June  2002 

 

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Washington Post series: The Everglades 

This series, based on more than 200 interviews and thousands of pages of documents, shows that the $7.8 billion plan to restore the Everglades may result in little restoration but will certainly increase water supplies for Florida residents, farmers and businesses, who already lead the nation in per-capita water consumption
Copyright  © 2002  Washington Post  All rights reserved.

30-June-02

Jim Mudd ready, waiting for challenges as Collier county manager 
Jim Mudd's office on the second floor of the county government center sheds some light on what's in store for Collier County. His walls sport pictures of the U.S. Central Command of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, during Desert Storm, complete with a chronology of the Aug. 7, 1990, through Feb. 28, 1991, operation Desert Shield. Mudd is pictured in the middle with the other top commanders. His bookcase brims with the likes of "The Leadership Challenge," "In Search of Excellence" and "Improving Performance." His desk is topped with 13 separate piles of papers. A well-worn coffee cup and over-sized, cool-drink cup are at the ready for his regular 12-hour days. No personal effects here, save the tiny 3-by-7 silver-framed photos of his two children, Ryan, 23, and Kati, 19. Both photos lie flat on the shelf, no time to put them in place. There is no evidence of his wife, Toni, the woman he has known since kindergarten, been married to for 28 years and calls his best friend. This is a war room and he is all business - a take-charge kind of leader who aims to get to the point - his point. "I am a Type-A personality," he says with self-assurance. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Threat or natural hazard?
The killing of an alligator considered a community pet renewed a debate    about what to do when humans and wildlife collide. Most of the 142 alligator calls to Martin County sheriff's deputies in the past 18 months were aimed at removing a threat with lots of teeth. In backyard pools, on the first hole of a golf course and even crashing through one victim's windshield, Florida's ancient resident reptiles have taken a bite out of a few nerves. But not Buddy, the 6-foot Jensen Beach alligator that became a community pet to some of his human neighbors. Throwing food and watching him grow in a pond behind dozens of homes, his supporters hoped he would live out a natural and full life. But the sheriff's deputy who shot him in the name of public safety last weekend, other residents and state wildlife officials say those who fed him ultimately caused his death. Buddy's story was just another in the continual "nuisance or nature" debate about alligators across the state. Nuisance "That happens quite frequently. Some people don't want it there and some people want it there. It's a Catch-22," said Lt. Chris Sella, an officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "Some people think it's part of the natural environment and should be there. Other people fear for the safety of their family." The reality is that alligators, or other wild animals, are generally not a threat to humans, as long as they are left alone. That means no feeding, he said. 
Copyright  © 2002 StuartNews  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Everglades Revival
WILL THE MASSIVE $8 billion program for re-plumbing the Everglades actually succeed in reviving the unique wetlands ecosystem that was decimated by years of federal reclamation and flood-control projects? A broad-ranging look at the project by The Post's Michael Grunwald raised that question last week, and underscored the need for strong and continuing oversight as the ambitious restoration effort moves forward.  Danger looms in two directions. One is that engineers can't say for sure that the technological fixes on which the plan depends will work as hoped. If the scientists and engineers can't "get the water right," as local officials say, the ecosystem's hoped-for recovery won't materialize. The other is that, with benefits for industry and development materializing faster than benefits for the environment, Congress will run out of patience, and federal support for the project will dry up before its goals are reached. The reasons for worry show up starkly in the "Lake Belt," a quarrying project at the Everglades' edge that is eating away 21,000 acres of wetlands even though it's not at all guaranteed its promised future water storage benefits will materialize. There are also signs of hope, such as the Indian River Lagoon Project, where Army Corps of Engineers officials responded to local activists and changed a project design to meet environmental needs. The restoration project, funded half by the federal government and half by the state of Florida, was designed to serve a wide range of interests, including water supply and flood control for booming South Florida: The strains inherent in encompassing them all are clear.  The federal interest in the project is in reviving the unique wetlands ecology and protecting it from future harm. Congress must keep pushing to uphold that mission. A House subcommittee took a step in that direction this week by voting to boost the Interior Department's role in the restoration effort. President Bush, who has pledged to be a good steward of the Everglades, has a role as well. His administration is developing the regulations that will guide the re-plumbing project; draft rules are now under review in the Office of Management and Budget. To meet his commitment, those rules must be strong and specific enough to protect the restoration goals. The damage done by years of effort to drain the Everglades can never be fully undone, but the federal government took on the right mission when it set out to restore what can be healed. Now the challenge is to keep it on course. Note: On Sunday, June 30, 2002, Washington Post reporter   Michael Grunwald was interviewed live on-camera on   "This Week in South Florida," Channel 10 WPLG, http://www.click10.com   A copy of the show is available for $31.95 from The News Poll,   800-799-8881.
Copyright  © 2002  Washington Post  All rights reserved.

Growing and pained
Environmentalists fear that lack of respect for natural resources will be the demise of our water supply, species and environmental legacy for future generations. If quotes published in The Washington Post from the leader of WCI Communities Inc. are any indication, those fears are well founded.  Part 3 of the Post series "The Swamp - Growing Pains in Southwest Florida" (at washingtonpost.com) afforded readers a troubling glimpse into the phenomenon of growth at all costs. Most environmental woes are the result of poor planning in how we've built our communities and allowed them to overflow - sprawling into areas where growth is not only inappropriate but also destructive to the environment.  Sprawl causes many afflictions, among them loss of wetlands, water and wildlife.  Sprawl is expensive, wasteful and environmentally damaging.  WCI's leader called sprawl "an inevitable tidal wave" that can't be stopped.  With the company's Florida home sales totaling $1.1 billion last year alone, it's wealth over health. It's all about making millions at the expense of the health of our ecosystems and natural landscapes. Collier County's growth plan approved last week demonstrated that local citizens and elected officials want to calm the wave and accomplish both environmental protection and development objectives by clustering development away from sensitive natural areas.  Unless citizens fight runaway sprawl, vote responsibly and support the efforts of environmental organizations, that "unstoppable" concrete wave will continue to crash relentlessly upon us - turning once pristine areas and wetlands into pavement, parking lots and rooftops.
Kathy Prosser/Naples
President and CEO, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

29-June-02

Project aims to protect acres of Florida wetlands
In what could end up as one of the most ambitious environmental projects in the nation, The Nature Conservancy said Friday it plans to restore 337,000 acres of wetlands along the Kissimmee River and keep developers off another 300,000.  The project calls for paying ranchers along the river never to build on their property. Under these "conservation easements," cattle could keep grazing on pastures that are not turned back into wetlands.  The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit group that works with government agencies to protect wildlife habitat, also would compensate the ranchers for maintaining the restored wetlands.  The project could cost $700 million and take years.  To pay for it, the Nature Conservancy hopes to tap into as much as $472 million available to Florida farmers during the six-year life of the $190 billion farm bill President Bush signed into law last month. The rest would have to come from state grants and private donations.  The idea of buying conservation easements to keep land out of the hands of developers hasn't been tried on this scale in Florida, but it's not unique.  If successful, this program would be the third largest restoration effort in Florida history, ranking only behind the Everglades and Kissimmee River projects, said Doug Shaw, a hydrologist with the Nature Conservancy, which is based in Washington, D.C. All told, the Nature Conservancy wants to protect more than 600,000 acres stretching from the headwaters of the Kissimmee River in Osceola County to Lake Okeechobee in South Florida.  Besides permanently keeping development from much of the Kissimmee River basin, restoring the wetlands will help improve the water quality of Lake Okeechobee and ultimately the Everglades. Ranchers who participate in the program will have to abide by certain rules, including a ban on using fertilizers that contain phosphorous. The wetlands, which are to be restored by filling in ditches and canals that now drain the pastures, will also provide new homes for wildlife, including the Florida panther, black bear and an array of wading birds.  A high-ranking USDA official who was on hand for the announcement and a tour of the area Friday said he is optimistic the program will get a good portion of the money it needs through the federal farm bill. Roughly $50 million for Florida will be available for the 2002 budget year, which begins in October. However, is it impossible to know how much the Kissimmee River project will get until Congress begins considering the Department of Agriculture's budget, said Paul Anderson, a spokesman for Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla.  This is the first time that conservation money has been part of the farm bill, which has traditionally existed to subsidize American farms. There was a $35 million pilot project in the 1996 version of the bill, and roughly $50 million has been spent since then on conservation, said an aide to Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.  "I don't see any reason that we can't help them," said Mack Gray, the USDA's deputy undersecretary for Natural Resources, the division in charge of doling out the conservation money.  But even if the money is available, the program can't succeed unless a majority of the ranchers agree to participate. That's because the restoration must take place on an enormous scale rather than piecemeal if it is really to help Lake Okeechobee, conservancy scientists said.  Officials with the conservancy and USDA concede the program is not a done deal because of the history of mistrust and confrontation between agriculture and environmental groups. Ranchers and farmers, however, are concerned about the environment, too, Gray said.  "We hear the term, `the environment is important to everyone.' Well, the Nature Conservancy gives us a chance to prove that," Gray said. 
Copyright  © 2002 Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Water district cleaning up after fish kill
 Work began Friday to clean up more than 1 million dead fish floating amid weeds and plants in the C-24 Canal, the site of one of the largest fish kills in years. Paul Millar, director of the South Florida Water Management District's Stuart office, said workers moved a backhoe next to a machine that was placed on the waterway this week to pick up the decomposing plants. A mechanical harvester was placed on the canal this week to pick up the floating plants before they move through the spillway into the river, he said. It is used as an alternative to chemical spraying. The machine will now trap the dead bluegill sunfish, largemouth bass, threadfin shad and gizzard shad as they float to the spillway. Millar said heavy rain flushed weeds from drainage ditches in nearby groves into the canal, causing the massive fish kill. "Weeds naturally grow in secondary canals, and in the discharge process, they get kind of torn up and there's a high bio-chemical oxygen demand," he said. Decomposing plants take dissolved oxygen out of the water. When the dissolved oxygen is depleted, fish suffocate. "This is a big fish kill," Millar said of the estimated 1.5 million fish found dead Thursday in the 5-mile stretch of the C-24 from the North Fork of the St. Lucie River to the Savona Boulevard bridge. "It's incredibly huge, and that number is accurate," he said. 
Copyright  © 2002 StuartNews  All rights reserved.

 

Judge encouraged, concerned on Everglades cleanup
A federal judge said Friday that he is encouraged by Everglades cleanup reports but was concerned that a key component will be built later than the state agreed.   However, U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler did not directly address complaints from environmentalists and the Miccosukee Indian tribe, which makes its home in the Everglades, that deadlines set for 2006 will be missed.   "It's creative accounting. It's cooking the books. It's phosphorus laundering, laundering the numbers," Dexter Lehtinen, the tribe's attorney, said after the hearing.   Water managers, in contrast, cited success so far and predicted more to come.   The South Florida Water Management District is the state agency in charge of most projects removing the pollutant phosophorus from water feeding the Everglades. Long-term costs for better water quality and quantity are estimated at $7.8 billion, to be shared by federal and state agencies.   Ruth Clements, attorney for the district, delivered an optimistic report on work to date and expressed confidence that goals covered by a 1991 lawsuit settlement will be reached on schedule four years from now. "We are enjoying better results overall than we expected," she told the judge. "We are confident we can attain those long-term numbers by 2006."   Lehtinen shot back, "The interim deadline is not being met, and there's no Phase 2 to meet the final deadline."   Phosphorus from fertilizer flows in runoff from ranches, farms and suburbs into the Everglades, which evolved as a low-nutrient ecosystem. Native plants such as sawgrass are quickly displaced by nonnative  phosphorus lovers, such as cattails and Australian melaleuca trees, but wildlife is unable to adapt as fast.   With a few exceptions, the district said it already is meeting a phosphorus standard of 50 parts per billion. The state has proposed a long-term 10 ppb standard, but a report filed with the court Thursday consistently talked about projects to get phosphorus to the range of 15 to 20 ppb. The primary phosphorus removal technique is a system of six manmade marshes, called stormwater treatment areas, where the mineral settles in the soil or is absorbed by plants.   Four operating treatment areas covering 18,000 acres produce phosphorus levels below 35 ppb, the district said.   Another area being built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be late. The delay will send untreated water to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, the northern chunk of federally protected Everglades in Palm Beach County, after a deadline set next year.   "I'm encouraged," said Hoeveler. "I understand that the (stormwater treatment area) might be a year late. If that's so, we want to find out about it."   He set a hearing Sept. 16 to begin hearing testimony from the tribe's experts to support their claims that slow cleanup is endangering the unique ecosystem.   "It looks good, but it's not the Everglades," said Lehtinen. 
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Miccosukees, environmentalists question state's rosy Glades report
State water managers on Friday gave a federal judge an upbeat assessment of efforts to reduce polluted farm runoff flowing into the Everglades. The Miccosukee Tribe, which has revived a landmark lawsuit against the state that helped trigger the Everglades restoration effort, ripped the report as ``creative accounting.'' ''It's phosphorous laundering,'' said tribe attorney Dexter Lehtinen after a hearing before senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler. The judge made no ruling but set another hearing for Sept. 16 to address allegations from the tribe and environmental groups that the South Florida Water Management District is running behind a court-mandated schedule to sharply cut pollution poisoning the Everglades by 2006.
Hoeveler called the district's report encouraging but also expressed concern about a key project, the biggest of a string of six filtering marshes called storm-water treatment areas, or STA. ''I understand that the STA might be a year late,'' Hoeveler said. ``If so, we want to find out what to do about it.'' The critical issue in the 14-year-old lawsuit, originally brought against the state of Florida in 1988 by Lehtinen when he was a U.S. attorney, is how much phosphorous should be allowed in the system. Under terms of a settlement, the state agreed to a set of deadlines to build filtering marshes and reduce pollution. The district's report claimed it was already averaging phosphorous levels of 35 parts per billion, ''well below'' an interim target of 50 parts per billion. In December, the state Department of Environmental Protection also proposed a tough permanent standard of 10 parts per billion, one cited in the 1994 Florida Forever Act and supported by the tribe and environmentalists. But that limit faces months of administrative hearings, and agricultural interests want to raise it to 15 to 16 parts per billion. The difference sounds small but some scientists believe phosphorous levels above 10 parts per billion will create a biological ripple that could change the Everglades: First, tiny things like algae die, then exotic plants oust natives like sawgrass and, finally, the altered habitat changes the wildlife. District attorney Ruth Clements told Hoeveler that while the report details problems, delays or high spikes of pollution with some filtering marshes, the overall results were better than expected. Pollution levels in Everglades National Park and the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge were already at or below the 2006 standards, she said. ''We are on track with complying with the settlement agreement performance measures,'' she said. Her comments were supported by lawyers for growers in the Everglades Agricultural Area southeast of Lake Okeechobee. Lehtinen told Hoeveler that while he had not had time to fully review the report, filed with the court late Thursday, the tribe's data suggested the picture was less rosy. He said the report contained numerous red flags, including suggestions that the district would not meet a number of deadlines and indications the agency was contemplating altering measurement techniques, which might skew results. He also said the state has failed to even develop a system that will clean water to the 2006 standard. ''Their own files show the interim deadline will not be met,'' he said. Environmental groups also expressed concerns. ''We just got this glowing report but I think on analysis it may not be so glowing,'' said Thom Rumberger, an attorney for Audubon of Florida.
Copyright  © 2002 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Managers, tribe differ on Everglades cleanup
Water managers are confident they can clean up the Everglades by the end of 2006.  Just not all of it.  Attorneys for the South Florida Water Management District told a federal judge Friday they're optimistic about meeting cleanup deadlines for the 2,600 square miles of Everglades managed by the U.S. government.  The district says the cleanup is removing hundreds of tons of polluting phosphorus faster than anyone had expected.  But they declined to promise the same for the other 1,100 square miles of Everglades controlled by the state or the Miccosukee Indian tribe. The pledge failed to soothe the tribe, who estimate the district's pace will drag the $867 million cleanup to at least 2013, six years past the deadline set by state law.  "What they're doing is changing the rate at which the Everglades is destroyed," Miccosukee water consultant Terry Rice said after the 1 1/2 - hour hearing in federal court.  District General Counsel John Fumero said nobody, including Rice, can predict what will happen in four years. But Fumero said the district and the sugar industry are making huge progress in cleaning phosphorus-tainted runoff from suburbs and farms.  "I'm not going to speculate," Fumero said. "We're doing everything humanly and technologically possible to improve the water in the Everglades.... This project is unprecedented." The questions are so tangled that U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler ordered a new round of testimony in mid-September -- just shy of the 14th birthday of the lawsuit still slogging through his court.  "I'm encouraged," Hoeveler said after hearing the district's report. But he expressed concern about delays in finishing construction of the last of six large pollution-filtering marshes south of Lake Okeechobee.  One marsh, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is building west of Wellington, is a year behind schedule.  The district's final marsh, on former sugar land in southwest Palm Beach County, is 200 days behind schedule because of a contractor's bankruptcy, but water managers expect to finish it by their October 2003 deadline. The tribe insists the marsh will fall a year behind schedule in producing clean water.  Water managers still don't know how clean the water must be, and the state commission in charge of setting the pollution limit may not finish the task until early 2003. But the district says it has spent more than $35 million researching ways to cut phosphorus levels further.   
Copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

28-June-02

County digs in on wastewater issues
A staff-led discussion on wastewater funding and projects at last week’s County Commission meeting was the most comprehensive look at the unincorporated Monroe County projects in the last two years. Thirty days following County Administrator Jim Roberts’ appointment as wastewater point person, he presented County Commissioners with numerous  project reports as well as the status of all funding and a punch list of  tasks ahead. The reports, all three-hole punched, separated by color-coded dividers and contained in thick white binders, are just the beginning, Roberts said. “This is the first train station on the sewage express,” he said. “Staff has put together the beginning binder, which will be the record of what the decisions are.” Monthly updates will be added to the binder. Roberts said he would seek board guidance with each step. “Because of the time periods involved, we can’t put things off for a month or two to think about,” he cautioned. Commissioners were impressed. “This is encouraging, it looks like we’re going on the fast train,“ said County Mayor Sonny McCoy. FKAA STAYS Roberts’ first announcement was that county staff reached agreement with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA) to continue its role as wastewater utility. But a new team of players will work with the county, including FKAA board member Mary Rice and another board member not yet identified. Jim Reynolds, deputy director of FKAA, will lead the team. FKAA Director Roger Braun previously led the initiative. Rice said after the meeting that so much was going on with water and wastewater that board members felt Braun “was being spread too thin.” Rice said the team was committed to helping the county meet the tight timelines for spending grant money and upgrading wastewater, as ordered by the state.
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002 Upper Keys Reporter  All rights reserved. 

Property rights debate builds on Big Pine Key
Growth or no growth. Marsh rabbits and Key deer versus people. Habitat Conservation Plan versus private property rights. These issues, brought again to the forefront by newly formed Citizens for Constitutional Property Rights, dominate the ongoing battle about future development on Big Pine Key. The CCPR, which met in Wednesday in Big Pine, describes itself as a group of local people who have gotten together to provide a voice for small-property owners who believe their right to own and use property is being eroded in violation of the Constitution. About 49 participants listened to guest speakers discuss the history of Monroe County land-use plans and a Habitat Conservation Plan.  "I feel the county is giving away the store in their program being put forth by HCP by limiting the number of houses to be built over the next 20 years," CCPR President Joe Ambrose said.  The ultimate goal of the Habitat Conservation Plan is to come up with a way to develop Big Pine and No Name keys in ways that would enable people to coexist with endangered species. The plan will mitigate and compensate for any negative consequences of development on the endangered species in the area.Tim McGarry, division director of Monroe County's Growth Management Department, said the final draft of the HCP is to be finished in September, but still will have to be approved by county commissioners, the Department of Community Affairs and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.  McGarry referred The Citizen to county Planning Director Margaret Conaway for details of the plan, but she was out of town this week.  The issue of future development on Big Pine Key is further complicated because it is a part of the 6,000-acre National Key Deer Refuge, and the island is under a building moratorium because U.S. 1 is inadequate to support existing traffic. Also in the planning stages is a so-called CommuniKeys program, which attempts to find the "needs of the human community and is being completed by the citizens and property owners in the community, under the guidance of the county Planning and Environmental Resources Department."  In light of the ongoing battles that face the residents of Big Pine from the Key deer and building moratorium, the Citizens for Constitutional Property Rights believe Monroe County is heading towards no-growth legislation.  According to Ambrose, planning and zoning by the county devalues property and robs the owner of the value of the property by curbing the use of the property.  
Copyright  © 2002 Keys news  All rights reserved.

A state biologist estimated there were 1.5 million dead fish in the  waterway
State scientists examined one of the largest fish kills in years Thursday, with more than a million fish found floating in the C-24 Canal. Doug Strom, a biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, inspected the scene Thursday morning after neighbors reported the dead fish to state agencies. In a report, Strom estimated there were 1.5 million dead fish in the 5-mile stretch of canal from the North Fork of the St. Lucie River to at least the Savona Boulevard bridge. But another state scientist who tracks fish kills throughout the state said there could be more. "Usually, your estimates are rather conservative," said Emilio Sosa, a research associate with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg. "That's a lot of fish." Heavy rains and discharges from the canal into the St. Lucie River are partly to blame for the fish kill, which was caused by a lack of dissolved oxygen, Strom reported. Dissolved oxygen, which fish breathe, comes from underwater photosynthesis, in which plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy. Cloudy weather inhibits photosynthesis, and stormwater runoff sucks up dissolved oxygen needed to break down the phosphorous and other nutrients that pour into the canal. Nutrients from the runoff also cloud the water, making photosynthesis more difficult. Warm water naturally contains less oxygen, and rotting fish and plants can also suck up the dissolved oxygen. 
copyright  © 2002  Stuart News  All rights reserved.

