News - September    2002 

 

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30-September- 02

Editorial: Bold Developer Gets Bowled Over
A bunch of rubble in Martin County stands as an indictment of developer arrogance and government timidity. But it also serves as a testament to what determined private citizens can accomplish. The rubble is all that is left of a luxury apartment complex that never should have been constructed. Some background: In 1995, the Martin County Commission approved a developer's request to change the land-use designation on 21 acres in Jensen Beach. The county's growth plan allowed 29 single-family homes on the tract, a use consistent with the adjacent neighborhood. But the commission voted to change that use to allow 136 rental units in 19 two-story multifamily buildings. This completely ignored the county's growth plan, which called for transition zones between single-family homes and high- density complexes.        
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

Florida Counties Magazine
A bi-monthly magazine published by the FAC to keep the membership informed about the latest topics and events important to county officials. The total circulation is more than 3,000 and is sent free of charge to county commissioners, county professional staff, affiliate presidents, legislators, state agencies heads, the Governor and Cabinet, the media, and various companies. Florida Counties accepts advertising to offset its expense. Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  Florida Association of Counties  All rights reserved.

What Is EcoWatch?
NBC 6's Commitment To The Environment
NBC 6 has made a yearlong commitment to coverage of vital environmental stories that affect our lives here in South Florida -- it's called EcoWatch. Bird kills from pesticides or pollution happen too often in Florida. They don't have to, because our state is one of the most important habitats for shorebirds in the entire country. Our precious coral is dying faster than ever before. It doesn't have to, because science knows how to protect our coral, and the incredibly valuable ecosystem it creates. Development continues to push South Florida resources to their limits. It doesn't have to because South Florida cities know how to work together to allow responsible growth, and protect our quality of life.  There are just a few of the hundreds of concerns directly affecting the beautiful place we call home.  Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  NBC6  All rights reserved.

Everglades Consolidated Reports
2003 DRAFT REPORT Ready For Review. Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  South Florida Water Management District  All rights reserved.

Everglades Restoration Threatened
If Everglades restoration is really about restoring the Everglades, Congress should act quickly to clear an obstacle that threatens to delay some of the restoration's most important environmental benefits. This little epic is a maddening example of the politics that swirl so densely around restoration, especially when a local dispute over Everglades policy gets caught up in a national political culture war. This kind of thing is likely to dog the $8 billion federal-state project through its life.  More specifically, this impasse reinforces the suspicion that the project is more about making sure cities and farms have enough water than about restoring the much-altered South Florida environment.  Part of the restoration plan calls for filling some canals and breaching certain levees to allow water to run essentially where it did under natural conditions, south into what is now Everglades National Park. 
Copyright  © 2002 The News-Press (ENS) All Rights Reserved

Schools offer scientific look at Everglades
For the first time, middle and high school students in Palm Beach County will dedicate a week of science classes to learning about the Everglades. The new curriculum, developed by the school district, governmental agencies and the Philippe Cousteau Foundation, targets seventh-, eighth- and ninth- graders with lessons on aquifers, pollution, water chemistry and geology. The curriculum includes discussions of the history of the Everglades and mathematical challenges that require students to calculate how South Florida's exploding population affects the water system. "We want our young people to understand the Everglades so they [will] grow up and be responsible citizens and make responsible decisions about the environment," said Sandy Jurban, in-school education coordinator for the South Florida Water Management District, a sponsor of the project. Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Mercury Deposits Contaminate U.S. Waterways
Mercury is a leading cause of impairment of American lakes and estuaries, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which today released its biennial national summary of water quality.  Mercury, originating from power generating facilities and incinerators, mining, natural rock weathering and other sources, is transported through the air into these waterways, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said. Mercury was cited in some 2,240 of the nation's 2,800 fish consumption advisories reported in 2000.  Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA is required to report on the nation's water quality every two years. Today's report is based on water monitoring by the states, territories, jurisdictions and tribes in 2000.  Thirty-nine percent of assessed river and stream miles were found to be impaired for one or more uses, an increase of four percent from the parallel EPA report issued for 1998. 
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights Reserved

All U.S. Coral Reefs Face Human Threats

Coral reefs in Florida waters are among the 
most damaged, the report found. 
(Photo courtesy Florida Keys National Marine 
Sanctuary)

Every U.S. coral reef system is suffering from both human and natural disturbances, warns a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The first national assessment of the condition of U.S. coral reefs links development, pollution and destructive fishing practices with the decline of reefs in U.S. waters and around the globe.  The 265 page report, "The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States," identifies the pressures that pose increasing risks to the nation's estimated 7,607 square miles of coral reefs, particularly in hot spots located near population centers. The report also assesses the health of reef resources, ranks threats in 13 geographic areas, and details ongoing efforts to mitigate damage to coral reefs. 
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights Reserved

