Eco-Voice Digest - News and Views for Sept. 6th
Labor Day
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Top Stories:
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OUR MISSION
To conserve, restore, and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, woods, waters, and wildlife.
IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE MEMBER PLEDGE
To strive for the purity of water, the clarity of air, and the wise stewardship of the land and its resources; to know the beauty and understanding of nature and the value of wildlife, woodlands, and open space; to the preservation of this heritage and to man's sharing in it.
The Izaak Walton League is one of America’s oldest and most successful conservation organizations – and we are the only organization training, equipping, and coordinating volunteer water quality monitors on a national scale. These volunteers are the heart and soul of our common-sense conservation mission. Through member-driven bottom-up governance, the Izaak Walton League is protecting outdoor America in communities across the country, while working strategically at the national level to win critical conservation battles.
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Moderator Note:
Trying a new format:
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HAPPENINGS
Legislative Delegation Meetings
Thursday Sept 9, 2021
Hendry County 9:00AM-11:00AM
LaBelle City Hall, 481 West Hickpochee, Ave, LaBelle, FL. 33935
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Martin County 9:00AM-12:00PM
Indian River State College, Chastain Campus, Wolf Technology Center, 2400 SE Salerno Road, Stuart, FL, 34997
SFWMD Governing Board Meeting
When: September 9, 2021
Caloosahatchee Reservoir Water Quality Component Meeting
When: September 13, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
WRAC/REC Recreation Forum
When: September 13, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association
WMAs 2021-2022 Hunting Seasons, J
Update Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands
SFWMD Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) Program
STA Waterfowl & Alligator 2021-2022
Public Use Project Updates - A-1 FEB Public Access Change • CEPP South Project • Lake Hicpochee Phase 2 • C-44 Project • Temporary access closures
JANUARY 6-8, 2022
HAWKS CAY RESORT IN DUCK KEY, FL
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South Florida Real-Time Data
To view the units of measurement and abbreviations see the User Guide.
Click here to view the Hydrologic and Meteorologic Monitoring locations maps.
“Real-time” data is for the public's general informational purposes only and is considered provisional until it undergoes the South Florida Water Management District's Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) process and subsequently posted on DBHYDRO as "Archived." The District, therefore, makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to web-based real-time data for any purpose. Any reliance you place on the real-time data is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Information posted on these pages represents data provided through the DISTRICT's telemetry and remote sensing technologies. Regional areas are grouped according to operational responsibility as well as areas of specific interest. Upstream and downstream water levels are provided for water control structures. Pump station activity is recorded by a specific pump in terms of its revolutions per minute (RPM) value. Gated structures are described as opening in feet by the specific gate. Flashboard bays are identified in terms of elevation in feet - NGVD National Geodetic Vertical Datum.
Stage information is posted for independent surface water sites in terms of feet, NGVD. Site recordings are also consolidated as State information. (i.e. "3 Pumps On@750rpm" "All Gates Closed" "Average Bay Elevation=1.5")
Coastal sites reflect water levels on the inland and coastal sides rather than in upstream, downstream terms.
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A Massive Levee System Saved New Orleans from Ida.
Can Other Towns Be Helped?
Richard Fausset, Sophie Kasakove and Christopher Flavelle for New York Times
.... As sea levels rise and a warming ocean brings more fearsome storms, the fight over hurricane protection in Southern Louisiana is only the latest example of a growing dilemma for the United States: which places to try to save, and how to decide.
Until recently, that question may have seemed like the plot of a dystopian movie, or at least a problem to leave for future generations. But as disasters become more severe, the cost of rebuilding has skyrocketed. Extreme weather has caused more than $450 billion in damage nationwide since 2005; the number of disasters causing more than $1 billion in damage reached 22 last year, a record.
The Government Accountability Office has warned those costs may be unsustainable. Yet the demand keeps increasing: When the Federal Emergency Management Agency introduced a new program to help cities and states prepare for disasters, the requests far outstripped the amount of money available.
The increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes poses another dilemma: Even if the money could be found for projects to protect places like Larose, are such efforts a good way to spend public money, especially as the need for climate resilience around the country is growing and coastlines disappear further every year?