 

Discharges from lake looming with rain
Officials have already begun discharging water from the C-23, C-24 and C-25 canals into the estuary. Recent heavy rains have caused the level of Lake Okeechobee to rise a foot in less than two weeks a rapid increase that has caused water managers and local St. Lucie River advocates to take notice. Most scientists agree the higher water level won't hurt the health of the lake, but the rains have caused South Florida Water Management District officials to discharge water from the C-23, C-24 and C-25 canals into the St. Lucie Estuary. Because of those discharges, the water quality of the estuary is "the lowest its been since January," said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society. Discharge threat begins Lake Okeechobee was 12.5 feet above sea level Thursday, and the canals to the south of the lake that feed the Everglades Agricultural Area reached a level for the first time Wednesday that allowed water managers to unnaturally pump water back into the lake. The season-long threat of discharges from the lake into the St. Lucie Estuary from the nutrient-rich lake has begun. "Once it gets over 14.5 feet in the lake, then we really have to keep our eyes on the district," Perry said. "It will have to come up another 2 feet, and that's very possible. It could definitely happen." 
copyright  © 2002  Stuart News  All rights reserved.

 

27-June-02

Water Supply, Growth Don't Mix
People in southern Hillsborough look at new houses, apartments and businesses rising around them and wonder: If water is in such short supply, how can the county keep approving
all these developments? Mary Cardenas of Valrico doesn't understand commissioners banning lawn watering but doing nothing to curb the construction boom. ``How can we keep building out here if there's no water?'' she said. ``We hear that all the time,'' said Pat Frank, chairwoman of the Hillsborough County Commission, which Tuesday banned lawn watering in southern and eastern Hillsborough to prevent the well field serving the area from violating its pumping permits. 
Copyright  © 2002 Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

Locals surprised, but pleased with decision to make Mudd permanent county manager
From government officials to county watchdogs, environmentalists and business leaders, there was agreement Wednesday that Collier County commissioners made a good decision when they suddenly picked Deputy County Manager Jim Mudd to become county manager as of July 15.  "It was out of the blue, but I think it was the right thing to do and it was an excellent choice," said Nancy Payton, local representative for the National Wildlife Federation. "It will provide continuity. We will not be disrupted by looking for a new manager." Most residents had no idea that commissioners Tuesday night were about to pick Mudd to replace County Manager Tom Olliff when he leaves in two weeks. Commissioners were scheduled to hire a national search firm to assess the field of candidates. Now, commissioners will work out a contract with Mudd and plan to approve it in July.  "Everybody was surprised," Commissioner Donna Fiala said. "Going into that meeting even I had no idea that's how we would be coming out."  Fiala said comments and e-mails she received Wednesday were positive.  "I've talked to people in the city and the county and in the field, and they are very pleased," she said. "People who work with him say his honesty is refreshing."  Mudd was hired as the county's public utilities administrator in October 2000 and became Olliff's right-hand man one year later. He spent 26 years in the U.S. Army, and several years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His last post was as commander of the Rock Island, Ill., Army Corps of Engineers district.  It was there Mudd became embroiled in a controversy that went all the way to the Pentagon and has since dogged him to Collier County.  A Pentagon investigation reported that he and others manipulated numbers to favor spending $1.1 billion on Corps construction projects in 2000.  Olliff and commissioners stood by Mudd's version that the controversy was really government politics gone awry. Even people who were his harshest critics a year ago had nothing but praise for him Wednesday.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

26-June-02

Sanctuary votes for greater voice in 'Glades project: Asks that Corps involve the Keys in more decisions
Everything that flows through the Everglades restoration project will end up on the shores of the Florida Keys, warned conservationists.  "We are definitely going to feel the consequences here," said Nancy Klingener, who heads the Ocean Conservancy's office in Key West.  "Right now, the voices of the Keys are not being heard," she said.  At the urging of Klingener and officials of the World Wildlife Fund, the Advisory Council to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary voted June 18 to seek more information on the $7.8-billion restoration effort for the Everglades.  The panel also told state and federal officials that restoration projects planned for the Keys should be explained and considered in the Keys. Among the long list of Everglades-related projects are the Florida Bay/Florida Keys Feasibility Study, and the Florida Keys Tidal Restoration Study. The tidal study, for example, proposed to dig large culverts underneath U.S. 1 in the Middle Keys to improve water flows between the bay to ocean.  "Those are Keys projects, but most of the meetings for them take place in Fort Lauderdale or even Jacksonville," Klingener said. "The people of the Keys need to know what's going on."  Shannon Estenoz, director of World Wildlife Fund's Everglades Program, said Keys residents cannot afford to be spectators as Everglades projects take shape over the next two decades.  "If you want it to happen right, you have to be engaged in the process," Estenoz said. "No county is as geographically or economically positioned like Monroe County to bear the brunt of the success or failure of this project."  Most of the planning sessions for the Keys projects take place near U.S. Army Corps of Engineers offices, or near large population centers.  "We understand that it is a pain for the agency staffers to come down to the Keys," Klingener said. "But it's more of a pain for Keys residents to go up to Fort Lauderdale for everything. The Keys voices are not being heard." 
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002 Florida Keys Keynoter All rights reserved.
 

Editorial: SAVE THE CORAL REEFS KEYS MOTIVATED TO BUILD TREATMENT PLANTS
The results of a new study on what's killing elkhorn coral in the Keys produced an answer that surprises no one. The study by University of Georgia scientists looked for the cause of the ''white pox'' disease that is decimating the once abundant elkhorn coral that ranged like forests across vast expanses of tropical sea bottom.  The culprit turns out to be fecal coliform bacteria present in the intestines of humans, animals and some soils. The bacteria appear to be fatal only for the elkhorn coral. The researchers, the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies make a reasonable assumption that the biggest source of the bacteria is sewage in the Keys.  But that doesn't explain how underwater forests of elkhorn on reefs located some seven miles offshore also have been attacked. That's a long way from the Keys' 2,800 cesspits and hundreds of septic tanks. Research into that puzzle will continue. Yet this study's findings have confirmed what many have said for years -- the Florida Keys must get serious about its solid-waste treatment or else face losing one of its biggest tourist draws: the clear offshore waters and the corals they nurture. While other factors such as coral bleaching, rising sea levels and boat groundings contribute to the decline of the reef systems, the perils that sewage pose can be controlled.  Some advances are being made in Monroe County on the sewage-treatment front. Key West has gone to advanced wastewater treatment for sewage, replacing its main lines and requiring residents to replace leaky lateral lines.  Marathon is working on a request for proposals for a central treatment system, but is moving at a snail's pace. In the unincorporated area, the Florida Keys Aquaduct Authority, after some wavering, is back as the overseer of sewage treatment. Its board briefly voted to pull out after the County Commission approved an elected sewer board to oversee waste-treatment plans in the Key Largo area.  Keys officials are motivated by $12 million appropriated by Gov. Jeb Bush for sewage treatment that wisely comes with a deadline. The money must be committed to projects that are under way by next March or it becomes available for other projects. That's a big incentive for communities to move more swiftly to get rid of this inexcusable pollution threat.  
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

25-June-02

How Did Busch Gardens Grow?
Wild animals - and people - have always roamed where Montu, Kumba, zebras and monkeys now rule.  Long before Busch Gardens opened in 1959, beckoning guests with free beer and a chance to see exotic birds and flowers, the future theme park's land was roamed by black bears, deer, turkeys and bobcats.  In the early 1900s, hunters stalked wildlife on the 5,500-acre flatland of pine trees and palmettos that included the future Busch Gardens property. The wealthy Chicago Potter-Palmer family owned the private hunting preserve, as well as half of Sarasota County. In 1941, parts of the property were cleared for concrete runways and tarmac for Henderson Airport, a pale forerunner of Tampa's international airport.  During World War II, flyboys arrived on the airfield from all over the country to learn to fly P-51 Mustangs. By then, it was run by the U.S. Army Air Corps and renamed Hillsborough Army Airfield.  Ansley Watson, now 89, was the base's commanding officer.  ``We had about 400 people on the base. Mechanics and clerks and GIs lived there in barracks. Officers lived off base,'' recalls Watson, who lives in Palma Ceia, just 10 miles from the base he first commanded in January '44 and closed less than a year later. ``It was really wooded then, but we had service facilities with one hangar and a control tower and a concrete building where we parked the fighters. We usually had about 28 airplanes.''  It was a very small base, remembers his wife, Jane Price Watson, whom he met at a party not long after arriving in Tampa from South Dakota in 1943. ``But he was determined to make it a fine base.''  Watson, who flew for United Airlines before and after the war, arranged for bombers from MacDill Air Force Base to fly over his airfield for training exercises.  ``We would play like we were attacking them,'' he recalls. ``Six bombers, 12 fighters. We did rolls and zooms.''  Years later, the Watsons settled in Tampa and often took their four children and nine grandchildren to Busch Gardens to see the animals. Watson knew the theme park was on the same property as his base, but he never associated the two, since it didn't seem like anything was left of his old airfield. But when he visited the park in 1994, Busch employees - knowing his background - showed him some of the leftover concrete tarmac just north of park boundaries.  The tarmac reminded him of the closeness of the base back then.  ``We pursuit pilots were closer to each other than bomber pilots,'' he says, smiling. ``Because we thought we were the best.''
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

Group formed to identify Lee Everglades restoration projects
An advisory team aimed at identifying Everglades restoration projects for much of Lee and Charlotte counties formed Monday and is expected to hold its first meeting later this month.  The Charlotte Harbor-Caloosahatchee River Regional Coordination Team was established during a meeting of water and environmental experts meeting in North Fort Myers. The new group will meet July 22 at the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council office at 9:30 a.m. in North Fort Myers.  The group is a sub-team of the more comprehensive Southwest Florida Regional Restoration Coordination Team.  Serving as an advisory group to identify projects for the 30-year, $8 billion Everglades restoration project, the Charlotte Harbor-Caloosahatchee team is headed by Lisa Beever, director of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.  Beever also will function as co-chairwoman of the overall restoration group, which includes the new team as well as the Big Cypress Basin-Estero Bay Restoration Coordination Team. The two teams together cover Southwest Florida from the Charlotte Harbor watershed south to Everglades National Park.  The teams will collect scientific research and data from their areas and rank projects they hope will get money during Everglades restoration. As a whole, the group will also lobby for money for identified projects. Combining the Big Cypress-Estero Bay team with a partner to the north is the brainchild of Wayne Daltry, Lee County's Smart Growth director.  Daltry said Monday he hopes to bring the scientific research from both teams to Everglades restoration groups in hopes that Southwest Florida will gain a stronger voice in the project.  "This is a political science process to try to move the science into the politics," Daltry said. "And that ain't easy. It's a political game. And if you don't play, you automatically lose."  FGCU professor Mike Savarese heads the Big Cypress-Estero Bay team and agreed to help Beever organize a team for the north area. He agreed with Daltry, saying the region needs a strong voice during the Everglades project.  "I think Southwest Florida should start to flex its muscle and get better representation," said Savarese, the second co-chair for the overall group.  The teams will meet together four times a year and submit annual reports to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project team. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

24-June-02

MELALEUCA PROJECT
Big Cypress Gallery Clyde and Niki Butcher Special Projects

Kill the scourge of the Everglades, buy a unique hiking stick made from the invasive Melaleuca tree! $10 from every walking stick will be donated to the Florida Exotic Pest Council. 



Warren Resen working hard on 
creating his Melaleuca Walking Sticks. 


The spread of the Austrailian Melaleuca tree (Melaleuca Quinquenervia) across the Everglades began with its introduction into South Florida early in the 20th century as a fast-growing ornamental tree, and as a tree to "drain the swamp" of the Everglades. To say that the subsequent spread of Melaleuca has been explosive is a mild description of how the tree has taken over the native habitats of South Florida.The Melaleuca not only invades areas where the soil has been disturbed, but also invades every existing ecosystem in South Florida, except for the saline zone. The tree grows in Melaleuca forests so dense that no animal can live within the boundary. They also absorb phenomenal mounts of water. Developers in the early 1900's had hoped the tree would dry up the Everglades, so the land could be put to "good" use. Because of its explosive reproductive rate, the Melaleuca could overtake most of this region's remaining natural land within 30 years. 

 
Clyde uses his when he goes 
out into the swamp.

The Big Cypress Melaleuca Fight
Florida Environment Radio

Big Cypress National Preserve protects about 750,000 acres of Southwest Florida. But not long ago, more than a third of it was home to the invasive plant Melaleuca. Thanks to an aggressive, eradication effort, the bulk of the preserve is maintained nearly Melaleuca free. Bill Snyder is a Big Cypress Forestry Technician...http://www.floridaenvironment.com/programs/fe20624.htm

 

Related Articles;

National park celebrates death of its last melaleuca tree

Mitigation funds boost melaleuca control efforts

Related Links;

Melaleuca quinquenervia
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/melainv.html

Invasive Species: Melaleuca profile
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/profiles/melaleuca.shtml

Exotics in the Everglades
http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/exotics.htm

 

 

22-June-02

Bush letter to property rights group raises outcry
Environmentalists say it is inappropriate for the governor to    use his office to urge donations for the group. In Florida's courtrooms, the Pacific Legal Foundation has argued against dimming beach lights to help baby sea turtles. It has fought for the rights of boaters upset about manatee protection regulations. It has opposed the state Department of Environmental Protection over a land use case. And it has won a notable fan: Gov. Jeb Bush. The cover of the most recent newsletter from the foundation's Atlantic Center in Miami reproduces a letter from Bush in which he encourages potential donors to give to the foundation. "I hope that your supporters, and those who have not yet made the decision to contribute to your effort, realize the extent to which PLF has become a voice ... on behalf of limited government, private property rights, education reform and free enterprise," Bush wrote. "Keep up the good work." Critics questioned why Bush would allow the foundation to use the prestige of the governor's office in a bid for financial support. "I think it's inappropriate to send a letter saying, 'I hope people send money to your organization and join it,"' said David Guest of the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, which frequently sues state agencies to push for more environmental regulation. "It reveals something about Jeb that we've always known: He's a closet right-wing crazy." One of the Atlantic Center's advisory board members said the foundation is not that far to the right.
Copyright  © 2002 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

21-June-02

MICCOSUKEE DEALS WORRY WATER MANAGERS
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) shows not only its ineptitude, but its transparent attempt to continuously portray the true residents of the Everglades as an obstacle to their faulty logic for "restoring the Everglades." The most recent attempt is a column by the Miami herald who has apparently joined forces to disseminate false or at best misleading information. The Miccosukee Tribe has acquired various parcels of land, that part of the column is true. I have not returned calls from the Miami Herald because they too often misrepresent what I say. We purchased land that was taken from us long ago. We have not done so under the guise of false names or secret dealings. The purchases were done in the open for all to see. The SFWMD would have you believe that as a result of the Miccosukee Tribe's purchases they now cannot clean up the mess that they made. Ironic, that this is the same water management district that last year created an extremely costly drought with their failed attempt to maintain Lake Okeechobee. They created a drought through is-management, and then flood our neighboring cities of Sweetwater, and Kendall, only to later fine the same residents for lawn watering. Do the citizens of South Florida want this same SFWMD "restoring the Everglades"?
Copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

20- June-02

Water district targets wasters
Managers said sprinkler systems should be reset during the rainy season. As the typical afternoon thunderstorms roll into the Treasure Coast, water conservationists say not everyone is taking advantage of the wet weather. Some sprinkler systems are still spritzing and spraying, even though the area has received up to 5 inches of rain in the past week. Such unnecessary irrigating not only wastes water, officials say, it hurts the plants and grass and increases the amount of polluted runoff in neighboring waterways. "We've had the onset of our summer wet season. It's rained every day for a week. There's absolutely no reason to be irrigating," said Paul Millar, the director of the South Florida Water Management District's Stuart office. "It's an incredible waste of a precious commodity." Outdated or poorly designed irrigation systems are usually to blame, but another reason water gets wasted, during the rainy season especially, is that people aren't adjusting the timers on their sprinklers. Even Stuart is at fault. "I see blatant water wast- ers," Millar said.
Copyright  © 2002 StuartNews  All rights reserved.

 

Way down upon the Suwanee
When Stephen Collins Foster wrote Old Folks at Home, which most people recognize by the opening line, "Way down upon the Swanee River," he immortalized the river that snakes through Florida's Panhandle. The song became a symbol of love for home and inspired the Florida Legislature to adopt it as the official state song in 1935. Oddly, the Pennsylvania-born composer never visited the Suwannee. Had Foster seen the Suwannee, he might have described in song the diverse river that changes personalities with water levels as it meanders 250 miles from Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp to the Gulf of Mexico. A four-year drought in North Florida has left the Suwannee's water level low, especially the upper parts of the river. The spring-fed lower and middle parts of the Suwannee have enough flow to keep paddlers afloat, but sections north of Live Oak still require canoeists to wade across sand flats covered with 4 inches of tea-colored water. Farther upstream, the river has been less navigable in recent months. Low water on the Suwannee is not all bad, though. Vertical limestone walls filled with holes like Swiss cheese and gracefully sloping banks of white sand at river bends are fully exposed in times of low water. Artifact hunters who scour the river for arrowheads and sharks teeth also find low water levels appealing on a river whose water level can fluctuate 30 feet.
copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved

19-June-02

A price on priceless swamps
Years ago, buying Florida swamp was a national joke. Swamps were worthless and unusable. But times have changed. These days the buying and selling of Florida swamp isn't funny. Our swamps aren't worthless anymore. Science has established that they are a critical component of Florida's unique ecosystems, as well as Florida's water supply and Florida's weather. And swamps aren't unusable anymore. Over the past 100 years, human ingenuity has perfected techniques of dredge and fill to dry out the swamp, making it ready for roads, houses and stores. Beginning in the 1970s, after the importance of wetlands to our collective well-being was scientifically established, the political system responded by adopting laws to protect wet places. Congress passed the Clean Water Act, Florida passed laws, and some counties adopted wetlands protection ordinances. Under the Clean Water Act it should be difficult to obtain a dredge and fill permit to build a house, a road, or a box store because these property uses are "non-water dependent" -- you don't need to be in a wetland to successfully build a road, a house, or a box store. The law presumes that you can find dry land to build these non-water dependent projects on. You might think that, given the stringent protections afforded wetlands under the Clean Water Act, we could rest easy. You would be mistaken. The Clean Water Act, like most environmental laws, is not self-executing. The law has no meaning if it is not properly enforced, and it has not been rigorously enforced in Florida for years. As the News-Journal has reported, dredge and fill proceeds at a rapid pace in Florida, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, charged with administering the Clean Water Act, almost never rejects a permit application. The reality is that the Clean Water Act has been effectively subverted. An army of consultants, engineers, permitting bureaucrats, "biologists," and lawyers has evolved to circumvent and thwart the firm enforcement of wetland protection rules in Florida. The heist of Florida's wetlands since the 1970s has been pulled off by a sleight of hand known as "mitigation." This quid pro quo is intended to ensure a "no net loss" of wetlands, an avowed purpose of the Clean Water Act, through the replacement of ecological resources proposed to be lost in a dredge and fill project. However, "mitigation" is not supposed to be considered until after an applicant has shown first that there is no alternative non-wetland site available for the proposed project, and then demonstrated avoidance and minimization of all wetland destruction.
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002 Daytona News-Journalonline All rights reserved.

 

18-June-02

Brent Batten: Large rural landowners like county's plan, so it might not be too bad
When the proposed new rules for development in the county's rural fringe go before Collier County commissioners today, landowners worried that their property rights will be gutted by the plan are likely to raise a fuss. Their protests stand in marked contrast to the reaction of landowners to the east who commissioned, then accepted, a similar plan for their land.   There are differences in the two groups, to be sure. In the 93,000-acre rural fringe between the urban zone and Golden Gate Estates, hundreds of property owners own smallish chunks of land ranging from a few, to a few hundred, acres. Farther east, in the area surrounding Immokalee, most of the land is owned by a handful of major holders with thousands of acres each.But the growth-limiting plans being considered in the two areas have as their basis a similar principle - that of transferring development rights from some spots to other spots.   The rural fringe landowners therefore might want to take a clue from their counterparts to the east.   If the big landowners aren't frightened at the prospect of development rights shifting around, maybe the concept isn't as bad as feared.   After all, these big landowners are good at being landowners.   They pull off deals like selling or trading surface rights to swampland to the government, then selling the oil and mineral rights on the same land years later to the same government. They've made money through agriculture and development. They aren't going to sign on to a bad deal and sit quietly as it becomes law.   The large rural landowners paid for the plan that county commissioners and - after some tweaking - environmental groups have agreed to and sent to Tallahassee for review.   Under it, the development rights to environmentally sensitive land can be transferred to less delicate parcels. The result, theoretically, will be large swaths of permanently preserved areas with communities clustered at sensible intervals.   While the county, and not the landowners, paid for the separate plan in the rural fringe, one looks a lot like the other.   Rural fringe landowners with property in areas designated "sending areas" can sell their development rights to those with land in "receiving areas."
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

Luciano Reinoso, 10, casts a line under the New Pass Bridge over
  Estero Bay on Monday afternoon. The Reinoso family, including sister
 Irina, ll, right, are vacationing in Bonita Springs from Miami for the week
They didn't catch any fish on this day. The state Department of Environmental 
Protection is launching a five-year study of the bay's health. 