Former EPA Watchdog Assumes Presidency of LEAF
Robert J. Martin Takes Helm, Vows for Progress Through Consensus

The Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF), a historical and preeminent legal force working to defend the environment,today announced the appointment of Robert J. Martin as its new President and Chief Executive Officer.  He is replacing Suzi Ruhl, LEAF's founder and CEO for the past 23 years and nationally known for her leadership on environmental health issues.  As an internationally known environmental advocate and leader, Martin brings more than 20 years of experience safeguarding public health and the environment to LEAF.  "Robert is exactly the right leader for LEAF" said Ruhl.  "His extensive record for consensus solutions and pollution accountability complement the efforts that LEAF is making in defining itself as the primary resource for communities impacted by environmental injustice.  Read more . . .
Copyright  © 2002  LEAF  All rights reserved.

Editorial:  Undermining Environmental Law
On issues large and small, the Bush administration has spent the better part of two years rolling back Bill Clinton's environmental legacy. It has abandoned the Kyoto accord on global warming, weakened protections for wetlands and eased mining laws. Now it appears to be aiming at even bigger game - the National Environmental Policy Act, regarded as the Magna Carta of environmental protection and perhaps the most important of all the environmental statutes signed into law by Richard Nixon three decades ago.  The act, NEPA for short, is no stranger to controversy. Bureaucrats blame it for gridlock, commercial interests for blocking progress. Environmentalists, of course, love it, as well they should.  The act is essentially a sunshine law. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

29-September- 02

Groups Say Cellphone Towers Kill Millions Of Birds
Environmental groups want a moratorium on new communication towers within 100 miles of the Gulf Coast because millions of migratory birds, including endangered species, are being killed by flying into the structures. The American Bird Conservancy, Friends of the Earth and the Forest Conservation Council formally asked the Federal Communications Commission for the moratorium Aug. 26, but the agency has yet to respond, representatives of the groups said Tuesday.  Since then, however, the FCC has issued permits for 155 new cellular telephone towers in the proposed moratorium area from the southern tip of Texas, across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to Tampa Bay, said John Talberth, conservation director for the Forest Conservation Council in Santa Fe, N.M. Brian Dunkiel, a lawyer for the three organizations, said they may take the issue to court if the FCC fails to act.
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune  All rights reserved.

Manatee deaths by boat reach 83
The death of a wounded manatee last week brought the number of the endangered animals killed by boats in the state this year to 83, the highest recorded in Florida since 1999, officials said. The manatee died Thursday at Sea World, where it was brought to recover after being struck by a boat in Brevard County earlier this year, officials at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said Friday. The most deaths caused by boats in the state this year were in Brevard  County, with 13. Lee County had 12 such deaths. Sandra Clinger, a coordinator for the Save the Manatee Club, said she blames this year's record on the failure to implement and enforce adequate manatee protection measures. "Every year more and more manatees continue to die," Clinger said. "It's disappointing that state and federal government [officials] haven't adequately addressed manatee threats."  Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

In Cabinet races, upsets shaping up
Democrat Buddy Dyer has never run for statewide office before, and most voters don't know who he is, yet a new poll puts him dead even with Republican Charlie Crist in the race for attorney general. Voters also don't know the two candidates for agriculture commissioner, but most plan to vote for Democrat David Nelson, a Miami school teacher and political newcomer, over Republican incumbent Charles Bronson, according to the latest St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald poll. The poll puts Crist at 43 percent and Dyer at 41 percent, a statistical dead heat. With both candidates drawing virtually equal numbers of crossover voters, the battle in the coming weeks will be over the 16 percent who are undecided. For Crist to win, he may need to resort to the tough-on-crime stance typically associated with the Republican Party, said pollster Rob Schroth.          
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Martin school board forced to address growth
More than 1,400 new families could be calling Martin County home within the next seven years, adding students into already overburdened classrooms. The county commission blames classroom crowding on school district officials, who they say have "ignored" their pleas to work together when approving new development in the county. County school board members fault the county for failing to notify them of new development proposals and changes to its long-term growth plan. But one thing both sides do agree on is that the school board no longer can avoid the political "pro-growth/slow-growth" battle raging in Martin County. "If there is one issue the board hasn't wanted to be in, that's it," said school board member Scott Chalmers. "The board has been reactive rather than a proactive body. That has allowed them to maintain almost total autonomy from ongoing concerns and issues brought up at the county level." 
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Science Learns West Nile Tactics
An 83-year-old man who propped open his screen door so his cat could go in and out let in more than his pet one day in late August. Mosquitoes made him the first human victim of West Nile virus in Sarasota. Government officials say this is a new age when screen doors should stay closed. States such as Illinois and Louisiana have seen a frightening boom in West Nile cases and deaths this year, but scientists fear other states hospitable to mosquitoes, such as Alabama, Florida and North Carolina, have only seen the beginning. It has spread faster than anyone imagined, appears to have survived in donated blood and organs, and has caused symptoms unheard of in West Nile's more than 60 years on the medical books. Scientists are racing to make a vaccine, but that's three to five years away.    
Copyright  © 2002  The Ledger All rights reserved.