“A lot of these places aren’t going to be around that much longer,” said Jesse Keenan, a professor at Tulane University who focuses on how to adapt to climate change. As worsening disasters push more people to leave those towns, he said, the number of people who stand to benefit from storm-protection systems declines, making those systems harder to justify.....
"If the grid and the flow of power were compared to a highway system, transmission lines would be the interstates, substations would be the off-ramps, and distribution lines would be the streets and roads that lead to homes and businesses."
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- Largest Restoration Initiative of its Kind
- Complete After Nearly 30 Years
After decades of construction, the Kissimmee River Restoration Project has restored 40 miles of river and floodplain and returned almost 25,000 acres to wetlands.
Audubon has been advocating for the restoration of the Kissimmee River since channelization construction began. We supported the restoration when Congress authorized the project in 1992, and advocated for water reservation until eventual approval in 2020. Through it all, we have been a voice for birds and wildlife that have benefited from the newly restored river, as well as vocal proponents of how the natural channel will benefit flood control and water quality for surrounding communities.
Click here to read our full article on the July 29 celebration of the project’s completion, and click here to view the multi-media presentation. Restored Kissimmee River.
Photo: SFWMD.Audubon
Florida Supports New Lake Okeechobee Water Management Plan - With ModificationsThe Army Corps of Engineers has chosen the new Lake Okeechobee water management plan, called a System Operating Manual (LOSOM), to improve the health and resilience of Lake Okeechobee, the estuaries to the east and west, the Everglades, and urban and agricultural water supply.
The Corps currently uses the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule, established in 2008, to manage lake levels between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet.
After several years of public meetings and schedule development, the Corps recently released six possible water management alternatives, ultimately choosing one called “CC.”
Audubon Florida and other environmental nonprofit organizations are proponents of alternative CC, with some modifications. An ideal plan CC would maximize water flows south into the Everglades to improve the health of the River of Grass, while reducing the harmful releases to the east and west that also contribute to summer algal blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.
Still, Audubon Florida has suggested modifications to CC to improve its ecological performance
Read our full statement here.
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215 American Agriculture, Conservation, Wildlife and Sportsmen Groups Call on Congress to Increase Agriculture Conservation in Once-In-A-Generation Reconciliation Opportunity
Broad and diverse coalition points to popular, effective and in demand Farm Bill conservation programs as a key path to giving farmers a role in tackling climate change while also benefiting rural economies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of 215 American farmer, rancher, conservation, wildlife and sportsmen and women groups today called on Congressional leaders to increase funding in the reconciliation bill for Farm Bill conservation programs. Farm Bill conservation programs give farmers resources and technical assistance that support a variety of voluntary conservation practices and help farms, wildlife and communities reduce emissions, adapt to a changing climate and boost conservation efforts. The conservation programs are vital to giving American agriculture a role in addressing climate change, supporting jobs and aiding economic recovery, all cornerstones of the “Build Back Better” reconciliation package.
“We believe farmers, ranchers, and foresters are ready to move agriculture toward net zero emissions if they are provided the tools and resources to make that goal a reality. Action this year on the climate and infrastructure bill represents the best opportunity in decades to meet farmer demand for conservation programs.” The organizations wrote in the letter.
The letter also noted that the Farm Bill conservation programs are effective and popular and, as a result, often oversubscribed. “The full suite of voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs administered by USDA enables farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to adopt practices that build soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also improving surface and ground water quality, increasing water efficiency, and creating habitat for fish and wildlife. Unfortunately, however, Farm Bill conservation programs are routinely oversubscribed. Demand for conservation on 13.8 million acres goes unmet because of inadequate funding every year.”
The President and key administration officials, including USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, have stated that American farmers are an essential part of efforts to lead the world in addressing climate change. In addition, Senate leaders, including Senate Agriculture Committee Chair, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have pointed out that this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to increase funding for conservation programs and build farm bill baseline. For more information on what Administration officials and Congress have said, background on Farm Bill conservation programs and information those who support ag conservation and climate efforts please see this fact sheet.
