December  2001 

 

Everglades Village News

Daytona Beach News Environment   |   Sun-Sentinel:  Everglades Site   |   Miami Herald: Cy Zaneski   |   Commons-Everglades Discussion    |   Sun-Sentinel Everglades Discussion   |   SFWMD News Releases

SFWMD Currents weekly e-newsletter
http://www.sfwmd.gov/misce/cyber/index.html

 

  News

29-Dec-01

Seismic Surveys in Canals of Miami

Image: Dana Wiese (left) and Jack Kindinger set up
boomer acquisition system after the boat is in the water.
Photograph by Chandra Dreher.

A cooperative study on a project to conduct a high-resolution seismic- reflection survey of the area around several Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program (CERP) projects was begun on November 13 and continued on December 3. Participants include Jack Kindinger, Chandra Dreher, Dana Wiese, and Jim Flocks (St. Petersburg), Kevin Cunningham (WRD, Miami), and Cynthia Gerfvert and Steve Kupa of the South Florida Water Management District
(SFWMD). Read more...
Copyright  © 2001  Soundwaves All rights reserved.
 

Plan to Revive Everglades Brings Renewed Dispute
Environmentalists Say Draft Rules Offer No Gain
Federal officials yesterday proposed long-awaited rules to govern the $7.8 billion effort to replumb the Florida Everglades, but environmentalists immediately denounced them as a recipe for failure for the largest ecological restoration initiative in history.  The 58-page draft "programmatic regulations" released yesterday by the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency overseeing the Everglades initiative, included few of the specific requirements and assurances that conservation groups have insisted are necessary to make sure the project restores the parched South Florida ecosystem. And the Corps declined to propose any performance goals that would help the public measure progress in resurrecting the so-called River of Grass over the next three decades.  Instead, the Corps largely limited the regulations to generalities, postponing the details to less formal "protocols" to be drafted later. That was the strong desire of sugar farmers, water utilities and other thirsty Florida interest groups, as well as of Gov. Jeb Bush (R), President Bush's brother. Aides to the governor had argued that more detailed rules attempting to reserve water for the Everglades would trample on the state's right to allocate water as it sees fit, an argument the Corps cited in its documents yesterday.  
Copyright  © 2001 Washington Post  All rights reserved.

Glades renewal blueprint drawing criticism
Little help seen for River of Grass  

The Bush administration's first blueprint of how it plans to go about restoring the Everglades lays out a broad plan but contains few of the hard and fast details environmentalists had urged.

A draft of the plan, released Friday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lead federal agency in the $8 billion project, sketches a scheme to remove canals, build pumps, dig reservoirs and track impact on wildlife. But it also sets no deadlines, gives few specific goals and allows Florida wide latitude in calling the shots in the largest ecological restoration in American history.  Stu Applebaum, chief of the restoration project for the Corps, said Congress did not request timelines when it ordered the development rules.  ``Not everyone is going to like everything, and that is why we are putting the draft out there for public review,'' Applebaum said. The plan of what are called ``programmatic regulations'' will be revised after 60 days of public comment.  The initial assessments from environmental groups were not positive.  ``This just screams business as usual,'' said Shannon Estenoz, the World Wildlife Fund's Everglades director. ``They talk about states' rights. What about the rights of taxpayers to get what they're paying for: Everglades restoration?''  One glaring omission for environmentalists was any mention of perhaps the most controversial question of the project: How will the billions of new gallons of water produced from the 40-year project be divided among nature, farmers and the booming cities fringing the shrunken Everglades system?

Because no specific assurances were written into the Everglades law itself, some conservation groups had been hoping the regulations would mandate first dibs for the natural system and also adopt congressional language suggesting that 80 percent of the water be diverted to the River of Grass.  Also notably absent were biological standards for judging the success of various projects. 
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Everglades Restoration Rules Are Proposed  
The Bush administration has proposed rules for a $7.8 billion restoration of the Florida Everglades that map a broad strategy to save water but contain none of the deadlines sought by environmentalists.  The proposed rules, released today by the Army Corps of Engineers, are a blueprint for eliminating canals, building pumps, conserving water and tracking wildlife in the next three decades. The corps will offer a final version later for 60 days of public review.  No dates for completing goals were included in the preliminary version of the rules, and Florida officials would be allowed to determine how the project should be completed.  Read more
Copyright  © 2001 New York Times  All rights reserved.

26-Dec-01

Everglades groups meet about controlling restoration of marsh
Last year, the fervent advocates for the Everglades couldn't help feeling celebratory after Congress inked its approval of the giant $8.4 billion restoration of the River of Grass. Next week in Fort Lauderdale, they'll roll up their sleeves at the Everglades Coalition's 17th annual conference as they look for proof their hard-won environmental public-works project is starting off in the right direction. The theme of the coalition meeting Jan. 3-6 at the Fort Lauderdale Marina Marriott is "Fulfilling the Promise" of Everglades restoration, which is aimed at improving water flows through the ecosystem while expanding public water supplies. Though the bulk of work unfolds over the next two decades, coalition leaders are seeking evidence now that the effort will truly bring about environmental benefits and not just aid development and agriculture. "This conference really is about which way we are going to go with restoration," said Frank Jackalone, national chairman of the coalition and the Sierra Club's senior Florida representative.
Copyright Sun-Sentinel © 2001 All rights reserved.

24-Dec-01

Op-Ed
Universities need board of governors
The sunny future of Florida is clouded on two fronts -- an economy that has struggled to diversify and an education system that has lagged behind the rest of the nation. While both of these downward shifts can be reversed, to do so will require the wisdom to recognize the problems and the will to take prompt and sustained action. These two components of economy and education are intertwined as never before. Historically, Floridians have struggled to seize our piece of the nation's prosperity. As the Industrial Revolution began, Florida was a poor, geographically isolated state, lacking resources such as iron ore and coal. 
Copyright Sun-Sentinel © 2001 All rights reserved.

 

Thoemke tapped to head IC's environmental management program
When International College decided to start a new degree program in environmental management, its administrators didn't have to look far to find someone to design it. They found someone who already had connections with the college and was a renowned expert as well, said President Terry McMahan. Kris Thoemke, 50, a recognized environmental authority who worked most recently with the National Wildlife Federation, has been named program chairman of International's new environmental management program. He is developing the program from scratch, but is bringing 30 years of experience, education and accomplishments in his field. "Having Dr. Thoemke do this for us is a real coup," McMahan said.  
Copyright Naples Daily News © 2001 All rights reserved.

 

23-Dec-01

Life on Broward's far side: no Zip code, few rules
MICCOSUKEE INDIAN RESERVATION -- For decades the surge of development in Broward has pressed a question: Just how far west can and will it go? The answer is all the way out here, where the contrasts are sharp between development and its opposite. A giant cellphone tower looms over a short row of stucco-cube houses. Cattle graze the border between Indian land and federal land. The sky is big and few rooftops interrupt it. Out here, at a vague line drawn just beyond Helene Buster's front yard, western development in Broward County finally meets its absolute end.  
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

Roads and growth
Collier working to halt new crisis
Collier County is taking steps to make sure it doesn't have to deal with another multimillion-dollar transportation crisis. Those plans include restricting growth along crowded roads, hiking road impact fees and creating a system that is patterned after keeping a checkbook - each development results in a subtraction of housing units from the available balance. Collier commissioners this past week decided to pay for most of the $257 million transportation shortfall over the next five years by bonding all of its existing gas taxes and about 33 percent of its sales tax. This will cover about $193 million of the shortfall, leaving county officials to find a way to come up with the other $65 million. Now that commissioners have figured out a way to pay for road construction over the next five years, county government leaders are attempting to set up safeguards to ensure another shortfall doesn't occur. 
Copyright Naples Daily News © 2001 All rights reserved.

 

Editorial
Addicted to Growth
Broward Fills Up With Development, People
Development plans created in the 1980s describe an orderly process of managed growth for the state of Florida. There was just one problem with the plans: They called for too much growth and too little management. One potential consequence was this:    If each of Florida's 67 counties had developed to the maximum limit    authorized by the state-mandated master plans, the state today would    have a population of more than 90 million people -- an almost    inconceivable prospect. Fortunately, Florida hasn't come close to the full build-out permitted in its  master plans. But the state has grown at a mind-boggling pace, faster than most other states -- and it has nearly doubled its population since 1980 to 16 million.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

A Frontier of Diversity
At the Publix supermarket in Weston's new Town Center mall, customers choose among 14 types of Spanish cooking wine and nine brands of mojo marinade. The bread aisle devotes two shelves to crumbly panecillos tostados. On special this week: Venezuelan corn meal. Built largely by a single developer and billed as South Florida's city of the future, Weston earned a new distinction in the 2000 census. It is the most Latinized city in Broward County, the city of South Florida's Hispanic future. 
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

Getting tourists back to nature
The county that sports throbbing nightclubs on South Beach and rhythmic salsa on Calle Ocho also is trying to sell the sunrise and serenity of Biscayne Bay. A $1.1 million Miami-Dade County Parks Eco-Adventure Tours campaign is luring tourists and residents to its parks and Biscayne Bay in an effort to showcase South Florida's natural and historical attractions. "Here in Miami-Dade, our tourism has traditionally been directed at the people who are here to party," said Ernie Lynk, a naturalist and recreation specialist at Crandon Park. Some of that emphasis is changing as Miami-Dade Parks enhances its offering of canoe trips, kayaking and nature talks. The money, part of a $4 million trust allocated to the parks from the Miami-Dade County Commission, will enhance existing tours and add new ones, said Sally Timberlake, Crandon Park manager. 
Copyright Sun-Sentinel © 2001 All rights reserved.

21-Dec-01

Editorial
Give Collier Countains more conservation land
Setting aside land for conservation is the No. 1 issue for the future, according to a survey of Collier County residents, more evidence that county commissioners should put a referendum measure on the ballot to dedicate a tax for that purpose. Eighty-one percent of the 254 residents surveyed listed conservation land-buying as the top need. The survey results are to be used by commissioners at a strategic planning meeting Jan. 29. We urge commissioners to consider seeking voter approval of a land-buying program similar to Lee County's Conservation 2020. We realize that Collier voters rejected a similar land referendum in 1996 and resoundingly rejected a proposed sales tax for roads in November. 
Copyright News-Press  © 2001 All rights reserved.

Editorial
Support Feeney plan for Everglades bonds
Ironically, a budget shortage may cause the state to provide enough money for Everglades restoration. Florida and the federal government are paying 50 percent of the $8.4 billion restoration plan, which over 20 to 30 years is supposed to provide enough water to sustain the environment and the projected 2050 population of 12 million people from south of Orlando to the Keys. The best way for the state to pay its share would be to sell bonds, thus guaranteeing the money. If it comes out of general tax revenue, the annual share could be a casualty of legislative infighting. The need for money is urgent.
Copyright Palm Beach Post © 2001 All rights reserved.

19-Dec-01

Wildlife, Wetlands, Environment Need Our Protection
While most of the attention since the Sept. 11 attacks has focused on Afghanistan, airports and anthrax, national environmental leaders are hoping wildlife, wetlands and the well-being of the environment aren't the next victims. "The terrorists who invaded our country may destroy our buildings, but they are not likely to destroy our wildlife and natural places. Only we can do that," wrote John Flicker, president of National Audubon Society, in the current issue of Audubon magazine. Flicker said one of the tests of how Americans will be viewed by future generations will be their conduct during the current crisis. "We hope they will not conclude that we sacrificed the very environmental values we should have defended for them," he said. Since Sept. 11, there have been seemingly opportunistic moves to drill for oil in environmental preserves, punch more logging roads on public lands and preserve the19th century subsidies for mining and grazing in the Western states, all under the guise of something high-sounding to obscure baser motives.
Copyright The Ledger © 2001 All rights reserved.

CORPS ASKS FOR INPUT ON WETLANDS MITIGATION
 After receiving harsh criticism for its new stance on wetlands mitigation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is asking for input from other federal agencies. In November, the Corps issued new regulatory guidance regarding how developers will compensate for destroying wetlands. Critics said the policy would allow developers to offset losses of wetlands on one site by protecting wetlands, or even dry land, elsewhere, leading to a loss of wetlands nationwide. Conservation groups charged that the Corps ignored the national goal of achieving "no net loss" of wetlands, established during the first Bush administration.  
Copyright  © 2001.ENS. All rights reserved.

House proposes Everglades bond
Saying flexibility is critical, House leaders Tuesday unveiled a proposal to give the state yet another option to pay its share of the $8 billion project to restore portions of the Everglades. Facing a stagnant economy, a tight budget and re-election, House members led by House Speaker Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, want to give themselves the authority to sell bonds to pay for Everglades land acquisition when times get tight or when they decide that borrowing is better than paying cash. "We are adding another tool to our tool box," said Rep. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland. If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jeb Bush, the plan would allow lawmakers to earmark up to $10 million a year in taxes collected from documentary stamps, a growing revenue stream that last year generated $1.3 billion. With $10 million in cash, lawmakers could leverage up to $125 million a year to spend on Everglades projects. 
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Lawmakers propose bonds to buy Everglades land
Saying Florida needs to buy land to protect the Everglades now before the price goes up, a group of state lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a new plan to borrow money to get the job done. The state would issue bonds for Everglades land buying, under a bill proposed by Repcan get t. Paula Dockery, a Lakeland Republican. "The sooner you can buy, the cheaper you he land for," Dockery said at a news conference attended by a dozen House members and House Speaker Tom Feeney, a Republican from Oviedo. The proposal, dubbed "Bond as You Buy," would raise $125-million each year for eight years. But a spokesman for Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday that "the governor is concerned" about the state's getting into more debt. 
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Plan to buy bonds is latest proposal for saving 'Glades
The state could borrow money to buy land in the Florida Everglades and protect it under a bill with bipartisan support announced Tuesday by House Speaker Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo. The plan to partly finance Everglades restoration by issuing bonds came after the South Florida Water Management District worried that the state's ability to pay its share of the cost was shaky. The proposal drew immediate praise from environmental groups, who said state ownership is the best way to preserve the region's sensitive ecology and water supply.  
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

18-Dec-01

'Ding' Darling wildlife refuge supporters hoping to get federal funding help

By CHAD GILLIS,

Standing on an elevated wooden patio overlooking the western shoreline of Tarpon Bay, several supporters of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge said Monday that more federal money is needed to keep the refuge's Center for Education open weekends.

 

Don Higgie, of North Carolina, looks over the displays at the education center at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island on Monday. The center may be one of the programs that faces a reduction in hours if more federal money isn't allotted, supporters say. Cameron Gillie/Staff

Members of the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society and other support and conservation groups held a news conference in an attempt to persuade residents, business owners and visitors to pressure Congress to cough up more funds for the refuge. More than 30 people turned out.

"We now have an education center ready to go and now we may find ourselves short of getting the lights turned on," Society president Jim Sprankle said.

Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Ding Darling, other refuges seek funding Conservation group lobbies
government

                                                   Photo
The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel has its hand out, along with the rest of the National Wildlife Refuge System. So, the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), a coalition of 20 conservation and recreation organizations, is touring the country in an attempt to convince the federal government to increase the refuge system budget from $300 million to $700 million in 2003.  Ding Darling, where a $3 million education center was built with local donations, receives no federal money to operate the center and is facing the possibility of leaving staff positions vacant or closing the center on weekends.  Although the refuge system is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, many wildlife refuges are in financial straits because of the lack of federal aid. 
Copyright © 2001. The News-Press. All rights reserved.

 

A LINE IN THE SWAMP
BUILDERS AIM FOR SLIVER OF PROTECTED LAND
As the cheap developable land in Southwest Broward dwindles, some builders have started to eye what one day could become a battleground. At issue: 3,400 acres of prime real estate east of U.S. 27 that the federal government has designated for two water preserve areas. Half of the land is on Weston's western borders; the other half lies west of Pembroke Pines and Miramar. Federal officials managing the Everglades Restoration Project and state officials who guide the South Florida Water Management District want the land to remain undeveloped. They view it as a necessary buffer between suburbia and the Everglades, which lies west of U.S. 27 and a parallel levee that has long been regarded as an immovable line in the swamp -- the absolute cutoff for development.   
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Everglades property tax might not expire in 2003
South Florida property owners might have to pay a special tax for an extra year to make up a possible $5 million to $8 million shortfall in the state's Everglades cleanup. Water managers have not proposed any such extension of the Everglades tax, which applies to property owners in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and 12 other counties. In fact, they predict the $867 million cleanup will sport a modest $770,000 surplus by 2014. But the surplus doesn't include enough money to pay for finishing one of the Everglades cleanup's side projects: an effort to remove the bulk of the phosphorus-laden runoff that Lake Okeechobee receives from farming districts along its south end.   
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Letter
Environmental myths easily disproved
A new exotic species is threatening the restoration of the Everglades. This one is neither an invasive tree nor a walking fish, but its impact on the long-range health of the habitat may be more damaging than those better-known nuisances. This exotic species walk on two legs and it seems to be a hybrid between Rip Van Winkle and Chicken Little. It runs in circles, chirping cries of alarm about crises that were identified - and addressed - some 10 or even 20 years ago. It masquerades as an environmental expert, bit it seems not even to know of work that has long been completed. Like old Rip, it just missed all the activity of nearly a generation and doesn't know anything to do except shout, like Chicken Little, the same alarms it was shouting back then. How else to explain the recent diatribe distributed statewide by the Friends of the Everglades, unless perchance the letter was lost in the mail for 20 years?  Read more
Copyright  © 2001 Key west Citizen All rights reserved.

14-Dec-01

Letter to the Editor
Appoint More Scientists as Indication of Everglades Commitment  
Many Florida citizens are in agreement with the Palm Beach Post comments on Secretary Norton's commitments reflected by her decision-making. We think the Post should take a poll on what the people of Florida want. Everglades restoration still lacks a science-focused advocate for the Everglades. An indicator of government interest in science-based restoration of the Everglades is the ratio of natural scientists to political scientists being appointed. Right now it appears the ratio is approaching zero. For nature to be commanded, it must be obeyed, i.e., nature cannot be legislated or engineered. Nor does nature understand mankind's laws. Everglades decisions made increasingly distant from the natural sciences are increasingly non-science. This distance has sealed the fate of the Everglades for the past 30 years, so it is alarming for many of us to observe the current regression from science portends to seal the fate for the next 30 years.  
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

13-Dec-01

Editorial
Clean-water activists ask officials to buy land
Local water-quality advocates met with water managers this week to encourage the state to buy the agricultural land south of Lake Okeechobee as a natural way to restore Florida's water flow. The idea of a public purchase of the 450,000-acre Everglades  Agricultural Area is not new, but has failed to gain widespread support because of political and economic pressure from agricultural interests. Still, supporters hope, the concept will gain momentum with grass-roots lobbying spurred by the $7.8 billion Everglades restoration plan. "We've realized a lot of things we messed up over the years," said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society. "Now we've got to make some changes, and that has to happen south of the lake too. We need to change it back to the saw grass communities."  Perry and Ed Fielding, a member of the Martin County Conservation Alliance, met with five staff members of the South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday to ask them to consider buying the land as a supplement to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project.  
Copyright  © 2001 TC Palm  All rights reserved.