Officials say panther or cougar likely killed goats in Golden Gate Estates

Margaret Kreynus stands with the last of her 
pet goats,  Billy, in the back yard of her home 
at 30th Avenue  Southeast in Golden Gate 
Estates. Kreynus says a cougar  killed her other 
four goats and she is worried about her four 
grandchildren and other youngsters in the area. 
Dan Wagner/Staff

What most people can see only on TV nature shows, Margaret Kreynus has seen in her own yard - up close and personal. The Golden Gate Estates woman found herself in the middle of her own Wild Kingdom episode one night recently as she watched a big, wild cat attack two of her pet goats just feet from her lanai, she said.While no one can say for sure, evidence points to the predator being not just any wild cat but an endangered Florida panther or imported Texas cougar, transplanted to South Florida in 1995 to help restore the panther population's gene pool, experts say. Since the first week of this month, three other of the Kreynuses' goats have turned up dead, dragged over a fence around the yard at the Kreynus house on 30th Avenue Southeast. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Commentary: Veteran politician is running scared -- and he should be
One of the greatest mismatches since David took on Goliath is under way in northeast Florida, where 26-year old Democrat Andy Wojcicki is making his first campaign for public office against Jacksonville Republican Jim King, veteran of 10 elections and heir to the Senate presidency. At least David had a slingshot. Republicans outnumber Democrats, 47 percent to 34 percent, in the Jacksonville-dominated 8th senatorial district, which also includes parts of Nassau, Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties. The Bush-Cheney ticket swept it with nearly 62 percent of the vote. King's campaign contributions total more than $304,000, while Wojcicki has managed to raise merely $7,339. That's less than half of what King has already spent just on billboards.    
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Long-abused part of the 'Glades faces difficult restoration
In a vast and lawless section of the western Everglades, the state and federal governments have begun a difficult environmental restoration project. The Southern Golden Gate Estates subdivision was the ultimate Florida swampland scam, sold in lots to thousands of people on a monthly installment plan. The builder went bankrupt in the 1970s, leaving an eerie grid of paved roads across 94 square miles of wilderness east of Naples. Remote and deserted, the failed development became a legal no man's land. During the 1980s, drug smugglers landed DC-3s on the long boulevards. A Cuban paramilitary group trained there until the early 1990s, burying a cache of ammunition that blew up in a forest fire.  Today, the area harbors criminal activities from poaching to car theft.     
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Give panthers space
This year's baby boom is good news, now let's maintain numbers
The panther has sneaked back a little more from the edge of extinction, making it likely that South Florida's most famous large predator can survive if we give it the room it needs. Scientists say they are counting a "phenomenal" number of kittens born this year, 30 of them, up from 23 last year and only seven in 2000. For a population somewhere between 70 and 100, that's a baby boom. Panthers need lots of land. There are probably about as many of them now as the remaining wild environment can support. The animal will always need special protection and monitoring, but the panther program can, with caution, be called a success. That's good news for people who care about saving wild space amid the crushing human growth of this region. 
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

FGCU-Ginn: Commissioners skeptical of plan to build homes east of FGCU
Planners for the Ginn Co.'s proposed development east of Florida Gulf Coast University say all they want is for people to wait until they hear the full details of the proposed project before they develop opinions. It's already too late. Lee County commissioners, who would have to vote to change the county's growth management plan and rezone the land, have at least expressed doubts about the proposal, or have said flatly they'll vote against it. Commissioner Andy Coy describes the proposal as "dead on arrival." The Ginn proposal even has some commissioners harkening back to the process that put the university at its current location. Commissioner Ray Judah voted against the current campus site when it was selected by the Florida Board of Regents. That selection came at the urging of Ben Hill Griffin, owner of the Alico Inc. agri-business giant and a huge financial donor to the university system. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

FGCU-Ginn: Proposal for homes east of campus prompts questions
They're listening. They want to know more. And they haven't drawn their sabers - yet. But local environmentalists, faculty members and students at Florida Gulf Coast University want to know more about a proposed development that could give a boost to the school before they make up their minds. So far they have a lot of questions about the development proposed by the Ginn Co., an Orlando-based developer of golf course communities, because of possible ramifications it could have on the environment. "I'm still sorting out the good parts and the bad parts," said Win Everham, chair of FGCU's Division of Ecological Studies. "I'm struggling about how I feel about it. But I'm thankful to have the opportunity to learn about it early in the process. There's a ton of questions I have as an ecologist and a scientist." Students in Everham's environmental biology class had more practical questions. "Do we really need another golf course?" asked Jonathan Rivera.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