 

DEP launching five-year 'impaired water' study of Estero Bay
The state's Department of Environmental Protection is gathering data in Estero Bay to determine whether the bay is polluted enough to be classified as impaired. The Estero Bay watershed is among the first areas in Florida to undergo such a review. A new statewide rule, called the impaired water bodies rule, requires that data be collected from various sources within a river system, estuary, bay or lake. Scientists will examine that information to determine average amounts of various pollutants. If pollutants total more than is allowed by the Department of Environmental Protection, the waterway is considered impaired, which triggers an effort to remove the pollutants and find ways to keep them from entering the water.   The impaired waters rule, which is intended to create a list of Florida waters that are polluted and formulate a plan for addressing the contamination, has been controversial. Some groups, such as the Clean Water Network, have criticized the rule for not being stringent enough, and several environmental groups challenged the rule in court.   A hearing officer recently ruled in favor of the Department of Environmental Protection, meaning the agency can implement the science behind the rule.   DEP officials say the rule will give the state a scientific approach for classifying water bodies and cleansing them of pollutants. The rule also will give DEP the authority to more closely monitor development within the watershed. "What we're talking about here are additional efforts for restoration," said Jerry Brooks with DEP's Division of Water Resource Management. "The restoration measures are going to be focused on non-point storm water sources, mostly for which we've not had regulative authority to address."   Non-point sources, mostly runoff from development and fertilizers, are one of the main threats to the Estero Bay watershed. Some areas of the state have industry and other pollution sources that are more easily monitored. Non-point sources include farming, golf courses and even lawns.   Brooks said Estero Bay appears to be in good shape, although the tributaries flowing into the bay do show signs of nutrient pollution.   "It's apparently a very healthy water body," Brooks said. "(But it) may be threatened."   Estero Bay is endangered mostly by pollution coming from developments and the agriculture industry. The watershed is under intense building pressures as nearby Bonita Springs, Estero and San Carlos Park continue to develop. Allan Bedwell, the DEP deputy secretary for regulatory programs, said the rule will allow the agency to gather information from various water quality monitoring groups as a way of comprehensively dealing with watersheds instead of just considering the effect of individual developments.   "Our whole approach is really to start dealing with water pollution from a basin approach," Bedwell said.   Matt Bixler with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida said the rule is a positive step and should create a blueprint for assessing nutrient pollutants in the bay and in area waters.   "It will hopefully show us where the problems are and how to correct them," said Bixler, who's also a member of the Estero Bay Agency on Bay Management. "Eventually it's going to push people toward more innovative techniques of dealing with storm water management."   Public meetings on the rule and the data collected will take place in Fort Myers and Marco Island in July. Similar meetings will take place statewide. The rule is expected to be finalized and adopted by Oct. 1.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Developer hoping to build on groundwater recharge area by changing county's rules
When Lee County first created a groundwater recharge area designation more than a decade ago, the land was considered nearly untouchable. County officials, searching for ways to accommodate growth but still deal with water resource issues, set aside tens of thousands of acres east of Interstate 75 as open space where rain could filter through layers of soil to replenish the aquifers that quench Southwest Florida's thirst.   Then two years ago, at the urging of developers such as The Bonita Bay Group, the county decided to permit up to 10 golf courses in the Density Reduction Groundwater Recharge (DRGR) area. Environmentalists howled in complaint, so county officials placed stringent restrictions on development, such as allowing only one home per 10 acres, to severely limit future development on those lands.   Sometime in the next few months, a developer may test those limits.  Ginn Company, an Orange County-based residential developer, hopes to build on the groundwater recharge land east of Florida Gulf Coast University.   So far, the company has sought rezoning for a golf course on a section of the 4,500 acres it is in the process of buying. Lee County planning staff has recommended approval of the 27-hole golf course as one of the 10 permissible on groundwater recharge land.   The issue will go to a public hearing Wednesday.   Initial statements following the company's purchase of the land last spring indicated that Ginn Co. planned to use the land for several golf courses and approximately 1,600 residences, or about one home per 3 acres.   Tom McCarthy, vice president of the Southwest Florida region for Ginn Co., said the company hasn't decided how it plans to pursue development of the property. He said those plans likely will be announced sometime in the next 60 days.   One of the options Ginn Co. hasn't ruled out is seeking a change in the comprehensive plan to allow greater density than the limit of one home per 10 acres.   County planning director Paul O'Connor said part of the original DRGR designation included a provision to discourage amendments to the comprehensive plan that would seek increased density.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.
Link to Map:   http://www.naplesnews.com/02/06/graphics/18ginn.JPG
 

Scientists: Bacteria Found in Human Waste Killing Coral in Keys
A bacteria common in human waste is rapidly killing coral in the Florida Keys, according to a study published in a scientific journal. A bacteria called Serratia marcescens, which is found in waste of about half the human population, is destroying the elkhorn coral. Elkhorn coral has large rust-colored branches that provide food and shelter for a wide range of sea life.  "It's our first link between a bacteria found in human waste and a coral disease, and a particularly virulent strain of coral disease," said Cheva Heck, spokeswoman for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  The bacteria causes a disease called white pox, which infects the thin layer of living tissue on a coral skeleton and creates an open white wound that spreads as much as three inches a day. White pox can kill a reef in about a year, said lead researcher James Porter.  Elkhorn once ranked as the most common coral in the Caribbean, but about 70 percent of it has died across the Keys, said Kathryn Patterson, a principal investigator. Scientists believe white pox caused most of the destruction.  Researchers, led by a team from the University of Georgia, said the bacteria can also be found in water, soil and animal waste. The finding, published in the peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, does not directly identify sewage as the source of the bacteria.  But some environmentalists said they hope the discovery will help get funding for sewage overhauls in the Keys. Monroe County faces a 2010 state deadline to upgrade its sewage systems, which could cost $500 million.      
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

Related links,  

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.pnas.org/

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGAZDLGGL2D.html

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
http://www.fknms.nos.noaa.gov/

Rapid Spread of Diseases in Caribbean Coral Reefs
http://globalcoral.org/rapid_spread_of_diseases_in_cari.htm
 

Sewage bacteria blamed for coral disease
An epidemic of "white pox" that has decimated the once- plentiful elkhorn coral in the Caribbean has been traced to bacteria found in sewage, scientists are reporting today.  The epidemic has reduced populations of elkhorn by as much as 70 percent in waters surrounding some Florida keys.  "It is very sad that the one coral species affected is the magnificent branching elkhorn coral," University of Georgia ecologist James Porter said.  "These are the giant redwoods of the reef," he said. "What used to be the most common coral in the Caribbean has now been recommended for inclusion on the endangered species list."  Porter and a team of scientists from universities, government and private industry are reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they have established that the epidemic is caused by bacteria called Serratia marcescens.  The organism is found in the digestive tracts of humans and many other animals, Porter said. To identify the reason for the disease, which causes pale blotches to grow on the normally tan coral, researchers collected material from the outer edges of each and grew the bacteria found there in a laboratory seawater- based "broth."  Genetic analysis confirmed that Serratia marcescens was the microbe culprit, they said.  Porter said the white pox disease is extremely contagious among coral.  White pox often is confused with coral bleaching, a different cause of coral death.  Yet the two may be related, said Katherine Patterson, a researcher who works with Porter.  "Identification of a fecal enteric bacterium as the cause of white pox means we cannot blame global warming as the main problem on the coral reefs, but it all adds up," she said. "Warmer water depresses coral growth, but increases bacterial growth. In combination this domino effect could foretell a disaster."
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

So-so year for citrus fruit growers
It's been a mixed bag for Florida growers this season, from slumping grapefruit juice demand to prices for oranges that nudged up just a bit.  "It wasn't a great year, but it's not the worst year we've ever seen," said Robert Barber, economist for Florida Citrus Mutual in Lakeland, a growers' group.Data from Citrus Mutual released earlier this month shows the big loser in the 2001-2002 harvest was red grapefruit juice, which is fetching 10 cents to 25 cents "per pound solids." A pound of solids, consisting of juice and fruit sugar, is needed for one gallon of juice.  Those are the lowest prices in five years, the growers' group said.  Prices were even worse last season, said Bob Terry, agricultural statistics administrator at the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service in Orlando.  "This season is up from that, so it is in the right direction," Terry said. "Growers' costs have increased, such as fuel, so higher prices don't necessarily mean they made more money."  White grapefruit juice fared slightly better than red grapefruit juice, ranging from 45 to 75 cents. The break-even point for growers is 70 to 80 cents, said Doug Bournique, executive vice president of Vero Beach-based Indian River Citrus League.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Sewage a suspect in coral death
It is the hardest evidence yet that all those toilet flushes in the Florida Keys could be killing off the area's magnificent branched corals.  A bacterium commonly found in the intestinal tracts of humans and animals has been positively identified as the cause of a disease decimating elkhorn corals in marine waters around the island chain, marine researchers reported Monday.  Exactly where the bacteria -- the culprit behind the coral-destroying malady called white pox -- comes from is under investigation.  But University of Georgia ecology professor James W. Porter says the research he led pointing to the enteric bacterium is "highly suggestive" of sewage discharge in the Keys as the trigger for the white pox outbreaks.  "This evidence points to a human sewage connection to the disease, but does not prove it," said Porter, whose findings were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He said additional and more complicated research is needed to make that direct link.  "We have the bullet and the body, but we don't have the smoking gun yet," Porter said.  Corals stricken with white pox develop irregularly shaped white blotches. The disease grows and kills the coral by consuming the thin layer of living tissue that covers its limestone skeleton. The bacteria can spread across 1/2 square inch to 3 square inches a day.  Monitoring reefs in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Porter and a research team traced white pox to fecal bacteria called Serratia marcescens.  It is the same species found in the guts of humans and animals, but more work must be done to determine whether it is the same strain, Porter said.  Serratia marcescens can survive as a free-living microbe in both soil and water.  Whether it is reaching reefs via sewage disposal is a critical matter for the Keys.  A lot of sewage there is discharged into septic fields that allow it to seep into the ground, as opposed to being put through extensive and advanced wastewater treatment to destroy bacteria.  Boats also dump sewage directly into Keys waters with their pump-out disposal systems.  "We need to bring [Keys] sewage treatment up to advanced wastewater treatment standards, and we need to take seriously the no-discharge zone in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary," Porter said.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.


17-June-02

Attention boaters: Manatee battle zone
The waters of Lee County, No. 1 in manatee killings,  churn with boaters who grumble about a ban on new docks.
A 22-foot boat pounded across glittering waves at 40 mph, its Mercury outboard roaring. One of the uniformed officers aboard, Tim Kiss of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, flipped on the blue lights in the bow.  His partner, Darrin Riley, steered the boat to intercept two deeply tanned Lee County men spending their sunny Sunday afternoon racing a pair of Yamaha WaveRunners through a slow-speed zone.  Kiss and Riley gave each a $63 citation for violating a law protecting manatees from speeding boats. One man asked when "manatee season" would end. The other grumbled that the officers had ruined his day.  "That's about the average attitude for a manatee violation," Kiss said afterward.  Federal wildlife officials say not enough sunny days are being ruined for Lee County boaters. Last year, Lee had more manatees killed by boats than any other county, with 23. Then boats clobbered eight more in January and February. So federal officials have declared much of Lee County to be an "area of inadequate enforcement" for manatee protection, blocking federal permits for 110 new docks, to the consternation of builders, boating interests, real estate agents and waterfront residents.  "It seems a little obscene that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could close off Lee County's waterways,' said New Jersey retiree Tony Penn, 57, whose dock permit application has been on hold for months. Boating rights activists whose groups oppose waterway restrictions say the backlash to the dock ban has brought them lots of new members. They are planning a massive rally for Matlacha Pass on July 4.  Federal officials "have underestimated the orneriness of folks on this issue," said Rick Joyce, Lee County's environmental science director.  Cars and trucks in Lee now sport bumper stickers that say "Docks Don't Kill Manatees." A few also feature window decals showing the cartoon character Calvin urinating on a manatee.  The uproar over the dock ban has turned Lee County into ground zero in Florida's ongoing battle over manatee protection -- a battle the New York Times recently called "one of the fiercest fights over an endangered species since loggers in the Pacific Northwest strung mock spotted owls on the grills of their trucks."  Illustrating that New York Times story was a photo of Lee County Deputy James Erb warning a boater about violating a manatee speed zone. Last Sunday, the first boater Kiss and Riley stopped for speeding in a manatee zone was none other than Erb.  Wearing a hat with the Krispy Kreme logo, Erb was piloting a Carolina Skiff that Kiss and Riley saw plowing along too fast. Erb insisted he had done nothing wrong. The officers let him go.  "We've caught several deputies," Kiss said with a shrug. "We don't want to start a war with them."
Copyright  © 2002 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

What Jeb and George are doing to Florida 
What Jeb and George are doing to Florida Rejoice, citizens of the Sunshine State: Florida is saved. Our waters will remain as pellucid as a summer sky; our sandy beaches will remain as white as Britney Spears' teeth. Our governor and our president have agreed to pay three oil companies and the rich folks who own Collier County to pack up the heavy equipment and go away. Newspapers are casting garlands. Audubon Society types are rolling over and purring. Let us crown Jeb Bush with native Florida laurels (Kalmia hirsuta) as the Environment Governor. Rejoice, citizens of the Sunshine State: Florida is saved. Our waters will remain as pellucid as a summer sky; our sandy beaches will remain as white as Britney Spears' teeth. Our governor and our president have agreed to pay three oil companies and the rich folks who own Collier County to pack up the heavy equipment and go away. Newspapers are casting garlands. Audubon Society types are rolling over and purring. Let us crown Jeb Bush with native Florida laurels (Kalmia hirsuta) as the Environment Governor. Nature is, of course, above politics. Now if you buy that, go on back to sleep. For the rest of you, here's what's really going on. Jeb and George Bush recently cut a $235-million deal with taxpayer money that will neutralize a number of natural gas and oil drilling sites in the Gulf of Mexico and near the Everglades.
Copyright  © 2002 St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Citrus controversy like canker on state
There's a reason why a life-sized orange is featured on Florida's standard license plates.  Over the decades, the orange, and the citrus industry that produces it, have been something Floridians proudly associated with their state.  After all, who could hate the sunny orange?  Plenty of people, it turns out.  It's not that they hate the fruit itself. But they are less than kindly disposed to the $9 billion industry that grows 20 billion pounds of oranges each year.  Some Floridians now talk about Big Citrus in the same derogatory way they speak of other large industries: Big Oil, Big Sugar. They spew out the term in anger over what they see as the state's eagerness to trample on the rights of ordinary backyard citrus tree owners in a bid to save the Florida's fruit-growing industry from the depredations of the citrus canker bacterium.  For the first time since many of them can remember, growers and industry groups report receiving hate mail filled with outrage over the canker campaign, which has led to the demise of more than 2.1 million citrus trees since the current bacterial infection showed up in 1995.  "We've gotten some pretty nasty e-mails," says Andrew LaVigne, chief executive officer of the state's largest grower group, the 11,500-member Florida Citrus Mutual in Lakeland.  "It gets my dander up when people say, 'You've got other alternatives, you can spray,' " LaVigne said. "Isn't it logical if we could spray, we would be spraying. Why would we tear trees out? We'd rather have our trees."  Critics see things in a much more malevolent light.  "We see the Florida Department of Agriculture as nothing more than an arm of the citrus industry," said Jack Haire, a Fort Lauderdale resident and anti-canker program activist who is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality and scientific basis of the state's program.  In March, the legislature passed a law giving the state blanket authority to destroy all citrus trees within 1,900 feet of a tree infected with canker. Last month, Broward County Circuit Judge J. Leonard Fleet ruled that program unconstitutional. The state has appealed.
Copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Turn the Lake O rim into a Florida resource
Few areas of the state need more help than the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee. Dependent on agriculture, which is seasonal and pays less than other industries, the rim -- roughly from Canal Point in northwestern Palm Beach County to Moore Haven in Glades County -- stands real-estate logic on its head because the state has treated the lake as a cesspool and farm reservoir, not a resource. Along this waterfront, property values aren't booming. Dramatic help for the area is beyond the area's means. According to census data released this month, the three poorest towns in Palm Beach County are along the southern rim: Belle Glade, where per capita income is $11,159; Pahokee, at $10,346; and South Bay, at $9,126. Clewiston, west of South Bay in Hendry County, is in better shape because it is home to paternalistic U.S. Sugar Corp., which has built several key public buildings and provides jobs.  In 1994, of course, U.S. Sugar closed its vegetable operation in South Bay, taking 1,300 other jobs. The 2000 Census recorded a population increase for South Bay only because a prison opened. Glades County ranks barely above chronically poor Panhandle counties in per capita income, and the rim's outlook is subject to American and world sugar policy and the decisions of two large companies, U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals. A hard freeze could decimate the citrus groves, which also are endangered by the spread of canker.  Fortunately, outside help is starting to bring some change. The state soon will begin work on the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, which could allow bikers and rollerbladers to join hikers atop the dike. Palm Beach County is working with the state to build a regional water plant in Belle Glade after tests detected dangerous amounts of a possible carcinogen in South Bay's and Pahokee's water. Population growth from the Wellington-Royal Palm Beach- Loxahatchee area is pushing west.
Copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Everglades Deal Worries Some
South Florida water managers are concerned the Miccosukee Tribe will develop a piece of the land in the Florida Everglades slated to be used in a water restoration project.  The South Florida Water Management District had planned to buy the parcel and build a 6-square-mile water storage and flood control reservoir as part of the $7.8 billion Everglades restoration project.  The land is across the highway from the tribe's $55 million gambling resort, and water district officials said they are worried the plot will become a golf course, casino or theme park.  ``It's probably one of the most critical acquisitions we have in Miami-Dade County,'' said Mike Collins, a board member on the water district. ``There's no other place to put'' the reservoir.  So far, the tribe has been silent on its plans for the parcel.  Restoring the Everglades involves more than 40 projects to be completed over several decades. The state and federal government are sharing the cost of the project.  The district oversees construction projects, including six stormwater treatment areas intended to reduce the amount of phosphorous flowing into the Everglades.  The tribe bought other pieces of land over the last several years that water managers were hoping could be used in flood-control areas.  The Miccosukee Tribe has projected the image of being environmental defenders of the Everglades, appearing in court to urge the state to clean up polluted water flowing into the water system.  
Copyright  © 2002 Tampa Tribune / Associated Press  All rights reserved.
 

Sea turtle fan helps the endangered to the ocean
Some people are cat people. Some people are dog people.  Mort Hanson is a turtle person.  He saved his first endangered sea turtle about 20 years ago. At last count, about 65,000 baby turtles had made it to water with his help.  Hanson, 71, heads the Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol, a nonprofit organization that protects sea turtles and their natural habitat, the beaches. Each morning from May to October, you can see Hanson and his wife, Jan, scooting down the shorelines of Jacksonville, Atlantic and Neptune beaches in a red, souped-up cart with an American flag on it. Wooden stakes, green buckets and long shovels are carried in the back. Going at turtle speed, they look for flipper marks and sea turtle tracks that may lead to a nest. Hanson has about 15 volunteers who help him comb the beaches.  When they find a turtle nest - about one a day - they stake it, surround it with orange nets the color of street cones and place a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it. 

Mort and Jan Hanson cruise the beaches 
daily in search of sea turtle nests in need of protection.

They also leave a card with sea turtle information.  "Humans can be so destructive," Hanson says. "We want to show people that we share the beach with another species.  "Where there used to be eight species of sea turtles, there now are only seven, Hanson says. It takes 10 nests to produce 1,000 eggs. For every 1,000 eggs a turtle lays, only one of the hatchlings makes it to sea. So on the sand superhighway, Hanson is a hero. Sea sprinters, dog walkers and beach joggers constantly pass him by. More than a few stop. "Look at what these fishermen leave behind," a jogger says with hands open, a tangle of fishing line spilling from them. "They just don't know," Hanson said.  A retired Navy captain, Hanson said he developed an affinity for sea turtles during his days at sea. From aboard the big Navy ships, he would spot them swimming.  When he retired, he would jog on the beach every morning and see dead or injured turtles.  That's when he decided to help. 

The Hansons use wooden stakes 
and plastic netting to rope off sea 
turtle nests so beachgoers won't 
accidentally harm turtle eggs.

Hanson said his greatest sea turtle moment was seeing a sea turtle lay its eggs on the shore.  "It was just so amazing to look her in the face and see the tears streaming down it," he said. "Some say the tears come out to wash the sand from their faces. I'm a romantic, I'd like to think they're for another reason."    
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Bumper Crop of Florida Panthers Born
Two litters from two female Florida panthers were found this year at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), raising hope for the endangered species.  This year's births are a highlight for the refuge in the recovery of the imperiled cousin of the mountain lion or cougar. Only 80 to 100 Florida panthers remain in the wild, making Florida's official state animal one of the most endangered mammals in the world.  "We're also pleasantly surprised about the size of the litters," said Sam Hamilton, southeast regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). "The dens produced three kittens in one litter and four in the other."  The Florida panther's population was decimated after bounties were placed on the cats from the late 1800s through the 1950s. Today, other factors continue to threaten the species A Florida panther - one of less than 100 remaining in the wild - in a tree in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. (Photo courtesy USFWS) "Car collisions have killed over 44 panthers since 1972," said Ben Nottingham, deputy refuge manager from the Florida Panther NWR. "Also, aggression among the male cats has caused other deaths. However, the biggest cause of diminished numbers is loss of habitat." Hamilton added, "The panther deaths from car collisions can be greatly reduced if people will share a little of their time with the animals and slow down to the posted speed limits."Extensive development over the last few decades has reduced the panther's preferred habitat of hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods, wet prairies, marshes and swamp forests.  Florida panthers are most active at night and avoid one another except during breeding season. Adult males defend territories averaging 200 miles while females have territories of 75 square miles.  Florida panthers, like all cougars, stalk and ambush their prey. They leap distances of more than 15 feet and rely on surprise. The cats can run up to 35 miles an hour for short distances.  Panthers prefer large animals such as deer and wild pigs but will eat smaller game such as raccoons, armadillos, rabbits and even alligators.  The USFWS is working with a number of federal and state agencies such as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as well as private organizations to save the Florida panther from extinction and develop healthy populations.

More information about the Florida panther is available at:
http://endangered.fws.gov/i/A05.html

Copyright  © 2002  Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights Reserved.    

