women Voters' natural resources committee. "Florida is facing a crisis with the quality and quantity of water, not only coming out of our springs but also as a source of drinking water for our current population and those who have yet to arrive."
The measure has created some odd alliances. Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, a Democrat, and former Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican, both support it. The Tampa Bay Times joined Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, in opposition. There are legislative leaders on both sides.
Gaetz predicted the amendment would pass "because it's coated in all kinds of warm fuzzies." But he warned that "what it means is, before we can spend the first dollar on education or health care or law enforcement or economic development or the arts or any other critical needs of the state … if this passes, we have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the purposes of Amendment 1, which substantially include purchasing large tracts of private land and taking them off the tax rolls."
McCollum, however, said the measure would fund needs that cannot wait for lawmakers to come around.
"Many of our rivers, our lakes, our natural springs are clogged right now, and the water-management districts don't have the money to clean it up," McCollum said. "Sometimes legislatures get other priorities in their minds at the moment, and they don't provide a consistent source of funding for some of the critical things like this that really are needed now -- not 10 years from now, (or) 15 years from now, when it may be too late."
But Woodall, while understanding the environmentalists' frustration, said Amendment 1 also would shrink that portion of the doc-stamp money that goes to general revenue.
"(Lawmakers) don't tend to cut tax cuts and sports subsidies," she said. "They tend to cut health and human services. Somebody's going to get cut if additional revenues aren't raised."
In short, Amendment 1's opponents say the Constitution is no place for legislative budgeting, while its backers say lawmakers have left them no choice.
“We should only amend our Constitution sparingly and thoughtfully," Steve Halverson, chairman of the Florida Council of 100, a group of business leaders, said in a statement. "The provisions of Amendment 1 can be dealt with legislatively.”
The Florida Farm Bureau and Florida Chamber, also opponents, collaborated on a 2014 voting guide in which they wrote, "This amendment would also encourage other special interests to try to get their funding placed in the Constitution, potentially harming our elected state leaders’ ability to govern in a fiscally responsible way."
Abberger, however, called lawmakers "out of touch with their constituents on the issue of water and land conservation. ... Unfortunately, we had to go the citizens' initiative route because of that disconnect between the voters and the Legislature."
If the measure passes, lawmakers will have much to say about its implementation.
But Graham, an Amendment 1 supporter, said the Legislature traditionally has protected Florida's environment -- which is critical to the economy.
"History should give you some comfort," he told a caller to a Sept. 17 town-hall meeting. "Is it also necessary for citizens to be vigilant politically? ...Yes, and I'm glad you're talking to legislators about that."
Related:           Amendment would send billions for preservation The News-Press
Amendment 1 supporters raise another $343K          Sunshine State News
Amend. 1 would ensure environment funding           WTSP 10 News
Amendment 1: Water and Land Conservation           Palm Beach Post

141013-a
Amendment 1 would change Florida constitution to ensure funding for environmental projects
Associated Press – by Jason Dearen
October 13, 2014
GAINESVILLE, Florida — In what supporters are labeling the "end game for conservation in Florida," voters this November are being asked to change the state constitution to earmark billions of tax dollars for a host of environmental protection projects.
The Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative, or Amendment 1 on the ballot, would dedicate 33 percent of annual revenue raised through an existing tax on real estate transactions over the next 20 years to conservation projects. That amounts to an estimated $18 billion to $20 billion for everything from beach and spring restoration, to park improvements.
For a constitutional amendment to pass, 60 percent of the votes cast must be a "yes."
"If we don't protect water supplies and wildlife habitat over the next 20 years, it will be gone," Will Abberger of the Trust for Public Land, the initiative's largest funder, said.
Over the next 20 years Florida's population is expected to grow by millions, taxing water and land resources like never before.
The nearly 2 million acres of land that would be purchased if the amendment passes are designed to provide buffers from development and to safeguard drinking water resources, wildlife habitat, beaches and fisheries.
Opponents, mainly business groups, agree that preserving the state's resources is important, but that changing the constitution reduces the Legislature's ability to use that tax money for other more pressing needs.
"We should only amend our constitution sparingly and thoughtfully and not use it to accomplish what can be addressed legislatively," Steve Halverson, chairman of the Florida Council of 100, a business group, said in a press release.
Still, the state's tourism industry and myriad environmental groups argue that changing the constitution is the only way to ensure funding for Florida Forever, the conservation land purchasing program that saw budget cuts of more than 97 percent since 2009, when the state was in the grips of the Great Recession.
Yet, even with economic recovery in recent years, Florida Forever's funding has never been fully restored under Gov. Rick Scott's administration, so supporters of the amendment set to gathering the 800,000 signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot.
Scott has not stated a position on Amendment 1, but said through a spokesman that he had made significant environmental investments without the mandate of a constitutional amendment — including $32 million per year for his Everglades restoration plan.
Scott spokesman Greg Blair also pointed to the governor's "Let's Keep Florida Beautiful" plan, in which Scott says he will recommend $150 million per year for Florida Forever, among other environmental projects.
Under the amendment, Florida Forever would receive the $300 million in annual funding it was intended to receive when the law was passed in 2001.
Scott's Democratic challenger, former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, supports the initiative.
Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida and co-chair of the Amendment 1 campaign, said it is important to the state's future to protect funding for environmental programs from the whims of whoever happens to be in Tallahassee.
"Up until this year there's been almost no land acquisition by the state for five years," Draper said. "For all practical purposes Florida Forever has been out of business."
Related:           Amendment 1 would ensure funding for environment          SeattlePI.com
Quick Election Guide to Amendment 1: Water and Land Conservation      Palm Beach Post
My View: Strengthen Florida's conservation heritage            Tallahassee.com
Amendment 1 supporters raise another $343K          Sunshine State News
Amendment One: Poster child for socialist legislation           BizPac Review
Amendment 1 would ensure funding for environment          SaintPetersBlog (blog)

141013-b
Climate: Icebergs … in Florida ?
SummitCountyVoice - by Bob Berwyn, Staff Report
October 13, 2014
Iceberg tracks offer modern climate clues.
Study seeks abrupt climate change clues
FRISCO — Icebergs may have been drifting off the coast of Florida as recently as 21,000 years ago, university researchers said after developing a climate model that recreates ocean currents from the end of the last ice age.
The study implies that the mechanisms of abrupt climate change are more complex than previously thought, according University of Massachusetts Amherst oceanographer Alan Condron. The models are supported by the discovery of iceberg scour marks on the sea floor along the entire continental shelf.
“Our study is the first to show that when the large ice sheet over North America known as the Laurentide ice sheet began to melt, icebergs calved into the sea around Hudson Bay and would have periodically drifted along the east coast of the United States as far south as Miami and the Bahamas in the Caribbean, a distance of more than 3,100 miles, about 5,000 kilometers.”
His work, conducted with Jenna Hill of Coastal Carolina University, is described in the current advance online issue of Nature Geosciences.
The research may help scientists understand  the sensitivity of North Atlantic deep water formation and climate to past changes in high-latitude freshwater runoff, the authors said.
Hill analyzed high-resolution images of the sea floor from Cape Hatteras to Florida and identified about 400 scour marks on the seabed that were formed by enormous icebergs plowing through mud on the sea floor. These characteristic grooves and pits were formed as icebergs moved into shallower water and their keels bumped and scraped along the ocean floor.
“The depth of the scours tells us that icebergs drifting to southern Florida were at least 1,000 feet, or 300 meters thick,” says Condron. “This is enormous. Such icebergs are only found off the coast of Greenland today.”
The scientists used their model to simulate a series of glacial meltwater floods at four different levels for two locations, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
“In order for icebergs to drift to Florida, our glacial ocean circulation model tells us that enormous volumes of meltwater, similar to a catastrophic glacial lake outburst flood, must have been discharging into the ocean from the Laurentide ice sheet, from either Hudson Bay or the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” Condron said.
Further, during these large meltwater flood events, the surface ocean current off the coast of Florida would have undergone a complete, 180-degree flip in direction, so that the warm, northward flowing Gulf Stream would have been replaced by a cold, southward flowing current, he explained.
As a result, waters off the coast of Florida would have been only a few degrees above freezing. Such events would have led to the sudden appearance of massive icebergs along the east coast of the United States all the way to Florida Keys. These events would have been abrupt and short-lived, probably less than a year, he notes.
“This new research shows that much of the meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet may be redistributed by narrow coastal currents and circulate through subtropical regions prior to reaching the subpolar ocean. It’s a more complicated picture than we believed before,” Condron says. He and Hill say that future research on mechanisms of abrupt climate change should take into account coastal boundary currents in redistributing ice sheet runoff and subpolar fresh water.
Related:           Icebergs Once Drifted as Far South as Florida During the Last Ice Age      Science World Report
How Ice Age Send Massive Icebergs Sailing to Florida        Prensa Latina
Ice Age Floods Sent Icebergs to Florida, Scientists Say        NBCNews.com
Ancient Glacial Melting Sent Building-Sized Icebergs To Florida    Businessinsider India
Climate Model Suggests that Icebergs once Drifted to Florida Waters         Headlines & Global News
Icebergs as tall as Eiffel Tower once moved to Florida         Maine News
Iceberg in Florida! Is it a joke ?           Northern Voices Online