28-September- 02

Property-rights activists converge on Tracy
Sawgrass Rebellion is organizing a convoy to fund-raising event in Florida next month
A convoy will set out on Sunday on a national trek to raise money and awareness for the plight of farmers in the Everglades and the Klamath Basin in Oregon. The group is part of the Sawgrass Rebellion, an umbrella group made up of about 700 grassroots organizations. Those coming to Tracy include the Klamath Bucket Brigade and groups from Sonoma, Idyllwild and Santa Cruz. Sharon Votaw, chairwoman of the Homestead, Land and Water Alliance, said their goal is to educate the public on "property rights and how important they are to the Constitution." The effort will raise relief funds for economically ailing farmers in the Klamath Basin and in Florida. In the Klamath Basin, irrigation water was cut off to 90 percent of the farm land by a federal judge in 2001 due to concerns for two species of fish. 
Copyright  © 2002 Tri-valley Herald All rights reserved.

                Related Article,

                September 28, 2002
                Oregon protesters headed for Everglades

Oregon protesters headed for Everglades
Convoy of property rights advocates to set out for rallies against restoration projects



Klamath Falls is a long way from Naples, but they're about to have something in common. It's called the Sawgrass Rebellion. A convoy is set to leave the Oregon town today for a cross-country trek that is scheduled to end next month in South Florida with three days of rallies in Naples and Homestead in support of private property rights. The events, timed just weeks before the November election, are taking aim at Everglades restoration projects in Collier and Miami-Dade counties that opponents say are threatening to flood people off their land. Environmental advocates contend the rebellion is misguided. A two-day rally is set for the grounds of the First Assembly of God property near the Florida Sports Park off Collier Boulevard on Oct. 17-18. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

                Related Article,

                September 28, 2002
                Property-rights activists converge on Tracy

                Related Links,

                Sawgrass Rebellion: National Relief Caravan Schedules and Routes

               Sawgrass Rebellion

Land purchase project gets grant
State could restore 20,445 acres of land to improve local water quality
Members of the Rivers Coalition on Friday praised a plan by water managers to pay for the Allapattah Ranch property with a federal grant that doesn't depend on any new appropriations from Congress. Amid doubts about whether Congress will pass legislation this session to fund $1 billion worth of local water-quality projects, project managers with the South Florida Water Management District were pleased to announce the addition of more than $26 million in guaranteed federal money. Dave Unsell, the district's project manager for the Indian River Lagoon Feasibility Study, told coalition members the federal Wetlands Reserve Program would be used to help the state pay for buying 20,445 acres in western Martin County and restoring it to its natural state.
Copyright  © 2002  TC Palm  All rights reserved.

Unjust Compensation: Flagler County's misguided reading of property rights
Let's say you own 20 lush green acres along a babbling creek. You want to build a couple of high-rise condominiums there, the sort of real estate investment that could earn you hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the land is zoned for agriculture, meaning that you cannot build more than one house per five acres. No condos allowed. Are you entitled to compensation from the government for the hundreds of thousands of dollars you can't make? Of course not. The land is not being taken away from you, nor are you being denied use of the land. You're just being denied using it in ways radically incompatible with the land's designation and surroundings.  The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution forbids the government from taking private property for public use "without just compensation" a treasured and vital protection of property rights. But the so-called "takings clause" has been stood on its head by property rights zealots. 
Copyright  © 2002 News Journal Corporation All rights reserved.

State of U.S. Agro-ecosystems
About one-quarter of the United States' land cover, excluding Alaska, is farmed—some 430 million to 500 million acres. A massive new project has just assessed this and other food-producing environments, such as coastal waters, fresh waters, and rangelands, to tally factors contributing to health. Released on Sept. 24, it indicates that most ecosystems are undergoing change—some declining dramatically while others improve.  In 1995, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy commissioned the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment to launch a nonpartisan, scientifically grounded assessment of environmental conditions in the United States. The Heinz Center focused its efforts on identifying indicators of the health of the nation's living resources, together with the land- and waterscapes in which they reside.  Read more . . .
Copyright  © 2002  Science News All rights reserved.

Migration of moths presenting a prickly situation
In Florida, where chain saws and homeowners howl in the rancorous war to control citrus canker, few people have paid much notice to a small bug with a big appetite for spiny plants. But scientists who have watched the cactus moth munch its way north from the Florida Keys, where it was first found more than a decade ago, warn that the obscure insect now deserves immediate attention -- as in a good dose of sterilizing radiation.  Left unchecked, they fear the moth will move from merely menacing rare Florida species toward the Southwestern United States and Mexico, where cacti are as common as citrus used to be in South Florida backyards and, in some rural regions at least, a food staple of daily life. 
Copyright  © 2002 Knight Ridder All Rights Reserved