 

Editorial: Growth management still tenuous issue in Collier
Though they lead the self-congratulatory cheers, Collier County commissioners have little to do with the long-range development plans they approved last week for the Immokalee area. The plan was drawn by consultants paid by the affected landowners. Its credibility comes more from the trusted Florida Wildlife Federation's endorsement than the commission's say-so.  Now the plans head to Tallahassee, where growth police who blew the whistle on Collier's sprawl and environmental destruction in 1999 check to see if those problems really are addressed. The commission left it up to the state to worry about where major development would occur. As a prior commission abdicated responsibility for drafting the plan to vested interests, today's commissioners settled for getting residential-commercial growth out of environmentally sensitive areas and clustering it somewhere else. That covers a lot of ground amid 300 square miles.   Thus it remains a leap of faith that development will be better managed as the county population looks to grow by 75 percent, out east.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Letter to the editor: Preservation list isn't a sure thing for land 
The June 7 article "State puts Cypress Creek land on A list," about the state designating this area in Palm Beach and Martin counties for preservation, is a positive step in protecting the Loxahatchee River watershed. But I caution those who are elated at this news.  When Palm Beach County purchases land designated environmentally sensitive with tax money, it does not necessarily mean it will be preserved in perpetuity as the bond issue reads. A case in point is the Pond Cypress Natural Area. This land is north of Okeechobee Boulevard, west of the West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area -- definitely a place we want to protect. The Pond Cypress is also class A. It is almost entirely undisturbed and highly varied, containing rich wetlands, wide expanses of scrub as well as pine forests. It is a rare piece of land.  The state owns a right of way for State Road 7 that would infringe on the water catchment that, in its wisdom, it has not sought to develop. Now, there are those who would like to bend that easement through the Pond Cypress area to create a reliever road for Royal Palm Beach. This would inevitably become a developer's road for The Acreage -- which, of course, would result in more traffic, not less.  People who voted for the land preservation bond issues need to be vigilant and let the commissioners know that we do not want to set a precedent in allowing these lands to be chopped up for roads.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Letter to the editor: Preservation list isn't a sure thing for land
The June 7 article "State puts Cypress Creek land on A list," about the state designating this area in Palm Beach and Martin counties for preservation, is a positive step in protecting the Loxahatchee River watershed. But I caution those who are elated at this news.  When Palm Beach County purchases land designated environmentally sensitive with tax money, it does not necessarily mean it will be preserved in perpetuity as the bond issue reads. A case in point is the Pond Cypress Natural Area. This land is north of Okeechobee Boulevard, west of the West Palm Beach Water Catchment Area -- definitely a place we want to protect. The Pond Cypress is also class A. It is almost entirely undisturbed and highly varied, containing rich wetlands, wide expanses of scrub as well as pine forests. It is a rare piece of land.  The state owns a right of way for State Road 7 that would infringe on the water catchment that, in its wisdom, it has not sought to develop. Now, there are those who would like to bend that easement through the Pond Cypress area to create a reliever road for Royal Palm Beach. This would inevitably become a developer's road for The Acreage -- which, of course, would result in more traffic, not less.  People who voted for the land preservation bond issues need to be vigilant and let the commissioners know that we do not want to set a precedent in allowing these lands to be chopped up for roads.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

16-June-02

Guest commentary: Collier's building moratorium is pointless and inequitable
Agree or disagree, Naples real estate broker/analyst Ross McIntosh of Naples delivered a provocative address to Collier County commissioners last week.  McIntosh, the agent for the purchaser of the Twelve Lakes property that he cites, argued against the imposition of a building moratorium along three busy roads.  Here is the complete prepared text of his remarks that were cut short by the commission's time limit for public speakers. Which of you has the courage to put a stop to this pointless and painful charade?  You previously requested that staff come back to you with a list of road segments impacted by sudden and unanticipated congestion and in need of the immediate attention of this board. Staff has hurriedly cobbled together three crises based upon arbitrary, flawed, contrived and self-serving criteria.  As you consider the ordinance before you today, you are about to drop your bombs where Osama bin Laden was, not where he is. Will you then declare a heroic victory for the citizens of Collier County? As with any other misguided bomb, the casualties will be innocent civilians. As with any other propaganda victory, you will not advance towards your strategic objective one iota.  The ordinance which you are considering today will have no discernable positive affect on the public health, welfare, or quality of life. But, it will cause anguish and financial hardship for a few, random, innocent bystanders.  Take a deep breath, pull the plug on this selectively punitive ordinance, and focus your efforts upon an equitable countywide concurrency management plan that actually works.   Vanderbilt Beach Road: The Planning Commission heard evidence that the county's traffic-counting station is located near the intersection with U.S. 41, where it is significantly impacted by vehicles frequenting the grocery stores and movie theaters at the intersection, while private studies have shown that just a few hundred yards to the west, beyond the influence of the shopping centers, Vanderbilt Beach Road may be operating at Level of Service "C."  Relocate the traffic counting station a few hundred yards west, and presto! Crisis averted!  But the Vanderbilt Beach Road moratorium will make no difference anyway, and therefore makes no sense ... I know of no project planned or contemplated on that road segment.   U.S. 41 North: Now that the 90,000-square-foot "layer cake" office building on the corner of Cypress Woods and 41 has been approved, only the 1.25-acre lot north of Thomasville Furnishings remains to be developed. The owners of that parcel may reasonably wonder how the development of this last, small tract became such a menace to society!
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Spiegel leak's source not yet found
Divers tried without success Saturday to pinpoint the source of an oily sheen trailing from the sunken Navy ship Spiegel Grove six miles off Key Largo.  The oil slick, about three feet wide and 150 yards long and trickling east offshore, was discovered Friday, four days after the ship was put down 130 feet deep as an artificial reef.  Dave Score, upper region manager for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, collected a sample of the fluid Saturday, and sent it by overnight delivery to a laboratory at Louisiana State University to find out what it is. Score said he expected the results by Monday.  ''It's not a significant threat at this point,'' Score said. ``It's bubbling about 60 bubbles a minute. It's a light sheen -- not heavy crude. We're lucky in one sense it's not being carried toward the reef, the sea grass or the mangrove shoreline.''
BUBBLE TRAIL Divers tried to follow the emerging bubbles to their source on the ship Saturday morning, but they were hampered by thunderstorms and rough seas of six to eight feet. They will return to the shipwreck today. Score said Saturday's examination indicated the leak may not be coming from the stern as divers first suspected, but instead from closer to the front of the ship.  ''It's forward of the stern. That made us suspect the two cranes -- potentially some oil that lubricates the gears on the cranes,'' Score said. ``If we can find the source, then we can determine how much is there and stop it. If you had calm weather, you could follow the trail of bubbles down to the bottom.''  The U.S. Coast Guard is awaiting further details on the leak from sanctuary officials.  ''We saw how much oil was on top of the water. It's very light,'' said Coast Guard Petty Officer Anastasia Burns.  Before the Spiegel Grove could be sunk in the marine sanctuary, it underwent multiple levels of cleaning and inspection. The Key Largo Chamber of Commerce paid $468,000 to Bay Bridge Enterprises of Chesapeake, Va., to rid the ship of contaminants.  Coast Guard Environmental Officer Jason Walker then inspected the ship and gave the go-ahead for it to be towed to Key Largo last month.  Walker inspected the ship again on May 16 -- the day before it sank prematurely upside down with its bow sticking out of the water.
Copyright  © 2002 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Commissioners to take final look at rural fringe growth plan
Collier County commissioners are on the verge of adopting the most significant changes to the county's growth plan since it was created in 1985. Landowners opposed to the changes are expected to pack a meeting room Tuesday to protest the so-called rural fringe plan that would apply to some 93,000 acres between the urban area and Golden Gate Estates. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. The backbone of the new plan is a Transfer of Development Rights program that would discourage development on thousands of acres in the name of environmental protection. Landowners in those areas would be able to sell their lost development rights. Buyers would be able to buy the rights to develop other areas identified for growth. Opponents say the TDR program will not protect their private property rights. The plan has been in the works since 1999, when Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet ordered a virtual stop to growth in the county's rural area until the county came up with better environmental protections. The order set a June 22 deadline.   Another plan, also stemming from the state order, for almost 200,000 acres around Immokalee also is in the works. Commissioners voted last week to transmit that plan to the state Department of Community Affairs for review. A final vote is set for October.  The rural fringe plan already has undergone DCA review and is back to commissioners for final adoption. Commissioners said last week they support the new plan.   "I think it's good for the community as a whole," said Commissioner Tom Henning.   That's not to say it won't make people angry, said Commission Chairman Jim Coletta.   "I've never in my life seen a perfect piece of legislation come down from any form of government," said Coletta, whose district includes the rural fringe area.   He said the key to the plan is to make sure the TDR program works, and that might take some help from taxpayers, he said. Coletta proposed borrowing $5 million to buy development credits in the TDR program at $25,000 each. The county then would sell the rights and any profit could go toward buying land for a regional medical center to serve rural parts of the county, Coletta said.   "We're telling these people the TDR program is going to work, we should be putting our money where out mouth is," Coletta said.   Commissioner Fred Coyle agreed that the success of the TDR program is the key to the plan. He said he doesn't think the county ought to put up money to jump-start the program.   Earlier this year, he suggested dipping into a development fee reserve fund to buy development credits but dropped the idea amid concerns that it would be an illegal use of those funds.   Coyle said he's not opposed to finding federal or state grant money to buy development rights.   "We really do have to find a way to compensate property owners," Coyle said. "We've got to make that TDR program work."   The TDR program would split the rural fringe into receiving areas, where development would be encouraged, and sending areas, where development would be restricted.
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.

Beetles' tree love a fatal attraction:  South Florida pines fall victim to bugs
A bunch of bad bugs are making life miserable for South Florida slash pine trees.   The villains, whose attacks are almost always fatal, are various species of the genus Ips, also known as pine bark beetles and Ips engraver beetles.   "The way you can tell you've got them is look at the bark of the tree," said Richard Stebbins, 80, of Fort Myers. "It looks like somebody peppered it with a shotgun. I've had to have four trees cut down, and I'll probably lose eight more." Adult pine bark beetles attack trees by boring through the bark and into
the cambium layer - the tissue between the wood and the bark. Then they bore vertically through the cambium, creating Y- or H-shaped galleries where they lay their eggs.   When the eggs hatch, larvae drill horizontally and girdle the tree, which stops the flow of nutrients and causes needles to turn yellow, red, then brown.   Larvae turn into adults in 25 to 70 days, then emerge from the tree.   For an Ips-infested pine tree, the prognosis is not good, said Stephen Brown, Lee County extension agent.   "It's the final judgment as far as the tree goes, which is a death sentence for the most part," Brown said.Ips beetles usually leave healthy trees alone, though.   Instead, they prefer to attack trees that have been stressed by natural or human causes, including drought, flood, lightning, fertilizers and root damage from development.   The Ips problem is happening all over South Florida, said Tom Williams, a senior state forester.   "What it amounts to is the beetles' job description is to remove all the weakened pines they can find," he said. "With the drought we've had the past few years, there are a lot of stressed pines out there. "This is a natural phenomenon. The trees are stressed out, and the beetles are moving in."   At this point, no effective pesticide for Ips beetles is on the market.   "A lot of material is labeled for them, but they are not effective," Williams said. "There's a lot of research going on, but nothing is guaranteed.   "Our recommendation is to use your money to replace the trees."   Although some experts recommend felling infested trees, Williams said let them stand unless they become a hazard, because dead pines are good homes to such cavity dwellers as squirrels, woodpeckers and owls.    
Copyright  © 2002 Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

Land buys disrupt Glades project:  Miccosukee deals worry water managers
For four years, South Florida's water managers have been negotiating to buy a sizable hunk of West Miami-Dade County for a key Everglades restoration project.  Now the Miccosukee Tribe has grabbed a prime piece out from under them, paying a premium price for 223 acres just across Tamiami Trail from the tribe's $55 million resort and gaming hall.  The move has clouded plans to build a six-square-mile water storage and flood control reservoir and has left many people wondering -- and worrying -- what might be on the tribe's drawing board.  A golf course? A theme park? Or a drive for profit? ''I'm not totally comfortable with what they're doing,'' said Mike Collins, a board member of the South Florida Water Management District, the state agency charged with buying the vast acreage needed for the $8 billion restoration. ``It's probably one of the most critical acquisitions we have in Miami-Dade County. There's no other place to put [the reservoir].''  The Miccosukee have been silent on plans for that land and several other tracts that water managers said the tribe has bought in the last few years in areas targeted for Everglades projects. That includes pieces of the sprawling Pennsuco wetland north of Tamiami Trail and some 800 acres in Southwest Florida. At the very least, the tribe's move complicates and could derail an already difficult process. For one thing, it may pose a considerable legal challenge to take land owned by a sovereign nation. And the state is also growing increasingly concerned about the rising price of land for the restoration, a cost that will come out of the pockets of Florida taxpayers.  ''If they're out there buying land in the middle of wetlands where we know there is an active acquisition effort, that can't be a positive thing,'' said Erin Deady, an attorney for Audubon of Florida.  The land in question covers 4,000 acres at the southeast corner of Tamiami Trail and Krome Avenue. Aside from the rustic landmark Dade Corners Market Place and the adjacent Dade Corners Lounge, which aren't targeted for buyouts, most of the land is undeveloped.  In the big blueprint for Everglades restoration, the project is designated as the Bird Drive Recharge Area, one of some dozen ''water preserves'' planned for construction between the shrinking River of Grass and the expanding cities to its east. The project, among the first in a construction schedule stretching over decades, is supposed to benefit both nature and suburbia.
Copyright  © 2002 Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Naples daily news voted best in Florida
Speaking of newspaper Web sites, the Naples Daily News site was judged the best in Florida in the 2002 Sunshine State Awards competition.   The annual awards program is conducted by the South Florida Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.   Editorial Page Editor Jeff Lytle and reporter Gina Edwards also won first place honors. Lytle was named best editorial writer in Florida and Edwards' series of stories on the A.S. Goldmen stock scandal won the top award for business reporting.   This year, for the first time, the Daily News was in the large newspaper category with the likes of the Miami Herald, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and the Palm Beach Post. 
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.
 

 

Developer seeks OK to build golf course east of FGCU
The Ginn Company, an Orange County-based developer of large, residential resort-style communities, will present the first development plans for a section of its 4,500-acre Estero property on Wednesday.   The company, which last year signed a contract to purchase the land from Alico Inc. for $112 million, is seeking rezoning of 447 acres near Corkscrew Road and just east of Florida Gulf Coast University. Ginn Co. plans to build a 27-hole golf course and associated facilities on the land, most of which is currently zoned for agricultural uses and previously was home to mining.   Tom McCarthy, vice president of the Southwest Florida region for Ginn Co., said the developer will likely make decisions on the remaining 4,000 acres in the next 60 days.   The size of the property would make this development among the largest in Southwest Florida. By comparison, The Brooks, currently the largest development in south Lee, is 2,500 acres. However, the land will have only a fraction of the density of other communities. The Ginn Co. property takes up most of the land between Alico and Corkscrew roads east of FGCU. Much of the land has been heavily impacted by past mining activity, dotting the area with lakes.   Previous reports following the announcement of the land sale last year said the company planned to build 1,600 homes and several golf courses on the property. Ryan Julison, vice president of communications for Ginn Co., said no such decisions on density and development plans have been made final yet.   "We're still wrestling with what it's going to be," McCarthy said. "We moved forward with (the golf course) to advance the project."   Planning staff at Lee County have recommended approval of the zoning request to allow for the golf course, clubhouse, restrooms and a golf maintenance facility. A public hearing for the project is 9 a.m. Wednesday in Fort Myers.
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

Mineral rights owner questions Big Cypress buyout plans
When Miami resident Sherrill Marks read about the U.S. plan to buy oil rights in the Big Cypress National Preserve and two wildlife refuges in eastern Collier County, she sat down and started writing letters to Congress.   The letters cheer the plan as a momentous decision for environmental protection, but they ask a question: What about me? Her family owns mineral rights in the Big Cypress National Preserve too.   Marks is not part of the $120 million deal announced in May to buy out oil rights held by descendants of Florida pioneer Barron Gift Collier, the namesake of Collier County, underneath more than 390,000 acres in the preserve, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.   There are potentially thousands of other mineral rights holders in those areas - nobody knows for sure exactly how many - but those holdings are at less risk of being tapped because of their size and state laws.   The buyout still needs congressional approval, and the Interior Department is working with members of the Florida congressional delegation to introduce legislation this summer to sew up the Collier deal.   Any legislation that doesn't include every oil, gas and mineral rights holder will protect the Collier interests but not the public interest of protecting the environment, Marks said. She said her family is not in the business of drilling for oil but cannot rule out the possibility of taking an oil company's offer of leasing their rights.   "It's tempting to take the money, let's face it," Marks said.   Her family temporarily leased a portion of their rights to the exploration arm of Exxon in the 1970s. No oil was ever drilled there. The rights are now held in a family trust, she said.   Like thousands of others, Marks' father bought the land in the 1960s, eventually selling part of it to the federal government for the preserve and part of it to the Department of Transportation for Interstate 75.   The family maintained mineral rights beneath the land - the same as the Collier family did when it sold almost 77,000 acres to start the preserve in 1974.   The deal with the federal government allows drilling to continue at nine wells in two existing wellfields in the Big Cypress National Preserve.   There is a difference between the Collier holdings and holdings such as those owned by Marks' family: their size.   Multiple entities can share ownership of mineral rights beneath an acre of land. In some cases, the Collier family held 100 percent of an acre's mineral rights. Under other acres, the family owns no rights or a majority of the rights.
Copyright  © 2002 Naples News  All rights reserved.

WILL PERSEVERANCE PAY OFF?
In a final act of defiance, the Spiegel Grove is leaking transparent oil from its stern, but not enough to cause environmental damage, officials said Saturday.  The retired navy ship, purposefully sunk last week to serve as an artificial reef, sprung a small leak that is leaving a residue trail about six feet wide and 150 yards long, said George Garrett, Monroe County's director of marine resources.  Divers searched for the source along the ship's stern Saturday but were unable to find the source, Garrett said. He added that the source could be hydraulic fluid or small amounts of gasoline spilled from power equipment.  It took a handful of persistent -- some will say hardheaded -- members of the dive community and eight long years to sink the 510-foot Spiegel Grove. But perseverance finally paid off Monday when the ship rolled over on its starboard side and settled in 130 feet of ocean six miles from shore near Dixie Shoal.  The total cost now approaches $1.4 million, a cost shared by many countywide. The process that started over a few beers at a local pub tested friendships and business relationships, but solidified the resolve of the Upper Keys' community.  As the idea gained momentum, the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce picked up the project and appointed an Artificial Reef Committee to carry it through.  Atlantis Dive Shop owner Spencer Slate, who has been outspoken in his disappointment at the premature sinking of the ship and its resultant orientation on the bottom, was on the ground floor of the project and has logged as many, if not more, project hours as anyone involved.  Even after the project lost momentum after a ship-breaking company failed to  live up to its contract last year, and the chamber replaced Slate as the point man with a reluctant Quiescence Dive Shop owner Rob Bleser, Slate continued to promote the project and work behind the scenes.  Working with a limited budget, he found the only ship-breaker that would accept the job -- Ocean Reefs Inc. The ship was towed to Accurate Marine Environmental in Portsmouth, Va., where polluting PCBs were to be removed.  The contract allowed Ocean Reefs to take supplemental materials that would not be needed. The sale of those materials were to supplement Ocean Reefs' profit.
Copyright  © 2002 Keys news  All rights reserved.