141012-
State's operation of Silver Springs a work in progress
Ledger.com - by Fred Hiers, Halifax Media Services
October 12, 2014
OCALA | Gone are the zoo animals, exotic bird shows, kiddie rides and captive alligators.
On the anniversary of the state's taking over operations of Silver Springs Nature Theme Park and folding the 246-acre attraction into the neighboring Silver Springs State Park, most of the changes can be seen by what is no longer there.
Park manager Sally Lieb has overseen the demolition of more than 20 buildings, many of which were part of a hodge-podge of structures built as new attractions were added in hopes of coaxing a few more tourists away from Orlando.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which now owns and oversees the park, has poured about $4 million into the site. It has patched roofs, dug up leaking utility lines and repaired electrical and dilapidated air conditioning systems. Of the $4 million, $3 million came from the previous park lease holder, while $1 million came from FDEP itself. About $1 million is left to spend unless more comes from the Legislature.
The amount of work overhauling the park wasn't a surprise to Lieb, who came to the park more than a year ago.
"My first clue were these little puddles everywhere with cones (to warn of standing water) rather than repairs," she said.
The state took over operation of the aging tourist attraction Oct. 1, 2013, from Palace Entertainment. The private amusement company agreed to hand over $4 million in exchange for getting out of the lease years early. It would have ended in 2029. Palace operated the park for 11 years.
Operating the park now is like walking an environmental tightrope, Lieb said.
One the one side is DEP's mission of preserving and restoring the area's resources. On the other is accommodating the public and maintaining the culture of the park.
"We do defy our mission sometimes to meet public demand. We're bending it a little to give people what they want," she said.
"There are certain cultural aspects that people are attached to, so the culture of the park is part of our mission, too," she said, citing the park's grand entrance.
The springs have been a tourist attraction since the mid-1800s, and its commercial glass-bottom boats have operated since the 1890s.
Animal attractions have been a popular part of the park for decades, but they were the first to go as the state prepared to take over.
Lieb walked the east side of the park recently and stood by the remains of a 1-foot-thick, 10-foot-high wall.
She pointed to an empty field that once was home to the park's cougars. The few feet of wall is all that remains.Lieb hopes to let the field return to its natural state.
Then she pointed to a canal dividing where she stood and the five-acre Ross Allen Island, where captive alligators were housed behind glass.
The two bridges onto the island are gone now. They didn't meet state standards. All remnants of the boardwalk on the island are also gone. The old boardwalk overwhelmed and took away from the island experience, Lieb said, adding, "Now it's a community with cypress trees and beautiful wildlife."
The plan is to build a new bridge onto the island and a more modest boardwalk. The estimated cost is about $800,000 — about the same amount as the park's annual budget. The park has 30 full- and part-time employees.
Lieb then pointed to a small open field.
"This is where the bleachers used to be, and the bird show was over there," she said, pointing to the other side of a concrete slab walkway.
An old speaker hung from a tree nearby — the only tangible reminder of the shows once staged there.
Left as it was is the safari ride staging area, where customers once got onto vehicles that drove through terrain covered with monkeys and captive bears, horses, emus and llamas. All the exhibit structures from the 15-minute Jeep ride are gone.
Lieb said the animal removal was a decision by the state to not be in the zoo business.
There was an exception: Hundreds of rhesus monkeys still roam the park. The state stopped allowing private hunters to remove the primates when the public learned they were being sold to a medical research lab.
The popular glass-bottom boats are still there, but the park's fleet has been reduced by half to eight crafts.
The park now contracts with Silver Springs Management as its vendor.
Along with the demolition, Lieb cited some new construction as part of the park's progress. That includes a new canoe and kayak launch facility, new wood boardwalk and hand rail around the spring, and new cedar roofs for many remaining buildings. A gift shop, ice cream parlor, restaurant, art gallery and educational center are still operating.
Wild Waters water park also will remain open, at least through 2016, after which the lease with Silver Springs Management to operate the water park ends, Lieb said. The future of Wild Waters will be decided then.
Still on the agenda is to open part of the spring area to swimming, but the logistics haven't been worked out yet, Lieb said. Swimming could be allowed during the 2015-16 season.
Also remaining open is the Twin Oaks Amphitheater, where concerts will continue to be held.
The park has about 1,000 parking spaces. The plan is to remove about half, with grass for overflow parking during special events, Lieb said.
The park has a mandate to be as financially self-reliant as possible, so it needs 500,000 to 1 million visitors per year to accomplish that, Lieb thinks.
Related:           Silver Springs' anniversary: State operation a work in progress         Daily Journal

141009-
State agencies raise concerns about controversial Sugar Hill plan
WGCU.org - by Ashley Lopez
October 9, 2014
Five state agencies weighed in on proposed development plans in the Greater Everglades area expressing serious concerns ranging from environmental issues to state resources.
State officials are currently considering a development project in Hendry County. The proposed area sits south of Lake Okeechobee—amidst land owned by sugar companies that could be used for Everglades’ restoration.
Environmentalists and some business owners on the east and west coasts of the state have expressed concerns. Mostly, they are worried this could possibly jeopardize future land purchases used to drive water south.
For the most part, state agencies asked to comment on the proposed plan agree.
Rae Ann Wessel with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation said she had concerns the plan did not spell out the development’s impact and how it could be mitigated.
“Part of what we felt was really fundamental here is that there are some overriding public interests and state investment issues,” she said. “So, I wasn’t really surprised but I was really heartened that these issues were raised.”
Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission all submitted comments to the Department of Economic Opportunity, which will have the final say.
Each agency recommended the current plan not move forward.
Among the many concerns raised were water supply issues, transportation issues and effects on wildlife. According to the FWC’s comments, wildlife at risk in the area include the Audubon’s crested caracara, the Eastern indigo snake and the federally endangered Florida panther.

141008-a
Amendment One strengthens Florida conservation heritage
TBO.com – by Manley Fuller and Colin O’Mara, Special to The Tampa Tribune
October 8, 2014
Clean water, treasured landscapes and abundant wildlife — that’s what Amendment One is all about. From the white sand beaches of Pensacola and the Panhandle to the untamed beauty of the Everglades and Keys, Florida is synonymous with remarkable natural resources and unrivaled outdoor recreational experiences.
Who can forget their first time seeing a great blue heron or brown pelican take flight, a sea turtle lay her eggs, or a manatee tumbling in the water? Opportunities to hike, swim, camp, hunt and fish are all around us. Few states can match the diversity and richness of the experiences in nature that Floridians can enjoy every day. And Florida’s natural resources are not simply environmental assets — they play a critical role in supporting our state’s multi-billion dollar tourism industry.
Today, these cherished places need our help. Degradation from neglect or encroaching development threatens to undermine our natural environment and economic vitality. If a private company provided a benefit similar to the economic bonanza produced by our natural resources, you can imagine the great lengths our politicians would go to keep those jobs in Florida. Yet we too rarely think of our natural resources as the economic engine they are, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Fortunately, in this year’s election we can do something about it by supporting Amendment One, placed on the Nov. 4 ballot by the signatures of almost a million concerned Floridians.
This proposal would dedicate one-third of Florida’s existing real estate transfer fees toward water and land conservation, funded through a constitutionally guaranteed trust fund. The amendment brings no new taxes. The Florida Wildlife Federation, the National Wildlife Federation and our tens of thousands of Florida members strongly support Amendment One and urge all Floridians to vote yes.
The resources set aside by Amendment One will be used to protect and restore critical habitat across Florida, including wildlife management areas, wetlands, forests, fish and wildlife habitats, beaches and shores, recreational trails and parks, urban open space, rural landscapes, working farms and ranches, historical and geological sites, lands protecting water and drinking water resources, and lands in the Everglades Agricultural Areas and Everglades Protection Areas. The fund is designated to manage and restore natural systems and to enhance public access and recreation use of conservation lands.
Amendment One, if approved by 60 percent of Florida voters, will provide for critical habitat linkages for fish and wildlife; Everglades and other wetlands restoration; and buffering of Florida’s critical, but too often impaired, waterways and springs. It will provide new investments in land management, helping us better manage native habitats.
Not only will we bolster our existing network of public conservation lands, we’ll promote protection of permanent private lands through entirely voluntary conservation easements and land acquisition. And we’ll sustain and expand a wide range of outdoor recreation on our public lands and waters, such as fishing, hunting, hiking, boating, biking, horseback riding and wildlife watching.
The benefits will ripple all the way down to the local level, allowing county and city land protection efforts to go further through matching programs. Passage also will allow Florida to better use matching funds for key Gulf of Mexico restoration, Everglades restoration and higher priority land conservation projects.
The impacts of passing Amendment One will go far beyond dollars and cents. It’s a chance to reclaim Florida’s long-standing national leadership on water and land conservation and send the message that protecting our outdoor heritage transcends partisan politics.
This fall’s election provides Florida voters with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a difference in protecting and managing Florida’s precious waters and conservation lands. Please join members of both the National Wildlife Federation and the Florida Wildlife Federation in strongly supporting and voting for Amendment One.
Manley Fuller is president and CEO of the Florida Wildlife Federation. Collin O’Mara is president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation.

141008-b
Broken promises on water
Tallahassee Democrat – Letter by Terry Brant, Legislative chairman, Santa Fe Lake Dwellers Association, Melrose, FL
October 8, 2014
Millions of tax dollars in state project funding to protect our springs continues to subsidize private interests and large corporations without requiring them to stop practices that are harmful to our springs and lakes.
Corporate polluters such as U.S. Sugar, which is also in a huge Everglades land deal with the state, gave Gov. Rick Scott a $100,000 campaign donation. Politicians, appointed or elected, and any other regulators receiving public tax dollars, should be prohibited from taking one penny from those they are regulating. It’s a form of corruption.
Public showcasing of limited, underfunded and inadequate projects, masquerading as good water policy, is a form of re-election and water management district propaganda.
Statutory and constitutional provisions for the protection and preservation of our resources are being ignored, backstopped with a water management district and FDEP smoke-screen that is peppered with studies and a claimed “scientific” basis for computing minimum flows and levels that is flawed and, more often than not, heavily influenced by powerful developers and water utilities that are successfully managing the regulatory process and subverting water policy.
After years of broken promises, we can’t trust our politicians to do the right thing, but voters can take action. Please support Amendment 1 to help protect and restore our water resources.