<posted December 13, 2001> October 2, 1998

Testimony of The National Wetlands Coalition before the
National Coastal Wetlands Summit:
"Today's Successes, Tomorrow's Challenges"

By Robert G. Szabo, Executive Director & Counsel

My name is Robert G. Szabo. I am Executive Director & Counsel of the National Wetlands Council. The National Wetlands Coalition was incorporated on September 1, 1989 to engage in the national debate over the Federal wetlands regulatory policy. The national debate was initiated when the National Wetlands Policy Forum recommended a series of policies, including the national goal of "no overall net loss of wetlands". President Bush embraced the national goal and appointed a Task Force of the Domestic Policy Council of his Administration to recommend a program of policies that would achieve "no overall net loss of wetlands". Late in 1989, after the Coalition was established, the release of the 1989 Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Wetlands refocused the national debate on the Section 404 "wetlands" permitting program of the Clean Water Act and the thorny question of "what is a wetland?"   
The National Wetlands Coalition

 

Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Conference
Flow Workshop Summary Concurrent Session III
Hydrology and Hydrologic Modeling
This report presents a summary of the panel and audience discussions that
took place during the Flow workshop held at the Greater Everglades Ecosystem
Restoration (GEER) Conference on Wednesday, December 13, 2000. The
discussions generally followed the format shown in the agenda, and this was
the only session that followed this format. One change from the published
format was that two panel members, Randy Van Zee and Christopher McVoy,
presented background information to frame the discussion, followed by open
discussion between the panel members. Read more... http://sofia.usgs.gov/geer/geerflowwshop.html

12-Dec-01

Realtors just want to make sure developers don't get bogged down
It used to be a joke. Selling people swamp land in Florida.  Now, it's the subject of how-to seminars.  Today, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches is hosting what is being billed as a Realtors Wetlands Education Seminar. Hint: The emphasis won't be on keeping bulldozers away from environmentally sensitive land. Here's what the flier for the event says: "As Palm Beach County's population grows, prime housing sites dwindle and housing is forced to be located on sites once thought of as unbuildable . . ." (Translation: Don't let that big wet spot in the middle of the state scare you.)  
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Opinion
Swartz: Beware that old sinking feeling
Israel has had them since 1956, England since 1958, Wildwood, N.J., since 1968. They are in Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Spain. The world's largest is in Las Vegas, though Los Angeles soon will top it with a bigger one. Florida has had a few since 1983 and is about to begin a decade of testing to see whether the state's plan to use aquifer storage and recovery wells will work. Such wells are the key to the Everglades restoration plan, which calls for 333 of them to save water for the Everglades and 12 million future South Floridians. Over the next eight years, a dozen test wells will be built near Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, the Hillsboro Canal and at several sites in central and eastern Palm Beach County. 
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Sugar firm against lower levels for lake
Even if officials in the counties surrounding Lake Okeechobee support efforts to lower the lake's overall level, sugar industry executives still aren't convinced the old system needs to be changed. In an interview with The Stuart News/Port St. Lucie News on Tuesday, U.S. Sugar Corp. spokeswoman Judy Sanchez said the recent push to keep the lake between 13.5 and 15.5 feet above sea level is shortsighted. "We don't have a problem with the lake being 14 feet or the lake being 15 feet," she said. "What we have a problem with is saying, lower the lake to a certain level and then Mother Nature comes along with a drought and takes another four feet out of it." 
Copyright  © 2001 TC Palm  All rights reserved.

 

Chances drop for Stiltsville land deal.  Legal opinion frowns on swap
A proposed land swap to keep Stiltsville in private hands has run aground legally, a sign the long tussle over control of the homes in Biscayne Bay may finally be near an end. The Florida Cabinet was scheduled to consider the swap next week but the U.S. Department of Interior issued an opinion released Tuesday that may sink any chance for a deal. ``What Interior is saying is, you can't do this, which is from my perspective very good news,'' said U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch, who along with U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has supported plans by the National Park Service to open the colorful cottages in Biscayne National Park to some sort of public use. Graham, who has held up several Interior nominations over concerns about Everglades restoration plans, also met with top department staffers to discuss Stiltsville's future.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

National Park Service Rejects Proposed Stiltsville Land Swap
The federal government rejected Tuesday a proposal to swap the federal land under Stiltsville - seven aging houses propped up in the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay - for state-owned land nearby. The National Park Service finding brought praise from U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, a proponent of keeping the tiny Biscayne National Park community in federal hands and ending decades of private ownership of the homes. "The land swap would have taken us in the wrong direction," Graham said in a statement. "Now we can focus on the right way of going about the preservation of these unique structures that have a special place in the hearts of so many Floridians."

Copyright  © 2001 Tampa Tribune / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

 

Ex-water boss paid $77,000 but was asked to do little


Frank Finch walked away as South Florida's top water manager six months ago, but not empty-handed. Since he resigned under pressure June 13, Finch has received more than $77,000 as a consultant to his old employer, the South Florida Water Management District. But with a handful of exceptions, the district never asked him to consult. So he did almost nothing, aside from attending one daylong conference in Washington and speaking several times with his successor. Meanwhile, Finch continued receiving the same $150,092-a-year salary he was paid as executive director. The agreement expires Thursday.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Palm Beach County eyes rockpits as potential water reservoirs

20-MILE BEND -- With the turn of a valve, brown water tumbled and foamed into an 83-acre rock pit Tuesday, the gushing start to a series of tests to see if a mining area could become a huge water-delivery depot for Palm Beach County.  The flood of water, diverted from the nearby L-8 canal into the steep-walled rock pit west of West Palm Beach, followed a morning ribbon-cutting at the Palm Beach Aggregates quarry off Southern Boulevard. The event drew 100 people, including water managers, drainage officials, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County officials and state legislators, many of whom scaled a grassy levee to watch the water pour thickly from twin 72-inch-wide aluminum pipes.

Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

Pits might provide edge against drought


The roar of rushing water echoed over the flat land west of Lion Country Safari Tuesday as water managers sent a billion gallons cascading into a gargantuan rock pit.  Officials hope to end floods, alleviate a drought and help save the Everglades by using Palm Beach Aggregates' empty quarries near 20-Mile Bend. State and local governments hope to use the cavities to store water during the rainy season and release it back into canals during a drought. They'll test water quality in the first two pits over the next two years, then decide whether to buy the 18 pits miners will leave when they finish digging out the quarries a decade from now.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Graham to lift 'hold' on nominee for wildlife service

 After a meeting with key Interior Department officials Tuesday, Sen. Bob Graham said he was satisfied with their Everglades restoration work plans and would lift a "hold" he placed on the Bush administration's nominee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  "We reviewed the plan on a project-by-project basis, including the steps that will be taken by a variety of federal agencies, and the time-frames for completion of these individual building blocks for Everglades restoration," said Graham, D-Fla.  "It is my intent to work closely and collaboratively with Secretary Gale Norton and her colleagues at the Department of Interior to see that this, the most significant environmental restoration project in the history of the world, achieves restoration of the 'River of Grass' to its original functions and beauty."

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Gov. Bush endorses tough anti-pollution rules for Everglades


State environmental officials and Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday endorsed a strict pollution limit sought by environmentalists for the Everglades.  The Florida Department of Environmental Protection told the state's Environmental Regulation Commission in Tallahassee that water entering the Everglades should contain no more than 10 parts per billion of phosphorus. That would require the water to be two to three times cleaner than what a current state program can achieve for agricultural storm water discharged into the marsh.  Judy Sanchez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Sugar Corp., which sends dirty farm field drainage water into the Everglades like other growers, said 10 parts per billion "is a pretty tough standard." 

Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

State moves to impose lower phosphorus level

Gov. Jeb Bush's administration Tuesday recommended that a phosphorus standard for the Everglades be set at 10 parts per billion -- a level long applauded by environmentalists and long opposed by sugar growers. "Today is an important milestone," Department of Environmental Protection chief David Struhs told a meeting of the Environmental Regulation Commission. The group, by law, has until Dec. 31, 2003, to set a phosphorus standard. Three years after that, agricultural groups and residential communities that discharge water into the Everglades would be forced to abide by those restrictions and must meet all state pollution standards for water discharged into the Everglades.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

 

Editorial
Stalling a bad idea
The plan to build a commercial airport at Homestead Air Force Base suffered two welcome defeats last week. If the plan is dead, its demise will prevent potentially serious damage to nearby national parks. Last Thursday, Miami-Dade Metro commissioners voted 8-5 to drop out of a lawsuit against the federal government over its refusal to permit the airport. A day later, Air Force Secretary James Roche released a short memo stating that the Air Force's decision this year to reject the airport proposal was legitimate. The Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Marine Fisheries Service consistently have opposed the airport plans. They point out that air, noise and water pollution from a proposed cargo and passenger airport that might handle as many as 600 flights a day would devastate Everglades National Park, 8.5 miles to the west, and Biscayne National Park, just 1.5 miles to the east. With the state and federal governments spending $8.4 billion to preserve the Everglades, it makes even less sense to think of putting a jetport nearby.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Opinion
The jetport is dead; long live the parks

The Air Force has hammered another nail in the coffin of the misbegotten Homestead jetport, and even Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas is kicking dirt on the grave. After a seven-year fight, the insider deal to top all insider deals finally appears dead. In a memo shorter than a sneeze, Air Force Secretary James Roche affirmed an earlier decision killing the county's plan to develop part of the former Homestead Air Force Base as a major commercial jetport. The screwy scheme, a now-infamous giveaway that reeked of backroom smoke, had been approved in 1994 by the County Commission. Without seeking any competing bids, commissioners made a deal with an unlikely consortium called the Homestead Air Base Developers Inc. 
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

11-Dec-01

'Ecotourism' envisioned for Glades land

The future in this isolated corner of South Miami-Dade County rests on a concept dubbed ``Destination Everglades,'' but there's nothing around that remotely evokes the Everglades. No sawgrass, no water, no gators, not much of anything really, except weeds and rubbish. That's just one of the daunting challenges to turning 600 acres of scrub bordering Homestead Air Reserve Base into something anyone, particularly tourists, would visit. With plans for a controversial commercial airport dead, Miami-Dade is banking on a loosely defined ``ecotourism'' experience as the great hope for reviving what's been an economic dead zone since Hurricane Andrew battered the base in 1992. The proposal, one that envisions a bustling hub for tourists, scientists and soccer teams, is drawing mixed reviews so far, even from those who want it to succeed.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

USGS: Is Salty Groundwater in South Florida's Future?

Using a time-tested technique in a new way, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have been able to determine how quickly marine groundwater has encroached into South Florida's inland fresh water aquifers. Charles Holmes will explain the technique and findings at the AGU Annual 2001 Fall Meeting, scheduled for Dec. 10-14 in San Francisco, CA.  South Florida's aquifers are made mostly of limestone and other carbonate rocks, which tend to dissolve over time in water, making them porous. Groundwater travels relatively quickly in this regime. Where carbonate aquifers are near the coast, marine groundwater can begin to encroach landward, infiltrating freshwater aquifers, particularly where they are pumped for drinking water.

10-Dec-01

Letter to the editor: 
Recovery is under way
Ten years ago, Gov. Lawton Chiles famously "surrendered" in federal court and agreed that Florida should clean the water going to the Everglades. Since then, a massive public and private effort (and about $500 million in spending) has been successfully implemented with virtually no public attention. The result is significantly cleaner water going into and improving the health of the Everglades. About 95 percent of the Everglades today, including all of the pristine areas and Everglades National Park, are at or near the water-quality goals set by scientists and believed to be impossible to reach just 10 years ago, when the Everglades ecosystem was pronounced in "critical" condition. The turnaround is a heartening story of private and public interests acting together to restore a precious national treasure. 
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Picture tells story, ad doesn't

Clyde Butcher, famed for his black-and-white photographs of the Everglades, is a little upset about how one of his images is being used. Butcher said he gave Save Our Everglades Sugar permission to use his Splendid Isolation, a shot of a cypress tree in the Everglades' Big Cypress Swamp in Collier County, on the environmental group's bags of sugar.  Butcher said he was told the photo was being used to honor the late George Barley, an Orlando developer and sportsman who founded Save Our Everglades. That's fine, but he doesn't like the tone of the copy that runs with the picture.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

WILDLIFE RECONNAISSANCE:
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK PROJECT
The southern Florida wilderness scenery is a study in halftones, not bright, broad strokes of a full brush as is the case of most of our other national parks. There are no knife-edged mountains protruding up into the sky. There are no valleys of any kind. No glaciers exist, no gaudy canyons, no geysers, no mighty trees unless we except the few royal palms, not even a rockbound coast with the spray of ocean waves -- none of the things we are used to seeing in our parks. Instead, there are lonely distances, intricate and monotonous waterways, birds, sky, and water. To put it crudely, there is nothing (and we include the bird rookeries) in the Everglades that will make Mr. Jonnie Q. Public suck in his breath. This is not an indictment against the Everglades as a national park, because "breath sucking" is still not the thing we are striving for in preserving wilderness areas.  
Copyright © 2001 The National Park Service.  All rights reserved.

<posted          >
May 31, 2001

SUGAR FARMERS NOT AT FAULT
Letter to the Editor
Citing the need for regional government in the Florida Keys, a reader somehow links his regional problems to sugar farmers100 miles to the north. Claims that sugar farmers are somehow responsible for water problems in the Keys and Florida Bay are simply not true. The consensus among the scientific community has long been that water from the Everglades Agricultural Area plays no role in Florida Bay's problems. Dr. Ron Jones of Florida International University, who gave expert witness testimony on the issue to the U.S. Justice Department in 1993, sated, "There is no evidence that anthropogenic nutrients, especially phosphorus, are entering Florida Bay from the agricultural and municipal areas to the North. 
Copyright  © 2001 Keys news  All rights reserved.

<posted    >
January 17, 2001

Environmentalismąs quickly becoming a four-letter word -- but thatąs OK
It is distressing to read that, environmentally, the world still is going to heck in a hand basket.  A quarter of the worldąs coral reefs are dead or dying, and amphibians are croaking and growing extra limbs and all kinds of stuff in response to world ecological decline. One would think, being able to live on land or in the water, that the danged amphibians would be the last to go. But they apparently are very sensitive. I am trying to be sensitive myself, but I seem to grow more confused by the day. It used to be that one was either an environmentalist, or a dirty rotten chemical company with dead fish under your outflow pipes. Now the line in the sand has become blurred, partly because turkeys have been dusting on it. There are environmental extremists out there who donąt want people to catch fish, even if all they plan to do is release them. They send a costumed character named Gil The Fish to fishing tournaments, where they hope theyąll generate bad press for anglers torturing fish.  
Copyright © 2001. The News-Press. All rights reserved.

 

09-Dec-01

Species' endangered status at risk
Animal advocates say species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker could be virtually extinct before they gain protection

First, a proposal by the state's wildlife agency to lessen the level of protection for a controversial woodpecker set the feathers flying among bird experts. Now advocates of the manatee are jumping into the fray as well, teaming up with woodpecker experts to challenge the standards under which the state considers a species to be endangered. In the past three months, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has agreed to consider lowering the protected status of both the manatee and the red-cockaded woodpecker, two controversial species, using a new set of criteria. Experts on the red-cockaded woodpecker and advocates for the manatee both contend that the state's new criteria are so restrictive that a species would have to be as dead as the dodo for officials to list it as needing protection.

Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

 

To cleanse Everglades, make standards tough


On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection will announce a number that should be no more than 10, as in 10 parts per billion. That figure should be the maximum amount of phosphorus -- found in runoff from cities and farms -- the state will allow in water that flows into the Everglades. In 1994, to settle the federal lawsuit over pollution entering Everglades National Park, the Legislature passed the Everglades Forever Act, a plan for restoring water quality to Florida's "river of grass." The first phase, designed to lower discharges to 50 parts per billion, has exceeded expectations. The second phase will set a permanent limit.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

8-Dec-01

Politics ties up Kansan's confirmation to federal post

Steve Williams is a forestry expert, but even he would have trouble following the trail his nomination to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken. Williams' qualifications are not in doubt, but, as often happens, he's been sucked into a political whirlpool on Capitol Hill. More than 149 administration appointees still await confirmation. President Bush nominated Williams, Kansas secretary of wildlife and parks, in July. But the events of Sept. 11 delayed a routine Senate vote to confirm him. Then senators from different parts of the country clashed over the duck hunting regulations that he would oversee. Now another senator has delayed confirmation because he's upset over a plan for the Everglades.

Copyright © 2001 The Kansas City Star.  All rights reserved.

LOCAL PERSPECTIVES

Finally, a Miami-Dade County Commission majority came to its senses Thursday and dropped the lawsuit against the federal government over its rejection of a plan to build a commercial airport at former Homestead Air Force Base. Good for the seven commissioners who joined Commissioner Katy Sorenson's indefatigable fight to give up the legal battle. Then yesterday, Air Force Secretary James Roche announced that he had concluded that the initial decision to reject the airport proposal was legitimate. The airport plan can be declared officially dead. Now the county must concentrate on creating a sound, effective alternative. The one approved by the commission Thursday -- a sort of destination resort cum research center to draw eco-tourists -- is a good blueprint from which to create a practical request for proposals. This time, the county should seek responses from many bidders, as opposed to the unacceptable manner in which the commission awarded a no-bid contract to Homestead Air Base Developers, Inc. to build the airport. Understandably, that deal never sat well with either the public or the federal government.  It was environmental folly to site a busy airport between Biscayne Bay and Everglades national parks, posing far greater environmental threats than did the air base in its heyday. It's time to move on and give Homestead and Florida City new economic hope with the eco-tourism plan.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

Water quality for 'Glades faces debate

The state's top environmental official said Friday his agency is going to endorse a pollution limit for the Everglades "at or near" that advocated by scientific consensus and the environmental community. But environmental groups did not immediately applaud. Audubon of Florida representative Charles Lee said he needs to see details expected to come next week on how the pollution standard would be measured. Those would indicate how seriously the state Department of Environmental Protection really wants to keep water clean in the Everglades, Lee said.

Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Interior's Norton rebuts editorial

Your Dec. 4 editorial on the Interior Department's efforts to improve stewardship and streamline Everglades restoration overlooked three important points. First, President Bush is strongly committed to Everglades restoration. The administration shepherded through Congress a $31.4 million, or 37 percent, increase in the Interior Department's budget for Everglades restoration. Second, we will save $1.3 million in duplicative administrative overhead, which the department will redirect to important restoration projects at National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge and Arthur Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

State backs low level for Everglades phosphorus

Thirteen years after being dragged into federal court, the state is finally endorsing a tough pollution limit for the Everglades.  But state regulators don't know how many extra hundreds of millions of dollars it will cost to meet that strict standard. Or who will pay. Or when the cleanup will be done -- except it probably won't be completely finished by the state's legal deadline of December 2006. Friday was a milestone nonetheless for the nation's most celebrated freshwater marsh: Gov. Jeb Bush's environmental aides announced they are siding with environmentalists, state scientists and federal researchers, who have long advocated a super-low limit for phosphorus pollution in the Everglades.