The full text of the letter and a list of all signers follows:
August 4, 2021
The Honorable Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader, United States Senate
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, United States House of Representatives
Dear Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi,
Thank you for your ongoing efforts to ensure that agriculture is part of the solution to climate change. As you consider the role of agriculture in the infrastructure conversations in Congress, the undersigned groups urge you to support a robust investment into USDA agriculture conservation programs and conservation technical assistance in the budget reconciliation package.
We were pleased to see that President Biden’s American Jobs Plan places a priority on “positioning the U.S. agricultural sector to lead the shift to net-zero emissions while providing new economic opportunities for farmers.” Increasing funding for USDA’s popular and effective Farm Bill conservation programs is one of the quickest and most practical ways to directly equip farmers and ranchers, energize rural economies, improve climate resilience, and ensure that agriculture is part of the solution to climate change. The full suite of voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs administered by USDA enables farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to adopt practices that build soil health, sequester carbon, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while also improving surface and ground water quality, increasing water efficiency, and creating habitat for fish and wildlife.
Unfortunately, however, Farm Bill conservation programs are routinely oversubscribed. Demand for conservation on 13.8 million acres goes unmet because of inadequate funding every year. Additionally, our current programs meet only a fraction of the need for voluntary conservation on the landscape. That’s why we are urging Congress to double the investment in Farm Bill conservation programs and to ramp up conservation technical assistance funding in a corresponding manner. As funds for conservation programs increase, it is vital for conservation technical assistance to keep pace. This assistance is essential for the delivery of conservation funding and provides on the ground support for farmers, ranchers, and forest owners as they adopt conservation practices on their lands.
Increasing baseline funding for the Farm Bill conservation programs and ramping up conservation technical assistance on the ground will enable landowners to mitigate the impacts of drought and flood, improve habitat, improve soil health and long-term food security, create new job opportunities for rural economies, and galvanize the agriculture sector to lead the charge in our fight against climate change. We believe farmers, ranchers, and foresters are ready to move agriculture toward net zero emissions if they are provided the tools and resources to make that goal a reality. Action this year on the climate and infrastructure bill represents the best opportunity in decades to meet farmer demand for conservation programs.
We look forward to working with you to build out these priorities that will energize the American economy and put Americans back to work.
Sincerely,
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The Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) is part of the legislatively adopted Florida Greenways Plan administered by the Office of Greenways and Trails (OGT) in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The FEGN guides Florida’s ecological greenway conservation efforts, and promotes public awareness of the need for a statewide ecological greenways network. It is also used as the primary data layer to inform the Florida Forever and other state and regional land acquisition programs regarding the location of the most important conservation corridors and large, intact landscapes in the state. The FEGN identifies areas of opportunity for protecting a statewide network of ecological hubs and linkages designed to maintain large landscape-scale ecological functions including critical species habitat and ecosystem services throughout the state.
FEGN Priorities 1, 2, and 3 are the most important for protecting a connected statewide network of public and private conservation lands, and in April 2021, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed legislation making FEGN P1-P3 the Florida Wildlife Corridor, and made protection of these wildlife and landscape conservation priorities a high priority as part of a strategic plan for Florida’s future. To accomplish this goal, we need robust state, federal, and local conservation land protection program including Florida Forever, Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, and Natural Resources Conservation Service easements and incentives. The Florida Conservation Group works with many partners including the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning to identify the most important conservation priority areas and advocates for the many programs needed to protect them.
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Credit: Fiscal Year 2012/2013 Annual Report, Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute.
From Piney Point to sinkhole incident, phosphate stacks repeatedly on the edge of disaster
....According to the DEP, there are now 27 phosphate mines in Florida, covering more than 450,000 acres, but of the 27, only nine are still active. As they dig, the miners “disturb” – i.e., destroy, and then later try to restore — 3,000 to 6,000 acres of the Florida landscape every year.
As they process the phosphate to turn it into fertilizer, they produce about five tons of phosphogypsum waste to every ton of fertilizer. Because the waste is somewhat radioactive, the plants pile it up into stacks. They are Florida’s mini-Rockies, higher than anything else in the otherwise flat Central Florida landscape....
....Ironically, on the same day that DEP notice went out about a torn liner at Mosaic’s Bartow facility, the DEP was holding a public information session in Polk County about Mosaic’s latest permit request. The company wants to expand that same gyp stack at the New South Wales plant....