141008-c
Increased flooding seen on Atlantic Coast
Washington Post - by Darryl Fears
October 8, 2014
 WASHINGTON – Daily flooding caused by high tides will occur in the District of Columbia and Annapolis, Maryland, within three decades as sea levels continue to rise because of global warming, a new study says.
The study by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicts that by 2045 the nation’s capital and the capital of Maryland will experience about 400 floods per year, sometimes twice in a single day, and several other cities and towns on the Atlantic coast will have tidal flooding almost as bad.
Miami; Atlantic City and Cape May, New Jersey; and Lewisetta and Windmill Point, both on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, can expect at least 240 days of flooding by 2045.
High-tide floods along the Atlantic coast in Baltimore; Norfolk, Virginia; Philadelphia; Charleston, South Carolina; Key West, Florida; and Sandy Hook, New Jersey, will happen less frequently, with about 180 events or more per year, according to the study released Wednesday.
Tidal flooding is sometimes called nuisance flooding.
Nuisance flooding can overwhelm utility pumping stations and spill water onto roads and into homes.
The study, “Encroaching Tides: How sea level rise and tidal flooding threaten U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast communities over the next 30 years,” relied on data from the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“We found places that are all flooding right now, and we think they have resonant stories,” said Melanie Fitzpatrick, a climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists and one of study’s three authors.
For example, she said, residents of the Broad channel section of Queens, New York, are routinely warned to move their cars during high tide. Flooding in Miami could become so bad that some are calling it a future Venice, where canals serve as roads, she added.
“Clearly ... much of the U.S. is experiencing long-term sea level rise,” and high-tide flooding “is becoming more noticeable and widespread,” said a NOAA study released in July. Tidal flooding occurs more frequently today than at any other time in recorded history.
“In 1950, such events would have the probability of recurring every couple of years,” the NOAA study said of tidal flooding. “Whereas today, they occur so frequently due to decades of sea level rise” that they are normal, “no longer classified as an extreme event.”
William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer who authored the July study, called the Concerned Scientists’ study a solid piece of work. He had one quibble: that its findings are based on a single scenario — a sea-level rise of four feet by the end of the century. Climate scientists usually offer four scenarios of varying sea-level rise based on assumptions on how the world’s governments limit greenhouse gas emissions that heat the atmosphere, cause ice to melt into the ocean and water to warm and expand.
“It’s hard to tell what the ice sheets ... will do,” Sweet said.
Sweet described the NOAA study as a 30-year look back at tidal flooding, compared with now, and the Concerned Scientists’ study as a 30-year look forward.
Fitzpatrick said the new study chose a single mid-range prediction of ice melt offered in one of several scenarios of climate change in the federal National Climate Assessment and explored how it would impact the Atlantic and Gulf coasts within a relatively short time frame. The authors realized that their choice could open the study to criticism that its findings are too narrow.
Analyst Erika Spanger-Siegfried and Kristina Dahl, a consultant, are the other authors. Wednesday’s release of the report coincided with the start of the “king tide,” an especially high seasonal tide that occurs yearly along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts between Oct. 8 and Oct. 10.
The District of Columbia and Annapolis now have fewer than 50 days of tidal flooding. In 15 years, according to the study’s prediction, that will rise to 150. After another 15 years, flooding will more than double to 400, with multiple floods in one day.
Flooding will also be the norm for cities in New Hampshire, Delaware, North Carolina and Florida.
On the Atlantic coast, flooding is especially worrisome because land is sinking by a few millimeters each year, the result of ancient geological forces such as a meteor impact crater in the Tidewater area of Virginia.
The study’s recommendations to combat sea-level rise and flooding aren’t new. Neither are its proposed solutions, which include enacting government policies to trap and reduce gases from power plants and other facilities. But those steps face strong opposition from some conservatives who say global warming is a hoax or a natural phenomenon that is not as bad as scientists say.
Still, many cities are heeding the warnings of climate scientists. In Miami Beach, where water often bubbles up from under storm-drain covers, city leaders have invested $400 million in infrastructure such as pumping stations to keep sea water out of sewers. Norfolk has identified $1 billion in necessary storm and drainage improvements, and is seeking money to fund them.
Related:           Rising seas causing routine floods in US cities          Saudi Gazette
US East Coast Cities Face Frequent Flooding Due to Climate Change        CityLab
Climate Change Worsens Coastal Flooding From High Tides           Nassau News Live
Miami Beach braces for tidal flooding           eTurboNews

141008-d
New EPA rule goes too far
Yankton.net - by Richard Vasgaard, farms near Centerville and serves on the South Dakota Farm Bureau board of directors.
October 8, 2014
I appreciate the opportunity to share from a farmer’s perspective how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule is going to impact agriculture here in South Dakota, and all across the country. The EPA is attempting to regulate nearly every drop of water, even “waters” that are dry most of the year. They are simply taking this too far.
Friends in agriculture, get ready to be blanketed with heavy and unnecessary new regulations never intended by Congress. When Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, they specifically said that only “navigable” waters are under federal jurisdiction. But now EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have taken it upon themselves to expand the Clean Water Act to cover every stream, slough, creek, draw, gully, puddle or ditch.
Between the proposed rule and an interpretive rule that accompanies it, there are more than 600 pages of new regulation. The way it’s all worded, the water doesn’t have to be permanent or navigable to qualify. Any area with any amount of flow at any time will now be under EPA control. If there’s water in an area for a week, a day, an hour or a minute, the EPA has made it so they can probably call it “Waters of the U.S.”
What the EPA is doing goes against congressional intent, and it also goes against two decisions by the Supreme Court. Two cases — Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2001, and Rapanos v. United States in 2006 — reaffirmed the Clean Water Act’s limit on federal jurisdiction, reminding agencies that Congress used the word “navigable” for a reason.
People who support this rule are telling us not to worry because agriculture is exempted. But if you read the fine print, the only exemptions for agriculture are in the section 404 “dredge and fill” permit program, for activities that move dirt around, like digging a ditch or installing drainage tile. Any of the regular activities we as farmers need to do in our fields and pastures are not exempt from this rule, things like tillage, spraying for weeds, applying fertilizer, mowing ditches, baling hay and so on. Can you imagine having to apply for a permit from the EPA to do regular field work? This will be a bureaucratic nightmare, and will do nothing to impact water quality, which they say is their intent.
If the EPA can find cause to call any spots on my farm “Waters of the U.S.,” then I am subject to Clean Water Act liability, which is no small matter. Fines can be levied of up to $37,500 per discharge per day. The Clean Water Act is what they call a “strict liability” statute, which means the largest of waters and the smallest of waters are regulated equally. So, if this “Waters of the U.S.” rule goes through as printed, an irrigation ditch or a small slough on my farm will be regulated as strictly as the Florida Everglades.
Some people are saying they doubt the EPA will have enough manpower to regulate this new rule. One of my fellow Farm Bureau members who recently traveled to Washington, D.C. was told directly by an EPA employee that the agency intends to use satellite imagery to monitor these farming activities from above. It seems modern technology is making the job of regulators very easy — even when what they’re attempting to regulate is a complete overreach of their jurisdiction.
Farm Bureau estimates that more than 100 million acres will now come under EPA jurisdiction and the rule will impact nearly every farmer and rancher in the nation. This is a vast expansion of federal power that was not passed by Congress. This should bother not only us in agriculture, but everyone who is concerned about the role of the federal government in private property rights.
Clean water is important, but the EPA’s new rule isn’t the way to go about it. As farmers, we care for our land and water because it is literally the foundation for everything we do. If we take care of it, it takes care of us and our families. What good does it do for the EPA to regulate areas that are dry most of the time, or not interconnected to a navigable waterway? If they do this, what will be next? I hope you’ll all consider sending your comments to the EPA by the Oct. 21 deadline.

141008-e
U.S. Sugar and Hendry County seek to turn sleepy airport into cargo hub to rival MIA
EyesOnNews.com - by Dan Christensen
October 8, 2014
At the heart of a controversial plan for a huge new development near the northwest edge of the Everglades – dubbed “Big Sugar City” by environmentalists – is a crucial, but less noticed proposal for a $400 million makeover of a flyspeck of an airport in rural Hendry County.
The goal is to transform sleepy Airglades Airport, where skydiving is the reigning business, into an international hub for perishable cargo to rival Miami International Airport about 80 miles to the southeast. If it doesn’t happen, Big Sugar City, also known as Sugar Hill, may not become a reality either.
Airglades International LLC (AIA), the private outfit selected by Hendry County to develop the airport, has a straightforward business plan: add a new 10,000 or 12,000-foot runway, build a one-stop air cargo complex and siphon off MIA’s multi-billion dollar perishable cargo business – everything from fresh food and flowers to drugs and medical shipments.

141008-f
Water laws protect natural resources
Tallahassee Democrat – My View by John Outland, Leon County resident retired from the Department of Environmental Protection
October 8, 2014
Re: “EPA”s water proposals would drown counties in red tape” (My View, Oct. 3).
County Commissioner Bryan Desloge’s comments seem in conflict with his assertion that he loves “our beautiful rivers and coastal waters.” When he states “EPA’s proposals would drown counties in red tape,” it appears he is considering the perspective of the National Association of Counties. Surely he knows that Florida and the nation have a long list of quality-impaired waters, some of which are in Leon and nearby counties, so why would he not want maximum protection?
Or is the problem that he, in fact, doesn’t know ?  He could read the 2013 Leon County Water Quality report or visit area lakes including Lake Ella, Lake Lafayette, Lake Munson, Killearn Lakes and Wakulla Springs.
I am confident that, if it were not needed, there would not be a proposed Environmental Protection Agency/Corps of Engineers rule to clarify protection under the Clean Water Act for streams and wetlands. The proposed rule attempts only to clarify protection for streams and wetlands and does not protect any new types of waters that have not historically been covered under the Clean Water Act. The proposed rule does clarify that most seasonal and rain-dependent streams are protected under the Clean Water Act, as are wetlands near rivers and streams. Other types of waters that have less straightforward connections with downstream waters will be evaluated through a case-specific analysis of whether the connection is protecting similarly situated waters in certain geographic areas.
Commissioner Desloge seems overly concerned that local conveyances, such as ditches and flood control channels, may fall under the proposed rule. If these facilities were covered previously, they will continue to be covered. Many of the so-called “flood control channels” were once natural streams or wetlands that have been widened, deepened and ditched for flood management purposes. Even closed basins are often connected by pumps and pipes after high-rainfall events.
We also need to remember that these channelized waterways and stormwater management facilities are connected to our streams, lakes, groundwater and springs and transport a variety of pollutants including metals, pesticides, nutrients and fecal coliform.
Another of Desloge’s concerns is for permit time delays that would slow down the process for projects that keep water off roads and away from homes.
The best way to prevent flooding is to avoid putting homes and infrastructure in flood-prone areas in the first place rather than having to continue costly projects to widen and deepen waterways, which induces more erosion and pollutant transport to adjacent waters and wetlands. The use of low-impact development practices such as permeable pavement, tree planting, protection of significant and severe slopes and implementation of other green infrastructure options will also reduce erosion, flooding and pollutant conveyance to down stream waters.
Local and federal governments should partner to do a better job of natural resource protection by acquiring environmentally sensitive land, guiding development to suitable areas and ensuring that adequate regulations are in place at all levels to protect our waterways and wetlands. Our health, our quality of life and our fish and wildlife resources depend on it. Commissioner Desloge needs to listen to all sides and take a fully informed position.