 

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Terse letter ends airport fight
Air Force turns down Homestead

For the second time in a year, the Air Force struck down Friday a proposal to build a commercial airport at the former Homestead Air Reserve Base, ending a tumultuous chapter in Miami-Dade politics that entwined a national cast of characters, from the county mayor and the Mas Canosa dynasty to Washington lobbyists and environmental groups fighting to save the Everglades. In a two-sentence memo to the secretary of defense, Air Force Secretary James Roche concluded that the earlier decision to reject the airport proposal was legitimate.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved

 

State targets Glades pollution
Water-cleanliness rules devised

After a decade of debate, Florida is ready to say how clean water flowing into the Everglades will have to be.  That's very clean -- cleaner, in fact, than anyone now knows how to make runoff from sugar cane fields, vegetable farms, cattle ranches and suburban streets. But it's also the level most scientists believe necessary to keep the River of Grass from turning into something else, such as a cattail marsh. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will release its long- awaited pollution standard on Tuesday in Tallahassee.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved

 

7-Dec-01

Engineering the future

Most people here don't know Gregory May, but he will have much to do with South Florida's future. Luckily, his priorities are in order. Col. May is district engineer in Florida for the Army Corps of Engineers. Working out of the corps' office in Jacksonville, Col. May is in charge of the agency that will build the nearly four dozen structures that are part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project. Since the work is supposed to take at least 20 years, and district engineers serve three-year hitches, Col. May won't be around when the work is complete, even if he puts in a second shift. Having started last summer, however, he is around during the crucial early years.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

6-Dec-01

Miami-Dade abandons commercial airport plan

Seven years after first approving the plan and prompting one of the region's biggest land-use battles, Miami-Dade County finally gave up on developing a commercial airport at the former Homestead Air Force Base Thursday when it voted to withdraw from a lawsuit trying to revive the proposal.  Against the recommendations of its staff, the county commission voted 8-5 to scrap its last tie to the faltering airport proposal, while approving a conceptual plan to transform the site into a destination for scientists and tourists visiting the Florida Keys and Biscayne and Everglades national parks.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

5-Dec-01

Wildlife officials halt land contract

Federal wildlife managers say they want a better deal from the state before they agree to another 50 years of overseeing the northernmost Everglades in Palm Beach County.  That means the future of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is in limbo again. South Florida water managers had been expected to approve a 50-year contract next week with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has managed the 143,000-acre state-owned sanctuary since 1951. The service's current contract expires Dec. 31. But now federal officials want six more months to work on the contract that their staff in Palm Beach County had negotiated, spokesmen in Atlanta and Washington said Tuesday.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Land swap is latest offer in fight for Stiltsville

The occupants of Stiltsville are trying to enlist Florida's Cabinet in their long-running battle to keep control of the famous bungalows in Biscayne National Park. The latest offer, a variation on one U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen previously floated without success in Congress, is a land swap: Florida would trade 74 acres of mostly barren Biscayne Bay bottom to the federal government in exchange for a thin, crooked strip of similar size stretching across lush grass flats and the seven home sites. While the pitch hasn't won over her colleagues in Washington, Ros-Lehtinen said the proposal has apparently been a hit in Tallahassee. Gov. Jeb Bush, Ros-Lehtinen said, had already told her he'd support it as did every other Cabinet member except one, who wanted more information.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

4-Dec-01

Nature Conservancy boasts of saving 1 million acres in Florida

First, The Nature Conservancy's Florida chapter turned 40 this year. Then it cruised past a more meaningful milestone: the million-acre mark.  After completing a deal in October to protect a chunk of the Pinhook Swamp in north Florida, the non-profit can now boast it has helped preserve 1 million acres of undeveloped land across the state.  Incorporated in 1961, the chapter currently owns 42,000 acres of conservation it bought through fund-raising. It also has helped state, county and local governments and others negotiate deals to buy green space by the sometimes tens of thousands of acres. It also has temporarily owned approximately one-third of the million acres before they were sold to government custodians.
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

Adopt `Destination' Plan
Give South Miami-Dade Its Future

The economic-development plan called ``Destination Everglades'' on the Miami-Dade County Commission's agenda today should be adopted and forwarded to the Defense Department, along with the county's request for the conveyance of all 717 surplus acres of the former Homestead Air Force base. And while commissioners are on the subject, they should vote to drop the county's lawsuit against the federal government over its rejection of a proposed commercial airport at the base.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

3-Dec-01

Farm Bill comes due in Glades

We have one urgent reason for asking Congress to eliminate the sugar subsidies in the Farm Bill: Government aid to the sugar industry is hampering government efforts to save the Everglades. The nation is preparing to spend more than $8 billion over 40 years to rescue Florida's vitally important Everglades. At the same time it is handing multimillions to the sugar-cane growers who primarily are responsible for the perilous condition of this ecosystem. The problem is not just the classic example of corporate welfare. The problem also is that federal handouts enable the farmers to stay in the Everglades and continue to threaten its demise.
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

2-Dec-01

Future of Loxahatchee refuge hinges on lease

Palm Beach County's corner of the Everglades is no placid Garden of Eden. It's a place where herons and egrets devour writhing snakes and legless salamanders. Where red-shouldered hawks must guard their offspring from hungry horned owls. Where raptors munch on marsh rabbits. "Visitors will say this is the most peaceful place," said Ruth Baker, a longtime volunteer at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. "And I'll say actually, it's a bloody battlefield." The refuge itself is seeing its share of conflict these days, as state and federal officials debate its future. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is less than a month from the end of its 50-year contract to manage the 147,0000-acre sanctuary, which sits almost entirely on state-owned land from west of Wellington to west of Boca Raton.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

 

01-Dec 01

A spoonful of protest

After battling big sugar for years in the courts and at the polls, environmentalists with Save Our Everglades are now taking the fight to supermarket shelves throughout the region. nWith their own brightly packaged brand of pure cane sugar -- grown outside the Everglades in Texas and Louisiana -- stocked in Tampa Bay area grocery stores, the group also has launched an aggressive advertising campaign aimed at informing consumers of their new product and an old cause. Full-page magazine ads in Time, National Geographic, Southern Living, Cooking Light and Audubon tell consumers to "Help restore the Everglades to the harsh uninhabitable Hell nature intended it to be." Radio commercials began airing from Atlanta to the Florida Keys in late October when the campaign got under way.

Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

 

30-Nov-01

Group examines region’s environmental concerns

Political, social issues cited as problem areas

Some of the nation’s top scientists said they were surprised by Southwest Floridians’ lack of trust in local government when it comes to the environment. The prestigious National Academy of Sciences’ Everglades restoration advisory board visited Fort Myers for the first time this week. Some 50 people attended a board meeting Thursday in hopes that the group will bring more attention to this area’s needs. The message scientists got was that Southwest Florida environmental problems not only stem from a lack of scientific data but political issues and social issues as well. “I was surprised by the perception that it’s easy to obtain permits,” said Steve Parker, director of the Water, Science and Technology Board, parent group of the committee.  Mike Bauer, the Southwest Florida policy director for Audubon of Florida, said he fears the region will be built out by the time science shows political leaders what to do. “We can’t wait for the science to happen,” Bauer said. “I think the reason for this is the permit system is you get a permit unless you prove that you’re damaging something. It should be the other way around.” Linda Blum, an ecologist from the University of Virginia, said Southwest Florida issues deserve more thought and more work.

Copyright © 2001. The News-Press. All rights reserved.

 

Watershed council leaders learn about Collier water restoration efforts Collier residents pay taxes levied by the Big Cypress Basin and the South  Florida Water Management District.

A grass-roots effort to coordinate planning and better use of Southwest Florida's water resources came to Collier County on Thursday so group leaders could learn more about water restoration projects in the works here. Clarence Tears, director of the Big Cypress Basin that's an arm of the South Florida Water Management District, gave members of the Southwest Florida Watershed Council a primer on the basin board and emphasized that taxes collected in Collier for water basin projects stay in Collier. Other Southwest Florida counties, such as Lee County, don't have a separate basin and therefore lose tax money to east coast water projects.Collier residents pay taxes levied by the Big Cypress Basin and the South Florida Water Management District. The six representatives to the Big Cypress Basin Board are appointed by the governor. Lee County residents pay taxes to the water management district and the Okeechobee Basin that includes 15 counties. Tears told members of the watershed council that Collier is getting more accomplished for its money.

Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

EPA official: Conservation effort must balance growth with restoration

Local government and the development industry were treated like firing range targets Thursday during a meeting of science experts and environmentalists. The second meeting this week of the Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem brought local science and environmental experts out in droves. About 50 members of the public attended the morning session. The committee makes recommendations to agencies carrying out the restoration of the Everglades, a $7.8 billion project that's expected to take 30 years. The group meets every three months and was in Fort Myers this week for the first time. Many at the meeting asked committee members to help protect what's left of Southwest Florida's native habitat. Calling for assistance from the federal level, some said local government and permitting agencies have sat idle while development has destroyed environmentally sensitive areas throughout Southwest Florida.

Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

29-Nov-01

Norton owes Floridians Everglades commitment

U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., is correct to hold his ground in a standoff with Interior Secretary Gale Norton over Ms. Norton's decision to close the Everglades restoration office in West Palm Beach. In a meeting with Ms. Norton Tuesday, Sen. Graham refused to lift a "hold" he has placed on President Bush's nominee to run the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service until Ms. Norton provides written specifics about Interior's role in Everglades restoration over the next two years. A senator can block a nomination indefinitely, and in most cases, including this one, a lawmaker does so because of a disagreement with the administration. Sen. Graham held up a vote on the nomination of Steven A. Williams Nov. 8, two days after Ms. Norton abolished the office that President Clinton established to make sure that Everglades restoration actually restored the Everglades. Aides said Sen. Graham expects Ms. Norton to come up with a two-year plan for the Everglades by Dec. 8. The plan would include such details as the names of those at Interior responsible for carrying out restoration and a timetable with deadlines for the first projects in the $8.4 billion federal-state effort.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Science, politics and money main debate topics at Everglades restoration meeting

Science, politics and money were the topics of debate Wednesday as engineers and scientists from around the country gathered in Lee County to mull over issues related to the 30-year Everglades restoration program. The Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem held its seventh meeting during a day-long session at the South Florida Water Management District's Fort Myers office. About 25 members attended the meeting. The groups meets again today at 7:50 a.m. at the water management office on McGregor Boulevard. The restoration committee is an advisory arm of the National Academy of Sciences and is charged with providing the best available science and information for the restoration of the Everglades. Its members make recommendations to agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, that make up the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program. Those agencies will implement the restoration project. The groups were formed two years ago after the federal government set aside funds for the Everglades restoration, a project that's expected to cost at least $7.8 billion. Half of the money will come from the federal level and half from the state. The overall effort includes 68 different projects.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

28-Nov-01

Graham keeps heat on Everglades plan

Sen. Bob Graham said on Tuesday he would continue his hold on a Bush administration appointment until the Department of Interior presents him with a detailed plan for Everglades restoration.  Graham, D-Fla., met with Interior Secretary Gale Norton and top aides for half an hour on Tuesday, almost three weeks after placing a hold on Steve Williams, a Kansan chosen by President Bush to be director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Graham's hold is a parliamentary move that allows individual senators to delay a full vote on appointments indefinitely. Graham placed the hold in retaliation for Norton's announcement that she was closing a West Palm Beach Everglades restoration office and reassigning its head, Michael Davis, to Washington. The move angered Graham and environmentalists because Davis, a former Army Corps of Engineers official, was a key player in getting the restoration program approved.  "I expressed my feeling that his removal sent a signal to a number of people ... that there might be a retrenchment on the part of Interior's commitment to the Everglades," Graham told reporters after the meeting. "Mrs. Norton assured me that was not the case, that the department continues to be very committed to the Everglades."
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

Graham holds up Bush nominee over Everglades plan

Continuing a standoff over the Bush administration's commitment to restoring the Everglades, Sen. Bob Graham met Tuesday with Interior Secretary Gale Norton, but refused to lift a hold he has placed on President Bush's nominee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Norton, meanwhile, indicated she does not plan to reopen the Everglades restoration office in West Palm Beach, which she closed this month with the transfer of its director, Michael Davis, to a temporary post in the Interior Department's Washington headquarters. Graham, D-Fla., described the 45-minute meeting with Norton in his Capitol office as "frank, specific and constructive," but said he wanted to see the administration's restoration plans for the next two years before he would decide whether to allow the Senate to vote on the nomination of Steven A. Williams for the crucial fish and wildlife post. Graham placed the "hold" on Williams' nomination on Nov. 8, two days after Norton's announcement that the Everglades office was being closed.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Nomination still linked to work on Glades

Sen. Bob Graham told Secretary of Interior Gale Norton Tuesday that he will continue to block the confirmation of one of her appointees until he is assured that Norton will stay actively involved in Everglades restoration. Graham, a Florida Democrat, asked Norton in a ``frank, constructive meeting'' for the Interior department's plans for the next two years as the complex, $7.8 billion restoration project begins. After he sees the plans, Graham said he will decide whether to remove the ``hold'' he placed on the nomination of Steven Williams as director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. ``That decision will be based on performance, not rhetoric,'' said Graham, after a meeting with Norton in his Capitol office. Hugh Vickery, a spokesman for Norton, said the department would ``move crisply'' to provide the two-year plan to Graham, so that Williams can be confirmed. Vickery said the plan was already in the works. Norton also stressed that she supports the restoration plan, said Vickery.

Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

27-Nov-01

Collegiality and Courtesy are the magic words to success for this list.

he Governor and all six members of the Cabinet voted today to reject a major marina project in downtown Miami near the mouth of the Miami River. The Brickell Key Marina proposed to be located within the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve would have presented a direct conflict with Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve rules and statutory provisions requiring that projects be limited to those which are needed to resolve an "extreme hardship" and which are shown to be a "public necessity". The Cabinet supported a recommendation by DEP Secretary David Struhs that the lease be denied. The rejected marina would have included 62 slips, 20 for power boats, 35 for sailboats, 7 for transient docking and 6 for the City's Marine Patrol. The 62 slip marina was substantially reduced in size from a 106 slip marina proposal which the Cabinet rejected earlier in March, 2001. The reduction in the number of boat slips resulted in removal of objections to the project by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission based on manatee impacts because the lower number of slips came into compliance with the Miami-Dade County manatee protection plan. The single issue remaining to be decided by the Cabinet was whether the revised project met the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve hardship and public interest tests.

Copyright © 2001. Everglades Village. All rights reserved

23-Nov-01

NY Times Editorial:
Two Bushes and the Everglades

Nearly one year has passed since President Clinton signed into law a $7.8 billion measure to restore the Florida Everglades. The bill commanded overwhelming bipartisan support and provided the framework for the most ambitious ecosystem recovery project in history. Because the costs will be shared equally by the federal and state governments, the responsibility for getting this momentous undertaking off to a solid start rests squarely with President Bush and his brother Jeb, the governor of Florida. And that has made many friends of the Everglades a bit nervous.  The president and governor both have pledged their devotion to the Everglades and both have found room in their budgets for $200 million each in first-year costs. The nervousness arises from doubts about their willingness to stay the course against what is sure to be determined opposition from Florida's developers and agricultural interests as well as some local communities.  The purpose of the Everglades project is simply stated — to replicate as nearly as possible the historical flows of fresh water that once made South Florida a biological wonderland. These flows slowed to a trickle over a half-century ago when Congress, following back-to-back hurricanes, ordered up a massive flood control project and the Army Corps of Engineers responded by draining 500,000 acres south of Lake Okeechobee with a vast web of levees, canals and pumping stations. This spectacular feat of engineering made Florida's east coast safe for development and its midlands safe for profitable sugar cane. But it robbed the Everglades and the fishing grounds of Florida Bay of their traditional sources of water, and nearly killed both.

Read more..
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

 

18-Nov-01

Bush Team Is Reversing Environmental Policies

In the last two months, the Bush administration has proceeded with several regulations, legal settlements and legislative measures intended to reverse Clinton-era environmental policies.  These include moves to allow road- building in national forests, reverse the phase out of snowmobiles in national parks, make it easier for mining companies to dig for gold, copper and zinc on public lands, ease energy-saving standards for air-conditioners, bar the reintroduction of grizzly bears in the Northwest and, environmentalists say, make it easier for developers to eliminate wetlands.  Environmentalists are angered that in some cases the administration, in the name of national security, is taking steps that they say promote the interests of timber, mining, oil, gas and pipeline companies, at the expense of the environment.  "They've used the smoke screen of the last two months to make key decisions out of public view," said Philip E. Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust. "The most difficult situation we face is that the attention of the media is almost exclusively on Afghanistan and anthrax."  Most notable, critics say, is the administration's renewed advocacy of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. As President Bush said last month, "The less dependent we are on foreign sources of crude oil, the more secure we are at home."  Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, said the administration's view that oil drilling in Alaska was a matter of national security represented a "false patriotism."

Read more..
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

The Green Revolution: It's Also the Color of Money

Advocates for roadless wilderness and similar conservation issues have traditionally emphasized the ethical imperatives and aesthetic rewards of promoting environmentalism. But, perhaps noticing that money is green, too, a growing, hardnosed component in the environmental community, often led by constituents in the outdoor industry, is hammering out a different kind of message: that there are great practical, economic benefits to protecting the environment, and in promoting outdoor recreation.  In a study that will be released next week, "The Bottom Line: Protecting the Value of America 's Public Lands," Business for Wilderness, a program of the Outdoor Industry Association, quantifies the economic impact visitors have on a wide range of communities near recreation areas. These are not all A-list areas, like Montana's Glacier National Park or Florida 's Everglades , either. Yet many of them generate significant, steady revenue, often for distressed rural communities. The report also identifies the prime threats posed to such areas by proposed activities such as mining, development and acid rain pollution.  The Business for Wilderness program ultimately seeks to increase the recreation industry's profile and its involvement in decisions about United States public land. Its goals include protecting wilderness (and roadless) areas, expanding the number of national recreation destinations and protecting public access.

Read more..
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

17-Nov-01

Six years in the making, Lake Trafford restoration under way

Bass fisherman Ted Roebuck recalled the dismay he felt in 1996 when seeing thousands of dead fish in murky Lake Trafford in Immokalee. "It was unbelievable. I didn't think that many fish could even live in the lake," said Roebuck, 55, of Immokalee. "I thought, 'How did I miss all these fish?' As a sport fisherman it was sickening to see all that. Anticipating a future of clear water and thriving aquatic habitats, Collier County residents and environmental officials celebrated six years of lobbying and planning Friday at a groundbreaking ceremony for the restoration of Lake Trafford.  The aim of the Lake Trafford Project, scheduled to begin later this year or early next year, is to dredge the 1,500-acre lake of an accumulation of 8.5 million cubic yards of muck and chemicals that killed masses of fish in 1996 and 1997.  "You wouldn't believe how far you could go out and pick up mud," said Roebuck, one of one of about 100 people who attended the ceremony at Lake Trafford Marina, 6001 Lake Trafford Road. "It's just soupy."

Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

Sugar industry decries ads as false

An advertising campaign launched in major magazines this month by the company that markets Save Our Everglades sugar has angered South Florida's sugar industry.The ads -- one showing chicks, another an alligator and the third a dead tree -- blame sugar growers for Everglades pollution. The ad picturing chicks reads, "Dead chemical runoff from Florida's sugar industry has helped push life in the Everglades to the brink of extinction." Local sugar growers say the claim is false."The statement that we are causing animals to become extinct is outlandish and false," said Jorge Dominicis, spokesman for the Fanjul family's Florida Crystals Corp. in West Palm Beach. "When they say things like that to sell a product, when they have to rely on false images, it calls into question their credibility."