Orange Crop Forecast On The Rise
Florida's orange crop forecast has increased by 2 million boxes to 228 million, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week. If the forecast holds, this would be the third-largest crop on record.  The 1997-98 crop, at 244 million boxes, holds the record.  Each box of oranges weighs about 90 pounds.  The forecast was adjusted, agriculture officials said, because the Valencia harvest has progressed faster than expected.  This is the third time this year agriculture officials have revised orange crop projections.  In February, the forecast was reduced by 3 million boxes due to premature droppage.  In May, it was adjusted downward by another 2 million boxes because of smaller-than-expected fruit and hot weather.  The grapefruit crop estimate remained at 47 million boxes, and the yield for frozen concentrated orange juice remained at 1.58 gallons per 90-pound box of oranges.
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

15-June-02

Project may extend Bonita’s boundaries
Bonita Springs may get bigger in the next few months. City officials are waiting on the Ronto Group to decide whether it wants to bring a planned residential and golf course community inside the city’s boundary.  According to a June 5 annexation agreement between the city and the Ronto Group, “a voluntary annexation agreement petition ... shall be considered for approval by the city on or before July 17, 2002, or August 17, 2002, or as extended by mutual agreement of the parties.”  Ronto already is building Palmira — a 324-acre planned community near the city’s easternmost boundary.  Palmira eventually will include 72,000 square feet of commercial space, a golf course and 1,296 homes.  On Bonita’s easternmost boundary, Ronto also owns a large parcel tentatively called Parklands. Just outside the city’s limits, Ronto is planning to turn 649 acres of agricultural land into 644 homes, 27 holes of golf and 45,000 square feet of commercial space. Ronto will seek a zoning change before the Lee County Commission Monday.  Brian Farrar, Ronto’s director of development, said that while a draft agreement is in place, it does not necessarily mean that the new development will become part of the city.  “We’re still investigating our options,” Farrar said Thursday. “We have to look at it and see if it’s a fiscally sound business decision. It has to make sense for us and for the city.”  City Attorney Audrey Vance said negotiations between the city and Ronto are continuing.  “No agreement has been reached,” said Vance, refusing further comment on the issue.  City officials have said that they would like to annex undeveloped property east of the city’s limits because future residents will be using Bonita roads and services.  Officials also said it would be easier to annex the land now because only one property owner exists. If the city were to wait until the land is developed, a unanimous vote by all the property owners would be required.  Ronto’s properties plus The Bonita Bay Group’s property east of Ronto’s are expected to bring at least 6,000 additional residents to the area.  The Bonita Bay Group is planning to build a golf course community on 1,298 acres. It’s expected to include two golf courses and 1,158 homes.  
Copyright  © 2002 Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

 

 

Editorial: Some Growth Controls Are In The Area's Best Interest
The economic sky will fall if development is moderated in West Central Florida, according to a study conducted at the University of South Florida. We don't buy it.  USF's Center for Economic Development Research says a partial slowdown in the development industry would result in the loss of 56,000 jobs and $5.5 billion - or 3 percent - in economic activity in the Tampa Bay area.  The study was commissioned by the Tampa Bay Regional Coalition, an organization of development associations. It plans to use the findings to campaign against both growth restraints and the more frequent calls for construction moratoriums.  We doubt if it will make too much of an impression on the public - and it shouldn't. The study is a useful reminder of the importance of the development industry, which according to the study sustains 275,500 jobs and generates $27 billion of economic activity in area.  It should be obvious to all anti-growth zealots that jeopardizing such an economic powerhouse would be perilous.  But the study looked at only one part of the equation. Development brings its share of community costs and afflictions. Roads, schools, water and sewer systems and other infrastructure necessities often result in increased tax burdens upon the public.  But perhaps more significant is the damage to a community's quality of life that results from uncontrolled development. Congested roads, overcrowded schools, crime, environmental destruction and the other consequences of irresponsible growth can ultimately destroy a region's appeal and economic prospects. A community concerned only with smothering the countryside with construction is not going to attract top-flight corporations, or develop a strong and diverse economic base.  Indeed, the study raises the question of whether Tampa Bay leaders shouldn't more aggressively pursue a diverse economic base, and reduce its reliance on the building industry.  Development cannot continue unabated forever - unless we expect to transform West Central Florida into a Gulf coast Los Angeles.  As Hillsborough Commissioner Stacey Easterling put it, ``If we let growth go unrestricted, we will collapse under our own weight.''  The development industry is essential to the local economy and to residents. There should be no doubt about that. But there also should be no doubt that a region confronting water shortages, crime, transportation gridlock and a multitude of other growth-related problems has no alternative but to seek to responsibly manage growth.
 Copyright  © 2002 Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

 

Editorial: Pinecrest Lakes ruling backs Martin's growth plan
 The final ruling is in for some apartments built too close to single-family homes in northern Martin County. The Florida Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of developer Thomas J. Thomson, who must tear down or move five buildings, a total of 40 units valued at $3.3 million in Jensen Beach's Villas of Pinecrest Lakes complex.  It is not the first time in Florida that a developer has had to tear down illegal buildings, though the cost and number of units is high. But the court's decision is a landmark affirmation of the Florida public's role in planning, said Charles Pattison, director of 1000 Friends of Florida, the state's leading growth-management advocacy group. It could make governments adhere more strictly to their own growth plans and require developers to do the same. The case also is a tribute to the tenacity of Pinecrest Lakes residents Karen and Paul Shidel and their attorney Richard Grosso, who wouldn't give up even after the Pinecrest Lakes Homeowners Association settled with the developers.  The Martin County Commission approved the apartments, despite knowing that the complex violated the county's growth plan. It required a wide buffer between the apartments and nearby homes. Two of the commissioners who approved the apartments, Dennis Armstrong and Elmira Gainey, are up for reelection this fall. The developer took a risk and went ahead with construction even after the neighbors filed a lawsuit. Ms. Shidel and her neighbors protested because without a buffer of space and trees, apartment dwellers can look into the homeowners' houses and yards. At one point, the courts calculated that the Shidels' home, once appraised at $175,000, had dropped $26,500 in value after the apartments were built.  Mr. Grosso said the Pinecrest Lakes case changes the understanding of the rights neighbors have to challenge a new development. Previously, county staff and developers made the decisions, while neighbors of proposed new developments largely were ignored at public hearings. Ms. Shidel and her neighbors asked the county to follow its own rules, to leave enough land and trees between the apartments and houses to meet the requirements of the growth plan. Commissioners blew them off.  With the Pinecrest Lakes case resolved, taxpaying neighbors of proposed developments could have a voice in such decisions equal to that of county officials and the developer. At least there is legal precedent for that to happen.
 Copyright  © 2002 Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

   
Medicine woman Ruby Tiger Osceola died 
Thursday at age 106. She tried to preserve 
her clan's customs.
 
Matriarch Of Seminole Reservation Proudly Clung To Traditional Life 
You couldn't assess Ruby Tiger Osceola's stature with a tape measure. Seminole Indians say the death of the diminutive matriarch has left a giant void in the tribe.  ``There will never be anyone who can replace her,'' said Lilla Henry, her granddaughter-in- law. ``She lived life as a proud Seminole each and every day.''  Osceola, of Brandon, died Thursday. She was 106.  Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Sunset Memory Gardens, 11005 U.S. 301, Thonotosassa. There will a memorial service later on the reservation.  She was born in the Florida Everglades, later lived in Bradenton, and moved to Tampa in 1980. Osceola was matriarch of the Panther Clan of the tribe and of the Tampa reservation. All the residents of the 9-acre reservation off Orient Road are part of her family.  ``She was one strong lady,'' Henry said. ``She was as traditional as they come.''  Tribe members credit Osceola for keeping their customs alive and teaching each new generation.  ``She never wore the white man's clothes or spoke his language,'' said Keith Simmons, a great-grandson-in- law. ``She saw three centuries.''
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

Raising Farm Subsidies, U.S. Widens International Rift
Less than one month after President Bush signed the new farm bill, agriculture has leaped from the backwaters of diplomacy to near the top of the list of international complaints against the United States. Portrayed by its supporters as a necessary safety net for farmers and by its detractors as an election-year welfare program to win Midwestern votes, the huge increase in subsidies has become an overnight magnet for America-bashing.  Javier Solana, Europe's foreign policy chief, declared in Madrid this week that the new American agriculture policy has created the "most profound" division between Europe and the United States, worse than disputes over steel tariffs, the Kyoto environmental treaty or the international criminal court.  In Washington, in an address to Congress, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia said on Wednesday that the only problem between these closest of friends was his country's "intense disappointment" over the $180 billion farm bill.  In Rome, at a United Nations conference on hunger, developing countries pointed this week to the huge new subsidies to American farmers as one of the biggest obstacles to creating vital opportunities for their own farmers and enabling them to climb out of poverty. With Mr. Bush pressing other countries to knock down their trade barriers and expand open markets, his approval of an 80 percent increase in farm subsidies - with all the advantages that confers on American grain exports - is viewed as a move in the opposite direction.  Poor countries say the subsidies also work at cross purposes to the administration's avowed desire to reduce poverty and to diminish foreign anger against the United States.  In a private letter to Congressional leaders, a group of countries known as the Cairns Group, which includes Australia, Thailand, Canada, Brazil and Argentina, wrote this month that "the sheer size of the subsidy package will inevitably hurt farmers around the world, particularly in developing countries."  "The United States should be sending a very different message," wrote Mark Vaile, the group's chairman.  The heart of the dispute is that by underwriting its largest farmers, the United States is flooding the world market with inexpensive corn, wheat, rice and soybeans, which are sold at half what it costs to produce the grain. That leads to artificially low world prices, which in turn undercut grain produced by farmers in countries that do not give subsidies. The grain market becomes distorted, domestic markets are ruined for producers overseas and their chances of making inroads into foreign markets are reduced.
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

 

 

14-June-02

Golf course community would add 644 homes east of Bonita County commissioners to hold hearing Monday
Bonita Springs could crack 300 in the number of holes of golf it has if county commissioners approve a golf course community slated to be built just east of the city. Commissioners will hold a public hearing Monday to evaluate the 649-acre, 644-home golf course development on Bonita Beach Road, just east of Bonita Springs’ city limits.  Lee County’s hearing examiner has recommended approval.  The unnamed community, about 1€ miles east of Interstate 75, will be built around 27 holes of golf, according to Brian Farrar, director of Land Development for developer Ronto.  Farrar said the cost of new homes will be between $180,000 and $500,000.   When commissioners meet, one of the major topics will be the impact on traffic.  Ronto has agreed to set aside land in case Lee County extends State Road 951 from Collier County.  Traffic planners are examining possible alignments for the new road.  “We agreed with (the hearing examiner) that the land along the west side of the project may someday be 951, although no one knows yet,” Farrar said. The new development sits between Ronto’s 1,300-home Palmira and The Bonita Bay Group’s planned 1,100-home golf course community.  All told, new development on Bonita Beach Road east of Interstate 75 could bring 6,000 new residents to the area. Currently there are 280 holes of golf within the city limits of Bonita Springs.  Dave Loveland, chief planner for the Lee County Department of Transportation, said all the new development south of Bonita Beach Road will force a need for more roads.  “(S.R. 951) might come right through there,” Loveland said. “Collier is extending another road north from Immokalee Road.”  The only work planned for Bonita Beach Road is the addition of two lanes from Imperial Street to Interstate 75.  Construction on that project begins next year, Loveland said, but new development east of the interstate eventually will create a need for more lanes. “Our long-range plan does call for eventual four-laning (east of Interstate 75),” he said.  Ronto is working on an agreement with Bonita Springs to annex the new development. Residents would have to use city roads to exit the development or access Interstate 75.
Copyright  © 2002 Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

Endangered Florida Panthers Have Good News From The Nursery
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
  News Release
A rare event in the population of the endangered Florida Panther at the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) has occurred. Two litters from two female panthers were simultaneously recorded on the refuge near Naples, Florida. This year's births are a highlight for the refuge in the recovery of the imperiled cousin of the mountain lion or cougar. Only 80 to 100 Florida panthers remain in the wild making Florida's official state animal one of the most endangered mammals in the world.  "We're also pleasantly surprised about the size of the litters," said Sam D. Hamilton, Southeast Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "The dens produced three kittens in one litter and four in the other."  There are many reasons for the demise of the animal's population. Because of unfounded fears for livestock and human safety, bounties were placed on the cats from the late 1800's through the 1950's, greatly diminishing their numbers. However, today other factors threaten the species recovery.  "Car collisions have killed over 44 panthers since 1972," said Ben Nottingham, Deputy Refuge Manager from the Florida Panther NWR. "Also, aggression among the male cats has caused other deaths. However, the biggest cause of diminished numbers is loss of habitat."  Hamilton added, "The panther deaths from car collisions can be greatly reduced if people will share a little of their time with the animals and slow down to the posted speed limits."

The extensive development over the last few decades has greatly reduced the panther's preferred habitat of hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods as well as wet prairies, marshes and swamp forests.  Florida panthers are most active at night and usually avoid one another except during breeding season. Adult males defend territories averaging 200 miles while females have territories of 75 square miles. Kittens weigh around a pound and are born with their eyes closed. Their mother nurses them for about 2 months until they are able to eat fresh meat.  Florida panthers, like all cougars, stalk and ambush their prey. They leap distances of more than 15 feet and rely on surprise. The cats run up to 35 miles an hour for short distances. Panthers prefer large animals such as deer and wild pigs but will eat smaller game such as raccoons, armadillos, rabbits and even alligators.  While the Florida panther appears similar to other cougars, it is distinctly different. Its fur is darker, shorter, and coarser. Although, the Florida panther has a smaller body size and feet than its cousins, it has longer legs. Other differences are found in skull size measurements, a distinctive cowlick in the middle of the back, and a right-angle crook at the end of the tail.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is actively working with a number of federal and state agencies such as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as well as private organizations to save the Florida panther from extinction and develop healthy populations free of several genetic problems that have shown up over the years.

For more information about:

  Florida panther visit our website at
  http://endangered.fws.gov/i/A05.html

  Florida panther National Wildlife Refuge at
  http://floridapanther.fws.gov/index.html

  The Fish and Wildlife Service in the southeast:
  http://southeast.fws.gov

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Residents get chance to offer input on land-conservation program
Lee County residents will get a chance soon to analyze and suggest changes to the county's land-conservation program in 2004.   Members of the Conservation Lands Acquisition and Stewardship Committee, or CLASAC, voted Thursday to form a subcommittee aimed at giving voters an overview of the program.   Public meetings are expected to be held between this fall and spring 2003. CLASAC is the recommending committee for Conservation 2020, Lee County's land-preservation program. Members review properties considered for public purchase and make recommendations to county commissioners, who have the final say on purchases.   More than 7,600 acres of conservation lands now belong to county government, with acquisition costs totaling $48 million. Purchases are paid for by landowners, who pay 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable property. With a homestead exemption, a homeowner with a $100,000 house is liable for $37.50 a year.   Conservation 2020 was to expire in 2003, but commissioners extended the date for a vote on its continuance until 2004 in hopes that a presidential election would draw more voters to the polls.   Changes to the program have been discussed over the years, and CLASAC members want to hear the public's comments on how to change the program prior to the 2004 vote.   Members said Thursday that overall the program has been a success, although some minor tweaking may be needed.   "I think one thing that's made this (program) successful is the diversity of this committee," said CLASAC chair Rick Barber, an engineer who works mostly with the development industry. "I think we are meeting the program objectives."
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Water managers to take runoff case to Supreme Court
Storm water may not sound like the stuff of great legal battles. But the storm water gushing from a trio of pumps that help keep Weston and other parts of southwest Broward County dry could become an issue before the U.S. Supreme Court if South Florida water managers have their way.  They have decided to ask the nation's highest court to overturn a February appellate court ruling that the pumps -- which gush polluted urban runoff into the central Everglades -- need a permit under the federal Clean Water Act water.  The South Florida Water Management District has never before sought a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, said its chief attorney, John Fumero.  Voting 7-2 Wednesday, the water district board agreed that it should mount the appeal because it did not introduce the urban and agricultural pollution it is moving around with pumps to stave off flooding from storms. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and a lower court have erroneously viewed the pumps as a "point source" of pollution, said board member Nicolas Gutierrez.  "We're just moving water that happens to be polluted from one place to another," he said. "We're just trying to keep Weston from being under water during an average rainstorm."  District officials argue that they are at work on programs, and buying land, that will eventually halt the transfer of pollution from the pumps, which force water from the C-11 canal into the Everglades south of Alligator Alley. The district agreed Thursday to spend $37 million on 320 acres of land in Weston to help build a reservoir slated to receive some of the polluted pump water once it can be diverted from the Everglades. Tacking on another permit requirement won't accelerate cleanup efforts but instead create "additional federal regulatory hurdles that would do nothing for Everglades water quality," said Fumero, the district's general counsel.  "We feel strongly that we're making the right decision not only legally, but environmentally," Gutierrez said.  The courts are "overreaching" in their interpretation of the Clean Water Act's effect on water-management agencies, Fumero said. That risks setting a precedent that could force all kinds of water-control and drainage agencies to obtain federal permits for each of their water control pumps and structures, he said.  The lower court rulings were spurred by a lawsuit filed by in 1997 by Friends of the Everglades and the Miccosukee Indian Tribe. The appellate court said that by pushing water in a direction it normally would not go, the pumps in effect were a source of pollution, not just a conveyor of it. The plaintiffs, who make the same case, have said they do not want the pumps shut down or to see Weston flooded but want to make sure the pollution problem is not allowed to drag on.  "The truth is this is at best an uphill battle," said Fumero of the district's Supreme Court appeal.  But he said he thinks other water management agencies and governments would likely join the water district and become parties to its appeal, if the court chooses hear it. 
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Everglades Area in Palm Beach to Stay Under Federal Protection
An Everglades wildlife area in southern Palm Beach County will be under federal protection for the next 50 years. The South Florida Water Management District voted unanimously Thursday to extend the federal government's lease of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge.  The 143,000-acre area is inside one of the water district's conservation areas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has leased it since 1951.  "The refuge is an excellent example of Everglades restoration," said Mark Musaus, refuge manager since 1998.  Some water district board members have complained refuge managers haven't done enough to wipe out invasive plants that have taken over more than half the area's territory.  Refuge managers have said they need about $3 million per year for the next 15 years to start attacking the plants, but Congress this year approved only $1.8 million, said Fred Davis, the water district's director of land stewardship.  He said the refuge could get larger amounts from Congress in future years and also perhaps state money.  Board member Patrick Gleason suggested the district try to come up with at least the refuge's financial shortfall this year, saying, "The exotics problem is killing off this part of the Everglades."  Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

 

 

Editorial: Collier building moratorium Slowdown on 3 roads is just a starting point
Political posturing, truly cracking down or playing favorites?  There is room for debate about what was going on Tuesday when Collier County commissioners singled out parts of three roads for a construction moratorium. It sticks until those or nearby roads are improved, so growth blends with instead of destroys our quality of life.  It is noted that there are so many loopholes - for example, payment of impact fees, filing of development plans, types of driveways - that plenty of development can continue unabated.  It is noted too that some of the same land-use lawyers and lobbyists who decried a referendum on roads keeping up with growth and favored commissioners' own style of concurrency led the charge against the action Tuesday on small parts of U.S. 41 (on only one side of the street), Vanderbilt Beach Road and Radio Road.  Still, while county commissioners have made a start, there are other crowded roads out there, such as Pine Ridge, Immokalee, Airport-Pulling and Goodlette-Frank roads, and Collier Boulevard. They have some congested, dangerous intersections that are going to get worse as more growth is squeezed in without expanding capacity.  The county is new at this. The street patrol for moratorium candidates should continue.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

White House Seeks a Change in Rules on Air Pollution
The Bush administration today proposed changing air pollution rules to give utilities more leeway in modernizing power plants without also being required to improve their pollution-control equipment.  The utility industry has been seeking to relax the current rules for years. Such changes could save the industry billions of dollars in upgrades that utility officials said would otherwise hamper their expansion and efficiency. Environmentalists said that if the changes were put into place, they could lead to a worsening of the nation's air quality and weaken a fundamental provision of the Clean Air Act. At issue is a component of the Clean Air Act called "new source review," which requires the installation of modern pollution controls whenever industrial plants undergo renovations beyond "routine" maintenance.  Industry and enforcement officials have been in litigation for years over the meaning of "routine" and what triggers the need for new controls.  In announcing the new rules, Christie Whitman, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, did not define "routine" but said she would "clarify" the definition, and she made it clear that she agreed with the utility industry's complaints that the provision had been a stumbling block to modernization and expansion.  Mrs. Whitman said the new source review program "has been beneficial in reducing emissions at new facilities," but, she added, it also "deterred companies from implementing projects that would increase energy efficiency and decrease air pollution."  Industry officials said that clarifying the terms would give them more certainty in long-range planning and more flexibility in the short term. The agency has said in lawsuits it filed during the Clinton administration that the utilities have been making substantial investments in their plants but skirting the emissions-control requirements by calling their investments= "routine maintenance."
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

A Development Fuels a Debate on Urbanism
Otay Ranch would seem to have  everything the back-to-the-future movement in Americantown-planning could ask for: front porches, back alleys, a network of paths, all built around a park with a barn-style community center and little hub called Heritage Towne Center. It's a village, the developers say, not another sea of stucco rising at the urban edge of San Diego.  But look again, say the proponents of new-style suburbs, and you see things they have long criticized. Otay Ranch is protected by guarded entrance gates, which limit the kind of random encounters so cherished in older communities. A six-lane road as wide as a freeway leads into the development, making it a challenge to cross the street on foot. Cul de sacs, little different than those in the far exurbs of Los Angeles, fill the development.  As the largest single subdivision in California history, Otay Ranch is at the center of a fight among people who plan and build new communities in the fastest-growing states.  To hear some developers talk, a person would think they would not be caught dead building a traditional suburb, or what is known in shorthand sneer as a csd, for conventional suburban development. They build places where people live in "sustainable communities" around "towne squares," where the three-car garage has been banished.  But just as these developers have seemingly embraced this design style known as New Urbanism, many planners and architects say that the movement has been co-opted and that many of the neo-villages appearing in Southern California, as well as in the exurbs of New Jersey and on the shoreline of the Florida Panhandle, are impostors.
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

Letter: Bush and the Climate
To the Editor:
In a June 10 letter, the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton, defended President Bush's weak effort to curb America's greenhouse emissions by asserting that such policies are "appropriate to the current state of climate-change science."  Such a claim is disingenuous. Our understanding of what affects global warming far exceeds our knowledge about the consequence of the president's so-called war on terrorism, his trillion-dollar tax gift to the wealthy or his "Star Wars" defense system. Ideology rather than knowledge or science is what drives the policies of this administration.
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

 

11-June-02

Builders grab prime land, crippling Broward preservation plan
A small strip of coastal dunes became the latest piece of environmentally sensitive land to be saved in Broward County, but its purchase Tuesday also marked the recognition by county officials their preservation effort will not be as successful as hoped.  With only four parcels of pristine land saved since voters agreed to a $400 million bond issue in November 2000, county commissioners began shifting money away from the purchase of such tracts to buy more of the most basic open space - vacant lots with no special environmental value. Developers are beating out the county in buying the best land.  "We were out of our league against these developers," said Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, one of the leading proponents of the bond issue. "We had to change course because there is not a lot of political will to pay substantially more than the appraised value for land. We made that promise to voters."  Under the change in plans, about $19 million that had been earmarked to save mangrove swamps, pineland and sawgrass prairie will be switched to buy open space.  Four neighborhood park sites in the unincorporated areas of central Broward will be purchased first, and Plantation will be reimbursed for buying 28 acres of wetlands next to Volunteer Park.  The park bond program called for spending $152 million to buy the last remaining pieces of native Florida habitat. But developers have offered substantially higher prices, and the most optimistic predictions of project administrators are that they will not be able to spend more than $130 million.  Under the new plan voted in Tuesday, commissioners will each have control of $1 million to spend in their district on an open-space project of their choice. Money also will go to Pembroke Pines and Miramar to help with their plans to create art parks.  The extent of the county's inability to compete with developers had not been clear before Tuesday because the negotiations with landowners had been secret.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

A Woodpecker's Revenge
It's hard to know which verb tense to use when discussing the ivory-billed woodpecker, which is/was the largest North American woodpecker, and is/was by all accounts an arresting creature 20 inches tall with a 30-inch wingspan. There hasn't been a confirmed sighting for more than 50 years, and when somebody shows up with a photograph, it almost always turns out to be the similar but smaller pileated woodpecker. The latest news isn't so great, either. A report in Monday's Times chronicled the disappointment of a team of scientists from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who did a computer analysis of digital recordings of what sounded like the ivory-bill's distinctive double-rap against the bark of a tree. Alas, the sounds, recorded in Louisiana's Pearl River Wildlife Management Area, turned out to be gunshots. Still, 50 years of false leads haven't kept people from looking, the theory being that an absence of evidence does not prove an absence of birds. A search party was dispatched two years ago in Cuba, and one is now under way in Arkansas. One other point must be made about the ivory-bill: Dead or alive, it has done a lot for the environment. Thirty years ago a report from an Audubon official that he had merely heard the bird in South Carolina's Santee swamp prompted the state to spare 10,000 acres of bottomland from clear-cutting, generated a strong statewide environmental movement and led to the creation of the Congaree Swamp National Forest. More recently, an unauthenticated Pearl River sighting persuaded Louisiana to declare a two-year moratorium on logging in the bird's presumed habitat.  There is sweet justice here. The reason the bird is/may be extinct is that loggers and developers destroyed the tall pines and old-growth cypresses that formed its woodland habitat, which once stretched from Indiana to the Caribbean. Now the bird is thwarting the very forces that caused it to disappear from view. Wherever it is, one likes to think it is enjoying its notoriety. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

 

10-June-02

Letter: Bush Is Concerned About the Climate
To the Editor:
"U.S. Sees Problems in Climate Change" (front page, June 3) says that the predictions of the U.S. Climate Action Report 2002 "present a sharp contrast to previous statements on climate change by the administration."  Actually, last year President Bush noted the rise in surface temperatures and concentrations of greenhouse gases, and said that "the National Academy of Sciences indicates that the increase is due in large part to human activity." He also cautioned that significant scientific uncertainties remain, emphasizing that "the policy challenge is to act in a serious and sensible way, given the limits of our knowledge."  The new report reinforces each of these points, discussing the "considerable uncertainty" about the science, natural variability of the climate, and the fact that "definitive prediction of potential outcomes is not yet feasible."  President Bush's policies are appropriate to the current state of climate-change science. By administering 67 programs to curb greenhouse gas emissions and investing $4.5 billion each year in research and development, the administration is responsibly addressing this important issue.  