Manatee boat deaths hit 83
Florida has set a grim new high for manatee deaths.A manatee that died Thursday at Sea World after months of treatment was the 83rd to be killed by a boat collision this year, breaking a mark set in 1999. The record did nothing to close the divide between manatee advocates and boaters over the slow-moving, seagrass-munching mammals. One side argues that the creatures remain on the brink of extinction and need more protection; the other claims there has been a population boom big enough to remove them from the endangered species list.  ''It's obvious that human-related mortalities continue unabated,'' said Patti Thompson, director of science and conservation for the Save The Manatee Club. "With more and more boats on the water, we can only expect for the trend to continue."  Ted Forsgren, executive director of The Coastal Conservation Association-Florida, said the rising toll bolsters many boaters' contention that the herd is expanding.  Read more . . .
Copyright  © 2002 Knight Ridder All Rights Reserved

27-September- 02

Florida adds land to panther habitat
The governor and state Cabinet approved the $6 million purchase Thursday of prime panther habitat in Hendry County. The state added 2,255 acres to the existing Twelvemile Slough Florida Forever project. The 26-mile corridor in Hendry County connects preserved lands that span three counties - the Okaloacoochee Slough in Collier County and the Caloosahatchee Ecoscape in Glades County - creating an enormous area for the endangered Florida panther and other wildlife that require extensive roaming space to maintain viable populations. The Twelvemile Slough is on Florida's top priority list, which contains the most significant environmental projects. The project contains areas important to groundwater recharge around the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and Big Cypress National Preserve. Another prominent feature is its "river of grass," or swale, which forms a broad bank of emergent sedges, grasses and herbs. 
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Naples City Council
Shifting Preserve funding isn't a brilliant precedent 
Naples City Council is basking in the glow of a financial maneuver self-proclaimed as "brilliant." But is it, plus a plan to sell the embattled Wilkinson House to the lone known bidder, really such a bright idea? The first component, aimed at getting the city out from under the ill-advised bankrolling of the purchase in 1998, calls for spending most of a $3.2 million state parks grant on the circa 1915 beachfront mansion rescued from becoming a mega house that would overpower neighbors and their gulf view. The grant, though, was pursued by the city specifically for The Naples Preserve, OK'd by city voters for separate purchase with $8 million in bonds.
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

WETLAND FILLER SERVING SIX MONTHS
-- Marion County man jailed for filling over three acres of hardwood forested wetlands --
Yesterday, Marion County Judge John Futch sentenced Kenneth Therrien to six months jail and a $5000 fine for filling over three acres of wetlands on Therrien’s property near Silver Springs. The sentencing stemmed from a criminal investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The investigation began in response to complaints by a neighbor of Therrien’s who feared that Therrien’s work would cause flooding on neighboring land. Therrien refused to stop filling the wetlands despite government entreaty on at least three occasions. "DEP will continue to go after people like Therrien who openly flout Florida law," said Thomas S. Tramel, director of DEP’s Division of Law Enforcement.. "Mr. Therrien made his choice and now he is reaping the consequences."  Read More...
Copyright  © 2002  DEP All rights reserved.

Commentary: As bay area uses water from sea, nation watches
Tampa Bay: a technology trendsetter? Hard to believe, but bellwether states such as California and Texas are casting a critical eye at our metro area for some cutting-edge guidance about their own futures. The issue? Water desalination. Turning millions of gallons of saltwater into tap water using the latest technology of reverse osmosis. A desal plant capable of generating 25-million gallons a day of tap water is in the later stages of construction near Apollo Beach on the shore of Tampa Bay. Currently the nation's largest desal project, the facility will start delivering drinking water early next year. But it already has become a role model for newly proposed desal plants designed to "drought-proof" water-scarce parts of southern California, south Texas and even south of Tampa Bay in Fort Myers.  Sure, the threat of an immediate water shortage in the Tampa Bay area has declined this year thanks to heavier than average rainfall.
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

26-September- 02

Former officer sues Carnival
Carnival Cruise Lines' former top environmental compliance officer sued the parent company Wednesday, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated for opposing safety violations and for testifying in a federal case against the Miami cruise operator. The lawsuit, filed by James P. Walsh under the Whistleblower Act, alleges that Carnival Corp. ignored his reports of environmental and safety violations for years, then fired him the same day the U.S. attorney's office announced that Carnival had pleaded guilty to falsifying environmental records. Filed in Broward Circuit Court, the suit seeks more than $15,000 in damages, including back wages and attorney's fees. Among other allegations, Walsh charged in his suit that Carnival Vice Chairman Howard Frank derided him as a ''Boy Scout'' on environmental issues and that Chairman Micky Arison told him Holland America Chief Executive Kirk Lanterman knew that a ship was leaking oil, ''but just doesn't want [Walsh] to put it in writing."   
Copyright  © 2002  Miami Herald  All rights reserved.