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

Graham move the same way as blackmail to get way

On Nov. 9, The Post reported that Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., was holding up the nomination of Steven Williams to be head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He took this action in opposition to the closing of the local Everglades restoration office.  This I would classify as blackmail by Sen. Graham to get his way. Whether the Everglades restoration office should be closed is a different subject and could be discussed and debated properly. The nomination of Mr. Williams should not be held captive by blackmail. If Mr. Williams is not qualified, Sen. Graham should so state.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

Graham right to oppose closing Everglades office

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., again has demonstrated real leadership by opposing the closure of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project office headed by Michael Davis. I hope others will follow his lead and speak out against this action, which threatens the Everglades restoration process.  Sen. Graham has real vision, and I hope his efforts succeed in reversing this decision.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

Boynton Beach officials irked over limits on aquifer water

BOYNTON BEACH -- The gallons of water Boynton Beach is allowed to suck out of the ground is not enough for the city's changing population, city staff say.  And if the amount of water is not increased, future building could come to a standstill, Assistant City Manager Dale Sugerman said.  The South Florida Water Management District regulates the amount of water cities can take out of the underground aquifer to serve their residents.  Boynton Beach is allowed to withdraw 142 gallons of water from the aquifer per person per day.  But that might not be enough water for the approximately 90,000 customers the city serves, Sugerman said. Within the next month, the city plans to renew its permit and ask the district to increase the amount of water it can withdraw. Sugerman estimates that the city's actual usage is about 174 gallons per capita per day.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

16-Nov-01

The World Descends on the Everglades

Isn't it funny how there are some things we Floridians never do unless we have visitors in town? We often don't appreciate the things around us until someone else comes to town to remind us.  Some of the world's leading environmental experts, from famous ecosystems known the world over, are congregating in South Florida this week. They are here to remind us that the mighty Everglades are known on the same level as famous places such as the Amazon rainforest, the savannahs of Africa, and the Galapagos Islands.

Read more..

Copyright (c) 2001 National Broadcasting Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Water Groups Plan to Face Higher Demand
Growth is expected to almost double the area's need by the year 2020.

Growth will exceed the water supply in an area of Central Florida that includes the northeast corner of Polk County within two decades, officials of two water districts were told by experts this week during a joint meeting in Orlando.  "The critical thing is not when there's going to be a water shortage, but how we can be prepared for that shortage," said William Kerr of the St. Johns River Water Management District.  Growth in the area, which includes parts of Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Orange and Polk counties, is expected to result in a water demand of 632 million gallons per day by the year 2020, said Chris Sweazy, a senior planner for the South Florida Water Management District. That's almost twice the demand the area saw in 1995, which was 323 million gallons a day.

Copyright © 2001 The Ledger.  All rights reserved.

 

River runs a bit low now

Putting the bends back in a portion of the Kissimmee River has restored some of the natural beauty that was destroyed when the Army Corps of Engineers created a 56-mile canal out of the 103-mile meandering waterway in the 1960s.  The 15 miles of restored river are a sight, but with dry season starting this month, officials warn that boaters must be careful. That's because water levels in the restored portion of the river are once again dependent on rainfall, just as they were before the river was channelized.  "Traveling the Kissimmee River is much more interesting and full of life than in years past. In some sections, it's not the same deep, wide and straight waterway that boaters have known for 30 years," said Harkley Thornton, the St. Cloud resident who is on the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District.

Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel. All rights reserved.

 

Contractor suit threatens to slow Everglades fix
The Everglades restoration could be hobbled for up to six months after a contractor filed a legal challenge accusing water managers of unfairly denying the company a crucial slice of the $8.4 billion project. Foster Wheeler Environmental Corp. says the South Florida Water Management District wrongly made last-minute changes in the way it ranked three companies vying for a $25 million restoration contract, thus creating "opportunities for favoritism."  Foster Wheeler's petition says water managers also allowed an attorney for another unsuccessful rival, CH2MHill, to violate district rules against lobbying board members. The attorney, Justin Sayfie of Fort Lauderdale, is a former aide to Gov. Jeb Bush. The challenge means that for now nobody gets the contract to help the district manage the first five years of the four-decade restoration. The winner would work on tasks such as negotiating land purchases and dealing with lawmakers.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

15-Nov-01

Norton: Closing local office will help Everglades project
The Post's Nov. 12 editorial on the Interior Department's efforts to improve stewardship and streamline Everglades restoration ("Reopen Everglades office") overlooked three important points. First, President Bush has made a strong commitment to Everglades restoration. The administration shepherded through Congress a $31.4 million, or 37 percent, increase in the Interior Department's budget for Everglades restoration.  Second, we will save $1.3 million in duplicative administrative overhead, which the department will redirect to important restoration projects at National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge and the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.  Third, coordination of Everglades activities will be elevated and intensified. Col. Terrence "Rock" Salt, the highly respected executive director of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, will play an enhanced role in Everglades restoration activities and report directly to my office. Also, National Park Service Director Fran Mainella, the former director of the Florida Recreation and Parks system, is infinitely familiar with the Everglades and will work aggressively on this important project.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

14-Nov-01

Tourist destination plan unveiled for ex-air base
If the faltering plan for a commercial airport at the old Homestead Air Reserve Base eventually dies, county officials should use the surplus land to create ``a destination'' for tourists visiting the Everglades, Florida Keys and Biscayne National Park, according to a plan released Tuesday by Miami-Dade County's economic development agency.  Dubbed ``Destination Everglades,'' the proposed hotel, conference and ecological research center would take advantage of the property's location between South Florida's three great natural areas in hopes of capturing a bit of the eco-tourism industry booming worldwide.  If approved by county commissioners Dec. 4, the proposal would provide an alternative to plans to build a commercial airfield on the Air Force land that have been mired in controversy since the base closed after Hurricane Andrew.  Indeed, the Department of Defense outright rejected the idea of an airport earlier this year, prompting county commissioners to sue. At the same time, county officials hedged their bets.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

09-Nov-01

Graham holds up Bush appointment for closing of 'Glades office
Unhappy about an announcement this week that the Department of Interior plans to close an Everglades restoration office in West Palm Beach, Sen. Bob Graham retaliated Thursday by putting a hold on a Bush Administration appointment. Graham's hold, a parliamentary move that allows individual senators to stall presidential appointments indefinitely, will delay a final vote on the nomination of Steve Williams, a Kansas official chosen by President Bush to be director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Graham, who was instrumental in getting the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan through Congress last year, has asked for a meeting with Interior Secretary Gale Norton to discuss the closing of the office. "I look forward to speaking directly to Secretary Norton about the administration's commitment to the Everglades in light of the decision to close the office in West Palm Beach," Graham said, in a prepared statement. No meeting had been set as of Thursday night.
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

Sen. Bob Graham places 'hold' on Fish and Wildlife nomination Senate rules allow any senator to block a presidential nomination from making it to the floor for a confirmation vote.
Between the ducks and the alligators, President Bush's nominee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can't catch a break.  Sen. Bob Graham placed a "hold" on the nomination of Steve Williams on Thursday, citing a disagreement with Interior Secretary Gale Norton over her decision to close the department's Everglades restoration office in West Palm Beach.
A week ago, Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn., also placed a hold on the nomination, in this case because of a dispute with Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott over the length of the duck-hunting season in Mississippi, Lott's home state, and five other Southern states. There was also talk about a third hold being placed on the nomination Thursday by an unidentified senator. The holds last indefinitely.  Senate rules allow any senator to block a presidential nomination from making it to the floor for a confirmation vote. Senators do not have to reveal their identities or their reasoning in placing the hold, and Senate leadership won't even confirm whether a hold exists. But Graham, D-Miami Lakes, and Dayton revealed their actions because they feel so strongly about the issues at hand.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Graham uses nominee as Everglades protest
Hoping to get the administration to reconsider its move to close the Everglades Restoration Office, Sen. Bob Graham has placed a hold on President Bush's nominee to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Graham acknowledged that he is using the parliamentary device -- by which individual senators can indefinitely block a nomination from being considered by the full Senate -- in response to Interior Secretary Gale Norton's controversial closing of the office in West Palm Beach.  "I look forward to speaking directly to Secretary Norton about the administration's commitment to the Everglades in light of the decision to close the office in West Palm Beach," Graham said. The Interior Department's action -- which took Florida lawmakers by surprise and angered some environmental groups -- was announced Tuesday. The nomination of Steven Williams of Kansas is the first related to the Interior Department to come before the Senate since the announcement. Williams' nomination was endorsed earlier Thursday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Graham blocking Fish and Wildlife nominee
The Florida senator has put a hold on Bush's selection after an Everglades Restoration office was closed.
Sen. Bob Graham has moved to block President Bush's nominee for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director after federal officials announced the closing of a West Palm Beach Everglades Restoration office earlier this week. On Tuesday, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton approved a plan to shut down the office as a way of streamlining bureaucracy and freeing $1.3-million over three years for other activities. To show his displeasure, Graham, D-Fla., used a maneuver called a hold, which prevents the Senate from considering the nomination of Steven Williams to head the Fish and Wildlife Service. Now the director of Kansas' Department of Wildlife and Parks, Williams was nominated by Bush in the summer. Graham aides have been in contact with Interior officials throughout the week, but the senator and the secretary have not spoken. Graham's displeasure seems to be aimed more at Norton's silence than at Williams' political leanings or past actions.
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

 

08-Nov-01

Miccosukee sues to limit flooding on tribal lands
The Miccosukee Tribe is again asking a federal judge to order the Army Corps of Engineers to ease flooding on tribal lands by opening water-control gates that have been shut to help an endangered sparrow.  The closing of those gates along the Tamiami Trail on Nov. 1 made tribal lands in the central Everglades too waterlogged, the tribe argues in a motion filed Wednesday in federal court.  In taking such "emergency" action, the Corps deviated from lawful water-management rules and violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the tribe argues.
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

Lake O wells will get clean water

OKEECHOBEE -- Water managers will not pump untreated surface water into the underground drinking water supply as they move ahead with Everglades restoration plans that include building more than 300 wells where water can be stored and pumped back up for future use. "We have made a commitment that the water we pump underground will meet all environmental standards," said Henry Dean, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.  Dean and Col. Greg May, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Jacksonville district, met with officials from a seven-county coalition Wednesday to discuss Lake Okeechobee restoration plans and lake levels. The coalition is made up of government officials from Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee, Lee, Hendry and Glades counties, all of which have an interest in the way Lake Okeechobee is managed.  The "aquifer storage and recovery," or ASR wells, are a major part of plans to capture and save water that now is dumped in canals that lead to the ocean. The district is just beginning to test the technology. The general idea is to build 300 wells deep into the limestone near Lake Okeechobee. During the rainy season, water managers would pump as much as a billion gallons of fresh water a day into the brackish aquifer. During the dry season, it would be pumped back out when water is needed.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

 

07-Nov-01

Miccosukee Tribe Seeks Injunction to Protect Tribal Everglades Asks Court to Force Corps to Open Gates and Comply With NEPA

Today, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, who live in the Florida Everglades, announced that they have filed a Second Motion for Preliminary Injunction and a Supplemental Complaint in federal court asking that the Corps be required to open the S-12A gates to move water south off of Tribal lands. The Motion and Supplemental Complaint filed in Case No. 00-33-CIV-MOORE allege that the Corps has initiated a deviation from the lawful Water Control Plan
without conducting the environmental reviews required by law. The Water Control Plan contains a regulation schedule that regulates how high water can get on Tribal Everglades lands in Water Conservation Area-3A before the flood gates must be open to let water out. The Water Control Plan requires that the S-12 flood gates be open when the water elevation in WCA-3A is 10.5 feet. The Tribe contends that the Corps closed the S-12A flood gates on November 1, 2001, even though the water was over 11 feet, and the gates remain closed today even though the water has reached 11.19 feet. They also contend that unlike the previous four annual so-called "emergency" deviations that the Corps conducted, and which the Tribe contested, this time the Corps has not sought, nor obtained, permission for an "emergency" from the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to deviate from the regulation schedule before complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

 

Norton Closes Everglades Office, Environmentalists angered by Interior decision

Norton’s decision to shut down the West Palm Beach office, which was created in the last month of the Clinton administration, and to transfer director Michael Davis, an often controversial figure who had helped sculpt the bipartisan $7.8 billion Everglades restoration plan over the last decade. Davis also criticized the move, as did former Clinton administration officials and a local Republican congressman.
       “I am disappointed in Secretary Norton’s decision,” said Davis, a biologist with 23 years of federal service. “I believe that the office is unequivocally justified and consistent with the president’s desire to get senior managers out of Washington and into the communities affected by agency actions. The establishment of the office reflected a vision and an understanding of the critical and fragile nature of the next few years.” 

Copyright  © 2001 Washington Post  All rights reserved.

 

Letter by Michael L. Davis, Director of Everglades Restoration, US Department of the Interior, re:

Department of the Interior closing its Everglades Restoration Office in West Palm Beach

I am sure that by now most of you are aware that Secretary Norton has decided to close the Office of Everglades Restoration in West Palm Beach.  I am disappointed in the Secretary's decision and continue to believe that the office is not only justified but necessary if we are to successfully coordinate the many initiatives associated with Everglades restoration. The establishment of the office reflected vision and an understanding that an effort of this nature cannot be managed solely out of Washington. Further, it reflected an understanding of the critical and fragile nature of this early phase of implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan.

 

U.S. closes Glades restoration office in West Palm Beach

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Interior decided Tuesday to close the Office of Everglades Restoration to ``streamline'' the bureaucracy handling the massive project, and the move created an immediate environmental controversy.   Interior officials said closing the West Palm Beach office, set up to coordinate the complex restoration effort costing $7.8 billion over three decades, would save $1.3 million that would be better used for environmental projects in South Florida.  But the director of Everglades restoration, Michael Davis, said he was ``disappointed'' at the decision to eliminate his job and the office.  He said the interlocking series of projects to restore the Everglades ``requires senior-level management in this community -- it can't be done from Washington.''  Rep. Peter Deutsch, whose district includes much of the Everglades, criticized the decision, saying it showed Interior Secretary Gale Norton's ``continuing insensitivity to environmental issues -- I hope it's not a final decision.''  The Interior Department said the year-old office, set up by the Clinton administration, duplicated work done by two of its bureaus, Fish and Wildlife and the National Park Service.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

Gale Blows Off Florida
In a decision environmentalists say is symbolic of the Bush administration's lack of commitment to conservation issues, Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the closure of the federal Office of Everglades Restoration yesterday. The office was created in the last month of the Clinton administration to implement the nation's most ambitious ecosystem restoration project ever -- the 30-year, $7.8 billion recovery plan for the Florida Everglades. Norton said the office was closed to reduce bureaucratic overhead, but critics say Bush was doing a favor for his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who has fought to limit the Interior Department's role in the restoration project. "We think this is a huge step backward," said Save Our Everglades spokesperson Joe Garcia.

  straight to the source: Washington Post, Michael Grunwald, 06 Nov 2001
straight to the source: Miami Herald, Frank Davies, 07 Nov 2001
do good: Take action to stop the destruction of the Everglades

© 2001, Earth Day Network. All rights reserved.

 

Closure of Everglades Restoration Office Draws Complaints
Environmentalists and some Florida lawmakers are criticizing President Bush's administration for closing the local Everglades restoration office, saying the move signals a lack of commitment to the massive project.  The Interior Department announced Tuesday it was shutting down the Office of Everglades Restoration in West Palm Beach and reassigning the director.  Interior officials said they wanted to streamline the bureaucracy of the recovery effort, which aims to repair the fragile ecosystem of the Everglades and restore natural water flows over three decades.  "I think it does cast doubt on our new administration's commitment to Everglades restoration when they take one of the star players out of the game," said Eric Draper, a lobbyist for the Florida Audubon Society. "It just does not make sense to set him aside."  Federal officials said the closure saves $1.3 million that can be used for two other South Florida environmental projects: saving endangered Florida Key deer habitats and removing invasive weeds in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

Read More...

Copyright  2001.  TBO. All rights reserved.

 

06-Nov-01  

Everglades Restoration Office to Close

Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton announced today that she is closing the federal Office of Everglades Restoration, vowing to slash redundant bureaucratic overhead without diminishing the Bush administration's commitment to reviving the Florida Everglades.  Environmentalists denounced Norton's decision to shut down the West Palm Beach office, which was created in the last month of the Clinton administration, and to transfer director Michael Davis, an often controversial figure who had helped sculpt the bipartisan $7.8 billion Everglades restoration plan during the past decade. Davis also criticized the move, as did several former Clinton administration officials.  "I am disappointed in Secretary Norton's decision," said Davis, a biologist with 23 years of federal service. "I believe that the office is unequivocally justified and consistent with the president's desire to get senior managers out of Washington and into the communities affected by agency actions. The establishment of the office reflected a vision and an understanding of the critical and fragile nature of the next few years."  Some of the critics compared the move to earlier Bush administration decisions to close offices dedicated to AIDS and women's issues, saying it demonstrates a real and symbolic lack of commitment to the largest ecosystem restoration in history. Others described the move as an anti-environmental favor to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, who has fought to limit Interior's role in replumbing the parched Everglades. But administration officials said the shutdown will save $1.3 million, which will be redirected to help relocate endangered deer and control non-native trees at two wildlife refuges in South Florida.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

 

05-Nov-01

 In the 1960s, the Amy Corps of Engineers drained one-half of the Everglades' 1.6 million acres for agribusiness and urban development. Since then, the sugar industry has used that land to help wipe out millions of native plants and animals with poisonous chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers. Please help us stop them by using Save Our Everglades Sugar, 100% pure cane sugar grown in America, outside our Everglades.  It does no environmental harm. And with every purchase you contribute to the Everglades Foundation, a non-profit group dedicated to restoring this national treasure for future generations. The choice is yours.

Read More...

Copyright © 2001 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

 

29-Oct-01

Battle for environmental causes losing ground

Not even egrets and alligators can escape the shadow of Sept. 11. For the Everglades, the fate of an $8.4 billion restoration is in limbo, as terrorism, war and a sinking economy have upended the nation's priorities and squeezed spending. It's just one example of a chill that has settle on a variety of environmental causes in wartime America, where data on toxic chemicals have vanished from some government websites and activists have felt compelled to refrain from criticizing President Bush. The increasing instability of the Middle East has also fueled efforts in Congress to open the Alaskan wilderness to oil drilling, and the Florida Gulf Coast might not be far behind.  But environmental lobbyists hope the crisis also could generate support for solar and wind energy, along with increased fuel efficiency in cars. Environmentalists say they're still optimistic, although some expect an even tougher fight than usual to get money and public support. Many of their adversaries are in the same position, however.  "Yes, it's true that protecting the environment is now a secondary or even tertiary issue," said Joe Browder, a Washington-based lobbyist and board member of the group Friends of the Everglades. "But so is almost everything else."
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

18-Oct-01

 

08-Oct-01 Time Magazine Ad

Signs in the Everglades tell the story of fifty yeas of pollution and neglect. Deadly chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers used in sugar production have helped decimate native wildlife. There are 48 endangered species, 14 more threatened, and 93% of all migratory birds have been killed or driven off. The entire food chain is poisoned. But you can help by using Save Our Everglades Sugar. Grown in America, outside the Everglades, it's 100% pure cane sugar that does no harm to this fragile ecosystem. And the money from every purchase of Save Our Everglades Sugar goes to the Everglades Foundation. The choice is yours.

Read More...

Copyright © 2001 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

 

05-Sept-01  

Reno Meanders Into Race for Governor of Florida

	(AP) Former Attorney General Janet Reno, at her home in a Miami suburb, became a candidate for the Florida governor's race on Tuesday.
			In Depth Campaigns

MIAMI, Sept. 4 — For months, Janet Reno sure looked like a candidate for the Florida governor's race. Today, she officially became one.

After conducting a four-month unofficial exploratory campaign for governor, Ms. Reno said simply, "I am seeking the office," in an interview today from the back porch of her home in Kendall, a suburb of Miami.

The low-key manner in which she made the announcement provided a preview of what is likely to be a campaign played without a rule book. Instead of speaking before a bank of microphones with spotlights aimed at her, Ms. Reno invited reporters to "show up" at her house for five-minute, one-on-one interviews about her decision to open a campaign fund with the state election's office as the first step in seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

Hours earlier, she released a statement confirming her intention to take on President Bush's brother Jeb when he is up for re-election next year.