141008-g
We must protect our wetlands for Florida living
News-Press.com – by John Cassani
October 8, 2014
Wetlands are the critical and complex link that interconnect the tapestry of natural communities in Florida.
Rampant development that has eliminated 9.3 million acres of historic Florida wetlands.
Consider attending a community forum on “Protecting Wetlands to Save the Caloosahatchee” on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Harborside Convention Center in Fort Myers.
Wetlands and their influence on the history and development of Florida are well known. Arguably, no other component of the Florida landscape has had more to do with the flow and quality of water as wetlands have.
Wetlands are the critical and complex link that interconnect the tapestry of natural communities in Florida. Even with rampant development that has eliminated 9.3 million acres of historic Florida wetlands, nearly 10 percent of the state’s land area remains as wetlands.
Without the interconnections that wetlands create, natural systems inevitably decline and so with them the economies that depend on ecosystem services those wetlands provide. In the Southeast, more than 90 percent of commercial seafood harvest and more than 50 percent or recreational fish harvest is dependent on estuaries and their link to coastal wetlands.
Wetlands are the natural kidneys that filter pollutants from surface runoff. They attenuate flooding and recharge drinking water aquifers, key functions that help protect Florida in more ways than they are generally given credit for. For some, wetlands are looked upon as obstacles to development yet they provide the most cost effective way of filtering pollutants and buffering floods that facilitate sustainable development.
The staggering losses of historic wetlands have necessitated vast expenditures of public funds for water quality projects as costly alternatives to naturally efficient wetlands. The need for and cost of flood insurance in a world being reshaped by climate change will continue to increase, especially as natural wetlands disappear or are damaged.
When wetlands are converted and the result is more and faster stormwater runoff, then the costs are almost always externalized to the greater public. The examples are many and growing, and the importance of water conserved and sustained by wetlands is more evident than ever.
As wetland values are now widely recognized, and the fallacy of “no net loss” has been documented, economic incentives for maintaining natural wetlands on private land should be developed and implemented more widely.
Perhaps a property tax discount tied to the established ecosystem service value of the wetland should be considered as an alternative to the conventional regulatory related alternatives aimed at compensating wetland function loss. Such regulatory outcomes often reduce and move wetland functional values to less desirable out-of-basin locations, sometimes with a net loss.
Conserving what is left of Florida’s wetlands is more important than ever. One of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said it so succinctly over 250 years ago “When the wells dry, we know the worth of water.”

141007-a
Charlie Crist meets with environmental activists in Fort Myers
WGCU.org - by Ashley Lopez
October 7, 2014
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Charlie Crist met with local environmental activists during a campaign stop along the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers Monday.
He talked about a range of environmental issues, but focused primarily on water releases from Lake Okeechobee.
Crist says the releases continue to mire estuaries like the Caloosahatchee and the St. Lucie River on the east coast.
“it’s got to stop,” he said. “We have to have a governor that is committed to working with the Army Corps and doing whatever is necessary to stop the back-pumping, to stop the discharging, basically to stop the polluting of our rivers and our streams and our estuaries.”
Crist said an ongoing commitment to Everglades’ restoration is key to reducing the impacts of water releases in Southwest Florida.
He also announced his staunch opposition to oil drilling in the Everglades.
The topic has been a hot button issue in Collier County.
A Texas-based oil company recently dropped current and future oil drilling operations in the area after running afoul of state regulators.
During this stop, Crist also spoke to local activists about his support of renewable energy and criticized his opponent Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s position on Climate Change.
Ahead of Crist’s visit, state Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, released a statement saying Crist, who switched political parties, is unreliable.

141007-c
Miami's 'King Tide' expected to peak Thursday, flooding parts of Miami Beach
Weather.com - by Sean Breslin
October 7, 2014
South Beach is about to get a glimpse into its future.
The annual "King Tide" is expected to arrive in South Florida this week, peaking around Thursday. When the tide rises to its highest point of the year, an extra foot of water will be brought ashore – , according to Reuters.
With future sea-level rise predicted by models and scientists alike, the water brought ashore by the King Tide could give residents an idea of what the future holds for Miami Beach.
The event is caused when the sun, Earth and moon align, Reuters added, but for local business owners, it's a yearly reminder that climate change has the potential to do catastrophic damage to low-lying Miami. Andreas Schreiner's group of restaurants have suffered damage from past high tides along Miami Beach, forcing them to frequently shut their doors for cleanup, the report also said.
"It's been a nightmare," he told Reuters.
How They'll Get the Water Out
Officials will be the answer to removing the King Tide's floodwaters from Miami streets as soon as possible. Along the western coast of Miami Beach, the pumps have been installed , according to the Miami Herald.
Still, it's only a temporary solution to a problem that's only expected to get worse.
As a result, the city is planning to spend $500 million on installing 58 pumps along Miami Beach to push the water back into the sea, the Miami Herald also reported. Even though these pumps are expected to provide relief from invading water for a few decades, officials agree that it's not going to be a solution to long-term climate change.
"We know the questions," Miami Beach mayor Philip Levine told the Miami Herald. "But don’t have all the answers."
Florida's strongest astronomical tides , according to WLRN.com, but South Florida takes the biggest hit from high tides in October.
Related:           'King tide' will be first test for Miami Beach's new pumps    MiamiHerald.com

141007-d
The science of FL red tide
WFLA.com - by Leigh Spann
October 7, 2014
This year's Florida red tide continues in the northeast Gulf of Mexico. Fish kills have been reported off Levy and Dixie counties. 
This smelly, fish-killing bloom has been around since early July, but red tide blooms have been tracked back to the Spanish Explorers in the 1700s. 
Since then, we have learned it is a microscopic algae called Karenia brevis. This algae is naturally found in the Gulf of Mexico. 
"This organism lives offshore in deeper water where it's still light enough to get enough light to photosynthesize and make the food it needs," said Fish and Wildlife Commission Research Associate, Bill Richardson.
Florida red tide algae can also swim to the surface, and that is where currents in the water can cause them to concentrate and create the problematic blooms. Inside each cell of Florida red tide is a toxin that affects vertebrates. When the cells break in the waves near beaches, the toxin is released. 
It can get into the air and irritate people's eyes and throats. The toxins also spread into the water where fish swim and pass the now-toxic water through their gills.
"It disrupts their nervous system, which then disrupts their muscular system, so in a sense they die from lack of breathing," said Richardson.
Manatees can be affected by swimming through the red tide, but they also breathe it in at the water's surface. 
The biggest risk to humans from red tide is eating shellfish like oysters, clams and mussels that lived in the toxic water. While no deaths in Florida have been attributed to toxic shellfish, it can make people sick.
"To prevent that, we monitor all shellfish beds in coastal areas of Florida that are commercially harvested," said Richardson.
Those beds will be shut down if red tide is detected, so restaurant dishes should be safe. Richardson says the best way to lower our affect from red tide is to closely monitor where it is, so people can keep their distance.
He and other researchers at the FWC are conducting experiments to find out what makes it more or less toxic. They are also looking at what causes it to bloom and rise to the surface.
Since red tide has no natural predators, we must rely on the water currents to take the bloom back into the offshore waters and disperse it. Each year, those currents are different, and that means, the bloom can last longer some years than others.
The toxic algae has no natural predators, and research shows trying to kill it would kill other algae as well. The other algae is a necessary part of the food chain. Plus, when red tide dies, that toxin is released into the air and water.

141006-
State officials object to Big Sugar building plans
Sun Sentinel - by Andy Reid,
October 8, 2014
ugar industry building plans threaten to get in the way of Everglades restoration and could create flooding hazards, according to state regulators.
The South Florida Water Management District and Florida Department of Environmental Protection are raising concerns about U.S. Sugar's plans to build 18,000 homes along with new shopping centers on farmland south of Lake Okeechobee — potentially creating a suburban road block to Everglades restoration.
The development proposal "does not adequately protect against adverse impacts to important state resources, including the Florida Everglades," according to the opinion released Friday from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Supporters of the proposed Sugar Hill development plan for 43,000 acres in Hendry County near Clewiston argue that it's a good long-term proposal to bring an economic development lift to an area in need of jobs and new businesses.
But environmental groups have argued that the proposal from U.S. Sugar and the Hilliard Brothers would occupy land needed to move water south from Lake Okeechobee to help replenish the Everglades.
And even if the development proposal doesn't get built, just approving it likely drives up the cost for taxpayers to buy land targeted for Everglades restoration.
The Sierra Club maintains that the new concerns from the water management district and Department of Environmental Protection should prompt state and local officials to put the brakes on the Sugar Hill building plan.
"This would have detrimental effects on Everglades restoration," said Jonathan Ullman, of the Sierra Club. "It is a major problem."
Hendry County in August gave an initial approval to the Sugar Hill proposal, moving it along for consideration by state officials.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity heads the state review, with input from the South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other state agencies. Then the Sugar Hill proposal goes back to the Hendry County Commission for a final decision.
U.S. Sugar was "very disappointed" by the concerns raised by the South Florida Water Management District and the state Department of Environmental Protection, company spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said Monday.
U.S. Sugar maintains that its proposal "satisfied the regulatory requirements," she said.
"Nevertheless, we will continue to work with all of the agencies and [the Department of Economic Opportunity] to address all legitimate concerns," Sanchez said.
South Florida Water Management District officials recommended against approving the development plan because "it does not provide sufficient information to show that future Everglades restoration will not be harmed," according to the agency's letter to state regulators on Friday.
These "objections" the state regulators voice are really cute ! One day they may actually amount to something
Everglades restoration is a taxpayer-funded, multibillion-dollar effort to protect wildlife habitat, bolster South Florida water supplies and fix flood-control problems without draining what remains of Florida's famed River of Grass.
The Sugar Hill development proposed southwest of Lake Okeechobee is in an area that is the focus of state efforts to move more Lake Okeechobee water south to the Everglades, according to the district.
That could affect the ability to acquire more land for Everglades restoration and also get in the way of Gov. Rick Scott's $880 million effort to clean up Everglades water pollution, according the Department of Environmental Protection.
The proposed development "sits squarely within the Everglades ecosystem, an internationally recognized environmental treasure," according to the Department of Environmental Protection opinion.
Water management district officials also raised concerns that the proposed neighborhoods and shopping centers would be built in an area "where stormwater and drainage systems have been designed for agriculture."
And the district points out that the development proposal is up for consideration before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed its risk analysis of Lake Okeechobee's dike, considered one of the nation's most at risk of failing.
In 2010, the South Florida Water Management District in spent $197 million to buy 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar to use for Everglades restoration. The deal also gave the district a 10 year option to buy some or all of U.S. Sugar's remaining 153,200 acres.
The district has until October 2015 to use its exclusive right to buy a 46,800 acre portion of that U.S. Sugar land, much of which overlaps with the area proposed for the Sugar Hill development.
U.S. Sugar has maintained that they intend to remain in sugar production for the foreseeable future and that the Sugar Hill proposal is intended to create a long-term development option for the property.
So far, the Florida Legislature has not signaled a willingness to buy more U.S. Sugar land. Sugar Hill supporters say there would still be other land available for Everglades restoration efforts.