JAMES L. CONNAUGHTON
Chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality
Washington June 7, 2002

Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

09-June-02

Editorial: Jeb Bush Tidies Up Legislature's Mess
When it comes to the word "trust," the Florida Legislature doesn't know the meaning of the word.  The state has a Florida Preservation Trust Fund and the Florida Forever Trust Fund. They're state accounts to hold money for two specific programs overwhelmingly approved by the voters -- in this case to purchase and preserve environmentally sensitive lands.  The trust funds are much like a fund concerned parents might establish for the welfare of their children.  The only difference is that legislators serve as the trustees.  It is as if ants were guarding the sugar jar.  Nowhere was the analogy clearer this year than in Tallahassee. No dollar was sacred around money-strapped legislators bent on giving $262 million in corporate tax relief backed by the governor.  So, early in this year's legislative process, state lawmakers had already written a $100 million IOU to the Preservation Trust Fund and used the money to cover general expenditures. Never mind that under another Republican governor, Bob Martinez, the state had sold revenue bonds for Preservation 2000 to buy lands for the public. Never mind that investors in the bonds -- and voters who approved the idea -- had been told that the revenues would only be used for preservation expenditures.  Well, perhaps, in the outside sense of the word, legislators were complying with the intent of the bonds: They were trying to preserve their own hides, along with some pet projects.  Not all legislators acted irresponsibly. One bright light was Rep. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland. During the session, she reminded her colleagues that many had signed a promise to voters not to raid conservation programs to pay for nonconservation items.  In a letter to House members, she urged her fellow representatives to repledge and keep the House "steadfast in its refusal to raid environmental funds to pay for unrelated spending programs."  She told a St. Petersburg Times reporter: "We don't want to break the budget deal [worked out with the Senate], but we want to make sure we don't break the bond covenants."
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Copyright  © 2002   The Ledger All rights reserved.

 

In Florida, a Bold Alligator Is a Dead One
In the hour before dark, the water in the canal is almost black, the kind of water a person hates to fall into, even in dreams.  Six fishermen languidly fling lines baited with wriggling, palm-size bream into the murk, and now and then one will hook a nice bass. The others nod in admiration.  "Cerveza?" one will ask.  "Sí," the one with the fish will say, and beer tops will pop, lines will plop back into the water, and the ritual will repeat itself. A stringer of fish splash in the shallows, and the only other sound is from the cars and trucks that pass on U.S. 41.  It is tranquillity itself, here on a weed-strewn bank at the edge of the Everglades, until a nine-foot-long submarine of teeth and claws and leathery skin glides up to the very feet of the fishermen, and they tumble away like bowling pins.  "Cocodrilo!" they shout, backing up.  The alligator raises its head out of the water and looks  around, as if expecting someone to toss it a treat. When that does not happen, it glides from line to line, eating the bait fish, hooks and all, snapping the lines. "He has no fear," said Lazaro Armenteros, a landscaper from Miami, one of the fishermen.  On Tuesday, an alligator - Mr. Armenteros says it is the same one - crawled out into the midst of the fishermen, "where my kids were," he said, adding, "We put them in the car."  This evening, the nine-foot alligator has been joined by a seven-foot alligator. They should be afraid of the humans, but have been exposed to them so often that they just waddle up like stray dogs, hoping to be fed. It is that familiarity that has doomed them.  Tonight, the man with the marshmallows has come for them.
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Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

 

08-June-02

Glades plan to aid sparrow could harm pink spoonbill
For 13 years, Jerry Lorenz has mucked through the mangroves of Florida Bay to chart the ups and downs of a dazzling pink wading bird called the roseate spoonbill.  Now, he's slogged into mire surrounding another bird, a drab but critically rare little creature called the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. Lorenz has produced a study suggesting a new plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help sparrows could hurt spoonbills, mainly by diverting the flow of fresh water from the Everglades. Even more troubling, Lorenz believes the federal agency's string of schemes to save the endangered sparrow could be harming all of northeastern Florida Bay.  That's a dark scenario for an area that is only now recovering from years of algae blooms that had reduced a massive swath of once-rich bottom to a dead zone.  ''The spoonbill is the canary in the coal mine for Florida Bay,'' said Lorenz, an estuarine ecologist who heads up a research lab in Tavernier for Audubon of Florida. ``It's not just about spoonbills; it's about everything that's out there.''  The study, released this week in Key Largo during meetings of government agencies, scientists, engineers, Indian tribes and environmental groups monitoring Everglades restoration, clearly raised the bar of concern about the Corps' plans to protect the sparrow.  The plan, a complicated water-routing scheme that would bump up water levels in a canal separating marshes from farm fields and suburbs and create a series of retention ponds, is already under wide attack. Environmentalists fear pollution impacts from farm runoff. Farmers and homeowners in the 8 ˝ Square Mile Area worry about flooding. The Miccosukee Tribe argues it will drown 88,000 acres of tribal lands and devastate yet another bird, the  Everglades kite.  The Corps defended its plan as an effort to strike a difficult balance, a stop-gap measure until long-delayed projects on the drawing board give water managers more flexibility.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

 

Global Warming Follies
President Bush continues to stumble on the issue of global warming. Last year, to the dismay of America's allies, he rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol committing industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gases. He also reneged on his campaign pledge to impose mandatory caps on carbon dioxide, the most important of those gases. Now he has dismissed a report written by his own experts. It asserts that human activities are largely responsible for global warming and warns that the environmental consequences could be severe.  The report is the third in a series of studies required by a climate treaty signed by Mr. Bush's father in Rio de Janiero in 1992, but the first issued by the new administration. It was presented to the United Nations last week and appeared unannounced on the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site.  It does not openly challenge the voluntary approach Mr. Bush has recommended. But it is a serious study reflecting the views of scientists in six federal agencies, including the President's Council on Environmental Quality, and its findings align the administration with most mainstream scientists as to the causes and consequences of climate change. It deserves better than Mr. Bush's contemptuous response: "I read the report put out by the bureaucracy," he said, before repeating his opposition to Kyoto.  The report obviously presented Mr. Bush with a ticklish problem. Having abandoned Kyoto and his campaign pledges, he had left himself without a meaningful strategy to deal with climate change. To acknowledge the truth of the study would have required him to offer such a strategy, or at least something more imaginative than the pallid voluntarism favored by many of his corporate friends and big campaign contributors.  So he chose to brush it off. His timing was unfortunate. On Tuesday Japan ratified the Kyoto agreement, as have the members of the European Union. These countries do not expect Mr. Bush to drop his opposition to Kyoto. But they have a right to expect something more than a casual rejection of inconvenient truths. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.


07-June-02

Governor's veto explained: Wetlands protection plan still alive, water managers say 
State water managers said Thursday that a plan to protect wetlands along southern Biscayne Bay remains alive and well, despite Gov. Jeb Bush's veto of a provision setting aside $8 million for the program.  ''No money got vetoed, that's the take-away message,'' said Henry Dean, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, the agency managing a project intended to restore freshwater flows to Biscayne Bay. Bush's move confused and concerned environmentalists attending a meeting in Key Largo of the district's Water Resources Advisory Commission, prompting Dean to issue both an endorsement of the project, part of the massive $8 billion Everglades restoration effort, and an explanation of the veto.  While he said he couldn't speak for Bush, Dean said the governor's veto boiled down to a jurisdictional dispute about who has the authority to spend money from the Florida Forever Trust Fund.  ''It's certainly not a reflection of lack of interest,'' Dean said. ``The governor fully supports the coastal wetlands restoration and our efforts here, and we're fully committed to the project.''  The $8 million in question is included in a $25 million package the district will receive this year from the Florida Forever fund.  Bush didn't cut any money, but he did veto the language inserted by lawmakers that designated $8 million of the $25 million to buy undeveloped wetlands that fringe southern Biscayne Bay.  The governor, Dean said, likely viewed that language as legislative infringement on the ''discretionary authority'' of the district's governing board, which Dean said is the agency with the legal right to decide how to spend the $25 million. Dean said he was confident the governing board would eventually allocate at least $8 million for land in an area facing increased development pressure.  Board member Mike Collins agreed, saying ``there is no opposition on that board that I'm aware of.''  In addition to the $8 million, the state allocated an additional $3.5 million for the bay restoration, which will take canal water and filter it across the marshes.  Scientists hope the project will revive degraded wetlands, enrich mangroves that serve as nurseries for the bay and improve water quality by filtering out urban runoff and reducing salinity levels.  While Dean's assurances eased worries, environmentalists said the veto puts the project on shakier ground, dependent on district approval. Last year, the Legislature allocated $5 million directly to the project, including $3.5 million for land buys.  ''If you're a Biscayne Bay person, the money is without the same guarantees,'' said James Murley, director of the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems of Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University.  ''Now the onus is on the governing board to commit to the Biscayne Bay restoration process,'' said Shannon Estenoz, co-chair of the Everglades Coalition.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

 

 

06-June-02

 

Gov. Jeb Bush is surrounded by members of the 
media as he holds a news conference to sign into 
law the new state budget.

 

Bush closes wallet on millions in budget
In twin moves that aggravated some lawmakers but pleased environmentalists, Gov. Jeb Bush sliced $110 million in lawmakers' projects from next year's state budget and thwarted legislators' plans to raid a fund that buys environmentally sensitive lands. Bush's vetoes included two high-profile items in Miami-Dade: $8 million to buy coastal wetlands on Biscayne Bay and $5 million for economic incentives in a Miami-Dade Empowerment Zone. But statewide, the vetoes were far fewer than over the previous three years, when the first-term governor has delighted in finding about $300 million annually to whack.' 'After three years of quite a bit of conflict with their governor, the Legislature has listened very well,'' Bush said. More member projects -- dubbed ''turkeys'' -- went through an appropriate public vetting before getting in the budget, Bush said. And a new maneuver by lawmakers that put several projects into a single line item also made it difficult for him to ax some large projects -- such as the $35 million Senate President John McKay had requested for Florida State University's Ringling Museum in Sarasota. But with a nod toward his November reelection bid, Bush didn't focus on vetoes Wednesday, instead using a near hour long bill-signing ceremony to highlight school funding, up 6 percent per student from last fall's budget cuts, as well as more money for the developmentally disabled and a new prescription program for low-income seniors. He also bragged about a $262 million tax break for Florida corporations that purchase new buildings or equipment. The state also committed $100 million to the $8 billion federal Everglades restoration plan. ''I'm here to tell you Florida is back,'' Bush said, noting that the state's $50 billion spending plan is 6.5 percent higher than the current budget that ends June 30. ''Other states have not done so well,'' he said, noting that California and North Carolina -- both of which have state income taxes -- are facing billion-dollar deficits.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

incorrect link 

 

Environmental panel says get tougher than DCA on growth rules for rural fringe
Just because a state agency isn't demanding that golf courses be removed from greenbelts in Collier County's rural fringe growth plan, it doesn't mean they should remain, a majority of Environmental Advisory Council members said Wednesday." I would prefer to see Collier County do the best job possible rather than just what is required," said Erica Lynne, an EAC member. The panel voted 3-2 to add three changes to the rural fringe plan, to which the state Department of Community Affairs registered nine objections and 12 recommendations on May 23. The environmental panel was the first group presented with the state agency's objections and the county staff's responses. County planning commissioners will hear the same information today. Collier County commissioners will cast a final vote on the growth plan and recommended changes June 18. The growth plan then will be shipped back to DCA for final approval. The DCA oversees the state-mandated growth plans for Florida's 67 counties. Collier's growth plan for the 93,000-acre area dubbed the rural fringe from Collier Boulevard through Golden Gate Estates is an outgrowth of a 1999 order from Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet. That order requires the county to do a better job protecting wetlands and wildlife. The order froze most new development in rural Collier County until new growth rules are in effect. A separate growth plan stemming from the same order is under way for some 200,000 acres around Immokalee. Discussing the Golden Gate Estates plan Wednesday, the county environmental panel agreed with most of the staff recommendations to change the plan to gain DCA approval. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

 

Bush shields fund for land
The governor pleases environmentalists by vetoing a raid on Florida Forever money.

Environmentalists frequently remind people that Gov. Jeb Bush is a land developer by trade.  Still, they stood and cheered Wednesday when Bush announced he was blocking a $100-million raid by lawmakers on a popular land buying program. To plug the hole that veto created, Bush axed another $107-million in lawmakers' pet projects from the $50-billion state budget.  "It is great to put the 'forever' back in the Florida Forever program," Bush said of the conservation program.  Previously when environmentalists gathered to listen to Bush, they were more waving signs of protest, not praise, and the switch appeared to surprise Bush, who smiled and nodded his acknowledgement.  Eric Draper, conservation director of Audubon of Florida, hailed Bush as "incredibly courageous" because the vetoes could anger a lot of legislators.  And Bob Bendick, director of the Nature Conservancy's Florida chapter, called Bush's decision "a good and courageous act on behalf of the environment of Florida."  It was the second time in two weeks that Bush won the praise of environmentalists. Last week, he and his brother, President Bush, announced a deal to buy drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico and a federal preserve near the Everglades.  But the Democratic Party criticized the budget Bush signed Wednesday, accusing the governor of staging a campaign event. "The only thing that was missing were balloons and a Bush-Brogan banner," said Democratic Party spokesman Ryan Banfill, referring to Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan. "This is an election year budget."  Senate Democratic leader Tom Rossin of Royal Palm Beach said the budget "pads the pockets of special interests but fails Florida's schools and families."  Bush has claimed a $1.1-billion increase in education spending in this budget over the last, an increase critics say all but disappears when last year's budget cuts plus growth and inflation are factored in.  Bush's vetoes were about a third of what he has cut in previous budgets.  By diverting $100-million from the Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever land-buying programs, lawmakers avoided cuts in government services and kept a $262-million corporate tax break.  Hillsborough, Volusia and Brevard counties passed resolutions urging the governor to block the raid. Hillsborough Commissioner Jan Platt called Bush's decision "fantastic."  "The Florida environment won one," Platt said.  It was the second time the Legislature tried to solve its budget woes by tapping an environmental fund.
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

State budget grows greener
 Thrilling  environmental groups and jabbing scores of lawmakers with his veto pen in the process, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a $50 billion budget on Wednesday that restores $100 million to a popular environmental land-buying program.  To replace the money that legislators diverted from conservation trust funds in a lean budget year, Bush riffled the more than 300-page spending document and found a nearly equivalent amount of lawmakers' pet spending projects -- about $107 million -- that fell to his line-item veto power.  "I think it's a courageous stand," said Eric Draper, a lobbyist for Audubon of Florida. "He has clearly proven that he has put the environment ahead of budget tricks. I understand that there are a lot of legislators who are angry."  In a carefully orchestrated bill-signing ceremony, Bush touted a budget he claims increases education spending by $1 billion, for a 6 percent per-student increase, and still has room to for a $262 million tax cut for Florida corporations mirroring a federal economic stimulus package. Bush said Florida's Republican-dominated state government deserves credit for holding the line on spending and stimulating its economy without raising taxes, increasing spending by about $1.4 billion at a time when other states are facing withering deficits.  "I'm here to tell you Florida's back," Bush said. "Our revenues are growing."  But Bush received the loudest cheer in a jammed Cabinet meeting room when he announced he was vetoing the environmental trust-fund raid, with conservation lobbyists and wildlife officers roaring their approval, standing on chairs and waving thank-you signs.  "Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature, during these tough economic times, has identified these monies they consider to be surplus," Bush said. "I have consistently said it was inappropriate."  Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Struhs, one of  Bush'stop appointees, said Bush is showing other Republican governors he can promote environmental projects without losing his fiscal-conservative credentials.  "I think he's cracked the code, environmentally," Struhs said.  Cracking the code also meant bruising feelings.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Miami Beach tries to save beach with breakwaters
In the rough edges of 5,000 tons of boulder, Miami Beach hopes to find a permanent solution for a rather refined problem: the rapid erosion of its seven-mile stretch of beach.  Come Friday, those boulders will become part of three artificial breakwaters -- 30 feet wide and 10 feet high -- that will jut out to sea, creating semicircular barriers around the shoreline between 28th and 34th streets.  The breakwaters essentially will trap sand in a pocket of the mid-beach area that desperately needs to be replenished, said Bruce Henderson, the city's environmental specialist.  Over the years, parts of the city's once pristine shoreline have become scarred and weather-beaten. Thanks to a combination of ocean-front development, storm systems and everyday weathering, millions of pounds of sand have been swept away, completely gone from some sections of the beach.  Miami Beach has spent millions over the years on dredging projects to replenish the lost sand. The breakwaters, a $1 million project, are not only much cheaper, but will stave off erosion and help build up sand, Henderson said.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

05-June-02

Editorial: Warming signs: the administration
The Bush administration finally recognizes global warming -- but has no plan for combating its harmful effects.  It took a while, but the Bush administration now admits there is scientific evidence that global warming exists, that it is caused by industrial  activity and that it poses a threat to Americans. Yet rather than being moved to action, the administration is taking an oddly lackadaisical approach to finding a solution.  In a report to the United Nations last month, the administration accepted the conclusion by the National Academy of Sciences that "human-induced warming and associated sea level rises are expected to continue through the 21st century." That represents a step forward for President Bush, who until now had parroted the energy industry's skepticism of the science behind global warming.  Even a moderate rise in sea level could have devastating consequences, especially for the Southeast, according to the report. Coastal wetlands could be lost, and coastal communities would be at a greater risk from storm surge. Rising temperatures could mean less snowpack and more severe water shortages, particularly in the West. Intense heat waves would raise the discomfort level and possibly threaten health. None of that gives the administration a sense of urgency, however. For example, the health risks to Americans from increased summer temperatures "can be ameliorated through such measures as the increased availability of air conditioning," the report states. Of course, more use of air conditioners is expensive, increases the demand for electricity (which adds to global warming) and contributes nothing to finding a fix.  No commitment to action is required, however, because the U.N. treaty under which the report was written establishes a target for reduction of emissions that cause global warming, but it does not require nations to achieve those goals. The president rejected the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that would have forced the United States and other industrialized nations to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they produce.  Bush favors voluntary curbs, but his proposals are vague and essentially useless in reducing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted in the United States. The president didn't even include carbon dioxide in his so-called Clear Skies initiative to clean up dirty power plants, and his answer to the Kyoto treaty sets voluntary targets for industry that would result in continued growth in carbon dioxide emissions. So the administration is admitting the harm done by global warming but refusing to take tough measures to combat it. There is another choice, however.  A bill in the U.S. Senate written by Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vermont, would require the Environmental Protection Agency to achieve reductions in four pollutants, including carbon dioxide, at the nation's power plants. That could be done without significant harm to the economy by requiring cleaner fuels, improved energy efficiency and use of alternative fuels. "The longer that we delay real action on these matters, the more costly and complicated it will be in the long run," Jeffords said.  While there is doubt that the Jeffords measure will gain enough congressional support to become law this year, it should at least put President Bush on notice. If he is going to acknowledge the seriousness of the disease, he also needs to get serious about the cure. 
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

 