"I want to build the best education system in the nation, protect the environment and stand up for our elders," Ms. Reno said in the statement. "People tell me they share my vision and are looking for strong independent leadership. That's why today I am taking my first steps in organizing my campaign for governor."
Read more..
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

 

03-Sept-01  

Hunters could soon be extinct in Everglades National Park

Starting with the opening of archery season this week, rangers will mount what they call an `education campaign.'  Hunting is illegal in Everglades National Park but for the last dozen years rangers have largely ignored the sharp echo of rifles and shotguns across a swath of northeastern sawgrass.  That's because the East Everglades was really part of the park only on paper, a line on a map outlining nearly 110,000 acres of remote West Miami-Dade that Congress added to the park in 1989.  Much of the property remained in private hands, and life pretty much went on as it had for generations. Meaning hunters, banned everywhere else in the park, glided over the marsh in airboats and told tall tales in cabins hidden in the maze of jungled tree islands.  Now, with some 95 percent of the area purchased, park managers finally are ready to fully claim the East Everglades. Starting with the opening of archery season this week, rangers will mount what they call an ``education campaign'' to ease hunters outside park boundaries.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

Reno Is a Definite Maybe for Florida Governor Bid

	Andrew Itkoff for The New York Times Former Attorney General Janet Reno on Saturday at her home in Kendall, Fla., as she neared a decision on whether to run for governor.
			In Depth Campaigns

It is a sweltering Labor Day weekend afternoon, but Janet Reno does not seem to mind the heat. She grew up in it and still has an air-conditioner in only one room in her house here. And she does not seem to mind that her phone rarely stops ringing or that reporters and photographers are driving all over her golf-course-green lawn on what might otherwise be a lazy day in the shade.

Ms. Reno, the former United States attorney general, created this stir when she unexpectedly announced in May that she might run for governor of Florida when the president's brother, Jeb Bush, is up for re-election next year.

So far, Ms. Reno has not tipped her hand, but in an interview at her home on Saturday she suggested she might announce her decision in the next day or so.

"I've got more people to talk to in the next day or so, but I'm coming very close to a decision," she said, sitting in the screened-in back porch at her house in Kendall, a suburb of Miami, sipping diet ginger ale with a half-eaten bowl of sliced honeydew melon nearby.

For months, she has been traveling the state in her Ford Ranger on a loosely organized exploratory campaign. She has spoken to a broad spectrum of voters, including retirees, college students and victims of domestic violence, on issues like the environment, education and preventive medical care, none of which are being adequately addressed in Florida, she says.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

 

Reno Plans to Run for Florida Governor

Janet Reno plans to take the first official step Tuesday in the race for Florida governor, setting up a possible matchup between the former attorney general and the president's brother, The Associated Press has learned.  Reno will file paperwork to enable her to raise money for the gubernatorial bid, two Democratic sources said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.  Reno said Monday that she planned to announce whether she would seek the office.  ``I think you should stay tuned,'' Reno told reporters at a Labor Day picnic near her home in southwest Miami-Dade County on Monday.  Her face shaded by a wide-brimmed straw hat on a steamy afternoon, Reno said she had not ``made up my mind yet'' on the race and planned to make a few last-minute calls to supporters.  ``People want somebody who will lead with independence, with strength, who will work hard for what is important,'' Reno said.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

NY Times Editorial:  A Victory for Endangered Species

Last week's agreement between Interior Secretary Gale Norton and several conservation groups on ways to administer the Endangered Species Act more efficiently came as a pleasant surprise. However, the agreement should not obscure one basic fact: it would never have been necessary if, over the years, Congress had provided Interior with the resources it needed to enforce the act in a systematic, timely way.  Under the deal, the groups have agreed to stop suing Interior for its failure to meet legally mandated deadlines for designating "critical habitat" for eight species already listed as endangered. The department will then divert the money it is now spending on those lawsuits to the more immediate task of protecting 29 threatened species, including some that appear to be on the verge of extinction. Once a species is listed as endangered, the department can order private landowners and public agencies to take a variety of actions to help the species.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

31-August-01

Treaties May Curb Farmers' Subsidies

Every five or six years Congress argues over how to subsidize farmers. But this time around the forces against big subsidies have a new weapon: the international trade agreements the United States signed promising to reduce those payments.  For the first time in the tumultuous debate over farm policy, lawmakers trying to increase already ballooning farm subsidies could be forced to retreat because of limits required under the World Trade Organization for certain subsidies.  The trade dispute has become a major political battle within Republican ranks. Free-trading Republicans, particularly Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman, are up against several influential farm- state Republicans in the House who want to keep the large payments. This summer Representative Larry Combest, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, criticized Ms. Veneman as giving in to treaty requirements, in what he called "unilateral disarmament."
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online   All rights reserved.

29-August-01

Activists: Force Glades polluters to pay cleanup

Environmental activists who convinced Florida voters five years ago to amend the state Constitution to make polluters pay to clean up the Everglades turned to the state's high court Tuesday to enforce the amendment.  Attorneys for Save Our Everglades told the Supreme Court justices they want a court hearing to determine who should be responsible for paying the costs under a 1996 constitutional amendment that says polluters in the designated Everglades agricultural area should be ``primarily responsible'' for paying the costs of the pollution.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Group wants Florida high court to reexamine 'polluter pays' tax

An environmental coalition Tuesday asked the Florida Supreme Court to strike down a "polluter pays" tax they say is falling on the shoulders of taxpayers who aren't part of the problem while letting big sugar companies get by cheap.  Five years after Florida voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment aimed at requiring agricultural interests to pay more to clean up the Everglades, state lawmakers have yet to put the law into effect.  Environmentalists say the 1996 amendment passed by 68 percent of voters explicitly requires that only those who pollute within the region known as the Everglades Agricultural Area, a 700,000-acre, sugar-farm-dominated region located just south of Lake Okeechobee, are required to pay.  Instead, officials continue to levy a tax on property owners throughout much of the South Florida Water Management District. The tax now raises $32 million a year targeted specifically for pollution abatement. That, they argued, is an unconstitutional application of the law.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Everglades amendment backers ask high court to allow lawsuit

Five years after voters passed a ballot measure designed to make the sugar industry pay for pollution it creates in the Everglades, the question Tuesday in the state Supreme Court was whether the constitutional amendment means anything.  Voters put the language in the Florida Constitution in 1996.  The "polluters pay" proposal requires landowners in the 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area south of Lake Okeechobee to pay the costs of cleaning up water pollution they cause.  The sugar industry has most of the region planted in sugar cane; the area also has vegetables and citrus.  The state Supreme Court said in 1997 that the constitutional amendment was not "self-executing" and could only be implemented through a statute passed by the Legislature.  But lawmakers have yet to pass a law to implement the amendment.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Make polluters pay, high court urged

In 1996, voters passed an Everglades cleanup amendment that the Legislature has never enforced. Now there's a lawsuit.

It has been five years since Floridians went to the polls and voted -- by a whopping 68 percent -- to force farm interests in the Everglades to pay to clean up their pollution.  The "Polluter Pays" mandate went into what seems to be the state's most ironclad document, the Florida Constitution.  But even though voters approved it in 1996, the Polluter Pays amendment has never been enforced. Why? The Legislature never enacted a law to carry it out.  Tuesday, the Florida Supreme Court took up a case filed by Everglades cleanup activists who say ordinary citizens shouldn't be paying property taxes to clean up the Everglades when the state Constitution says polluters, not homeowners, are responsible.
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Don't make taxpayers foot the bill for farmers' pollution, lawsuit says

Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1996 requiring that polluters of Florida's Everglades be made to pay the cleanup tab.  But, in reality, millions of nonpolluting taxpayers from Orlando to Key West are illegally shouldering about one-third of the $800 million cost, the Florida Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.  Attorneys for the Everglades Foundation told the justices that all they want is their day in court to prove the tax being levied on property owners in 16 counties by the South Florida Water Management District to fund the Everglades Forever Act is unconstitutional.  "It's geographically impossible for most of the taxpayers, who don't live in the Everglades Agricultural Area, to pollute," Jon Mills, a former Florida House speaker and an attorney for the environmental group, told the high court. "Does the constitutional provision mean nothing?"
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Court caught between voters and Big Sugar

What happens when the people speak and the legislature doesn't listen?  That question hovered uncomfortably over the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday as justices took up the latest skirmish between Everglades activists, water regulators and the state's largest sugar growers.  At issue is whether millions of homeowners who live in a water management district that stretches from Orlando to Key West should pay to cleanup pollution that comes from distant farms and fouls a distant treasure, the Everglades.  Echoes of a 1996 constitutional amendment that voters overwhelming approved -- and that the legislature refused to implement -- reverberated throughout the courtroom as attorneys argued the case of Barley vs. South Florida Water Management District.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

27-August-01

US Judge asked to hold Norton, Other Officials in Contempt

A judge is being pressed to find Interior Secretary Gale Norton and other officils in contempt for allegedly misrepresenting their efforts to fix a trust fund that squandered royalties from American Indian lands.
"Defendants have participated in a pattern and practice of deception and cover-up, repeatedly violated court orders, intimidated witnesses, destroyed ... trust documents and data, and have filed innumerable frivolous motions," the plaintiffs said Monday in the contempt request to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth.

Copyright  © 2001 Wall Street Journal  All rights reserved.

 

26-August-01

Interior Tries to Fix Indian Trust Accounting System

Interior Department officials are working to fix a complex accounting system central to a $10 billion lawsuit over royalties from American Indian land that the government allegedly mismanaged, attorneys for the department said.  Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton has ordered an outside appraisal of the accounting system designed to track the Indian trust funds, department attorneys said in court filings last week.  Norton has also hired a staffer to focus specifically on the accounting system and given more authority to a trustee overseeing trust fund reform.  A court-appointed investigator slammed the $40 million accounting system this month, saying it was faulty and "may not be salvageable."  

Copyright  © 2001 Washington Post  All rights reserved.

 

22-August-01

Lawyer urges Interior misconduct probe
By Bill McAllister

 In a stunning reversal, the Interior Department's top lawyer has called for an internal investigation into whether senior Bush and Clinton administration officials have engaged in misconduct in fighting a lawsuit over Indian trust accounts.The action by newly installed Interior Solicitor William G. Myers III could pose potentially embarrassing problems for Interior Secretary Gale Norton and her top aides. Bruce Babbitt, the Clinton administration's secretary and some of his aides, also could be implicated in the investigation.
Copyright  © 2001 Denver Post  All rights reserved.

NY Times Editorial:  Retreat on Clean Air

Christie Whitman says that one of her main goals as President Bush's chief environmental officer is to streamline the Clean Air Act without diminishing its effectiveness. On the face of it, this is a laudable objective. Even Mrs. Whitman's predecessor at the Environmental Protection Agency, Carol Browner — who built a stellar record on clean air by aggressively using nearly every regulatory lever the act has to offer — was heard to complain about its complexity.  The key test of reform, however, will be whether it strengthens an important statute or weakens it in ways that please President Bush's contributors in the utility and mining industries. There are disheartening indications that the latter is what the White House has in mind. Most worrisome are reports that the administration plans to scale back if not abandon altogether an aggressive Clinton-era initiative to reduce emissions from aging coal-fired power plants. Mrs. Whitman supported the initiative when she was governor of New Jersey.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online  All rights reserved.

 

Sugar growers, farmers want to pour more pollution into Everglades

In a battle forming over the amount of phosphorus that will be allowed in the Everglades, the sugar industry is expected to push for permission to pour perhaps twice as much of the pollutant into the `Glades as scientists say is found in its pristine areas.  Phosphorus is found in unspoiled parts of the Everglades at levels below or around 10 parts per billion, say scientists from the South Florida Water Management District.  At a public meeting Thursday before state regulators, the sugar industry and other farmers are expected to argue that they should be allowed to pour 15 to 20 parts per billion, or more. Their numbers are based on findings from their own studies.  "It may sound like a very mundane and boring technical dialogue but a lot is at stake here," said Ernie Barnett, director of ecosystem projects for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. "Both sides are pretty polarized."  According to an Audubon of Florida official, if the limit goes higher than 10 parts per billion, "the Everglades dies."  The scientific analysis out there "all seems to irrevocably point to 10 parts per billion as the appropriate criterion," Charles Lee, the group's senior vice president, said.
Copyright  © 2001 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

 

`Big sugar' gears up to defend subsidy
Consumers paying millions, report says

Florida's sugar producers, a potent force in state business and politics, are preparing to fight off another attempt to end an agricultural program that some call the sweetest subsidy of them all -- the support of sugar prices by the U.S. government. The program costs consumers of sugar, from families to food businesses, $800 million to $1.9 billion a year, according to a detailed report by the General Accounting Office issued last year. And last fall, when sugar prices plummeted, U.S. producers forfeited $430 million of raw sugar to the government rather than pay back federal loans in cash, a tab picked up by taxpayers. After Congress returns from vacation next month, a coalition of consumer, environmental and business groups -- food manufacturers seeking cheaper sugar -- will try to phase out the entire program, which includes import limits as well as price supports and keeps U.S. sugar prices two to three times higher than in other markets. The wide variance in the sugar program's estimated cost to the consumer is because no one knows how much savings a candymaker, for example, would pass on if the price of sugar dropped sharply, said Jay Cherlow, a GAO economist who worked on the report.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

21-August-01

An Environmental Nominee Is Opposed

Democratic critics and environmental groups are stepping up pressure to halt President Bush's nomination of Ohio's top environmental regulator to be the lead enforcer for the Environmental Protection Agency.  Critics say that the regulator, Donald Schregardus, was lax during his tenure in Ohio and that several programs for which he was responsible are under investigation by the federal agency. Mr. Schregardus also opposed lawsuits filed by the federal government during the Clinton administration against power plants, many of them in the Midwest, which emit pollution that drifts toward the Northeast. As a result, his nomination is shaping up as the latest battleground in the regional war over acid rain and other policies affecting clean air.  Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, today joined Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, in putting a "hold" on Mr. Schregardus's nomination. That effectively blocks the nomination from being voted on by the full Senate.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online   All rights reserved.


EPA Haze Plan Attracts Skepticism

The once-clear vistas in many national parks and wilderness areas are turning a hazy shade of winter from pollution traveling hundreds of miles from old, coal-fired power plants and factories.  But the Environmental Protection Agency has a plan to clear the haze plaguing some of the nation's most popular scenery. At a public hearing Tuesday, federal regulators straddled industry opposition and environmentalist alarm.  The EPA plan calls for a set of guidelines to help state air quality agencies put pollution controls on the hundreds of power plants built between 1962 and 1977.  ``Many of these facilities previously have been exempt from federal pollution control requirements under the Clean Air Act,'' Lydia Wegman, head of the EPA's Air Quality Strategies and Standards Division, told the nearly 100 people who came to testify.  ``The proposed rule does not set federal emission limits for these plants,'' Wegman said. ``States will set those limits as they implement the regional haze rule.'' The guidelines will be made final by late summer or fall 2002.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 AP  All rights reserved.

Democrats Block Bush's EPA Enforcer Nominee

 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Two Democratic senators have effectively blocked President Bush's nominee for chief enforcement officer at the Environmental Protection Agency out of fear the administration won't pursue lawsuits against polluting businesses.  U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., placed a hold Monday on the nomination of Donald Schregardus, keeping the appointment from being voted on by the full Senate.  Schumer said he would not release the nomination until the Republican administration clarifies its role in pending lawsuits against power plants and explains its plan to improve air quality in the Northeast.  For eight years, Schregardus directed the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency after serving in the federal EPA during the administration of Bush's father.  The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved his nomination Aug. 1 over the objections of the four Democrats on the committee.  Schumer said Schregardus isn't supportive of the federal role in the acid rain lawsuits and said the nominee supported a 1996 Ohio law that grants immunity from civil action when utility companies voluntarily report violations of environmental regulations.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online   All rights reserved.

 

19-August-01

Norton Charts a Different Course for the Interior Department

On the stump, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton was painting a picture of an Arctic wildlife refuge stocked with nearly invisible oil drilling pads, pumps, pipes and roads. She told oil and gas executives that the size of the industrial "footprint" in wildest Alaska would amount to a mere fraction of Denver International Airport, and then a few days later here in Idaho she compared the print to the much smaller Spokane airport in eastern Washington.  Out in the hallway at the second event, her newly named ambassador to the West, an energy industry lobbyist named Kit Kimball, was expressing concerns about the wolves now roaming the Rocky Mountains, and promising Western officials and business leaders that a fresh day had dawned at Interior.  Few things reveal what a change in power means so much as when someone new takes over at Interior. The secretary is the emperor of the outdoors, in charge of 436 million acres of public land, as well as the nation's leading water manager, controlling access to 31 million people. And thrown in as a sort of historical afterthought is the domain of American Indian trust lands.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online   All rights reserved.

No Greens Need Apply

While Congress and the country have been debating high-profile environmental issues, like whether to drill for oil in the Arctic, President Bush has been quietly filling key subcabinet posts with conservative activists and industry lobbyists who have spent their careers criticizing the laws they are now sworn to uphold.  These appointments should dispel any doubts about Mr. Bush's intention to weaken the strong environmental protections he inherited from the Clinton administration. Unlike his father, who reached into academia and even the environmental community for some of his appointments, Mr. Bush seems determined to return to the Reagan era, when ideologues like James Watt ran the Interior Department and most of the important regulatory jobs were filled with representatives of the businesses being regulated.
Read more...
Copyright  © 2001 NY Times online   All rights reserved.

15-August-01

Everglades restoration at risk, Gov. Bush told
Environmentalist painted a bleak picture of the future of a 
$7.8 billion Everglades restoration project on Tuesday, warning that the
state is losing a race against the developers' bulldozer and skyrocketing
property values.  "We're in a development race against the train, so to 
speak," Erin Deady, an attorney with Audubon of Florida, told Gov. Jeb 
Bush and the Florida Cabinet during a marathon meeting. Instead the Cabinet 
took no formal action. [On creating a new area of critical state concern] 
However, Bush sent a few signals that gave environmentalists hope.  He 
ordered Seibert to keep a closer eye on development in restoration areas.  
"There's a lot of work to do, Mr. Seibert. I hope you were listening," Bush 
said.  Perhaps more significantly, Bush and his top administrators signaled 
for he first time their willingness to consider borrowing against an Everglades
land acquisition fund to speed portions of the project. 
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Letter to the editor  
Is there no agency that really will protect lake?

The Post's front-page Aug. 2 article "No slowdown to Lake O runoff pumping"
begins: "Sugar growers and water managers are opposing regulators who
question the quality of runoff water." The public should recognize that the
sugar growers and water managers are virtually one and the same, not two
separate entities. They see the lake through the same eyes; their disdain
for the lake's water quality is identical.

Now, we see that "the twins" have a third brother, that being the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, which announced July 18 that it
would issue an order to stop the Belle Glade pumps, where the nutrient-
laden "water" is the worst. Now, the DEP won't enforce its own order
because officials "can't get the wording right." Evidently, stop is not in
their vocabulary.

The condition of the lake isn't a concern just for the few thousand of us
who pursue our recreation there. How many tourists will be lured back to
miles of algae blooms and decomposing fish?

Coastal dwellers, beware. When the lake reaches its fill of witches' brew,
the overflow will be headed for the Indian River Lagoon. This isn't
speculation -- just history repeating itself. http://gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/wednesday/opinion_5.html
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.