Corps Reform Absent in Water Bill but Floor Fight Brews
House advocates of reforming the Army Corps of Engineers held their fire Wednesday as a committee passed a bill that would authorize about $4 billion in new water projects but that showed no signs of changing the embattled waterworks agency. "This would be a huge pork barrel package," said David Conrad, a spokesman for the National Wildlife Federation, which criticized the lack of reforms that environmentalists and budget watchdogs have sought. Passage by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee sets the stage for a floor battle -- some aides say as soon as next week -- over proposals to change how the Corps of Engineers justifies, finances and implements water projects ranging from beach nourishment to port and river dredging.  Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, left open the possibility, however, that Republican leaders would seek to limit the debate about corps reform.
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

State of the Nation's Ecosystems: Data Missing
There are major gaps in what is known about the nation's lands, waters and living resources, a new environmental study concludes. The report, based on five years of intensive research, proposes periodic reporting on a list of key ecological indicators that could aid in future environmental and land management policy decision. In 1995, the Clinton administration asked the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment - a think tank that is not affiliated with either environmental or industry groups - to compile existing data to help assess the health of the nation's environment. The 270 page report released this week concludes that almost 50 percent of the information needed to make environmental policy decisions is missing or inadequate. 
Copyright  © 2002  Environmental News Service (ENS) All Rights Reserved.    

New Survey Shows South Floridians Strongly Favor Protecting Everglades Over Economic Development
Results of a new survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates, Inc. for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation confirm overwhelming public support in South Florida for protection of the Everglades even at the expense of economic growth. The survey reports, “Despite economic unease, protecting the Everglades is far more important to South Florida residents than economic growth. When asked if economic growth or the Everglades should be given the priority, better than seven in ten residents in all three counties choose protecting the Everglades, “even at the risk of curbing economic growth”. No more than 22 percent in any county say economic growth should get the nod, “even if the Everglades suffer to some extent” (Survey results, page 21). The survey by PSRA was conducted in three counties, in the first part of May, 2002.  Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  Knight Foundation  All rights reserved.

25-September- 02

Editorial: Hold to cleanup deadline
The federal judge who monitors Everglades cleanup has resisted attempts by sugar growers to remove himself and drop the 1988 lawsuit that led to the cleanup program. It is increasingly clear that his decision to stay is correct. Last week, the former chief engineer in Florida for the Army Corps of Engineers predicted in court testimony that the state will miss the deadline of December 2006 for cleaning water runoff thoroughly enough that it does not harm the Everglades. Terry Rice, who from 1994 to 1997 supervised Everglades work for the corps, said the state wouldn't meet the standard until 2013 or perhaps 2014. Mr. Rice is a consultant for the Miccosukee Indian tribe, which has sued the state over what it claims is lack of progress on the cleanup, so he has an agenda. His comments, however, get to a legitimate issue. Under the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, Florida is supposed to address Everglades pollution in two phases. 
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Lake water high, but options low
Nobody wants the extra water in Lake Okeechobee right now, and it can't stay in the lake. At 15.7 feet, the water already is high enough to threaten the underwater grasses where fish live. Some lake water must be dumped to make room for more water if Tropical Storm Lili becomes a hurricane and hits our shores or in case this year's El Nino rains continue into the dry season, as they did in 1998. Fishermen on Florida's west coast don't want the water dumped in the Caloosahatchee River, where they have found a few fish with lesions. Nobody wants the extra lake water in the St. Lucie River, either. The 1998 memories still are too raw for Treasure Coast residents: sick fish, starving birds, tourists who went home early, empty cash registers at bait stores, hotels and restaurants.   
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Foundation focuses on Everglades
Congress and the White House are tuned in, and international scientists are taking notes. But the Everglades, and $8 billion worth of work to restore it, remain somewhat mysterious to a lot of South Floridians, members of the Florida Earth Foundation say. The 9-month-old foundation is gearing up to help change that. Led by a former Palm Beach County citrus grove executive, the foundation next month will formally debut as a nonprofit fund-raising vehicle for the Everglades. The organization will try to combine corporate, government and environmental group sponsors as it raises money for public education and for research that could further the science behind restoration, said foundation Executive Director Stan Bronson.  "I think they're looking to fill gaps," said Nanciann Regalado, outreach program coordinator for the lead restoration agency, the Army Corps of Engineers.   
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Discharges from lake to resume
Unpredictable track of Hurricane Isidore delayed cycle for a week
After putting all decisions on hold for a week, water managers agreed Tuesday to continue heavy freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River this morning. The fifth 10-day cycle of discharges since July, and the second round of heavier "level two" pulse-style releases, will flow from the St. Lucie spillway at an average of 950 cubic feet per second, or 7,106 gallons per second. The releases were set to continue a week ago, but the path of Hurricane Isidore threatened the state, forcing water managers to abandon plans and instead begin lowering drainage canals for flood control.  "We delayed starting this release last week because of the unpredictable track of Hurricane Isidore," said Chris Smith, the chief of water management with the Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville. 
Copyright  © 2002  TC Palm  All rights reserved.