141005-a
Amendment One deserves support
Miami Herald – by Paula Dockery
October 5, 2014
With the election about a month away, we’re all getting our fill of political ads, newspaper articles, direct mail pieces and poll results on various candidates running for office. There are also several constitutional amendments on the November ballot.
There are various ways the Florida Constitution can be amended. Two of the most common are through citizen initiatives or through legislatively introduced amendments. In both cases, the amendments must receive 60 percent of the votes in an election in order to change our constitution.
The first two amendments on November’s ballot were placed there through the hard work of citizens who jumped through the costly and labor-intensive hurdles set up to make changing the Constitution difficult.
It’s important for voters to understand the amendments and to be prepared to vote on them prior to voting. The language can be lengthy and complex, so it’s best to do a little homework.
Allow me to make the case for a Yes vote on the proposed “Water and Land Conservation” amendment, which appears as Amendment One.
Amendment One would set aside 33 percent of an existing tax and dedicate those dollars to be used for conservation purposes only. This would include land acquisition and management, ensuring a safe and adequate supply of drinking water, restoring the Everglades, protecting our springs, lakes, rivers and coastal waters, providing outdoor recreational activities and preserving our natural areas and wildlife habitat.
Many come to Florida to visit our beautiful beaches, to fish in our lakes, rivers and coastal areas, and to enjoy our 170 or so state parks and other public lands. Tourism is one of our most important industries, and our nature-based resources play a major role in attracting visitors — as well as revenues and jobs.
Our agricultural industry relies on a plentiful supply of water to grow crops and raise livestock. Collecting water during wet weather for use during times of drought is another potential use of these funds.
And let’s be clear — this is an existing tax, not a new tax or an increase in an existing tax. The documentary stamp tax is paid when real estate is sold. As the housing market improves, more revenue is generated, with a third of this one revenue source dedicated to conservation. How much could this be? Estimates say this would generate $10 billion over 20 years or roughly $500 million a year. Of course, that would fluctuate with the strength of the housing market, a fiscally responsible way to fund.
Let’s put these numbers in perspective.
▪ First, this year’s state budget was more than $77 billion. Isn’t the protection of our natural resources worth at least $500 million, which is less than one percent of the total budget?
▪ Second, under current law the Legislature is supposed to be funding the Florida Forever program at $300 million and the Water Sustainability Act at $100 million annually — but has failed to do so.
Florida Forever was fully funded over the eight years under Gov. Jeb Bush and for the first two years under Gov. Charlie Crist. When the recession hit, every major budget area was cut, but as the economy improved and revenues grew, funding for environmental programs was not restored.
Our state parks have $400 million in land management needs and have only received $15 million or so for each of the last few years. Everglades restoration and springs protection will take billions of dollars over the next 20 years.
Floridians who had been patient during the lean times became fearful that the funding might remain at anemic levels, putting our resources at great risk. They collected hundreds of thousands of signatures, paid to have them verified, defended the amendment language before the Florida Supreme Court and are now leading the effort to get 60 percent of the vote required to change the Constitution.
For those who argue this doesn’t belong in the Constitution, I ask, if not this, what? What could be more vital to our very survival than water? And if the Legislature won’t fund the very programs it enacted at the levels it specified, then this might be the only way to ensure a steady but flexible funding level that rises and falls with the economy.
Surely our quality of life is worth one percent of our state budget. A YES vote on Amendment One benefits all Floridians.
Related:           Amendment 1 would commit state money to conservation   WTSP 10 News
Florida conservation amendment faces hurdles          Suncoast News
Julie Hauserman: Vote 'yes' on Amendment 1           Tallahassee.com

141005-b
Lake levels still a question after repair
News-Press.com – by Chad Gillis
October 5, 2014
One of the most contentious parts of Lake Okeechobee management is the Army Corps of Engineers release schedule, which dictates lake levels stay at 15.5 feet above sea level or lower.
Current work on the dike will likely finish in 2021, and the Army Corps says it will re-evaluate the maximum lake levels — which, in turn, determine when and how much water should be released to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers.
"When they determined the problem with the dike, the regulation schedule was changed — so they don't store as much water in the lake," said Kurt Harclerode, with Lee County's Division of Natural Resources. "That forces the Corps to release more water sooner to both of the estuaries. That's one of the reasons we get, in very wet years, very high flows."
Harclerode said various interests in Southwest Florida have asked the Corps to consider keeping the lake at 16 feet, which would put more pressure on the dike and could lead to further seepage and erosion if the dike can't tolerate the extra load.
Harclerode said six inches of additional storage would allow for the lake to store an additional 225,000 cubic feet of water. The Caloosahatchee Reservoir is an Everglades restoration project that includes two water-holding areas with a maximum storage capacity of 170,000 cubic feet of water.
The lake has been kept higher in past decades, but water levels of 17 or 18 feet can destroy vegetation in the lake and kill the fishery.
"Our hope is that we will be able to see an improvement in the regulation schedule where they'll be able to hold more water," Harclerode said. "Some people think we want to stack water on the lake, but that's not our intent. You still want a lake that rises and falls in a natural state."
Butch Wilson, director of the Clewiston Museum, said he's not sure that holding more water in Lake Okeechobee will rid either coast of water quality issues such as algal blooms and fish kills.
"There's no vegetation and there's no fish," Wilson said of the lake at higher levels. "It would literally destroy the lake. There's no answers, and there's so many interests that are involved, how to you fix all of the problems ?"
The Army Corps says it hopes to have contracts for rehabilitation work completed in 2017, with the project wrapping up in 2021.
"Once the corps has implemented the risk-reduction measures we identify through this project, the Corps has committed to reviewing the lake Okeechobee schedule," said Tom Willadsen, dike project manager for the Army Corps. "Whether it will change or not remains to be seen. But we understand the concerns."

140904-a
For local leaders, rising seas outweigh election politics
Miami Herald – by Fred Grimm, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services
October 4, 2014
They seemed serious. Not at all like a convention of hoaxers.
They certainly had serious credentials. Engineers, scientists, architects, urban planners, elected officials, educators, business leaders, government technocrats, insurers, environmentalists, White House officials, not to mention the consul generals from France, German, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
They lined a hallway of the Miami Beach Convention Center with exhibits related to global warming and rising sea levels. They conferred about complex engineering solutions that might stave off the encroaching waters in low, flat and vulnerable South Florida.
They talked about architectural concepts that might lessen the coming catastrophe. They talked about embracing alternatives to the fossil fuels that got us into this mess. (I saw an attendee, someone from a non-profit, carrying a computer bag equipped with a solar panel.)
None of the participants at the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit last week skulked around as if they were conspirators in some giant fraud on the American people.
But for all the respect the climate summit attendees get from the governor and a majority of Florida's legislature and congressional delegation, they might as well been dressed up as superheros at a Marvel Comics convention.
This was the sixth annual regional climate leadership summit. John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, told the South Floridians that they had become "a model for what we need to see going on around the country." Yet Gov. Rick Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio and most of the state Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee and Washington regard the summit's underlying premise as fiction. As if the 650 civic leaders at last week's summit were essentially a gang of liars.
"I don't agree with the notion that some are putting out there, including scientists, that somehow, there are actions we can take today that would actually have an impact on what's happening in our climate," Rubio told ABC News earlier this year. Though lately Rubio and Scott, when asked about climate change, have disguised their denier status with variations of a non-answer: "I am not a scientist."
"We've heard these kinds of 'the sky is falling' stories," U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen told reporters after the White House released dire National Climate Assessment. Except, of course, as the folks gathered at the convention center might have told her, it's not the sky falling but the sea rising, with study after study warning that her own South Florida constituents were especially vulnerable.
Ros-Lehtinen, of course, didn't attend the summit. Rubio didn't attend. Scott didn't attend. Else their do-nothing approach to global warming would have been juxtaposed against the sense of urgency conveyed by mayors and city and county commissioners at the gathering.
"We're like first responders," said Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, who told me that local elected leaders didn't have the luxury of applying political considerations to the climate change emergency.
South Florida's local government officials came to the climate summit to talk about the region's basic plumbing. About the gravity-based drainage canals and sewers that will flow inland with only a few more inches of sea level rise. About the streets that already flood after heavy downpours in Miami Beach, Sweetwater and Hollywood and other low-lying cities. Maps hanging in conference rooms showed in stark detail just what neighborhoods will be inundated.
As the talk turned to soil density and ocean hydraulics, it was apparent that the civic leaders at the gathering were not there to recite national party talking points. Nor were they worried about how to negotiate the next election without angering the Tea Party.
No one at the summit repeated the weary deniers' line that the overwhelming percentage of climate scientists who conclude that global warming is both real and attributable to human activity are just so many mendacious actors, ginning up dishonest research just to grab grant money.
Harold R. Wanless, chairman of the University of Miami Department of Geological Sciences and chairman of the Miami-Dade Climate Change Advisory Task Force, laughed at the notion that warning folks about climate change -- and getting lambasted by conservative politicians for their trouble -- was a lucrative pursuit. "I pay my own way to most speaking engagements. I don't get paid to speak. I do it for the same reason most scientists do it. Because we clearly see a horrible situation. We're just trying to awaken people."
The real money, he said, was in climate change denial. The fossil fuel industry has the big bucks -- much more than academia -- and funds pseudo-science outfits like the Heartland Institute to generate doubt and skepticism about global warming.
Wanless noted that he paid his own way when he accompanied four fellow Florida scientists to Tallahassee in August to meet with the governor in a futile attempt to convince him that Florida faced a climate change catastrophe. Scott gave them 30 minutes. The governor asked no questions about the actual science they outlined.
Last month, some 42 scientists from six state universities, the University of Miami and Eckerd College sent Scott a letter reminding him that this year's National Climate Assessment warned that Florida was "exceptionally vulnerable" to sea level rise, extreme weather and a loss of fresh water. "It is crucial for policymakers to understand that human activity is affecting the composition of the atmosphere," the scientists wrote. "There is a clear need to develop a state plan to both mitigate and adapt to the threats to Florida's communities, businesses, tourism industry and protect the state's economic well-being."
They invited Scott and other state political leaders to a Climate Science and Solutions Summit to be held Monday at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. It will be another gathering of scientists, engineers, business leaders, local government officials -- folks whose climate change concerns transcend the next election.
Scott and the state's Republican leadership aren't expected to show. Of course not. They've got to pretend the educators and civic leaders worried about climate change are deluded liars. They got politics to worry about.