Florida Forever land purchase OK'd for $6.5 million
(AP) -- Forever started Tuesday for fragile lands in Florida.  Gov. Jeb Bush and 
the Cabinet approved the first purchase of a parcel of environmentally sensitive 
land for preservation under the ``Florida Forever'' program.

The state has been buying land to keep it from being developed for more
than a decade under the Preservation 2000 program.  But that program expired 
last year and lawmakers replaced it with Florida Forever, which will spend $3 
billion in state money over the next decade to keep sensitive lands and water bodies 
out of development.

Bush and the Cabinet approved the purchase Tuesday of more than 2,400 acres
adjoining the Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environment Area in Highlands
County.  The state will pay $6.5 million for the parcel along the western shore of
Lake Istokpoga. The land has primarily been used as a cattle ranch and a
hunting area.  The land, being sold by Silver Harbor Ranch Inc., also contains an
important archaeological site. A burial mound used by Indians about 2,000
years ago, one of the earliest known burial mounds in that part of Florida,
is on the ranch.

Evidence collected at the site shows Indians in the area used the mound
between 1 and 350 A.D. There are also at least 10 rare plant species on the
ranch, and it is home to Florida black bears, at least two bald eagle
nests, gopher tortoises, scrub jays and Florida sandhill cranes.  The property will be 
managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission. 
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/florida/digdocs/047271.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.


Everglades land buying too slow, Bush told
Rising land prices threaten to make the $8-billion Everglades
restoration plan more costly.

Environmental advocates urged Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday to
step up efforts to buy land for the massive Everglades restoration plan,
before escalating prices doom the River of Grass.  

"We need to improve the speed of this land acquisition program," warned
Charles Lee, senior vice president of Audubon of Florida. "Everglades
restoration is either going to be real or Everglades restoration is going
to be a mirage."

Bush and the Cabinet took no formal action, although Bush acknowledged a
need for changes in the way the state handles land acquisition.

The governor used far stronger language in June, when the Cabinet split
over buying an 18-acre parcel for Everglades restoration for $44,000 an
acre, a significantly higher price than expected.

Bush was so angry then that he said his blood was boiling. The governor,
who once worked in real estate, said no one could really develop the swampy
property, but it was priced as if it could be.

He blamed local governments in South Florida, which he said were doing such
a poor job of managing their growth that they were hurting the state's
efforts to protect the Everglades.

"I just despise paying these prices because there is some kind of
underlying assumption that counties are going to change their urban service
boundaries to allow for development to occur, so we have to buy the land at
that prospective price," Bush said. "I'm going to vote no on this . . . and
it'll probably be used as a campaign ad against, you know, the crazy
governor. But this is wrong. This is absolutely wrong."

Comptroller Bob Milligan agreed, noting that every time the state pays an
outrageously high price for one parcel, it boosts the value of other
properties in the area, further driving up the price.

The Everglades plan is supposed to restore the River of Grass, as it is
called, to a semblance of its former glory, as well as provide enough water
for South Florida's population to double. When approved last year by
Congress and the Legislature, the plan's cost, which is supposed to be
shared equally by the federal and state governments, was figured at $7.8-
billion. But in recent months the estimate has crept above $8-billion, and
last month federal officials said it could wind up closer to $11-billion.

Some of the increase is tied to rising land costs. According to Audubon's
figures, more than 105,000 acres have yet to be acquired, at an estimated
cost of $1-billion. But the estimate may be too low. Audubon officials
pointed out that the plan calls for buying one 930-acre tract in Palm Beach
County at a cost of $8.5-million, yet 640 acres of the property recently
sold at auction for $13-million.

Frank Jackalone, co-chairman of the Everglades Coalition, urged Bush to
tell the state Department of Community Affairs to closely review any land-
use changes in South Florida that might harm the Everglades plan. Audubon
officials suggested floating a bond issue that would provide money
immediately for buying land.

At June's Cabinet meeting, state Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher
suggested formally declaring land related to the Everglades restoration to
be an Area of Critical State Concern. Such a move would give the state a
far stronger say over local land-use decisions in South Florida. However,
Lee said, that would take at least two years to set up, and the state needs
to move faster than that. 

http://sptimes.com/News/081501/State/Everglades_land_buyin.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

August 10, 2001

 Interior Dept. Misled Court On Reforms, Report Says

By Bill Miller and Ellen Nakashima
Senior managers and lawyers at the Interior Department misled a federal judge about the progress of Indian trust reform by failing to reveal that a highly touted new record-keeping system wasn't working, a court-appointed monitor reported yesterday. "The range of possible criticism of the senior managers and attorneys for their failure to provide this Court with a correct picture . . . covers the full legal spectrum from nonfeasance, misfeasance, to malfeasance," wrote Joseph S. Kieffer III, who spent the past few months assessing the reform efforts.

Copyright  © 2001 Washington Post  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Florida parks chief to serve another Bush (June 5, 2001)
http://sptimes.com/News/060501/Worldandnation/Florida_parks_chief_t.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Mining blasts away at Glades' future (May 9, 2001)
http://sptimes.com/News/050901/State/Mining_blasts_away_at.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Hands off lands funds, Bush says (March 30, 2001)
http://sptimes.com/News/033001/State/Hands_off_lands_funds.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Strict S. Florida land controls sought

Environmental leaders called on Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida
Cabinet to impose strict controls on development in western Broward, Miami-
Dade and Palm Beach counties to stem the cost of land needed to restore the
Everglades.

Environmentalists also said the state government must expedite its land-
buying efforts, possibly with the help of a huge new trust fund created by
issuing bonds, or else the entire federal-state $7.8 billion restoration
project could be undermined by development.

Florida has acquired just over a third of the more than 200,000 acres it
needs to create the reservoirs, well fields and filter marshes throughout
South Florida and Central Florida needed for the project, officials said
Tuesday. The tracts needed include a proposed 59,000-acre buffer stretching
from the Everglades National Park to farm fields in Palm Beach County.

Charles Lee, senior vice president of the Audubon of Florida, said another
105,000 acres necessary to complete the project are expected to cost about
$1 billion. Lee said the restoration plan can't succeed without the land,
where water will be stored, cleaned and used to restore the Everglades and
supply water for new Florida residents.

"The only remedy is to move fast and try to buy the land as quickly as
possible," Lee said. "Unfortunately, in this case, the government is moving
slow."

The state is using a pay-as-you-go procedure for buying the land, with
plans calling for $68 million to be spent in the next budget year. Lee and
other Audubon representatives said the state should issue bonds to
dramatically accelerate the purchases to a $750 million land-buying spree.
The bonds would be financed over 20 years.

"Right now the state really doesn't have a land-acquisition strategy and no
funding source," said Erin Deady, a lawyer for the Audubon Society of
Florida. "At the pace we're on now, we're not going to get the land that's
needed."

But Bush and Cabinet members, who are frustrated after having to purchase
one tract in Miami-Dade at $44,000 an acre recently, gave no indications
that they would support the financing alternative or push the Legislature
to increase spending for Everglades land buys.

Instead, Bush, a former commercial real estate developer, said the state is
paying too high a price for lands for the project and suggested that local
government zoning decisions may be driving up the costs. Bush also told
reporters that the government should adopt a "different strategy," though
he concluded Tuesday's talks on the issue without indicating what action
the state would take next.

Peter Ross, deputy director of planning for Broward County, insisted that
local governments aren't to blame, or at least not entirely, for the
skyrocketing land costs.

Ross noted that local governments also are affected by the land prices. He
said Broward County recently acquired land for restoration at a price tag
of between $200,000 and $300,000 per acre, dramatically over an estimated
cost of $10,000 an acre.

"I guess it's the law of supply and demand," Ross said.

David Struhs, secretary of the state Department of Environmental
Protection, said that issuing bonds for specific properties might make some
sense but could cost more over the long run. <end; no cuts>

 http://www.sunsentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-fglades15aug15.story

 

Letter to the editor  
Staying in bounds

Watching "One On One on with Jeff Lytle" and Trudi Williams, who is the
South Florida Water Management District board chairman, I found it
informative but lacking in answers to a few questions.  When Mr. Lytle 
asked, "How many more golf courses can we stand?"  Ms. Williams 
replied, "As long as we have water."  Good news for developers of golf 
courses, I assume!

http://www.naplesnews.com/01/08/perspective/d659900a.htm

27-July-01

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Bruce Babbitt

No better case for cynicism about politics is currently available than the career of Bruce Babbitt, the Interior secretary in Clinton time--an era now bodied forth by major green groups in their fund-raising material as a time when stewardship of the nation's natural resources can contrast finely with the pillage supposedly ushered in by the Cheney-Bush crowd.
Copyright  © 2001 Los Angeles Times  All rights reserved. 

09-July-01

Florida Earth Project
Academic Course 
The FEP Academic course, SOS 6932 will be held July 23 through August 3, 2001.  The first week will consist of lectures in Gainesville and the second week will be field work in South Florida.  Students will stay on the campus of the University of Florida during the lecture series and will then be at different locations the next week. Transportation during the second week will be provided.

05-July-01

Letter to the Editor 
Don't blame deep wells  for coral reefs' demise 
The greatest cause of coral reef deterioration is global warming, according to scientists at the June 20 technical advisory committee meeting of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Unfortunately, reefs worldwide are in decline because of this phenomenon ("Kudzu of the sea," June 17 Opinion section).  Closer to home, the Gulf Stream naturally is phosphorus-rich. The same deposits that make Florida one of the world's major fertilizer producers extend out off Florida's coast. Phosphorus continuously enters the Gulf Stream from these formations.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.


New reserve simply awesome
Tortugas protection takes effect
Ocean pioneer Sylvia Earle brushed a wet lock off her forehead and smiled broadly.  “This is a good start,” declared the world-renowned explorer. “It’s like being present at the dedication of Yellowstone National Park.”  Creation of the Tortugas Ecological Reserves — now the largest no-take area off North American shores, and one of the largest in the world — ranks with the founding of the first national park, said Earle.  “A great, great day,” said Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Billy Causey. “This one is for all our grandkids. These reefs will be here for them to see.”
Copyright  © 2001 Keys news  All rights reserved.

Water officials want $300,000 for filter marsh to protect Ten Mile Canal
Local South Florida Water Management District officials want to set aside $300,000 for a filter marsh to leach pollutants from water in the Ten Mile Canal.  Such a marsh has been a goal of local environmentalists for many years in order to reduce pollutants washed into Estero Bay.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

National Academy of Sciences' Everglades panel to meet in Fort Myers
A committee of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences that is monitoring progress on Everglades restoration will meet on Florida's west coast for the first time in September.  Although committee staff says the group isn't meeting in Fort Myers to discuss issues pertaining directly to Southwest Florida, there will be time for public comment, and local environmentalists say they will try to take advantage of it.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

04-July-01

Editorial
Bush duo's drilling compromise coming up short for Florida
Three months ago it sounded so horrible: President Bush planning to come to the aid of oil and gas exploration off the Florida Panhandle.  With Florida so dependent on tourism, which in turn is dependent on clean beaches and healthy wildlife, that was seen as a threat — with the added intrigue of Florida being the same state that put George W. Bush into the White House last year and will consider retaining his brother, Jeb Bush, as its governor next year.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Editorial
A rigged deal

In rushing to sell drilling leases for 1.5-million acres in the eastern gulf, the White House blindsided a bipartisan effort to extend a moratorium in the area.

President Bush's scaled-back proposal to expand drilling for oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico still carries enormous risk. While moving the new drilling area further away from Florida may provide political cover for the president and his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the net effect is that more than a million acres offshore is closer to being opened for drilling, despite growing momentum across the political spectrum for efforts to prevent new exploration in that portion of the gulf.
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Swartz: Oil drilling deal no 'win' for state
Gov. Bush says all Floridians should, now that his brother, President George W. Bush, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton have decided to allow oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.  The "victory" is supposed to be that (a) the drilling will take place only on 1.4 million acres instead of 6 million acres and (b) the drilling is on the Alabama side of the Florida-Alabama line through the Gulf of Mexico, far enough from Florida's pristine Panhandle beaches that tourists won't be able to see oil rigs.
Copyright  © 2001 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

U.S. scales back oil lease sales in Gulf of Mexico
President, governor had been at odds
Responding to pressure from Florida's elected officials, the Bush administration Monday scaled back its plans for oil leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico in a decision that will keep drilling more than 100 miles from state beaches.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced plans to sell offshore drilling leases to 1.5 million acres of oil-rich seabed, about one-fourth of the original six-million-acre site that the administration had considered for sale. The entire six-million-acre area included a northern stovepipe-shaped section that came within 20 miles of the coastline near Pensacola.

The decision healed an embarrassing policy rift between Gov. Jeb Bush, who opposed drilling close to Florida, and his brothers administration in a dispute that could have threatened the governors reelection next year. The compromise also divided environmental groups and drew warnings from Democrats.  The smaller area is a rectangle 100 miles from the Florida-Alabama border, 138 miles from Panama City and 285 miles from Tampa.
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Florida governor gets offshore drilling gift from brother
Offshore drilling will remain an issue in next year's election even after Republican Gov. Jeb Bush obtained an extensively scaled-back leasing plan for the Gulf of Mexico, Florida's Democratic party leader said Tuesday.  But the compromise reached with the governor's brother, President Bush, was praised by some environmentalists, including Enid Sisskin, legislative chairwoman for Gulf Coast Environmental Defense in Pensacola.
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Anti-drilling advocates scoff at deal
Oil restrictions more ominous, say environmentalists
The Bush administration’s decision to restrict new offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for the next five years may not be as big an environmental win as some politicians say it is, anti-drilling advocates in Florida warned Tuesday.  Although President Bush agreed to cancel about 75 percent of the planned lease sale of 5.9 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, there is still plenty of opportunity for environmental damage and political maneuvering, conservationists said.
Copyright  © 2001 SW Florida News Press  All rights reserved.

Summer rains not enough to quench drought Winter deficit too much to overcome 
With water filling roadside ditches, mosquitoes filling the air, and lawns needing to be cut twice per week, it's hard to believe Southwest Florida is still in a drought. Almost daily, thunderstorms march noisily across Lee County from the east, soaking the area with inches of rain at a time.  Traditionally, South Florida receives almost 40 of its annual 53.37 inches of rainfall from May through September, but water supplies need that remaining 13 inches during the dry season. Over the past two years, dry seasons have been extremely dry.  Such a hole, in fact, that water levels at Lake Okeechobee, the heart of South Florida's water system, are hovering at 9 feet, whereas 18 feet is normal for this time of year. Even if South Florida gets normal summer rains, the lake probably won't return to normal this year, said Kurt Harclerode, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District.
http://www.news-press.com/news/today/010704rain.html
Copyright  © 2001 SW Florida News Press  All rights reserved.

Ancient Tequesta Indian burial site found at Brickell Park 
An extensive, ancient cemetery almost certainly created by the native Americans who occupied the Miami Circle has been unearthed in downtown Miami's Brickell Park, archaeologists revealed Tuesday. Discovery of the human remains immediately ended plans for a high-rise on the site, and the revelation could permanently preserve one of the last slivers of greenery along Brickell Avenue.  Test holes in the 2.4-acre park exposed the bones of at least 12 people, said Bob Carr, a leading archaeologist who directed the project and also helped discover the Miami Circle. The remains are up to 2,500 years old and span 1,000 years -- from about 500 B.C. to the year 500, he said. ``It's an astonishing development,'' Carr said. ``This appears to be the selected mortuary for the Tequesta town on the south side of the Miami River. These were the people who were using the Miami Circle.''
http://www.miami.com/herald/digdocs/068841.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Estero Bay group tosses idea of land trust onto the table 
In order to create its own successful land trust, Estero Bay Buddies would have to have an outgoing organizer, a legal fund and a well- defined community, an officer for Calusa Land Trust told the group Tuesday.   Phil Buchanan, of Calusa Land Trust, which holds 2,000 acres on Pine Island, laid out the history of the 25-year-old land preservation charity and its methods for raising money, which range from a memorial scenic overlook to rubber ducks.   Estero Bay Buddies was interested because earlier this year its purpose for being, the Estero Bay Aquatic Buffer Preserve, was downlisted on a state funding priority list. State officials, faced with sharp cuts in dollars devoted to land preservation, said they are now looking for local preservation projects to find some new partners and bring in some matching money.
http://www.naplesnews.com/01/07/bonita/d646342a.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

County misses water conservation target 
Swiftmud is working with Hillsborough to figure out why it fell so far short of lowering water use 5 percent.  Severe drought conditions throughout the region prompted the Southwest Florida Water Management District to tell its member governments to cut their water use by 5 percent compared with the same period last year.  In comparing May and June with the same months last year, preliminary numbers show that the member governments of Tampa Bay Water dropped their water use by just more than 5 percent, said David Bracciano, Tampa Bay Water's conservation manager.  Those numbers could change slightly, but it appears that St. Petersburg, Pasco County and New Port Richey made the cut easily, and that Tampa hovered at 5 percent. Only Hillsborough County failed to come close -- and the county could suffer some consequences. Hillsborough cut its water use by 1.7 percent in May and increased it by 1.3 percent in June, compared with May and June of last year.  http://sptimes.com/News/070401/Hillsborough/County_misses_water_c.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.


Water quality again a concern at Collier beaches  
For the second time in less than two months, water quality at a Collier County beach is in question in the days before a summer holiday. A water sample taken Monday from Hideaway Beach on Marco Island tested in the poor range for enterococcus, a bacteria that indicates the presence of organisms that can make people sick, health workers said Tuesday.
http://www.naplesnews.com/01/07/naples/d646426a.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.


Photo:  Turtle protection

Maura Kraus, a senior environmental specialist with the Collier County Natural Resources Department and head of the county's sea turtle protection program adds, "Just a little extra protection," on Tuesday morning to existing sea turtle nests south of Naples Pier to protect the nests when thousands of people head to Naples' beaches Wednesday night to watch the Fourth of July fireworks.  "They need to be respectful of the nests," said Kraus, "We work very hard to protect the species and in a second they can be destroyed." Since the turtles should begin hatching next week, they are close to the surface and very vulnerable.  Kraus also hopes that people will watch their children and keep them from playing or digging in the nests. In addition, the number of total nests in Collier is down this year, from 948 at this time last year to 707 this year. 
http://www.naplesnews.com/01/07/naples/d646417a.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

03-July-01

Targeted deputy manager moves on
Faced with an uncertain future in county government, Deputy County Manager Alvin Jackson has resigned to take a high-level post with the South Florida Water Management District.  Jackson, 40, will end his five-year tenure as the county's second-in-command on Friday.  A native of Lake County, Jackson is the latest in a string of managers to leave county government as a result of a management shakeup prompted by County Commissioner Debbie Stivender.
Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel

Cities wary of reports about water
Spurred by population growth and frequent droughts, Kissimmee city officials are urging their St. Cloud counterparts to join forces with other local governments to study water-supply issues.  Kissimmee City Manager Mark Durbin was at the St. Cloud city meeting Thursday night to propose an agreement for Osceola County, Kissimmee and St. Cloud to join forces with other counties in Central Florida to test the level of the Floridan Aquifer and compare it to the water district's.
Read Article
© 2000 by Florida Sun Publications

Courthouse pools brew concrete swamp 

What's big and slimy and swallows 100,000 
gallons of water a week? The reflecting pools 
outside the Seminole County Courthouse. 
They leak. Boy, do they leak. 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-sem-moat070301.story
Copyright © 2001, Orlando Sentinel

Americans choosing comfort over conservation 
In these days of drought, gridlock, sprawl, soaring gas prices, California brownouts and a Texas oil man in the White House -- whose star is in the ascendancy, the weed lover's or the SUV fan's? As a matter of personal philosophy, is conservation cool?  Some relevant statistics cast serious doubt:  Florida Power and Light raised its rates 8 percent in January and another 9 percent in April, and has yet to see the tiniest drop in electricity use.
http://www.miami.com/herald/content/features/digdocs/099603.htm
Copyright  © 2001 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Odd sea visitors identified
Carolyn Puckhaber had no idea what was swimming near her children, Michael and Ashley, as they waded in the shallows at the public beach.  Black, obviously swimming, and about the size of one of her hands, scores of the strange creatures seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/martin/03seahat.shtml
Copyright  © 2001 TC Palm  All rights reserved.