Pinellas to buy 88 acres of undeveloped land
 With preservation in mind, the county negotiates a $21.4-million purchase with the McMullen family.  To those who wanted the land, it didn't matter that the McMullen family wanted $21.4-million, more than $3-million above the county's appraisal and about $243,000 an acre.
"This is a unique parcel," said St. Petersburg resident John Raymond. "It's probably worth it at twice the price."  In the end, Pinellas County commissioners agreed with Raymond and the thousands of residents who wrote, called, e-mailed or signed petitions urging them to buy the largest tract of undeveloped gulffront land in Pinellas. Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to buy the 88-acre Palm Harbor property, winning applause from an audience packed with advocates.  "We've wanted this day for probably almost a year now, and it's been like a roller coaster ride," said Jerry Miller, a leader of the effort to get the county to buy the property. "We're elated with the commissioners' farsightedness, for what they've done for future generations."  The county has talked with the family for years about buying the land.  But the two sides could never agree on a price, and last year the family moved ahead with plans to put houses on the land. Tuesday's vote was the result of months of more serious negotiation.  The family's own appraisal valued the land at $24.7-million.Part salt marsh, part sand ridge, the tract is home to gopher tortoises, fox squirrels and an army of wading birds. Commissioners haven't yet decided on a specific plan for how the land would be used, but it will be some mix of park and environmental preserve.  Commissioners said they didn't want the land to get away.  "I see what we have here as something very special," said Commission Chairman Barbara Sheen Todd. "When you think an overpass on U.S. 19 is $14-million, and this is going to serve as the vision that county commissioners had for many years to come."  Commissioner Susan Latvala pointed out that the land was one of many tracts that former commissioners had identified as sites that should be saved in Florida's most densely populated county.  "You can look at the big map of what we've preserved, and there's land throughout the county," she said. "It's something we should be proud of."  Even those who questioned the price, Commissioners Karen Seel and Bob Stewart, voted to buy the land.  "This is an unusual opportunity for the county, probably one it can't refuse; however, at what price?" Stewart said.  Stewart went through the numbers with county staffers. Borrowing money to buy the land will cost an extra $4.5-million in interest charges.  Money for the purchase will come from Penny for Pinellas sales tax money the county plans to set aside to buy endangered lands.  There's enough money budgeted through 2010, when the Penny tax expires, to cover the purchase. But if Pinellas wants to buy other such lands, it will have less cash. The McMullen property and other land deals will leave less than $6-million to work with.  But county officials hope to offset some of the cost by applying for a $6.6-million grant from the state's Florida Forever Fund.  County additions to the site -- from a simple road to boat ramps and picnic shelters -- could cost anywhere from $200,000 to $6-million, depending what commissioners want, the county's staff said.
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

 

A Great Meaningless Accord On Peril of Global Warming
When you first think about it, President Bush's new position on global warming seems to contradict itself. Think about it a little longer and you see he has made a brilliant political move.  Smokestack emissions may be producing enough greenhouse gases to trap enough heat in the atmosphere to cause temperatures to rise, the Environmental Protection Agency reports, and the resulting warming could cause big problems, including higher sea levels and more severe droughts.  That's what environmentalists have been warning for years. The White House now concedes the possibility that they are right but still has no effective program to reduce pollution.  ``We're still waiting for a plan that mandates pollution cuts,'' complains Kalee Kreider, global warming campaign director for the National Environmental Trust. So where is the plan? That's what Bush will ask Senate Democrats. Clearly the Senate isn't about to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, negotiated in 1997 to cut greenhouse gas emissions 7 percent from 1990 levels. In addition to imposing economy-ruining cutbacks, that treaty exempts developing countries. To penalize our big energy users such as steel makers, chemical plants and plastic factories would be to chase them to foreign countries where energy would be less expensive, and good jobs would go with them.  Any sort of fuel or carbon tax would be extremely unpopular, and nothing less would do much good. Would John Kerry, Joe Lieberman or Al Gore care to campaign on the promise of imposing painful energy taxes? Not likely.  Now both parties say global warming could be a problem, and both will advocate harmless policies such as voluntary cutbacks, more research and a few tax credits.  Yes, U.S. citizens waste huge amounts of energy. Americans drive too many fuel-guzzling vehicles and ignore energy- efficient building designs. Still, it's easy to lose perspective when reading reports of irresponsible humans bringing on global climate disaster.  The United States accounts for about 20 percent of man-made greenhouse emissions. About 98 percent of all greenhouse gases occur naturally, leaving 2 percent man-made. The United States then is responsible for four-tenths of 1 percent of the problem. The political argument is about how to make a tiny reduction in that already tiny percentage.  ``Over the last century, life span has doubled and crop yields have quintupled,'' says Patrick Michaels, Virginia state climatologist. ``We've had unprecedented democratization of wealth. So how important is this issue, really?''  Politically, it's very important to be viewed as taking it seriously, and Bush understands that. He also knows that the typical U.S. voter respects the environment and wants to behave responsibly. But few are willing to make sacrifices that are all negated by a neighbor who keeps his house air-conditioned to 68 degrees all summer.  Now Republicans and Democrats are on the same page on this tricky issue. They'll both preach the same sermon, and no one will pass the collection plate. 
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

National Park Service Declares Stiltsville Federal Property
The seven houses propped up in Biscayne Bay known as Stiltsville are federal property, a National Park Service advisory board has ruled.  The aging houses in Biscayne National Park have long been in private hands, but environmental groups sued last year to open up the cottages to the public.  The advisory board made its ruling on May 30, officials said Tuesday, putting an end to three years of legal and political disputes. Under the ruling, Stiltsville's current residents can continue to use the homes until a final plan is completed, not expected until at least year's end.  One plan currently receiving support would create a nonprofit public trust to manage the homes. The trust would increase public access, allow "limited" use by previous occupants and ensure the structures are safe and stable.  "It's time for the former leaseholders to lay down their swords and embrace public stewardship for Stiltsville and by agreeing to this, they have," said Paul Schwiep, a Miami attorney representing environmental groups in the lawsuit.  In a statement, Biscayne National Park Superintendent Linda Canzanelli said she was pleased a "consensus" had been reached to resolve a dispute dating to July 1, 1999, when the occupants' 25-year leases, originally granted by the state, expired.  They've been given four extensions since then, winning public and political support, particularly from U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. Mary Munson, South Florida director of the National Parks Conservation Association, said Tuesday that outside funding will be needed to preserve the homes, which require hundreds of thousands of dollars in safety upgrades.  Schwiep said to generate money, visitors to the homes would be charged and the previous leaseholders have already begun the process of forming a trust.  Duffield Mattson, spokesman for one occupants' group, said many questions remained, but longtime residents remained committed to the homes and will contribute financially to repairs.  "If we don't do it, there is no one else to do it," he said.  Stiltsville dates back to the 1930s, when fishermen built raised shacks over the bay. By the 1940s, homes were being built, used mostly as retreats or for parties.  At its peak, Stiltsville had 25 cottages over Biscayne Bay a few miles south of Miami. Only seven of the homes were still standing after Hurricane Andrew slammed into South Florida in August 1992.
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

Canal water to be checked
Weston · The South Florida Water Management District will monitor the quality of the C-11 and North New River canals to give city officials a better idea of what's in the water.  Monitoring of each canal will be for a three-year period. City commissioners unanimously approved both contracts on May 20.  The city will pay $24,300 per year for monitoring the North New River Canal. The district will provide $10,000 annually in matching funds.  Monitoring of the C-11 Canal will cost the city $36,600 a year. The district will give $15,000 annually in matching funds.  This is the first time that Weston has had monitoring agreements for the C-11 and North New River canals with the district, said Damon Meiers, senior supervising engineer with the South Florida Water Management District.  Prior to the agreements, Weston officials monitored the canals on a monthly basis at pump stations. The water district will provide more useful data because the monitoring will be done following rainfalls of 1 inch or more, Meiers said.  Monthly monitoring of the pump stations was done whether it rained or not. If it doesn't rain, the data does not reveal the quality of the water being discharged into the Everglades, Meiers said.  The canals need to be monitored following a large rainfall to get accurate data, he said. The monitoring is part of the district's urban and tributary storm-water program. The program involves the district working with municipalities to improve water quality through such measures as cost-sharing agreements and adopting local ordinances, said Pam Sievers, senior supervising engineer for  the Everglades Regulatory Program for the South Florida Water Management District.  The C-11 Canal's portion in Weston runs along Griffin Road between U.S. 27 and Interstate 75. The North New River Canal's section runs alongside Interstate 595 between U.S. 27 and Interstate 75.  Monitoring of Weston's portions of the C-11 and North New River canals will begin in June. City workers will be collecting the data and giving information to the district, Meiers said.  Florida statute mandates that the water flowing into the Everglades be improved through phosphorus reduction.  "Phosphorus is a combination of all the nutrients in the water," said Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District. "It is basically runoff. Say if I fertilize my yard and then it rains or I water it, the runoff goes into a canal. The objective is to get the phosphorus content reduced as low as we can."  High levels of phosphorus damage the Everglades' fragile ecosystem, Smith said.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Broward approves purchase of 25 locations for parks, preserves
 A golf course in Coral Springs, an abandoned restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway and a vacant lot in Hallandale Beach were among 25 sites that Broward County commissioners gave the go-ahead Tuesday to buy for preservation as open space. The decision was a large step forward in the county's $400 million effort to save environmentally sensitive land and improve the area's park system. After months of controversy over whether work was moving too slowly, the decision faced criticism from some commissioners who thought the selections were not spread evenly across Broward. About $24 million of the parks bond issue will be used to buy the sites. The land is not considered pristine or of high ecological value, but falls under part of the bond issue devoted to saving basic open space in the rapidly developing area.  "We've got to move forward and spend money before any more land is lost," Commissioner John Rodstrom said in urging colleagues to allow negotiations to begin on acquiring the sites.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Who runs Martin's government?
It was a spectacle unlike any I've seen in Martin County government's colorful past: Stuart stockbroker Bud Jordan, head of the St. Lucie River Initiative, dictating to Commission Chairwoman Elmira Gainey exactly how the county must spend its money, and Commissioner Gainey, nodding her head and asking repeatedly what would be OK with Mr. Jordan.  Commissioner Gainey had invited Mr. Jordan back to the microphone after a long public hearing. She had heard 25 residents urge the commission to help buy the Cypress Creek property, a 2.2-square-mile tract that straddles the Martin-Palm Beach county line. The creek is a key tributary of the threatened Loxahatchee River. The sellers are willing. The county's staff recommended the buy and pronounced it legal. The South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Palm Beach County sang its praises and agreed to pay a share.  Only five citizens opposed using money from the 1-cent sales tax to buy the land. The three-year tax, which expired in December, raised almost $50 million, about $14 million more than expected.  The five opponents: Mr. Jordan; Kevin Henderson, Tim Kinane and Ted Guy of St. Lucie River Initiative; and Leon Abood of the Rivers Coalition. Their objection: All the sales-tax money should go to projects that benefit the St. Lucie River only. The commissioners hemmed and hawed and tried to figure out what to do. St. Lucie River Initiative representatives insisted that all voters wanted the money only for St. Lucie River cleanup. But as one south Martin resident pointed out, south county votes passed the sales-tax referendum -- and south county voters are worried about the Loxahatchee.  Commissioner Doug Smith complained about "divisiveness" because people had negative facial expressions and shook their heads when some Initiative members spoke. "That's wrong," Commissioner Smith said. "We've got to stop this nonsense of us vs. them."  Commissioner Lee Weberman suggested that the county use money from a source other than the sales tax to help buy Cypress Creek. Commissioner Michael DiTerlizzi didn't have all the information he needed but agreed that all sales-tax money should go to projects benefiting the St. Lucie River only.  That's baloney. In fact, the ballot language included a provision to buy conservation lands, as the county staff pointed out.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Archeologists Say Discovery Found Near Lake Okeechobee
An archaeological find near Lake Okeechobee that will be announced Thursday will reveal more about the lives of ancient Florida Indians, says archaeologist Robert Carr.  The discovery in the Glades County community of Ortona, a former village of the extinct Caloosahatchee Indian tribes, comes after six years of investigations in the area.  Carr, the executive director of the Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, says the find will rival the discovery of the Miami Circle, the mysterious stone Indian ruins in downtown Miami that were found in 1998 when an apartment complex was torn down. He will announce the discovery at Ortona Indian Mound Park, about 95 miles west of West Palm Beach.  Indians were digging canals hundreds and perhaps thousands of years ago in Ortona, said Jerald T. Milanich, a curator in archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Some canals likely were used for canoe travel between villages and rivers, he said.  In other sites near Lake Okeechobee, archeologists have found canals with complicated lock systems to maneuver canoes up hills, earthen mounds in geometrical shapes and intricate wooden sculptures and masks.  "South Florida Indians were very well adjusted to their environment and lived quite well," said Milanich, who has excavated some of the sites.  In Miami, archaeologists say Tequesta Indians carved a 38-foot circle, known as the Miami Circle, into limestone 2,000 years ago. Scientists believe the site was the base of a large building. 

On the Net:

  Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc.:
  http://www.flarchaeology.org

  Glades County: http://www.gladesonline.com

Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

Bush Vetoes Local Projects, Transfer of Environmental Money
Gov. Jeb Bush signed the state budget Wednesday, but not before vetoing $107 million in local projects and a $100 million plan to dip into environmental reserves. The $50 billion spending plan that lawmakers wrote last month in a 15-day special session takes effect July 1. It's $1.4 billion bigger than the current budget, which lawmakers trimmed by about $1 billion six months ago in the wake of the recession and lagging tax collections. "I'm here to tell you Florida's back," the governor said Wednesday. "Our revenues are growing." The budget gives businesses a $265 million tax break and restores most of the cuts made to health care and social services programs in December. Public schools get a $1 billion boost - but they're also expecting an additional 73,000 students. The per-student increase is 6 percent. However, that's compared to the current budget. When midyear spending cuts forced during the recession are considered the per-student increase is cut in half. And that's not counting the impact of inflation, which drops it even further. The increase in spending is $295, on average, for each of the 2.5 million students in Florida's public schools. The per-student spending next year will be $5,207. Overall, public schools, community colleges and state universities get about $15.8 billion of the budget. Health care and social programs take the biggest single slice of the budget - about $18.1 billion. This year, the state spent about $31 million of that money to provide more than 100,000 people with incomes under $8,000 with eyeglasses, hearing aides and dentures. 
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

Bush says he wants to veto transfer of environmental reserves
Gov. Jeb Bush wants to veto provisions in the state budget transferring $200 million from environmental reserves into the state's all-purpose account. That's one of the last decisions he's grappling with before signing the $50 billion spending plan Wednesday. "I disagree with the Legislature shifting that money ... into the general revenue of the state," Bush told reporters Tuesday. "It's bad policy." But the governor said he also has to think about how he'd plug the hole if he did veto the transfer of environmental money. "I don't have the complete answer yet," he said. Since he took office in 1999, Bush has vetoed about $300 million dollars in local projects each year. But he thinks lawmakers did a better job this year in following rules set up to make sure the state's money goes to programs and projects that are warranted. However, they also only left $98 million in the state's rainy-day account, the fund that's tapped when the state has emergencies such as wildfires and hurricanes and when the bills come in faster than taxes are collected. That might motivate Bush to veto more local projects to boost savings. "I am doing what I can to not jeopardize ... the state's liquidity," he said. The budget, which will take effect July 1, represents an increase in spending of about 7 percent over the current year. It gives businesses a $265 million tax break and restores most of the cuts made to health care and social services programs in December. Public schools get a $1 billion boost — but they're also expecting an additional 77,000 students. The per-student increase is 6 percent. However, that's compared to the current budget. When midyear spending cuts forced during the recession are considered the per-student increase is cut in half. And Democrats say when inflation is considered it dwindles to 1 percent or less. Lawmakers passed the budget during a 15-day special session last month. Besides funding state priorities, they spent millions for projects in their districts, ranging from water projects to senior centers. Some of the higher-profile projects include $25 million for an Alzheimer's research center at the University of South Florida, $20 million for a Jacksonville center to train workers for an auto plant the city hopes to lure and $25 million for the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Data vital to manatee decisions Expert opinions needed to settle protection debate
 A panel of out-of-state experts can add some valuable perspective to the heated debate in this state over how much protection the manatee needs from boats. What's specifically at issue here is whether the manatee should be reclassified by the state from endangered to threatened. Scientists for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have concluded that the animal should probably be reclassified. That opinion now has to go before the review panel for a second opinion before the commission acts.  Reclassification probably wouldn't mean any less protection than is in place now for the manatee in the way of boat speed zones or other laws. But it would be an important psychological victory for those boaters and others who say the manatee is doing well enough that no new major protections are needed.  And it would be a setback for environmentalists, led by the Save the Manatee Club, who say federal and state agencies are not doing enough to protect manatees.  This is what we need - the careful accumulation of data and perspective from experts about the health of the manatee population. It won't be done overnight. A few year's worth of data on the size of the population and the number of boat-related deaths won't be enough.  We like the sentiments of Ken Stead, executive director of the Southwest Florida Marine Industries Association: "Having experts in the marine mammal field providing a fresh perspective could be beneficial. We need to be open to all avenues, and if there are better directions we should be taking, let's find that out. Let's throw some money at it, get the answers to the questions, and put this acrimony behind us."  We believe, however, that the evidence so far is reassuring enough that radical new restrictions on boating, such as those contemplated under a legal settlement between environmentalists and state and local agencies, are not justified at this time.  We also believe that existing regulations should remain in place and be enforced. If the manatee is drifting back from the edge of extinction, it is surely in part because of the restrictions in place now.
Copyright  © 2002  Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

Stiltsville homes called public property
 After three years of legal and political wrangling, the famous and funky homes in Biscayne Bay known as Stiltsville have been officially proclaimed federal, meaning public, property.  It's a milestone in the battle over control of the seven cottages, which stand in Biscayne National Park but have long been in private hands.  Environmental groups called the move, announced Tuesday by Biscayne National Park, a big step toward opening Stiltsville to wider uses, from rental cottages to a visitor center.  ''It's time for the former leaseholders to lay down their swords and embrace public stewardship for Stiltsville and by agreeing to this, they have,'' said Paul Schwiep, a Miami attorney who sued the park service over the issue last year on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association and Tropical Audubon Society. Practically speaking, however, nothing will change until at least the end of the year. Under the agreement, approved last week by a park service advisory board, the residents can continue to use the homes until a final plan is completed.  The preferred plan would end that exclusive right. Details still have to be worked out, but it would involve creating a nonprofit public trust to manage the homes, with the goals of enhancing public access, allowing ''limited'' use by previous occupants and ensuring the structures are safe and stable.  In a statement, park superintendent Linda Canzanelli said she was pleased a ''consensus'' had been reached to resolve a dispute dating to July 1, 1999, when the occupants' 25-year leases, originally granted by the state, expired.  They've been given four extensions since then, winning public and political support, particularly from U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Miami Republican.  Their effort generated national media attention and did persuade park managers in August 2000 to reverse plans to raze the homes, remnants of a community of old fishing shacks and clubs that had evolved into private weekend retreats. Mary Munson, South Florida director of the National Parks Conservation Association, called the agreement ``a good compromise.''  Munson said it's going to take a lot of outside funding to preserve the homes, which require hundreds of thousands of dollars in upgrades before the public can use them.  ''It's going to be very expensive to get those things up to code and make them safe for access,'' she said. Though the homes may bear signs proclaiming them ''federal property'' as early as this week, longtime occupants are likely to retain a significant say in the future of Stiltsville. Schwiep said to generate money, a ''pay to play'' approach is likely and the previous leaseholders have already begun the process of forming a trust.  Duff Mattson, spokesman for one occupants' group, said many questions remained, particularly ones about money and manpower.  But he said longtime residents remained committed to the homes.  ''If we don't do it, there is no one else to do it,'' he said.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

$24 Million Land Rush For Parks Gets Bumpy
Broward County will buy more than $24 million worth of open space throughout the county as part of its $400 million parks bond program, an effort designed to upgrade parks and buy the remaining environmentally sensitive land in the county.  County commissioners on Tuesday approved 20 purchases in 13 Broward cities -- but not without some reservations about how the sites were picked.  ''We didn't think it would be that difficult to spend money equitably, but it is,'' said Commissioner Ilene Lieberman.  Because large chunks of the bond money were designated for environmentally sensitive land in undeveloped western parts of Broward, the open space part of the program was meant to ensure that eastern cities also got a piece of the bond money.  But now, the county is finding it's not able to buy all of the environmentally sensitive land on its original inventory. Three sites have been snatched up by developers, while 29 others were simply not for sale.  That means the county will likely have more money -- possibly as much as $50 million -- to spend on open space projects, but it throws the formula out of balance. Whether or not their environmentally sensitive land was purchased, those cities had less clout in the competition for open-space projects.  ''We have to have a conversation about equalizing this,'' said Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, who called for a workshop to determine how to pay for 35 projects on the open space list that didn't make the cut.  Mayors and city commissioners from some of the cities that got no open space money begged the county to reconsider its formula even as they acknowledged that not all projects would be paid for.  ''I certainly don't want to take anything away,'' said Plantation Mayor Rae Carole Armstrong.  But at the same time, she urged commissioners to try to find a way to spend $1.4 million on a park that Plantation had purchased in the hope the county would reimburse it.  The goals of the November 2000 bond issue approved by voters stipulated that half the $400 million in bond money would be used to upgrade parks, build swimming pools, and buy land for regional parks.
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Buy land, save a river
 The Cypress Creek property is vital to the health of the Loxahatchee River. Several public agencies are willing to spend money for Cypress Creek. Those are reasons enough for a state committee to rank the property high on its list of lands to buy.  Martin and Palm Beach counties, the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have promised to help pay for the property. Dozens of citizens have urged the state to buy the 2.2-square-mile piece that includes a major tributary of the Loxahatchee. They have spoken at hearings in West Palm Beach, Stuart, Orlando and Tallahassee. On Thursday, the Florida Forever Acquisition and  Restoration Council should decide that Cypress Creek will get some of the council's $100 million budget.  Competition for the money is fierce, but so is the urgency for the purchase. Cypress Creek, north of Jupiter Farms, is under development pressure. Nearby, the Rev. Leo Armbrust's group owns more than 400 acres that he wants to develop as a luxury golf club and treatment center for troubled youths. A WCI Communities residential project is looming. Given that pressure, along with the strong public support and financial commitments, Cypress Creek deserves a priority ranking.  Buying the land would do more than preserve it from development. The property once was the headwaters for the Loxahatchee. Restoring and preserving wetlands on the property will help to provide a source of fresh water for the river. Development and encroaching salt water have stressed and altered the Loxahatchee. Salt water from the Jupiter Inlet intrudes far upstream, killing off cypress trees that have made a portion of the Loxahatchee worthy of the federal designation "wild and scenic," the first of two waterways in Florida to have it.  Assuming the Acquisition and Restoration Council includes Cypress Creek among its final recommendations on which properties the state should help to buy, the governor and Cabinet must vote on whether to accept the choices. The Loxahatchee River's champions gladly would make one more trip to Tallahassee. 
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Study: Growth Limits Would Hurt Bay Area
For a long time, developers have warned that curtailing growth in the Tampa Bay area would cause more problems than it would solve.  Now they've got the statistics to prove it.  The Center for Economic Development Research at the University of South Florida published a study that says a partial slowdown in the development industry would lead to 56,000 lost jobs and a 3 percent drop in economic activity for the Tampa Bay area.  The study was commissioned by the Tampa Bay Regional Coalition, an organization of development associations and economic development agencies that joined last year to fend off threats of moratoriums of development.  The report, available on the Center for Economic Development's Web site, says the construction industry contributes $27 billion to the local economy, or about 16.5 percent of sales in the area.  The industry's 275,500 jobs represent about 12.9 percent of the work force in the Bay area, the report said.  The coalition's goal was to learn how much the development industry, which includes builders and real estate brokers, contributed to the local economy, said spokesman Don Lombardi, a senior associate for commercial  realestate services firm CB Richard Ellis.  ``No one had ever done that before,'' he said.  The coalition had no sway over the five-month research project nor its findings, said Dennis Colie, associate director of the Center for Economic Development Research.  ``It's an objective study,'' he said.  Coalition members didn't suspect their industry's impact would be so huge, nor that the fallout from a slowdown would be so large.  ``We were very surprised to get the results,'' Lombardi said. ``They were much bigger than what we thought they would be.''  Hillsborough Commissioner Stacey Easterling, who supports tighter controls on growth management, said there's no doubt developers create a lot of wealth and jobs for the Bay area.  The county is ``sensitive'' about losing jobs because of a slowdown in development, ``but we're sensitive to about 19,000 other issues regarding growth,'' she said. ``If we let growth go unrestricted, we will collapse under our own weight.''
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