141004-b
White House science advisor calls climate-change coalition, which includes the Keys, a national model
Miami Herald – by Jenny Staletovich
October 4, 2014 
Days before a seasonal high tide is expected to soak the Keys, the White House's chief science adviser visited Miami Beach Wednesday to praise regional leaders, including some from the Keys, for their work addressing future needs based on climate change.
"What's going on ... here is really a model for what we need to see going on around the country," John Holdren told an audience of about 650 at the sixth annual Southeast Florida Climate Leadership Summit at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
Holdren, who last month landed on "The Daily Show" after skirmishing with the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology over polar ice melt, got a decidedly warmer welcome at the gathering that drew a wide audience from government, private industry and nonprofits.
The summit, which started Wednesday and ended Friday, is part of a compact forged five years ago by Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties to focus on how to regionally deal with climate change, most notable sea-level rise. The two-day event featured about a dozen panels on public policy and planning.
In his address, Holdren ran down a laundry list of climate-related risks from rising temperatures to worsening storms. Sitting just feet above sea level, South Florida is particularly vulnerable to both flooding and saltwater tainting water supplies.
Because porous limestone lies under Florida, controlling water can be tricky, Tommy Strowd, director of operations for the Lake Worth Drainage District and a former deputy director at the South Florida Water Management District, told the group. The system of canals and flood control structures built a half century ago to drain the Everglades that covered much of South Florida only made matters worse.
To address threats, the White House has taken a number of steps, from setting carbon limits on power plants to committing $1 billion to Everglades restoration, said policy adviser Mike Boots, who chairs the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In March, the administration also released federal data hoping to encourage scientists and private industry to come up with solutions.
"We do not have the luxury of time on this issue, so we need you... to keep acting boldly," he told the group.
Holdren said afterward he considers South Florida a leader on the issue because it is one of the few regions that has formed a compact.
"Not that South Florida is the only place, but it's really a great collaboration," he said. "We've made a lot of progress, but we have a lot more to do."
As for those seasonal tides, the highest of the high tides will soak Florida Keys shorelines on Oct. 8 and 9.
Earth, moon and sun increase gravitational pull and cause the ocean to "bulge."
Due to the porous nature of Keys bedrock, even some normally dry inland areas may see water percolating up during king tide. King tides are expected to raise local waters twice daily:
-- Key Largo (Rock Harbor) at 9:26 a.m. and 9:42 p.m. Oct. 8; and 10:15 a.m. and 10:29 p.m. Oct. 9.
-- Marathon at 10:30 a.m. and 10:20 p.m. Oct. 8; and 11:17 a.m. and 10:58 p.m. Oct. 9.
-- Key West at 10:40 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. Oct. 8; and 11:27 a.m. and 11:08 pm. Oct. 9.

141004-c
Will U.S. Sugar turn Clewiston and Moore Haven into Ghost Towns ?
SWFlorida.Blogspot.ca – by Don Browne, Editor
October 4, 2014
Communities Say "No" To Giant U.S. Sugar Land Plan
FORT MYERS, FL. -- Two coastal communities held simultaneous protests this week to demand Florida Department of Environmental Protection reject U.S. Sugar's "sector plan" Sugar Hill, a proposal which community groups say could result in a gigantic city built in the Everglades, and turn Hendry and Glades county's largest cities, Clewiston and Moore Haven, into ghost towns.
Environmentalists, community activists, elected officials, chamber of commerce officials, Realtors and business owners called upon Governor Rick Scott and his agencies to reject the development and buy US Sugar's land, protesting at FDEP offices in Ft. Myers and simultaneously in Ft. Pierce.
U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brother's "Sugar Hill" would create zoning for a massive, sprawling city between the Everglades and its water source, Lake Okeechobee. The 67-square-mile project would bring the possibility of 18,000 new residential units and 25 million square feet of commercial, industrial, office and retail buildings directly into the Everglades Agricultural Area.
The Sierra Club says Hendry County already has two recently-approved sector plans and can build its economy without involving the lands optioned in the U.S. Sugar Land Acquisition contract and the Sugar Hill Sector Plan would draw infrastructure spending away from the established cities of Clewiston and Moore Haven to speculative warehouses, strip malls and suburban housing on U.S. Sugar Corp’s land.
The Sierra Club said this will end up for Hendry County residents "subsidizing U.S. Sugar’s sprawling city and turn the Clewiston and Moore Haven into ghost towns," while approval of the Sugar Hill Sector Plan "guarantees no economic development. It is a speculative, 50 year plan, which simply gives the landowner 'options' over that lengthy timeframe."
Speakers at the protests warned that the massive city planned south of Lake Okeechobee could sabotage efforts to protect the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries and to restore the Everglades. It would ensure continued environmental and financial devastation for coastal communities as water from the Lake continues to be released east and west during the rainy season instead of being sent south the Everglades.
 “The proposed Sugar Hill Sector Plan would impact the State’s ability and contract right to purchase these lands to be used for moving water south from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades and stopping the destructive discharges to the coastal estuaries,” said Mark Perry, Executive Director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart.
The South Florida Water Management District has an option to buy 48,600 acres of U.S. Sugar land by October 2015. Over 13,000 acres of that land falls within the Sugar Hill city plan. 
Sewall's Point (in Stewart, Fl) Commissioner Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch pointed out the importance of maintaining options for sending water south: "There are many ways of sending the water south. We need to reserve all of these lands for trading and conservation in the future -- and for the kids."
Mark Anderson, Ft. Myers business and property owner, and representative of the Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce, said: “Endless studies have confirmed the importance of restoring the connection from Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades to create a southward flow of water between the two. The studies are conclusive: it is now action that is needed to acquire the land needed for restoration and not development.”
Speaking on behalf of the Martin County Conservation Alliance, Maggy Hurchalla, five-term Martin County Commissioner and member of the Everglades Hall of Fame, said, “If [Sugar Hill] is approved, then we are saying as a state that this is what we want to happen. We are committing local, state, and national resources to making it happen. We can't commit to restoring the Everglades and destroying the Everglades at the same time. We need the state to tell the world that Florida's choice will be restoring the Everglades."
"The Florida Department of Environmental Protection should formally advise the Department of Economic Opportunity to reject the Sector Plan because of its adverse effect on the Florida Everglades and the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, and the flood control, water supply and economic functions they provide to nearly 8 million Floridians,” said Julia Hathaway, organizer for the Sierra Club in West Palm Beach.
Dave Kirwan, Board Member of Reef Relief and a Cape Coral resident stated: “The Sugar Hill Sector Plan is a very bad idea for water quality and the environment of South Florida. Everglades restoration and improving the water quality of Florida Bay is critical to protecting and preserving Florida’s Barrier Reef; the only living coral reef in North America and the third largest in the World.”
A statement by Paton White, President of the Audubon Society of the Everglades said: “Clearly, the fast-tracking of such an ambitious and unprecedented development plan needs to slow down. We call on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the South Florida Water Management District to strongly oppose this short-sighted and inadequately researched plan when they make their comments this week to the Department of Economic Opportunity.”
Organizations involved in Ft. Myers and Ft. Pierce included: Sierra Club, Indian River Keeper, Sanibel Captiva Chamber of Commerce, Rivers Coalition, Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, Reef Relief, Treasure Coast Progressive Alliance, Martin County Chapter of the Native Plant Society, River Kidz, Responsible Growth Management Coalition, Inc., and Audubon Society of the Everglades.
Sugar Hill MYTH vs. FACT sheet - Sierra Club

141003-a
Should voters OK Amendment 1 ?:  Front Burner
Orlando Sentinel
October 3, 2014
Should Florida's constitution set a minimum level of spending each year for water and land conservation? That's a question voters will settle by approving or rejecting Amendment 1.
Almost 1 million Florida voters signed petitions to secure a spot for the amendment on this year's ballot. If approved, it would earmark 33 percent of the net revenue from documentary-stamp taxes, which are primarily imposed on real-estate transactions, for spending on conservation for the next 20 years.
Currently, state legislators have the discretion to decide how much Florida will spend on conservation each year when they pass a state budget. In recent years, they've invested fewer state funds in land purchases and other environmental projects; that drop spurred advocates to seek a guarantee for conservation spending in the constitution.
Amendment supporters, including one of today's Front Burner columnists, argue it's essential to ensure that Florida continues to invest in protecting and preserving its water and other natural resources.
Comments
Absolutely! It is up to the citizens of the state to protect our environment via constitutional amendment from the moneyed interests in Tallahassee who are selling everything off to the highest bidder.
Amendment opponents, including today's other columnist, counter that legislators' spending decisions shouldn't be dictated in the constitution, and a guarantee in one category could shortchange other important needs.
By the numbers
•$77 billion: Florida's 2014-15 budget.
•$648 million: estimated funding for conservation that would be generated by Amendment 1 in 2015-16.
•$1.2 billion: estimated funding for conservation in 2034-35, Amendment 1's final year.
Read more about it
•The website for the coalition supporting Amendment 1 is at VoteYesOn1FL.org.
•Information from the Coalition for Property Rights on Amendment 1 and other issues is at proprights.com.
•A summary from the Florida League of Women Voters on Amendment 1 is at