26-April-01

Babbitt delivers Earth Day address:

Takes aim at President Bush's environmental backpedaling

By Alvin Powell

Former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt slammed President George Bush's global warming record Sunday, delivering a combination call to action and political stump speech to an enthusiastic Earth Day crowd of about 800 gathered in Sanders Theatre.  Babbitt, this year's Roger Tory Peterson Memorial lecturer and medal winner, said Bush has "retreated to the sidelines" of the debate over global warming and has maintained a silence on the issue that "demeans our country, our history, and our proud tradition of world leadership.

Read More

Copyright 2001 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

23-Jan-01

Bruce Babbitt - The land-grabbing Arizonan hero

By Jessica Lee Many Arizonans cannot wait for their local political hero, Bruce Babbitt, to return home. The now former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, the environmentalist right-hand man to President Clinton, wrapped up business in Washington last week and will be looking for new projects.  In 1993, Republicans and businessmen alike protested his appointment as Secretary of the Interior. His selection signified a shift in philosophy for the Department of the Interior, a position that has been traditionally held by individuals who advocate the rape, pillage and sale of our natural resources. Read More... Copyright © 2001 The Arizona Daily. All rights reserved.

05-Jan-01

EXIT INTERVIEW: BRUCE BABBIT

RAY SUAREZ: President Clinton's land conservation action today is just the latest in a series of efforts to put public lands off-limits from development. His order would set aside nearly a third of national forest lands, prohibiting road building and logging. In its eight years, the Clinton administration has taken actions impacting millions of acres of federal land, including the designation of a dozen national monuments. One of the people who's led that effort is Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. Yesterday, he talked with Gwen Ifill in the first of a series of conversations we're conducting with some of the outgoing members of the Clinton administration. Read More... Copyright © 2001 MacNeil-Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.

 

  Litigation

28-August-01

(Filed on 08-Feb-01)

BARLEY vs. SFWMD

The Supreme Court of Florida accepts jurisdiction and sets calendar for oral argument 
Case No.: SC00-1998 Lower Tribunal No.: 5D98-3178

MARY BARLEY, ETC., ET AL. vs. SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT Petitioners Respondents

ORDER ACCEPTING JURISDICTION AND SETTING ORAL ARGUMENT

The Court has accepted jurisdiction of this case and will hear oral argument at 9:00 a.m. TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2001. A maximum of TWENTY minutes to the side is allowed, but counsel is expected to use only so much of that time as is necessary. Petitioners' brief on the merits shall be served on or before MARCH 5, 2001; Respondent's brief on the merits shall be served 20 days after service of petitioners' brief on the merits; and petitioners' reply brief on the merits shall be served 20 days after service of respondent's brief on the merits. Please file an original and seven copies of all briefs. UNLESS BRIEFS ARE TIMELY FILED, THE PRIVILEGE OF ORAL ARGUMENT WILL BE FORFEITED. The Clerk of the District Court of Appeal, FIFTH District, shall file the original record on or before MARCH 26, 2001. NO CONTINUANCES WILL BE GRANTED EXCEPT UPON A SHOWING OF EXTREME HARDSHIP.

HARDING, ANSTEAD, PARIENTE AND QUINCE, JJ., concur. LEWIS, J., dissents.

[signed] Thomas D. Hall Clerk, Supreme Court

Served: HON. FRANK J. HABERSHAW, CLECK JON MILS PAUL L. NETTLETON REBECCA O'HARA RICHARD A. KELLER RUTH P. CLEMENTS WILLIAM L. HYDE

Notes:

The above notice is posted here in pdf download format under February 2001: http://www.flcourts.org/sct/clerk/Review%20Granted/index.html

Fifth District Court of Appeal opinions are not online.
To watch/hear oral arguments live: http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/

  Legislation

  New Bills

Senate action:

 

•  Search Thomas 

  Congressional Testimony

 

Posted 11/16/01

New SFWMD sites:

Sunshine law
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/erd/bsfboard/sunshine.html

Public records law
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/erd/bsfboard/pubrec.html

 

 

August 2001

The Miccosukee Indians and Environmental Law:  A Confederacy of Hope
By William H. Rodgers, Jr.
31 ELR 10918  pdf format 
Two legal orphans have found each other: The older one is "Indian Law," a confused, embarrassing, and twisted body of legal rules that "explain" the relationships between the United States and its native peoples.  The newer one is: "Environmental Law," a complex and jumbled stew of cases and statutes that "prescribe" proper behavior between modern Americans and the natural world.  Both these children of the law are suspected of subversion - the one is tainted by advocates of separate sovereignties - the other by critics of the American way of life.  For Native Americans and environmentalists, their recent legal merger is a confederacy of hope and opportunity and of revival - for the tribes themselves and for others in the world who want to save parts of nature that are left.  The tribes are senior partners in this native-enviro confederacy.  This Article examines what they bring to the alliance in the context of the efforts of the Miccosukee Tribe to preserve the Everglades.
© 2001 ELR 

March 2001

Alligators and Litigators : A Recent History of Everglades Regulation and Litigation
by Keith W. Rizzardi
Volume LXXV, NO. 3 March 2001
To many Florida lawyers, litigation in the Everglades seems as old as the Everglades itself. Its history can be traced back to the 1800s when Hamilton Disston and Henry Flagler were draining, dredging, and filling Florida's land while fighting in the courts with shareholders, speculators, and state land administrators.  The modern history of litigation in the Everglades is dominated by agricultural interests, environmental interest groups, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, and state and federal agencies. Along the way, important precedents have been created, affecting the Everglades as well as Florida administrative and environmental law in general.
© 2001  The Florida Bar Journal 

11-July-01

PubSCIENCE is a World Wide Web service developed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) to facilitate searching and accessing peer reviewed journal literature in the physical sciences and other energy-related disciplines. 

Available October 1, 1999, PubSCIENCE allows the user to search across abstracts and citations of multiple publishers at no cost.  Once the user has found an interesting abstract, a hyperlink provides access to the publisher's server to obtain the full text article.  The article will come up immediately if the user or his/her organization has a subscription to the journal.  If the user lacks such a subscription, access to the full text can be obtained by pay per view, by special arrangement with the publisher, library access or through commercial providers. 

PubSCIENCE is available for public use through the Government Printing Office's "GPO ACCESS". It can be accessed at http://www.osti.gov/pubsci or http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs. 

http://pubsci.osti.gov/ 

Science Basic Search 
http://pubsci.osti.gov/srchfrm.html

"Everglades" search results included: 

HACKNEY, Courtney T.; PADGETT, David E.; POSEY, Martin H.. Fungal and bacterial contributions to the decomposition of Cladium and Typha leaves in nutrient enriched and nutrient poor areas of the Everglades, with a note on ergosterol concentrations in Everglades soils Mycological Research - Jun 01 2000 

Taylor, Ryan C.; Trexler, Joel C.; Loftus, William F. Separating the effects of intra- and interspecific age-structured interactions in an experimental fish assemblage Oecologia - Mar 19 2001 

Ahn, Hosung ; James, R. Thomas Variability, Uncertainty, and Sensitivity of Phosphorus Deposition Load Estimates in South Florida Water, Air, and Soil Pollution - Feb 01 2001 

Smith, Eric P. ; McCormick, Paul V. Long-Term Relationship between Phosphorus Inputs and Wetland Phosphorus Concentrationsin a Northern Everglades Marsh Environmental Monitoring and Assessment - May 01 2001 

Goforth, G.; Jackson, J.B.; Fink, L.. Restoring the Everglades Civil Engineering (New York, 1983) - Mar 1994 

Marvin-Dipasquale, M.C; Oremland, R.S. . Bacterial methylmercury degradation in FloridaEverglades peat sediment Environmental Science and Technology - Sep 01 1998 

Ravichandran, M; Ryan, J.N. ; Aiken, G.R; Reddy, M.M. . Enhanced dissolution of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide) bydissolved organic matter isolated from the Florida Everglades Environmental Science and Technology - Nov 01 1998 

Benoit, J.M. ; Gilmour, C.C; Heyes, A. ; Mason, R.P. . Sulfide controls on mercury speciation andbioavailability to methylating bacteria in sedimentpore waters Environmental Science and Technology - Mar 15 1999 

King, G.M.; Roslev, P.; Skovgaard, H. . Distribution and rate of methane oxidation in sediments of the Florida everglades Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Sep 1990 

Happell, J.D.; Chanton, J.P. ; Showers, W.S. . The influence of methane oxidation on the stable isotopic composition of methane emitted from Florida swamp forests Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta - Oct 1994 

Brown, K.E.; Cohen, A.D. . Pyrite forms in recent peats and carbonates from the Florida Everglades Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs - Mar 1994 Fleming, D.M. ; Wolff, W.F. ; DeAngelis, D.L. . Importance of landscape heterogeneity to wood storks in Florida Everglades Environmental Management - 1994 

Schipper, L.A. ; Reddy, K.R. . Methane production and emissions from four reclaimed and pristine wetlands of Southeastern United States Soil Science Society of America Journal - 1994 

Martin, F.D. ; Deangelis, D.L.; Gross, L.J. . ATLSS: Across trophic level system simulation for the freshwater areas of the Everglades Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America - Jun 1994 

Stone, P.A. ; Duever, M.J.; Meeder, J.F. . Holocene sedimentation at Corkscrew Swamp (Collier Co.): A model for the origin and evolution of the present wetland-dominated regime of south Florida Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs - Mar 1993 

James, R.T. . Use of a simple simulation model to develop a spatial model of methane flux in the Florida Everglades EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union - Jan 09 1990 

Castro, Mark.S.; Gholz, Henry.L.; Clark, Ken.L.; Steudler, Paul.A.. Effects of forest harvesting on soil methane fluxes in Florida slash pine plantations Canadian Journal of Forest Research - Oct 01 2000 

Negrón-Ortiz, Vivian; Gorchov, David L.. Effects of Fire Season and Postfire Herbivory on the Cycad Zamia pumila (Zamiaceae) in Slash Pine Savanna, Everglades National Park, Florida International Journal of Plant Sciences - Dec 01 1999 

Ivey, Christopher T.; Richards, Jennifer H.. Genetic Diversity of Everglades Sawgrass, Cladium jamaicense (Cyperaceae) International Journal of Plant Sciences - Feb 01 2001 

Turner, Andrew M.; Trexler, Joel C.; Jordan, C. Frank; Slack, Sarah J.; Geddes, Pamela; Chick, John H.; Loftus, William F. Targeting Ecosystem Features for Conservation: Standing Crops in the Florida Everglades Conservation Biology - Aug 01 1999 

Olson, M. L.; Cleckner, L. B.; Hurley, J. P.; Krabbenhoft, D. P.; Heelan, T. W. Resolution of matrix effects on analysis of total and methyl mercury in aqueous samples from the Florida Everglades Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry - Jun 10 1997 

Yanochko, G. M. ; Jagoe, C. H. ; Brisbin Jr., I. L. . Tissue Mercury Concentrations in Alligators (Alligatormississippiensis) from the Florida Everglades and the Savannah RiverSite, South Carolina Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - Apr 01 1997 

Miles, C. J. ; Fink, L. E. . Monitoring and Mass Budget for Mercury in the Everglades Nutrient Removal Project Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - Nov 01 1998 

DeAngelis, Donald L. ; Gross, Louis J. ; Huston, Michael A. ; Wolff, Wilfried F. ; Fleming, D. Martin ; Comiskey, E. Jane ; Sylvester, Scott M. Landscape Modeling for Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Ecosystems - Jan 01 1998

10-May-01

Florida Forever Work Plan

http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/wsd/cerp/forever.pdf
(182 pages, 3 MB download file)

In 1999, the Florida Forever program was created, which authorized the issuance of bonds in an amount not to exceed $3 billion for acquisitions of land and water areas. This revenue is to be used for restoration, conservation, recreation, water resource development, historical preservation and capital improvements to such land and water areas. This program is intended to accomplish environmental restoration, enhance public access and recreational enjoyment, promote long-term management goals, and facilitate water resource development.

Water management districts are required to create a five-year plan that identifies projects meeting specific criteria. In developing their project lists, each district is to integrate its surface water improvement and management plans, Save Our Rivers land acquisition lists, stormwater management projects, proposed water resource development projects, proposed water body restoration projects, and other properties or activities that would assist in meeting the goals of Florida Forever.  The initial plan must be submitted by June 1, 2001 to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. By January 1 of each year thereafter, each district must then report on acquisitions completed during the year, as well as modifications or additions to its five-year work plan.  The plans will also include the status of funding, staffing and resource management for every project funded for which the district is responsible.

Thirty-five percent of the Florida Forever bond proceeds are distributed annually to FDEP for land acquisition and capital expenditures in order to implement the priority lists submitted by the water management districts.  A minimum of fifty percent of the funding is to be used for land acquisition.  The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) annual net share is $33,075,000. The Everglades Restoration Investment Act, Section 373.470(5)(b), F.S., mandates that for ten consecutive years, $25M of this funding is to be used to implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Since approximately 75 percent of the Florida Forever funding that the SFWMD will receive will be dedicated to CERP, CERP is a major focus of the SFWMD Florida Forever Workplan.  This work plan describes specific projects that will be eligible for Florida Forever funding in the FY2001 - 2005 period. It is arranged in sections that correspond to the regions described in the August, 2000 CERP Master Program Management Plan. Additionally, it includes projects for which the SFWMD expects to seek reimbursement through Florida Forever in fiscal year 200: the Western C-11 Diversion Impoundment and Canal (Cell 11), C-43 Basin Storage Reservoir, and Kissimmee River Restoration.

See the SFWMD's Florida Forever Work Plan
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/wsd/cerp/forever.pdf

 

2000

Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem

 Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: A Critique of the Pilot Projects and Related Plans for ASR in the Lake Okeechobee and Western Hillsboro Areas.  A federal law enacted in December calls for a multi-billion dollar effort to restore the Florida Everglades' natural ecosystem. This report offers advice on restoration pilot projects that would involve storing excess surface water underground and pumping it back up for use during droughts.

Aquifer Storage and Recovery in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan: A Critique of the Pilot Projects and Related Plans for ASR in the Lake Okeechobee and Western Hillsboro Areas

Copyright  © 2000 National Academies  All rights reserved.

 

14-16-Feb-02

8th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference to Focus on Industry

The 8th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference will be held February 14-16, 2002, at
the University of Florida Reitz Union in Gainesville, Florida.  Inspired by the Valentine’s Day
date, the upcoming conference’s title is, “Industry is from Mars, Environmentalists are from
Venus:  Reconciling Our Differences on Earth.”  Hosted by the Fredric G. Levin College of Law’s
Environmental and Land Use Law Society in conjunction with the Public Interest Committee of
the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar Association, the PIEC brings
together attorneys, students, and citizen-activists to discuss issues of importance concerning the environment.  

In 2002, the conference will be inaugurated on Valentine’s Day with a reception at the Florida
Museum of Natural History.  At the reception there will be a presentation by Dr. David
Guggenheim, Vice President of Conservation Policy at the Ocean Conservancy (formerly the
Center for Marine Conservation).  

The following evening’s banquet will feature keynote speaker Gary S. Guzy of the law firm of
Foley, Hoag & Eliot.  Mr. Guzy works in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a member of the
Corporate Social Responsibility Practice Group.

This year's panels will be organized into four sub-theme tracks: tourism, agriculture,
development, and infrastructure.  Some of the panels on the slate include, “Loving Them to
Death?: Regulating Wildlife-Based Tourism in Florida,” “Clam Culture: The Economic and
Environmental Impacts of Florida's Most Successful Aquaculture Industry,” and “Greening the
Built Environment: Principles, Practices and Programs for Green Building..”  Among the many
panelists to take part in this year's conference will be attorneys from several of Florida's top
environmental law firms, scholars, and representatives of public interest organizations,
governmental agencies, private companies and environmental groups.  For lawyers attending
the conference, CLE credit will be available.  A special post-conference canoe trip on the
Ocklawaha River with Adventure Outpost’s Lars Andersen is also being offered on Sunday,
February 17.

The Everglades Restoration Framework: Birds and Bunnies Meet Laws and Statutes

Saturday, February 16, 2002
Concurrent Panels 11:00-12:30

The greatest environmental restoration in history is beginning in the Florida Everglades. Since it is crucial that the State of Florida and the Federal government work together to implement this restoration, the hot topic for this year will be the creation of the federal programmatic regulations, ensuring that the restoration project meets its requirements and goals as outlined in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. What will be in the regulations? How are the 68 separate Everglades projects going to be implemented? This panel will consider how federal and state laws will be reconciled to guide the Everglades restoration.

Panelists:

• Michelle Diffenderfer, Esq., Lewis, Longman and Walker
• Shannon Estenoz, Director, World Wildlife Fund Everglades Program, South Florida Ecoregion
• John Fumero, Esq., General Counsel, South Florida Water Management District.

Moderator: Lisa Interlandi, Esq., Regional Director, Environmental and Land Use Law Center, Inc.  Student Assistant: Sara D. Habhab, PIC Liaisons: Erin Deady and Shannon Estenoz, Faculty Advisor: Michael Olexa

To register, view the full agenda, or simply learn more, visit the 8th PIEC website at
http://grove.ufl.edu/~els/ or call the University of Florida Center for Governmental Responsibility
at 352-392-2237. 

 

10-Dec-01

Allocating and Managing Water for a Sustainable Future: Lessons from Around the World

Organized by: Natural Resources Law Center
11 to 14 June 2002, Boulder, Colorado, United States
Submission deadline: 15 December 2001
E-mail enquiries: jpatton@spot.colorado.edu

      Examines innovative water allocation laws, policies, and institutions from around the world. Will focus on problems of sustainable water management in the American West.

     The purpose of the conference is to examine innovative water allocation laws, policies and institutions from around the world that provide lessons for sustainable water management. In keeping with the Center's focus on natural resources issues of the Western United States, the conference will focus its attention on problems applicable to the American West. Sessions will focus on innovative legal and institutional developments and lessons that can be transferred across different regions, countries, cultures, economies, and water systems. The lessons will provide examples from a variety of geographic scales, ranging from international rivers to irrigation systems and watershed management. International speakers and case studies will be drawn from world regions that share the American West's challenges of managing uncertain and variable water supplies.

For more information visit the NRLC 2002 Confrence website.

 

19, 20-Feb-01

22-Mar-01

All Eyes on Florida: Revitalizing, Restoring and Revisiting
The seventh annual public interest environmental conference

University Conference Center Doubletree
Gainesville, FL
March 22-24, 2001

This student-run conference brings together diverse interests to take part in panels discussing a multitude of environmental issues. This form of interaction allows the parties to develop understanding and even cooperation on difficult environmental conflicts that may otherwise be impossible.   The University of Florida College of Law's Environmental and Land Use Law Society in cooperation with the Florida Bar

05-Sep-01

Wetlands and Remediation: The Second International Conference

Background: In November, 1999, Battelle Memorial Institute, a not-for-profit research organization based in Columbus, Ohio, sponsored and organized a wetlands and remediation conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that brought together more than 300 wetlands and remediation experts to discuss common issues related to cleaning up contaminated wetlands and using wetlands (both natural and constructed) for treating contaminated ground-, surface-, and wastewater. Based on the success of that meeting, Battelle is pleased to announce that Wetlands and Remediation: The Second International Conference will be held September
5-6, 2001, at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, Vermont.