Environmentalists fear results of funding shift
State Rep. Ken Sorensen wants to create a new trust fund to get the $100 million that has been authorized by Congress for wastewater projects to flow finally into Monroe County. The new trust would be administered by the Department of Community Affairs instead of the Army Corps of Engineers because Sorensen said the Corps has never been a willing partner with the county's wastewater projects. But The Ocean Conservancy and Nature Conservancy are concerned that a switch from the Corps to the DCA will cause more delays in getting all of the planned wastewater projects to completion.  At last Wednesday's county meeting, commissioners voted 4 to 1 -- the only no vote was cast by Commissioner George Neugent -- to ask U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Bob Graham and U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to work toward getting the $100 million to be placed in a trust fund administered by the DCA. 
Copyright  © 2002  Keys News  All rights reserved.

Water-supply future is in the pits
As it did when this prehistoric reef's days were marked by the tides, voluminous amounts of water flow once again over a vast, fossilized rock bed west of Loxahatchee. Nowadays, though, the liquid rhythms are strictly human-induced -- an ambitious $3.1 million experiment in taming South Florida's fickle water supply. The water flow is made possible by a powerful pump that sucks stored water out of five pits at the Palm Beach Aggregates rock quarry on Southern Boulevard and directs it back into nearby canals.  The goal is to use the pits for canal overflow during times of flood and provide needed water from the pits during  drought, said John Bonde, administrator for the Indian Trail Improvement District. The pits are each about 35 feet deep on 60 acres and are connected by a series of pipes and spillways.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

$4.75 MILLION AVAILABLE FOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE PHOSPHORUS-REDUCTION PROJECTS
Informational meetings set for Oct 17 and Oct 24
The South Florida Water Management District is re-soliciting for participation in the Lake Okeechobee Regional Public-Private Partnership Program. The program provides $4.75 million for regional projects that reduce phosphorus loading to Lake Okeechobee. To ensure that potential partners are informed on program objectives and response requirements, two roundtable meetings will be held prior to release of the formal solicitation in November. "We encourage interested parties to begin thinking about their ideas, forming partnerships, and working out other details prior to attending the roundtable meetings," says Benita Whalen, project manager. "That way, we can answer any outstanding questions and ensure that the meetings are beneficial." Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  South Florida Water Management District  All rights reserved.

24-September-02

Bonita manager objects to FGCU lab proposal for island 
Florida Gulf Coast University wants Bonita Springs to endorse its plan to build a marine laboratory, but the city manager isn't ready to make that deal. The lab would be built on nearly a half-mile of the city's waterfront sandwiched between Lovers Key State Park and Carl E. Johnson county park. City Manager Gary Price said that property should be for Lee County residents and tourists, not for classrooms, laboratories, meeting rooms and offices for FGCU. University officials will detail their plans for the lab next week during an Oct. 2 Bonita Springs city council meeting. The proposed site, which is owned by the county and is expected to be deeded over to the university, was considered a a condition for luring the university to Southwest Florida. The property comprises the entire southeastern half of Black Island. Price wants to know why here.
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

GOVERNOR, CABINET'S VOTE PROTECTS WETLANDS, WILDLIFE:
Prime panther habitat conserved
Today's approval by Governor Jeb Bush and Florida Cabinet members added 2,255 acres to the existing Twelvemile Slough Florida Forever project.  The 26-mile corridor in Hendry County connects preserved lands that span three counties -- the Okaloacoochee Slough in Collier County and the Caloosahatchee Ecoscape in Glades County -- creating an enormous area for the endangered Florida panther and other wildlife that require extensive roaming space to maintain viable populations. The Twelvemile Slough is on the Florida Forever "A" group list, which contains the most significant environmental projects.  The project contains areas important to groundwater recharge around the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and Big Cypress National Preserve.  Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  Florida Department of Environmental Protection. All rights reserved.

Dry California Cities Covet Farms' Full Glass
Rarely have so few had their hands on the spigots of so many. Here in the Southern California desert, about 400 farmers and the local water authority hold Colorado River water rights that 17 million people closer to the coast desperately want. The two sides are struggling to resuscitate a deal that would sell water from the farms to the cities, but the obstacles are formidable, and time is running out. There is more at risk than just the water now on the negotiating table. Unless there is a deal by the end of the year, the cities stand to lose much more, through an abrupt federal cutoff of 15 percent of Southern California's water supply. The situation has elevated the farmers to a position of great power, and they are capitalizing on the moment, demanding more and more from the cities - beginning with payments of $2 billion over 75 years - for water the farmers now get for next to nothing. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