141003-b
Is it surprising that opponents of Amendment 1 are hard to find ?
Orlando Sentinel – by Eric Draper, Executive Director of Audubon Florida
October 3, 2014
Nearly 1 million people signed petitions to place the Water and Land Conservation Amendment on Florida's Nov. 4 ballot. The Florida Supreme Court approved its wording, and the state's fiscal impact review concluded that the amendment would not cut spending for other programs and merely allocates one-third of an existing tax that is already used to fund water and land protection. So what's the rub?
Most people agree that Florida should invest in keeping water supplies clean and available. Some people don't think the state should provide parks, beaches and places to hunt and fish. A few people are not sure about Everglades restoration. That may be why opposition has been muted.
During the economic debacle of 2008-through today, Florida legislators wisely spent revenue from documentary stamps on necessary items, like transportation and health care. Land purchases are not crucial during an economic recession. 1/3 of the state of Florida is already under gov't...
So what is it about Amendment 1 that bothers opponents enough to object? Those hostile to the amendment claim allocating state funds to protect water and land does not belong in Florida's constitution. Yet state spending for schools and approval for how certain taxes are spent are found in the constitution. And the constitution is where voters gave approval for funding our existing system of water management.
Some legislators don't like Amendment 1 because it will limit their ability to divert water and land protection funds to other purposes. That opposition is understandable because that is the goal of Amendment 1.
Florida's voters want money spent to protect water and land, restore the Everglades and maintain our beaches. For much of the past five years, water and land protection has not been a priority in Tallahassee. Right now — when we are seeing rivers and springs turn green with algae, when water supplies are stretched to the limit, when demand for beaches is at an all-time high — is the time to make a commitment to solve these problems.
How does Amendment 1 protect water and land, and why is this important?
The Water and Land Conservation Amendment, according to its ballot summary, dedicates one-third of the existing excise tax on documents for 20 years to "acquire, restore, improve, and manage conservation lands including wetlands and forests; fish and wildlife habitat; lands protecting water resources and drinking water sources, including the Everglades, and the water quality of rivers, lakes, and streams; beaches and shores; outdoor recreational lands; working farms and ranches; and historic or geologic sites."
Protecting water resources requires protection and restoration of the land where rainfall recharges aquifers and flood plains. Conserving land to protect water supplies is far cheaper than getting new water. The Everglades provides the best example. The source of drinking water for more than 5 million residents and tens of millions of visitors, the Everglades must be restored to guarantee clean, fresh water.
Even ranches and timberlands help to protect water. Large undeveloped areas allow water to recharge the aquifer and wetlands. That is why funds from the amendment will be used to keep ranches and forests from being converted to housing developments.
Water-resource protection is important, but clean water is only one of the benefits of Amendment 1. As the state grows, residents need access to Florida's beaches and waterfronts. Of late, the Legislature has been stingy with funds for public parks and recreation areas. Amendment 1 will help guarantee that our children and families can get outdoors and enjoy Florida's natural beauty. Amendment 1 will also fund restoration of public beaches damaged by erosion.
Opponents of Amendment 1 may argue that water and land conservation do not belong in Florida's constitution. But they cannot guarantee — and some don't even support — legislative funding for water-resource protection, Everglades restoration, parks and beaches. Amendment 1 is the guarantee — a 20-year guarantee of existing revenues without impacting other state spending.
Related:           Paula Dockery: Vote 'yes' on Amendment 1  Florida Today

141002-b
Offer: $10M to rid Everglades of excess nutrients
News-Press.com – by Chad Gillis
October 2, 2014
Dust off that eighth-grade science project. It could be worth $10 million.
All you have to do is solve one of the most formidable environmental challenges in the world: create a technology that removes phosphorus from South Florida waterways, use it to remove those pollutants from the Everglades and recycle the phosphorus into phosphate.
The Everglades Foundation is offering $10 million to anyone who can figure out how to clean up south Florida waterways as part of what it calls The Grand Challenge. The project will formally launch in February, and Everglades Foundation representatives say they expect the prize will be claimed by 2022.
Excess nutrients have plagued South Florida waters for decades. Sources of the pollution include cattle and crop farming operations, septic tanks and heavy stormwater runoff. From cattle and farm fields south of Orlando, to sugar fields south of Lake Okeechobee, to septic tanks in Cape Coral and San Carlos Park, the Southwest Florida coast is an end destination for myriad of nutrient sources.
Those nutrients can and do feed algal blooms in fresh and saltwater systems. Water quality scientists say those nutrients can also make red tide outbreaks stronger as well as longer.
The Everglades Foundation can be reached at: (305) 251-001, or info@evergladesfoundation.org.
Buggy trails closed in Big Cypress
The National Park Service and several environmental groups reached a settlement recently that closes nearly 150 miles of secondary trails in the Big Cypress National Preserve until an environmental assessment of swamp buggy impacts can be assessed.
Representatives for the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement they expect the 146 miles of trails will remain closed in perpetuity. Big Cypress adopted an off-road recreational vehicle, or ORV, plan in 2000. Environmental groups say the trail system has been expanded since, and that some swamp buggy users are still creating new trails.
Earlier this year the National Park Service started a back-country access plan targeting at balancing various human uses (hunting, hiking, camping, wildlife viewing) with the need to protect panthers and other native species.
Big Cypress officials they expect the access plan to be completed in 2016.
Sunflower festival coming to Collier
Ever wanted to take a stroll through a field of sunflowers in early fall? Now is your chance as the Pepper Ranch Preserve Sunflower Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Immokalee.
Hayrides cost $1, and ranch hands will take a small group on a tour of the preserve’s vast sunflower fields. There will also be guided hikes, music, ranch-style food vendors and educational presentations.
The Pepper Ranch Preserve is at the end of Pepper Road, which runs off Lake Trafford Road. Info: 252-2961.

141001-a
Activists turn out to protest Big Sugar
News-Press.com – by Kevin Lollar
October 1, 2014
Twelve environmentalists rallied Wednesday at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection office in Fort Myers to ask the agency to reject the sugar industry’s plan for a massive development in eastern Hendry County.
Under the Sugar Hill Sector Plan, U.S. Sugar and Hilliard Brothers would create a 67-square-mile city between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades; the development would include 18,000 residential units and 25 million square feet of commercial, industrial, office and retail buildings.
Among the concerns was that the development would hurt efforts to protect the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.
“If you live along the coast or along the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, you know the impacts of lake releases; you can’t get away from it,” said Chris Costello, a Sierra Club spokeswoman. “The solution is clear. For decades, we’ve known we have to send the water from the lake south.”
After large rain events, water managers release huge amounts of nutrient-laden fresh water from Lake Okeechobee down the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers; the nutrients cause massive micro- and macroalgal blooms that can kill fish and seagrass as well as fouling beaches.
Sending water south through filter marshes would clean the water and help the Everglades.
But environmentalists say the Sugar Hill development would preclude sending water south.
Another issue is that the South Florida Water Management District was slated to buy as many as 187,000 acres from U.S. Sugar, including much of the Sugar Hill land, for Everglades restoration.
So far, the district has bought 26,800 acres with the option to buy the rest when economic conditions improve.
Hendry County Commissioner Karson Turner defended the Sugar Hill plan.
“There are no lands in the project that are identified for Everglades restoration now or in the foreseeable future,” he said in a phone interview. “We’re taking this plan to engage in smart growth. When you look at the plan, you’ll see the establishment of infrastructure, green space, long-term agriculture, etc., etc.
“We’re not just scraping virgin land and saying, ‘Here you go.’ This isn’t even virgin land. It’s been in production for generations.”
Cape Coral resident Dave Kirwan, vice president of the non-profit advocacy group Reef Relief, said nutrient-rich water from the lake is hurting not only the Everglades but Florida Bay and the Keys reef tract.
“I don’t want my children to write the obituary for the Everglades,” he said. “But that’s a distinct possibility if we don’t clean the water.”
In August, the Hendry County commission approved the Sugar Hill plan, which then went to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, where it is being considered with input from the DEP and the water district.
Friday is the deadline for the water district and DEP to submit their comments.
“If that area west of the lake is changed drastically with impervious surfaces, flooding and stormwater concerns will become magnified,” said Rae Ann Wessel, natural resources policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. “We’re asking the state to be diligent in its evaluation of these critical resources and make sure they have economic diversity in the inland communities and also maintain water quality in the estuaries.”
A DEP spokeswoman referred The News-Press to the Department of Economic Opportunity, but the DEO didn’t respond to a written request for a comment.
“District staff is preparing comments to be sent to the DEO,” water district spokesman Randy Smith said. “By statute, comments the district is providing are based solely on water supply and flood control.”

Interview with
Karen Scanlon,
CTIC

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Everglades Ag conservation in action preview
AgWired.com – by Cindy Zimmerman
October 1, 2014
If you have ever wanted to see the Florida Everglades up close and personal – here is your chance.
The Conservation Technology and Information Center’s 2014 Conservation in Action Tour is exploring the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) October 14-15 to hear the tale of farmers working with the entire ecosystem in mind.
CTIC executive director Karen Scanlon says the tour will showcase innovative ideas and emerging technologies in conservation by farmers who grow very different crops than in the Midwest. “We’re going to be visiting vegetable farms and sugarcane, as well as rice growing regions,” said Scanlon. “It’s a very important region for agriculture and the conservation practices they’re working on.”
Scanlon says the region had a regulatory goal of reducing phosphorus by 25%. “And in the years farmers have been working on this best management practice program, they’ve achieved an average of 54% reduction, so they’re far surpassing the goal that was set for them,” she said.
Listen to more of what the tour has to offer in the audio of the interview.
Farmers, agricultural retailers, members of agricultural and conservation organizations, government agency representatives, legislators, researchers, members of the media and anyone who wants to learn more about conservation in the Everglades is welcome to attend.
Registration information is available here.