Organization: Karl Nehring of Battelle (614/424-6510, nehringk@battelle.org), Conference Chairman, will be responsible for coordinating the development of the technical program. Carol Young (614/424-7604, youngc@battelle.org) will be the Conference Coordinator, responsible for scheduling, correspondence, and issues involving abstract and manuscript submittal and preparation. The Conference Group (800/783-6338, conferencegroup@compuserve.com) of Columbus, Ohio, is
handling the meeting logistics.

Format: After an opening plenary session, there will be multiple platform sessions (two or three concurrent tracks), and a poster session on Wednesday evening. Speakers at the Plenary Session will include Dr. Jean-Paul Schwitzguebel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Dr. Barry Warner of the University of Waterloo (current vice president of the Society of Wetland Scientists) and Dr. John Pardue of Louisiana State University.

Sponsorship: Battelle is the sponsor and organizer, and we are hoping to add co-sponsors for the 2001 conference. Parsons Engineering Science, Morrison Knudsen Corporation, the U.S. DoD Environmental Security Technical Certification Program/Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, and the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command were co-sponsors of the 1999 Conference. Organizations interested in co-sponsoring the 2001 Conference should contact The Conference Group.

Participating Organizations: Organizations committed to helping with publicity for the conference and encouraging participation should contact The Conference Group at 800/783-6338. Participating organizations for the 1999 meeting included The Center for Wetlands and Riparian Design (University of Utah), Environmental Business Journal, the USDA NRCS Wetlands Science Institute, the University of Florida Center for Wetlands, The Michigan State University Institute of Water
Research, the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park (The Ohio State University), The Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences/Coastal
Ecology Institute (Louisiana State University), The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Laboratory, the Utah Water Research Laboratory (Utah State University), the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the New York State Wetlands Forum.

Exhibitors: Companies or organizations interested in having an exhibit booth at the conference should contact The Conference Group at 800/783-6338.

Schedule: The Call for Abstracts will be mailed in November 2000; the deadline for submitting abstracts will be March 5, 2001. Once the program has been finalized and accepted presenters have been sent acceptance letters, a preliminary program will be mailed. 

Proceedings: A proceedings volume will be prepared and then published by Battelle Press and mailed to registrants shortly after the conference. Proceedings papers will be optional but strongly encouraged from all presenters, both platform and poster. Authors wishing to have their papers appear in the proceedings will be requested to provide camera-ready copies of their papers by July 13.

Registration: Because registration fees are by far the major source of funding for the conference and a significant percentage of registrants will make presentations, all presenting authors and session chairs are expected to register and pay the standard fees.  Potential topics for this conference include:

- Natural Attenuation in Wetlands
- Biological and Ecological Considerations
- Risk-Based Wetlands Remediation
- Regulatory Trends 
- Economic Factors in Wetlands Remediation and Restoration 
- Wetlands Hydrology and Morphology 
- Wetlands Microbial Ecology 
- Phytoremediation and Macrophytes in Wetlands 
- Wetlands for the Remediation and Treatment of Wastewater 
- Wetlands Treatment of Contaminated Sediments 
- GIS and Remediation 
- Innovative Technologies for Wetlands Investigations 
- Non-point Source Pollution and Agricultural Runoff 
- Redox Processes in Wetlands 
- Contaminant Fate and Environmentally Acceptable Endpoints 
- Wetlands Design and Construction 
- Creating Wetlands using Dredge Spoils 
- Wetlands Restoration and Mitigation 
- Explosives and Wetlands 
- Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Wetlands 
- Mine Waste Considerations 
- Metals and Inorganics in Wetlands 
- Perchlorate-Contaminated Wetlands 
- Groundwater/Surface Water Interfaces

Links Homepage

http://www.law.miami.edu/everglades/links/index.htm

 

29-Dec-01

http://www.naplesnews.com

http://www.internationalcollege.edu

Florida Outdoors featuring Kris Thoemke   Articles, information and links to Florida outdoor recreation including   boating, fishing, kayaking, camping, parks, wildlife and environmental   information.
http://www.florida-outdoors.com/

Everglades National Park, Then and Now by Kris W. Thoemke http://www.florida-everglades.com/kris1.htm

The Big Cypress:   Adventures in a Vast Wilderness by Kris Thoemke http://www.florida-everglades.com/kris2.htm

Fishing Florida by Kris Thoemke http://www.phholidays.co.uk/Activities/Fishing/thoemke02.htm

Naples in Florida by Chris Thoemke http://www.phholidays.co.uk/Activities/Destinations/America/thoemke01.htm

 

19-Dec-01

U.S. Army
Civil Works
Corps of Engineers
Hot Topics
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/

            Army Corps of Engineers Responds Positively to NRC/NAS Report on
            Mitigation
            http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/rglmitigation.htm

Myths and Facts about the Corps' Regulatory Guidance Letter on
Mitigation
November 7, 2001
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/mythsfactsrgl.htm

Regulatory Guidance Letter
October 31, 2001
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/rgl01_1.pdf

Questions and Answers: Regulatory Guidance Letter (RGL) 01-1:
Mitigation in the Corps Regulatory Program
October 31, 2001
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/rql_qa.htm

Mitigation and Environmental Frequently Asked Questions
June 29, 2001
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/me_faq.htm

Army Corps of Engineers issues New Regulatory Guidance
Press Release, November 2, 2001
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/rgl_release.pdf

Send comments on hot topics to Army Corps of Engineers
http://www.usace.army.mil/civilworks/hot_topics/sendme.htm

"Compensating forWetland Losses Under the Clean Water Act"
a report prepared by the
National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences
June 29, 2001
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074320/html/

18-Dec-01

The Citizen's Wildlife Refuge Planning Handbook Charting the Future of Conservation on the National Wildlife Refuge Near You http://www.defenders.org/pubs/refuge03.html

              Defenders of Wildlife Press Releases - 2001
          ... Statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, November 15, 2001 Cooperative
              Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) Press Conference (11/15/2001).

              http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/

          New Law Names 2003 "Year of the Wildlife Refuge," Calls for ...
          .... unusual alliance of conservation and outdoor groups known as the
          Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) that has rallied
          around the Refuge System's ...
          http://www.doi.gov/news/archives/001102.html

 

Wildlife Society - Wildlife Policy.... of the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition (www.teaming.com), the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE), and the 2002 Farm Bill wildlife coalition. ...
http://www.wildlife.org/policy/

 

RefugeNET - The National Wildlife Refuge Association.... to the System. NWRA is an active member of the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement(CARE), a strong and diverse coalition of 20 organizations ranging ...
http://refugenet.org/About/Programs.htm

 

[PDF] THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES
.... one of 17 organizations that make up CARE, the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, which has formed to advocate increased refuge funding.
http://www.wilderness.org/newsroom/pdf/refuges_012100.pdf - Similar pages

          The Wilderness Society - Stand By Your Lands.... working with a coalition of               conservation, hunting and fishing groups known as the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge    Enhancement (CARE), to remedy this problem.
http://www.wilderness.org/standbylands/refuges/refuture.htm

 

Untitled
We need your organization to join the list of organizations endorsing the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) plan. CARE is a diverse group of ...
http://www.audubon.org/campaign/refuge/actalert3.html

Director's Line : October 1999
.... support both. As part of a coalition known as the Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement, AFS successfully has sought more funding to begin reducing the ...
http://www.fisheries.org/fisheries/line/line_Oct_99.htm

12-Dec-01

United States Sugar Corporation
http://www.ussugar.com

Judy C. Sanchez
Director of Corporate Communications
http://www.ussugar.com/pressroom/bios-photos/sanchez.html

 

St. Lucie River Initiative
http://www.gopbi.com/community/groups/slri/

 

Seven County Coalition
An association of seven counties (Lee, Hendry, Glades, Palm Beach,
Martin, St. Lucie, Okeechobee) that are influenced by Lake Okeechobee
and its water management schedule. For more information, please
contact J. Ross Wilcox, Martin County Environmental Planning
Administrator, at 561-288-5508.

http://www.martin.fl.us/GOVT/depts/adm/uMartin/10.29.01.html

 

Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches, Inc.

The core purpose of the Realtors® Association of the Palm Beaches is to enhance the member’s role as an integral and valuable component of the real estate transaction.
http://www.rapb.com/

          Wetlands Education Seminar Dec. 12, 2001
          http://www.rapb.com/pdf/Wetlands_Flyernew.pdf

The National Wetlands Coalition
(Site under construction)
http://www.thenwc.org/

 

Wetland Information Sites
http://www.wetlands.com/regs/tlpge00b.htm

Charles W. Holmes
http://sofia.usgs.gov/people/holmes.html

American Geophysical Union -- AGU
http://www.agu.org/

          AGU Fall 2001 Meeting
          December 10-14, 2001
          San Francisco
          http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm01top.html

Geophysical Studies of the Southwest Florida Coast:
Mapping of Saltwater Intrusion
http://crustal.usgs.gov/projects/florida/tasks.html

The Relation Between Structure and Saltwater Intrusion in the
Floridan Aquifer System, Northeastern Florida

http://water.usgs.gov/ogw/karst/kigconference/rms_relationintrusion.htm

South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force
http://www.sfrestore.org

          Task Force members (Updated November 13, 2001)
          http://www.sfrestore.org/tf/tfroster.html

          Working Group members (Updated November 15, 2001)
          http://www.sfrestore.org/wg/wgmembers.html

11-Dec-01

WILDLIFE RECONNAISSANCE:
EVERGLADES NATIONJAL PARK PROJECT
PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS ON THE MASTER PLAN

http://www.nps.gov/ever/presskit/quotes.htm

09-July-01

Bogged Up in Mud A Western Maryland Professor Writes About the Tug of the Swamp
 
By Peter Carlson 

Barbara Hurd loves this swamp. In fact, she loves all swamps. She's the bard of bogs, the Walt Whitman of the wetlands, the poet laureate of mud.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10857-2001Jul2.html 

Barbara Hurd, a professor of English at Frostburg State University http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/engl/hurd.htm 

ACORN NATURALISTS : STIRRING IN THE MUD, On Swamps, Bogs ... .... STIRRING THE MUD, On Swamps, Bogs and Human Imagination. Hurd. NEW book steeps the reader in the strange beauty of swamps and bogs - a landscape where the ... http://mall0.register.com/acorn/p13970.htm 

Beacon Press: Fall 2000 SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS REQUEST FORM 
.... 2001 Literature $22.00, hardcover pages tk Barbara Hurd STIRRING THE MUD: On Swamps, Bogs and Human Imagination Stirring the Mud steeps the reader in the ... http://www.beacon.org/contentf00rights.html 

globebooks.com 
.... damp places of the earth, and that love provides her with inspiration for Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination (Beacon, 143 pages, $35). ... 
http://www.globebooks.com/weekly_picks/shelf_life.html 

Convocation Remarks 
.... reading Dr. Barbara Hurd's new, highly acclaimed book, Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination.  One reviewer of the book, a writer in the ... 
http://www.frostburg.edu/events/convocation/convspr01.htm 

Untitled 
.... We also like... Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs and Human Imagination Barbara Hurd Beacon Press, $23. ... 
http://www.discover.com/feb_01/featreviews.html 

Amazon.com: Books / Subjects / Outdoors & Nature / ... 
.... 17. Stirring the Mud : On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination by Barbara Hurd. Usually ships in 24 hours Beacon Pr Hardcover - 176 pages (February 2001), List ... http://www.amazon.com.au/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/14463/ref=br_dp_bl/ 

HMP March 2001 Newsletter 
.... Author Event April 12, 7:30-9pm. Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs and Human Imagination By Barbara Hurd. ...
http://users.erols.com/huntleymeadows/newsletter.html 

CVCO - Overbooked - Non Fiction Stars of 2001 
.... Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs and Human Imagination by Hurd, Barbara Publisher: Houghton $ 23 ISBN: 0807085448 LJ Stirring the Mud steeps the reader in the
http://www.overbooked.org/anf01stars.html 

http://www.uua.org/Beacon/f00cat/fall2000.pdf 
.... Hardcover / 0-8070-6236-7 / $22.00 Barbara Hurd Stirring the Mud On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination A remarkable meditative foray into the uncertain

27-May-01  

USC list of law journals
http://www.usc.edu/dept/law-lib/legal/journals.html

St. Thomas Law School
http://www.stu.edu/lawschool/index.htm

Nova Southeastern Shepard Broad Law Center 
http://www.nsulaw.nova.edu/

Florida Coastal School of Law 
http://www.fcsl.edu/
 
University of Florida Levin College of Law 
http://www.law.ufl.edu/

Florida State University College of Law 
http://www.law.fsu.edu/

Stetson University College of Law 
http://www.law.stetson.edu/

Columbia Online Style: MLA-Style Citations of Electronic Sources 
Citation styles developed by Janice Walker (University of South Florida) and endorsed by the Alliance for Computers and Writing (ACW).
http://enlishttu.edu/acw

Yahoo listings for "Internet Citation" - Links to several online citation Web sites http://www.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Linguistics_and_Human_Languages/Languages/English/

Yahoo listings for Writing for the Web
Collection of cites with general advice about writing and publishing online
http://www.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Communications/Writing/Writing_for_the_Web/

25-May-01 


Link:  Legal 

Florida Supreme Court Briefs and Opinions
Florida State University College of Law web site
http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/index.html

Link:  Educational

Expedition Everglades   

Journey into the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Restoration: Learn how we are rescuing our "River of Grass." Discover our plan to preserve this wondrous place   
(Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science educational program, 3/01)                http://www.mods.org/education5.htm 

 

03-April-01 

Link:  Organizations (Federal Government)

U.S. Geological Survey

Geological Survey activities in connection with the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP: General information, vision statement, team members and program coordinator
http://fl.water.usgs.gov/CERP/cerp.html

Recent USGS water resources publications about Florida
http://fl.water.usgs.gov/recentpubs.html

U.S. Geological Survey, Florida District
http://fl.water.usgs.gov

 

Links:  Ecology (Advocacy) links

The Last Noah’s Ark

Brazil

What is it?
The environmental program The Last Noah’s Ark is result of years of studies of his idealizer Antonio Silveira Ribeiro dos Santos in natural history and environmental area. Created in August 1995 and registered at 7th notary public office of Săo Paulo (n0 249.836). Author rights register n0 106.123, book 158, pages 418.

The Purposes
• Conscious about the necessity of nature’s preservation and conservation;
• Development of studies for an effective protection of species and main ecosystern;
• Promoting environmental education at all levels;
• Improving the quality of global life;
• Supplying subvention for the improvement of Environment’s Rights.

What makes the difference?
It is a program created and developed by a person who puts together concerned people with the same idea and an equal participation, without obedience. It is not an ONG.
The program does not accept any direct monetary help. Eventually the interested people may collaborate by lending goods to the program.

http://www.aultimaarcadenoe.com/indexingles.htm

 

08-March-01

Legal (Academic Organizations) links

Florida State University
The Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center (FREAC) 

Established in 1969, is the original center within the Institute of Science and Public Affairs (ISPA) at Florida State University (FSU). FREAC professionals conduct research in the general areas of resource management and environmental analysis, as well as provide advice and technical assistance to state and local agencies. Public lands research and analysis, geographic information system development, and graphic representation of digital databases are current and long-range FREAC research interests. FREAC also trains university students in these areas through direct involvement in projects, providing real-world experiences.

             •   FREAC - Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center  

08-March-01

Water Resources Atlas of Florida (1998) Florida State University Editors:
Edward A. Fernald and Elizabeth D. Purdum

Library of Congress Catalog Number 98-072985
ISBN 0-9606708-2-3

Complete update and revision of the widely acclaimed 1984 atlas. The comprehensive reference on Florida's water resources and their management.  Hundreds of full-color maps, photos, charts, and graphs.  Contributors are from U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Water Management Districts of Florida and universities. Information on purchasing the Water Resources Atlas of Florida and other publications can be obtained here:
http://www.freac.fsu.edu/atlases.html

Section I: Introduction

1 Water Issues: Global, National, State, Ecosystem

Section II: Florida's Water Resources

2 Weather and Climate
3 Groundwater
4 Surface Water
5 Natural Systems
6 Water Use
7 Water Quality

Section III: Management and Regional Diversity

 8 History of Water Management
 9 Northwest Florida Water Management District
10 Suwanee River Water Management District
11 St. Johns River Water Management District
12 Southwest Florida Water Management District
13 South Florida Water Management District

Section IV: Issues and Conflicts

14 Water Economics and Finance
15 Law and Policy in Managing Water Resources

Illustration Examples

Photo album (direct links below)
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Album.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559

Florida topography (light-to-dark)
0-50-100-150-200-250-300 feet above sea level
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417964

Florida wetlands (1989)
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417973

Florida water management districts
http://www.photoloft.com/view/Image.asp?s=plft&u=71267&a=967559&i=6417973

More illustrations can be seen here:
http://www.evergladesvillage.net/atlas_of_fla/atlas.html

 

10-Feb-01

The American Association of Law Libraries

The American Association of Law Libraries was founded in 1906 to promote and enhance the value of law libraries to the legal and public communities, to foster the profession of law librarianship, and to provide leadership in the field of legal information.

Today, with over 4,800 members, the Association represents law librarians and related professionals who are affiliated with a wide range of institutions: law firms; law schools; corporate legal departments; courts; and local, state and federal government agencies.

http://www.aallnet.org/

SEAALL

the Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries.  SEAALL is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in Florida with the purposes of promoting law librarianship and developing and increasing the usefulness of law libraries, particularly those in the Southeastern area of the United States.

SEAALL was originally established in 1954 -- an expansion of the Carolinas Chapter (established in 1939 as AALL's first chapter).   Today our membership is over 500 strong, representing law librarians from the private sector, the government, academia, and more. For more on the history of SEAALL, please see From the SEAALL Attic, by Hazel Johnson. A continuing mission for SEAALL has always been to provide educational services for its members.  This is primarily accomplished through the many educational offerings at our annual meeting and through instructive articles, pathfinders, and bibliographies in our newsletter, The Southeastern Law Librarian.

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/seaall/index.shtml

 

06-Feb-01

•  Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Ramsar and Wetlands International 1999 Directory of Wetlands of International Importance

Web directory

 

 

•  UNEP/GPA News Forum

United Nations Environment Programme
A News and Information Service of the Global Programme of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities

•  Environmental News Network

Education site
Only one in three adult Americans has a passing understanding of our most pressing environmental issues.  National Environmental Education and Training Foundation

•   League of Conservation voters, Presidential profiles

Political analysis of Presidential candidates' environmental platform
New section on Cheney's record (07-24-00)

•  Everglades Restoration Plan

Comprehensive site dedicated to educating the public about the restoration plan

•  Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division (DMRD)
The controversy surrounding dihydrogen monoxide has never been more widely debated, and the goal of this site is to provide an unbiased data clearinghouse and a forum for public discussion. The success of this site depends on you, the citizen concerned about Dihydrogen Monoxide. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
http://www.dhmo.org/



26-Oct-00

•  Living on Earth  
http://www.loe.org/thisweek/highlight.htm#1

 

 

article with links

Revised:  06/13/03