04-June-02

Martin growth rules taken to judge
Conservationists took their legal challenge of Martin County's new growth rules before an administrative judge Monday, arguing that recent changes to the county's growth plan were vague, contradictory and illegal. The coalition of local and state environmentalists is taking issue with three new rules the county approved in December, which they say make growth management more lax.  "All three amendments are not in compliance" with state law, said Richard Grosso, an attorney representing the environmentalists. The coalition includes local activist Lloyd Brumfield and former County Commissioner Donna Melzer, as well as the Martin County Conservation Alliance and the Tallahassee-based 1000 Friends of Florida. An attorney for the county countered that the amendments to the growth plan were not only perfectly legal but also essential to proper development and services.  "The amendments are well within the discretion of the county to adopt," said Linda Shelley, a Tallahassee attorney representing the county and the Martin County School Board. "They do not change the fundamental position of the county with regard to some of the fundamental growth controls that they rely on."
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

 

Bush Says He Wants to Veto Transfer of Environmental Reserves
 Gov. Jeb Bush wants to veto provisions in the state budget transferring $200 million from environmental reserves into the state's all-purpose account.  That's one of the last decisions he's grappling with before signing the $50 billion spending plan Wednesday.  "I disagree with the Legislature shifting that money ... into the general revenue of the state," Bush told reporters Tuesday. "It's bad policy."  But the governor said he also has to think about how he'd plug the hole if he did veto the transfer of environmental money.  "I don't have the complete answer yet," he said.  Since he took office in 1999, Bush has vetoed about $300 million dollars in local projects each year.  But he thinks lawmakers did a better job this year in following rules set up to make sure the state's money goes to programs and projects that are warranted.  However, they also only left $98 million in the state's rainy-day account, the fund that's tapped when the state has emergencies such as wildfires and hurricanes and when the bills come in faster than taxes are collected.  That might motivate Bush to veto more local projects to boost savings.  "I am doing what I can to not jeopardize ... the state's liquidity," he said. The budget, which will take effect July 1, represents an increase in spending of about 7 percent over the current year.  It gives businesses a $265 million tax break and restores most of the cuts made to health care and social services programs in December.  Public schools get a $1 billion boost - but they're also expecting an additional 77,000 students. The per-student increase is 6 percent.  However, that's compared to the current budget. When midyear spending cuts forced during the recession are considered the per-student increase is cut in half. And Democrats say when inflation is considered it dwindles to 1 percent or less.  Lawmakers passed the budget during a 15-day special session last month. Besides funding state priorities, they spent millions for projects in their districts, ranging from water projects to senior centers.  Some of the higher-profile projects include $25 million for an Alzheimer's research center at the University of South Florida, $20 million for a Jacksonville center to train workers for an auto plant the city hopes to lure and $25 million for the Ringling Museum in Sarasota.
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

 

Rural lands study panel adopts plan to protect environment, control growth
Not everybody got what they wanted.  But a rural growth-study panel took its own wrench Monday night and loosened some policies tightened by the Collier County Planning Commission.  The Rural Lands Assessment Area Oversight Committee voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a plan that will create a template for protecting the environment and controlling future development in Collier County's rural area near Immokalee.  "I think we did it. I'd say it was a win-win for all parties," said Ron Hamel, chairman of the Collier County Commission-appointed committee, after the two-hour meeting at Corkscrew Middle School.
The next step is for the committee to send the plan to the County Commission, which is scheduled to consider it for the first time next week.  Environmentalists didn't get all they asked for in the growth-management plan, proposed for a 300-square-mile area surrounding Immokalee.  "You have to look at the perspective. A lot of good will come of this,"  said Kathy Prosser, a panel member and president of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. "In a process like this, nobody gets everything they want. If it works, it will protect the environment while managing agriculture and development. The committee worked well together."  Prosser dissented on several votes as the panel majority passed judgment on policies and ignored her pleas for stronger environmental-protection measures.  The 15-member Rural Lands Assessment Area Oversight Committee worked on the proposed plan for nearly three years. It was mandated by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet to strengthen environmental protection and to prevent the premature conversion of farmland into developments with houses and shopping centers.  The Planning Commission on May 24 tacked on nearly a dozen conditions when it reviewed the Immokalee-area plan. The Planning Commission wanted reduced buffers between protected and developed areas, rules on where golf courses could be built, panther crossings on major roads and protection policies for certain plants and animals.  The oversight committee said there were already plenty of regulations addressing those issues - and that enough's enough.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Endangered status may be threatened
Outside experts look inside manatee numbers
Manatees could be taken down a peg on the state's endangered species list if a panel of out-of-state marine mammal experts agrees with a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biological status report. The panel consists of Solange Brault, assistant professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts; Doug DeMaster, director of the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle; and Helene Marsh, professor of environmental science at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia.   "Our scientists have drawn their conclusions that the manatee should probably be reclassified," commission spokesman Henry Cabbage said. "The procedure for any changes in listing imperiled species is that our scientists evaluate whether or not the species fits the criteria for the classification, and if they conclude it should be reclassified, it goes to a panel for review."  Reclassification would bump manatees from endangered status to threatened.  According to state rules, a species is endangered if is in imminent danger of extinction as determined by a complex set of criteria, including:  The population has been reduced by at least 80 percent over the previous 10 years or three generations, whichever is longer;  The population is estimated at fewer than 250 mature individuals with either a continuing decline of at least 25 percent in three years or one generation, whichever is longer, or a continuing decline in numbers of mature individuals.
Copyright  © 2002  Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

 

03-June-02

Climate Changing, U.S. Says in Report
In a stark shift for the Bush administration, the United States has sent a climate report to the United Nations detailing specific and far-reaching effects that it says global warming will inflict on the American environment.  In the report, the administration for the first time mostly blames human actions for recent global warming. It says the main culprit is the burning of fossil fuels that send heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  But while the report says the United States will be substantially changed in the next few decades - "very likely" seeing the disruption of snow-fed water supplies, more stifling heat waves and the permanent disappearance of Rocky Mountain meadows and coastal marshes, for example - it does not propose any major shift in the administration's policy on greenhouse gases.  It recommends adapting to inevitable changes. It does not recommend making rapid reductions in greenhouse gases to limit warming, the approach favored by many environmental groups and countries that have accepted the Kyoto Protocol, a climate treaty written in the Clinton administration that was rejected by Mr. Bush. The new document, "U.S. Climate Action Report 2002," strongly concludes that no matter what is done to cut emissions in the future, nothing can be done about the environmental consequences of several decades' worth of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases already in the atmosphere.  Its emphasis on adapting to the inevitable fits in neatly with the climate plan Mr. Bush announced in February. He called for voluntary measures that would allow gas emissions to continue to rise, with the goal of slowing the rate of growth.  Yet the new report's predictions present a sharp contrast to previous statements on climate change by the administration, which has always spoken in generalities and emphasized the need for much more research to resolve scientific questions.  The report, in fact, puts a substantial distance between  the administration and companies that produce or, like automakers, depend on fossil fuels. Many companies and trade groups have continued to run publicity and lobbying campaigns questioning the validity of the science pointing to damaging results of global warming.  The distancing could be an effort to rebuild Mr. Bush's environmental credentials after a bruising stretch of defeats on stances that favor energy production over conservation, notably the failure to win a Senate vote opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploratory oil drilling.
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times, AP online  All rights reserved.

 

Editorial: Nominating Bad Actors
So the state Department of Environmental Regulation huffs and puffs, and tells Suwannee American Cement that it may not be able to open its new plant near the Ichetucknee River for as long as two years because it has failed to comply with air-monitoring requirements. The permit is being withheld as an object lesson to a company that has been repeatedly fined for its poor compliance track record.  Then, in nearly the same breath, the DEP shrugs its shoulders and says there's nothing it can do to refuse the company a permit for an massive expansion of its mining operations near the Santa Fe River.And never mind that Suwannee American and its parent company, Anderson Columbia, have a long and dishonorable history of environmental violations. Nothing in current state law allows the DEP to take past corporate sins into consideration when deciding on a permit that will allow the company to expand its mining operation from 100 acres to 800 acres. (This after the state had already agreed to pay $23 million to buy and close a nearby company limerock mine in order to prevent pollution of the Ichetucknee. There's a nice irony.) There are a lot of "bad actors" in this little ecodrama. Suwannee American and Anderson Columbia, for starters. For that matter, Gov. Jeb Bush and DEP Secretary David Struhs deserve bad-actor nominations as well for their rolls in this farce.  "We cannot legally deny the permit to expand the mine," Struhs told the St. Petersburg Times last week. "We've got to change the law."  Actually, the Bush administration had a golden opportunity to change the law the regular legislative session, and it failed to do so. Although the administration paid lip service to Sen. Rod Smith's so-called "bad actor" bill, that legislation -- which would have allowed the state to take a company's record into consideration when reviewing new permits -- remained bottled up in committee.
Copyright  © 2002   The Ledger All rights reserved.

Editorial: Gift Horse? We'll Take It
President George W. Bush's announcement that the feds intend to buy up drilling leases in the Everglades and off Florida's panhandle coast is a cynical, calculated, brazen political stunt. We'll take it. Bush never met an oil rig he didn't like. This is just a way to bail out some buddies in the energy business who haven't been able to drill anyway. We'll take it. And it's a re-election year "gimme" to his brother. A "$235 million campaign contribution from the taxpayer's pocket to re-elect Jeb Bush," as National Environmental Trust President Philip Clapp put it. We'll take it. Yes, it's nice to have politicians with connections in high places. Yes, President Bush's newfound passion for saving Florida from the driller's bit might be more convincing if he still weren't trying to make Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge safe for wildcatters. And, yes, Jeb will get a lot of mileage out of this partial reversal of his brother's "Drain America First" policy. We'll take it. We'll take the money and run. We'll take the gift horse without better if Jeb Bush was Alaska's governor," quipped Florida Atlantic University polictical science professor David Niven. "Gov. Bush went to the mothership and got a big gift from his brother," carped Ryan Banfill, Florida Democratic Party spokesman. (True, but Florida gets to keep the gift.)" This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time that President Bush has swooped in to help his brother," crabbed gubernatorial hopeful Janet Reno. Fine, but Florida's been a federal tax "donor" state for so long that we're about due for some payback from Washington. We'll take it.If Congress approves Bush's plan -- it should -- the feds will pay the Collier family $120 million for the mineral rights under three major preserves in the Everglades, and $115 million to three oil companies to buy back several offshore drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The deal's not perfect some leases remain open for future drilling -- but politics and policymaking are imperfect. We'll take it. We'll take it because popular opposition to oil and gas exploitation off Florida's pristine beaches and endangered Everglades is one of the truly unifying forces in a state whose residents agree on almost nothing else. As Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Struhs put it: "There were 16 million Floridians all leaning in the same direction. Jeb Bush was 16 million and one." We'll take it.
Copyright  © 2002 TheLedger All rights reserved.

 

02-June-02

Collier's Growth = Higher Taxes: Evidence of more growth nothing to cheer about 
 "Yippee, more growth!"   "Yahoo! More tax revenue for the county! Woo-hoo! Yayyy!"   Such was the reaction last week from the head of Collier County's building industry trade association when figures showing increasing property values were released by the property appraiser's office.   "It's an increase that doesn't go away," gushed Collier Building Industry Association executive David Ellis over the receipts brought in by property taxes on new construction. "It keeps paying the county back over and over."  A business that got paybacks like that wouldn't be in business very long.   Consider this: A day after the property appraiser released his figures, Sheriff Don Hunter unveiled a budget proposal seeking a $12.2 million increase in operational costs.   New construction coming on the tax rolls amounts to about $1.9 billion, according to the property appraiser. The county's current millage rate of $3.87 for every $1,000 of taxable value means the new construction will contribute about $7.3 million to county coffers.   So the entire increase in revenue the county can expect from new construction will be more than eaten up by the increase the sheriff says he needs to keep up in the growing county. That leaves less than nothing to pay for all the other county services new residents will require. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Letter to the Editor: New development imperils wetlands   
The Bonita Bay Group, reputedly our environmentally oriented developer, is about to receive from Lee County final approval to begin construction  of The Retreat, the first of 10 golf courses proposed for Lee County's Density Reduction/Groundwater Resource (DR/GR) Area, east of Interstate 75. The county proposes to allow a decreased water level (a drawdown) in the wetlands of up to 0.9 feet. This will inevitably result in the disappearance of some wetlands, the decrease in size of the remaining wetlands, and a reduction in biodiversity. This is inconsistent with the Lee County Comprehensive Plan (Policy 16.6.2), which states that a golf course or other recreational facility in the DR/GR ". will result in no net reduction in functional wetland acreage . ."   While diversity of species in wetlands may seem trivial to some, it is this very diversity that attracts the variety of endangered wading birds to these waters to feed. And of course, these charismatic birds actually bring many of the golfers to enjoy The Bonita Bay Group's golf courses. Scientific studies conducted by professional wetland scientists show that the greatest diversity and number of aquatic species, small fishes and other aquatic animals that provide food for the many protected wading birds and other threatened and endangered wildlife in wetlands, live and reproduce in the shallowest wetland fringes. Studies of these wetlands (Flint Pen Strand) indicate that very minimal drawdowns can dry up these critical shallow wetland zones and diminish important wetland functions. A drawdown of 0.9 feet would dry up the zone of highest diversity where the animals that provide the food for the many wading birds and other threatened and endangered wildlife in Southwest Florida live. According to wetland experts, the effects of drawdown are difficult to detect visually since plant coverage may not change much until years after the damage has been done and fish, frogs, salamanders, crayfish and aquatic insects are long gone. 
Copyright  © 2002  Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

Editorial :Offshore oil exploration washed up  But future energy needs may renew demand for drilling   
 It was a triumph for the anti-oil environmentalists and a political coup for the Bush brothers.   But whether it was good national energy policy - or even the final word on oil and gas drilling off Florida's coast - is another issue. With the embattled Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in attendance, President George W. Bush committed the federal government to spending $115 million to buy back oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico to prevent drilling off Florida's beaches.   He also announced a deal under which the government would in effect pay  the Collier family $120 million to stop new oil drilling in the Big Cypress National Preserve and two other preserves in Southwest Florida adjacent to the Everglades, subject to congressional approval.   The buyout was the product of favorable political conditions. The president's brother is up for re-election in a state where offshore drilling is a taboo. The president also wants to keep Florida in his column in his own bid for a second term in 2004.   Oil and gas drilling in environmentally sensitive places will always be a political and emotional issue, as much as some people might wish for a rational energy policy. A rational policy would include careful exploration of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to determine what, if any, energy resources are there, especially clean natural gas. Offshore drilling can be environmentally safe, if done to the highest standards. The buyout announced last week will end development of leases in the Destin Dome gas field off Pensacola, where the industry estimated there might be enough of this relatively clean fuel to supply 1 million homes for 30 years.   In time, political forces and the pressures of the market may re-align to force drilling into the eastern gulf. Those waters are a national resource, not Florida's. If the national interest in more domestic energy grows strong enough, those wells may yet appear off Florida - although probably way off.   Additional terrorist attacks on U.S. targets growing out of our involvement in the Middle East will also make us yearn for an end to our reliance on energy from that region.   But for now, gasoline is cheap and abundant. Drilling for oil off Florida's beaches seems an unnecessary risk, and advocating it is political suicide in a state vital to a president's re-election hopes.   Opponents of offshore drilling should not assume these conditions will always prevail.
Copyright  © 2002  Fort Meyers News Press  All rights reserved.

May-02

Australian Researchers Find Aquifer Storage Naturally Improves Water Quality
Australian researchers exploring the possibility of using natural aquifers as storage vessels for water collected during the rainy season have found that this method of water storage can help eliminate potentially harmful microbes. According to scientists with the Commonwealth  Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), a research organization headquartered  in Canberra, bacterial and viral pathogens appear to have low  rates of survival in aquifer environments.     Illustration caption: Systems that pump water collected during   rainy seasons into aquifers have long been used to provide water    for irrigation during dry periods, as illustrated at left    [which depicts treated urban effluent being pumped into and out of    an aquifer for agricultural uses].  Now Australian researchers have    found that storing water in aquifers actually improves its quality. Storing excess water in aquifers has been an area of interest in Austria for several years, especially in the southern part of the country, where the climate tends toward wet winters and dry summers, say Simon Toze, a senior research scientist with the CSIRO. The idea, he says, is to capture storm water or treated effluent and store it during the wet months so that it will be available in the dry months. The captured water, though not suitable for drinking, could be used for farm irrigation or outdoor landscaping.  "One of the concerns about storage of reclaimed waters in aquifers was the potential survival of microbial pathogens in the aquifer and their potential presence in the recovered waters," Toze says. To explore that threat, researchers conducted tests with a number of disease-causing bacteria, among them salmonella, various enteric viruses, and Cryptosporidium protozoans. Researchers placed the pathogens in small chambers outfitted with membranes that allowed groundwater to flow through but kept the pathogens in place. The chambers were then placed in the aquifers through well openings. Researchers found that the pathogens survived less than a month in the aquifer.
Read More...
Copyright  © 2002 Civil Engineering News All rights reserved.

 

CSIRO Australia - Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
http://www.csiro.au/


Water quality improvements during aquifer storage and recovery Groundwater is becoming increasingly important as a water source for areas where surface supply is scarce or t ... quality variable. This research deals with the attenuation of pathogens and organics introduced into storage aquifers by artificial recharge. USA East Bay Metropolitan Utilities District; Las Vegas Valley ...
http://www.csiro.au/international/projects/namerica/usa/water.htm


Water Reclamation, Three-year Project

  Research Group Leader: Peter Dillon
  http://www.clw.csiro.au/staff/PDillon/
 

The project addresses the key issues of technical feasibility, environmental sustainability, and economic viability of storage and re-use of water that would otherwise be wasted. The storage component focuses on harnessing naturally occurring aquifers for part of the community's water infrastructure using injection wells that artificially recharge the groundwater. This is known as aquifer storage and recovery (ASR). Initially it was developed for stormwater and is now being applied to treated sewage effluent. An international project to assess water quality improvements during aquifer storage and recovery, primarily for drinking water supplies commenced in Feb 2000. This includes evaluation of removal of pathogens, natural and synthetic organics, including endocrine disruptors, and disinfection byproducts. To date the re-use component has addressed only the environmental sustainability of effluent irrigation via restricting application rates of nitrogen and salt. Although widely advocated, effluent irrigation has been the cause of groundwater pollution at most sites where it is practised, as current Australian state guidelines for effluent irrigation fail to protect groundwater quality.


Other organisations involved:

  South Australian Department of Water Resources,
  United Water
  Vivendi, South Australian Water Corporation
  Major Projects Group South Australian Government
  Flinders University of South Australia
  Australian Water Quality Centre
  West Australian Water Corporation
  KIWA
  USGS
  Las Vegas Valley Water District
  East Bay Metropolitan Utility District, City of Charleston
  Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division

(Also see: Objectives and Outcomes / Project Publications)

http://www.clw.csiro.au/research/catchment/reclamation/

 

27-May-02

Atlanta's Growing Thirst Creates Water War

It has all the elements of a classic regional water war, pitting developers against environmentalists and state against state. Yet this battle is gripping not the parched Southwest, but the normally verdant Southeast, in a sign of future clashes around the country over an increasingly limited supply of fresh water.

Robin Nelson for The New York Times

Atlanta and its swelling suburbs, still ballooning with growth, rely for nearly all their water on the Chattahoochee River, a relative trickle of a waterway that is the smallest to supply so large an American city.  Until now, that dependence has not been a problem. Even in the last 10 years, as greater Atlanta's population soared nearly 40 percent, the withdrawals from the Chattahoochee have kept pace, with more than 400 million gallons now sucked from the river and a reservoir every day, helping to keep countless suburban lawns green.  But for the first time, Atlanta is being forced to admit that the current pattern cannot be sustained. That theme is at the heart of a dispute among Georgia, Alabama and Florida about dividing water rights for the next half-century, and it has left Atlanta to ponder what to do when its share of the Chattahoochee runs out.  With a June 17 deadline approaching for the governors of the three states to reach a deal, the dispute pits the growing thirst of Atlanta against the needs of downstream regions, including Apalachicola Bay, a pristine estuary on the Gulf of Mexico in Florida.  
Read more .....
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

article with links

Revised:  06/06/03