When I asked about the permit for expanding the same gyp stack that the sinkhole had hit, she said the permit application could take five to 10 years to get a green light. But a graphic on the company’s website showed Mosaic had applied for the permit in 2019 and received a draft permit – a sort of qualified yes — from DEP four months ago. The company is now awaiting permission from Polk County and expects to begin construction “mid-year.”...
" in 1997. Heavy rains poured down and ruptured a dike at a phosphate plant owned by the company that, at the time, also owned Piney Point.
Fifty-six million gallons of acidic wastewater flowed into the Alafia River and killed everything its path for 42 miles, including more than 1 million baitfish and shellfish and 72,900 gamefish and even trees growing on the river’s banks....
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Red Tide
Karenia brevis persists on the Florida Gulf Coast.
Over the past week, K. brevis was detected in 36 samples. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in nine samples: seven from Pinellas County and two from Charlotte County. Additional details are provided below.
- In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low to high concentrations in Pinellas County, background to very low concentrations in Sarasota County, background to high concentrations in Charlotte County, and background to low concentrations in Lee County.
- In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background concentrations offshore of Levy County, background to low concentrations offshore of Hernando County, and very low and low concentrations from and offshore of Pasco County.
- Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
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This week, hosts Peter Ravella and Tyler Buckingham explore the fascinating world of Sargassum, a booming macroalgae that is creating new challenges and opportunities for existing coastal interests and future blue economy ventures. Joining the show is Brad Warren, the host of ASPN's Changing Waters podcast and president of the National Fisheries Conservation Center; and, Alyson Myers, the president of Fearless Fund, an organization dedicated to sustainable ocean-based energy and food system solutions. With Sargassum and other macroalgae (seaweed) biomass exploding, the Fearless team is working to pioneer the research and product development needed to create a market for harvesting this renewable resource. The possibilities are exciting, with products ranging from plant-based plastics, to green energy, and sequestered carbon.
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State House Redistricting Committee
Chair: Tom Leek (R-25) Vice Chair: Randy Fine (R-53) Alex Andrade (R-2) Bryan Avila (R-111) James Bush (D-109) Cord Byrd (R-11) Chuck Clemons (R-21) Brad Drake (R-5) Fentrice Driskell (D-63) Joe Geller (D-100) Joy Goff-Marcil (D-30) Erin Grall (R-54) Michael Grant (R-75) Evan Jenne (D-99) Chris Latvala (R-67) Amber Mariano (R-36) Anika Omphroy (D-95) Bobby Payne (R-19) Will Robinson (R-71) Bob Rommel (R-106) Tyler Sirois (R-51) Emily Slosberg (D-91) Geraldine Thompson (D-44) Kaylee Tuck (R-55)
State Legislative Redistricting Subcommittee
Chair: Cord Byrd (R-11) Vice Chair: Will Robinson (R-71) Kristen Arrington (D-43) Webster Barnaby (R-27) Melony Bell (R-56) Chuck Brannan (R-10) Kevin Chambliss (D-117) Dan Daley (D-97) Sam Garrison (R-18) Dianne Hart (D-61) Fred Hawkins (R-42) Patt Maney (R-4) Stan McClain (R-23) Lauren Melo (R-80) Jim Mooney (R-120) Jenna Persons-Mulicka (R-78) Michelle Salzman (R-1) John Snyder (R-82) Allison Tant (D-9) Susan Valdés (D-62) Marie Woodson (D-101)
Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee
Chair: Tyler Sirois (R-51) Vice Chair: Kaylee Tuck (R-55) Mike Beltran (R-57) Christopher Benjamin (D-107) Kamia Brown (D-45) Tom Fabricio (R-103) Elizabeth Fetterhoff (R-26) Jason Fischer (R-16) Mike Giallombardo (R-77) Joe Harding (R-22) Christine Hunschofsky (D-96) Dotie Joseph (D-108) Ralph Massullo, Jr. (R-34) Daisy Morales (D-48) Daniel Perez (R-116) Scott Plakon (R-29) David Silvers (D-87) Kelly Skidmore (D-81) Jackie Toledo (R-60) Dana Trabulsy (R-84) Jayer Williamson (R-3)
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