See the lake level
and rainfall runoff
amounts -
Updated daily

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High water, rainy forecast could prompt Lake Okeechobee discharges
TCPalm.com – by Tyler Treadway
October 1, 2014
The Army Corps of Engineers will make a decision between now and Friday on whether to start discharging Lake Okeechobee water to the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon.
So far, the river and lagoon have been lucky. A dry start to the South Florida rainy season has kept the corps from discharging water from the lake.
But current conditions and weather forecasts “do not portend well” for the near future, said corps spokesman John Campbell.
The problem is too much rain late in the wet season.
The corps tries to keep the lake elevation between 12 feet 6 inches and 15 feet 6 inches. As of Wednesday morning, the lake was at 15 feet 3 5/8 inches, less than 3 inches from the preferred upper limit.
The lake, which has been lower than normal most of the summer, has been rising quickly recently. It gained an inch on each of the last two days.
Campbell said much more water is flowing into the lake than can be released out of it.
The corps had been sending excess lake water west into the C-43 Canal and Caloosahatchee River, but now there’s too much local rainfall runoff in that canal system. More than 3.5 billion gallons of water a day flowed through the Franklin Lock and Dam on the Caloosahatchee on Tuesday — none of it from Lake O.
They can’t send much water south because stormwater treatment areas and water conservation areas south of the lake are full.
“We’ve been sending a lot of water south throughout the summer,” Campbell said, “but there’s no capacity there anymore.”
Also, short- and mid-range weather forecasts call for a lot of rain.
On the other hand, the middle of October typically marks the end of rainy season.
“We have to set a balance of keeping as much water in the lake for the dry season ahead and having room to take on late-season rains if they come,” Campbell said. “It’s tricky stuff.”
Since June 12, more than 27.5 billion gallons of water has flowed into the St. Lucie River through the St. Lucie Lock and Dam. Put all that water on top of the city of Stuart, and it would be 15 and a half feet deep.
But none of that water is from Lake Okeechobee; it’s all local rainwater runoff from the farmland on both sides of the C-44 Canal, which connects the lake and the St. Lucie River.
In 2013, more than 136.1 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water poured into the river and lagoon. (That’s enough to put Stuart under nearly 77 feet of water.) The influx of fresh water dropped salinity in the estuaries, killing oysters and sea grass. Contaminants in the water such as nitrogen and phosphorus spurred algae blooms, some of them toxic.
Related:                       Threat of Lake Okeechobee discharges rising            WPBF West Palm Beach

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South Florida leaders discuss climate change plans
News4jax.com
October 1, 2014
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - South Florida community leaders are meeting in Miami Beach to discuss regional plans for adapting to climate change.
Federal climate policy initiatives will be discussed Wednesday at the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit. On Thursday, officials will discuss investment risks and business strategies for adapting to climate change.
A compact reached by the Florida Keys and Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties in 2010 calls for revamped planning policies, more public transportation options, stopping seawater from flowing into freshwater supplies and managing the region's unique ecosystems. The counties have projected a sea level rise of 9 to 24 inches in the next 50 years.
Miami Beach already experiences extreme high tides, and the city is installing new storm water pumps to keep rising sea levels from swamping low-lying streets.
Related:           South Florida, Keys community leaders discuss regional plans for ...           The Tribune

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State wins $1 million conservation grant
Highlands Today – by John Buchanan
October 1, 2014
Central Florida’s Agri-Leader Published: October 1, 2014 Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has been awarded a $1 million conservation innovation grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant money, announced Sept. 15, will be used to help individual farmers and ranchers become more efficient in their use of energy. FDACS was one of 47 public and private entities around the U.S. that will receive funding. Conservation innovation grants, funded by Environmental Quality Incentive Program money derived from the federal farm bill, are intended to stimulate the development and adoption of innovative energy conservation practices. “These grants promote creativity and problem-solving efforts that benefit farmers and ranchers and protect our natural resources,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in announcing the recipients. “They’re critical in sparking new ideas and techniques for conservation on America’s private lands and improving the environment.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service division of USDA has offered and administered these grants since 2004. However, this was the first time FDACS applied for one, said Kelley Burk, deputy director of FDACS’s office of energy. “Our reason for applying was that we want to be able to fund energy efficiency and renewable energy demonstration projects in the agricultural industry,” Burk said. “Those are underserved areas and we haven’t really entered into energy efficiency and renewable energy to the extent we would like to. Our intent is to help our farmers and ranchers be more energy efficient and also to learn to use different sources of energy.” The ultimate goal, Burk said, is a greener footprint for the state’s agricultural industry. Once FDACS has executed a formal contract with USDA for the funding, it will work with partners, including Florida Farm Bureau, the National Association of State Energy Officials, and FDACS’s Office of Agricultural Water Policy to create a formal process for accepting applications from and awarding grants to individual farmers and ranchers. Innovative water conservation efforts will be a key part of the Florida program, Burk said, because such efforts have been a key focus of state agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam. Once a list of recommended agriculture energy efficiency practices is developed, FDACS will visit farms and ranches interested in receiving help to do individual evaluations of their energy efficiency. “After we do the evaluation, we’ll provide the farm with a list of the things they could do to can help them become more energy efficient in their farming practices,” Burk said. “Then from there, they will be able to apply through us for a grant to help fund the particular technologies they intend to apply.” In addition to the new $1 million grant from USDA, FDACS also has available another $2 million in unused Farm to Fuel funds for the last two years. “We decided to combine the two in order to have a bigger pot of money for individual grants to farmers so we can reach as many as we can,” Burk said. The new Florida program will be sustained for three years. Jessica Bertine, agricultural economist in the Gainesville-based Florida office of NRCS, noted that the new program increased USDA’s focus on energy efficiency. “It is a national thrust to improve energy efficiency,” said Bertine, who was a member of the national team that developed the initiative. “And these new grants are a part of that. We want to farmers and ranchers to adopt more energy efficient practices in their operations.” Current examples of best practices in energy efficiency for farmers and ranchers include variable speed drives for irrigation systems, which make them more efficient in their use of energy, as well as conservation crop rotation and conservation tillage practices. Other innovative practices include milk plate coolers for dairy farmers and more efficient lighting in boiler operations at chicken farms. The reason the new program is so important, Bertine said, is that “it helps us get the word out better through our relationships with agencies such as Florida Department of Agriculture. They can reach out statewide. And once one farmer starts talking about these things and then another farmer starts talking about them, that will make it easier to bring people into the program. And all that helps farmers and ranchers learn to become more efficient, especially in those times when prices for their products might not be as good as they could be.” For more information on the new program, contact one of USDA’s local service centers, found in all of Florida’s 67 counties.

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Voting Guide: Amendment 1
The Bradenton Times - by Staff Report
October 1, 2014
Amendment 1, "The Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative," will be on the November 4 ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment. If approved, the measure would dedicate 33 percent of net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents to the Land Acquisition Trust Fund.
The Land Trust Acquisition Fund (LATF) was created by the Florida Legislature in 1963. The LATF was designed to fund the Outdoor Recreation and Conservation Program, which would primarily purchase land for parks and recreation areas. Originally, the legislature allocated revenue from a 5 percent tax on outdoor clothing and equipment, including bathing suits.
In 1968, the legislature abandoned the tax and funded the LATF through the sale of recreation bonds. These bonds were paid for by a doc stamp tax on real estate transactions and financial documents. Since 2009, however, appropriations for the fund have been slashed. The initiative is an attempt to provide a new revenue source for the LATF.
This amendment does not increase or decrease state revenues, it simply earmarks existing fund sources, estimated to be $648 million in Fiscal Year 2015-16 and growing to $1.268 billion by the 20th year. That money goes to the fund, then any additional state expenditures would require separate legislative actions. No additional local government costs are expected.
If passed, the LATF would be expended to acquire and improve conservation easements, wildlife management areas, wetlands, forests, fish and wildlife habitats, beaches and shores, recreational trails and parks, urban open space, rural landscapes, working farms and ranches, historical and geological sites, lands protecting water and drinking water resources and lands in the Everglades Agricultural Areas and the Everglades Protection Area. The fund’s stated goal would be to manage and restore natural systems and to enhance public access and recreational use of conservation lands.
The official ballot summary reads:
"Funds the Land Acquisition Trust Fund to acquire, restore, improve, and manage conservation lands including wetlands and forests; fish and wildlife habitat; lands protecting water resources and drinking water sources, including the Everglades, and the water quality of rivers, lakes, and streams; beaches and shores; outdoor recreational lands; working farms and ranches; and historic or geologic sites, by dedicating 33 percent of net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents for 20 years.
Amendment 1 would add a Section 28 to Article X of the Florida Constitution:
SECTION 28. Land Acquisition Trust Fund. --
a) Effective on July 1 of the year following passage of this amendment by the voters, and for a period of 20 years after that effective date, the Land Acquisition Trust Fund shall receive no less than 33 percent of net revenues derived from the existing excise tax on documents, as defined in the statutes in effect on January 1, 2012, as amended from time to time, or any successor or replacement tax, after the Department of Revenue first deducts a service charge to pay the costs of the collection and enforcement of the excise tax on documents.
b) Funds in the Land Acquisition Trust Fund shall be expended only for the following purposes:
1) As provided by law, to finance or refinance: the acquisition and improvement of land, water areas, and related property interests, including conservation easements, and resources for conservation lands including wetlands, forests, and fish and wildlife habitat; wildlife management areas; lands that protect water resources and drinking water sources, including lands protecting the water quality and quantity of rivers, lakes, streams, springsheds, and lands providing recharge for groundwater and aquifer systems; lands in the Everglades Agricultural Area and the Everglades Protection Area, as defined in Article II, Section 7(b); beaches and shores; outdoor recreation lands, including recreational trails, parks, and urban open space; rural landscapes; working farms and ranches; historic or geologic sites; together with management, restoration of natural systems, and the enhancement of public access or recreational enjoyment of conservation lands.
2) To pay the debt service on bonds issued pursuant to Article VII, Section 11(e).
c) The moneys deposited into the Land Acquisition Trust Fund, as defined by the statutes in effect on January 1, 2012, shall not be or become commingled with the General Revenue Fund of the state.

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