23-September-02

Golden Gate group trumpets property rights at park rally
Democrats have a donkey. Republicans have an elephant. And a local Property Rights Action Committee now has a goat. 
During a rally Sunday to support property rights, Bama the goat sported a white plastic hat with red, white and blue trim while chewing on grass and being admired by children. The point of Bama's appearance at Max Hasse Park wasn't to get attention from boys and girls. The point was to poke fun at the Collier County Commissioners. "Our elected officials are doing nothing for us with the property rights issues," Karol Montalto, a founding member of the Golden Gate-based PRAC, said. "They always have a scapegoat for why things aren't being done. Well, we've found the goat, and she's not standing for it." What the PRAC desperately wants to change are laws that limit a property owner's rights and use of his property.   
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

A Brazilian Campaign That Is All About the Jungle  

Senator Marina Silva, left, and the state 
governor, Jorge Viana, campaigning in 
Rio Branco, Brazil,  are favored for re-
election in October.  Both have followed 
in the footsteps of the environmentalist 
Chico Mendes, below.

After the environmental leader Chico Mendes was killed near here late in 1988, the movement he personified went into shock and was expected by many simply to fade away. It recovered, and his allies, heirs and disciples now govern this remote Amazon region. Nearly four years ago, one of Mr. Mendes's closest associates, Jorge Viana, was elected governor of Acre State and embarked on an ambitious experiment that has gained growing support here and abroad. Rather than simply raze the jungle, as his predecessors had always done, he promised instead a "government for the forest" and the people who live there. But the movement Mr. Mendes inspired is facing a new threat as Mr. Viana's opponents use political and legal maneuvering to try to deny him another term. So far, he has parried them. Mr. Viana, 42, a forestry engineer, leads an unusual coalition, the Acre Popular Front. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved

Tops in Pollution: Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the nation's most polluted, with air quality rivaling that of Los Angeles, environmental groups found in a survey released today.The survey was released the same day a National Park Service study found air quality has improved or at least stayed the same in more than half of 32 monitored parks since 1990."In most parks, air quality exceeds standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health and welfare," said Fran Mainella, the Park Service director.  Using Park Service data, the National Parks Conservation Association and two other environmental groups, Appalachian Voices and Our Children's Earth, rated the Smokies as the country's most polluted park.Shenandoah National Park in Virginia was second, followed by Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California and Acadia National Park in Maine. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

Florida panthers' booming birth rate has experts purring 

The endangered Florida panther is having a baby boom this year with a record number of kittens seen by wildlife biologists. This spring and summer 30 kittens were born in South Florida to 13 mother panthers.  "This year it's phenomenal," said Larry Richardson, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I think it's awesome. It's one of the most endangered animals out there."  Richardson said the 30 births represent a growing population. Last year 23 were born and in 2000, there were only seven kittens. "More kittens are born than panthers dying," said Darrell Land, a wildlife biologist and head of the panther project. "There's three times the number being born than documented deaths.  "We could lose more than two-thirds of those kittens by natural mortality and still have more than documented deaths."  And that's likely to happen. About 40 percent don't live to see their first birthday. Many die from disease or predators.           
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Decision Time on the Everglades
Two years have passed since Congress approved a $7.8 billion measure to restore the Florida Everglades. The bill commanded overwhelming bipartisan support and provided the framework for what could be the most ambitious environmental restoration project in history. This extraordinary undertaking, a joint project of the federal government and the State of Florida, is now at a critical stage. The Army Corps of Engineers, which will do the actual work, is drawing up its final "programmatic regulations" - a legally binding road map that will guide the project well into the future. Meanwhile, Congress is facing important decisions about how much money to authorize for several specific pieces of the project that cannot long be delayed. The plan is also at a delicate moment in other ways. In recent months, a brisk cottage industry has developed among academics who say the project is fundamentally flawed. 
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

22-September-02

Letter to the Editor: Environment knows no property lines
Re: "Property rights battle looms: Sawgrass Rebellion fights taking of land," Sept. 3. 
The time has come for the confrontation between the advocates of property rights and those for the environment. Let us hope that this conflict is more than political wrangling and bureaucratic siege warfare, and instead it would lead to the redefinition of what constitutes property and an affirmation of the long term health of the community. Modern concepts of property were devised at a time when the interconnectivity of the environment was not clearly understood or respected - at least in Western civilization. Well meaning people with families and dreams, have learned to accept that the square sections of manicured lawn and landscaping are "their" property. Unfortunately, the environment has not divided itself into convenient little squares. Nature does not recognize the sanctity of property. Despite boundaries, the environment is interconnected. 
Copyright  © 2002 News Press   All rights reserved.

Growth management
It is astounding how fast progress can sneak up and overwhelm you. Aptly, a reminder of that emerges from three stories that appeared on the same day in the past week in this newspaper. See if you noticed the same convergence: The first story put into perspective the explosive growth during the 1990s in Southwest Florida. It said Census 2000 shows no less than 40 percent of all of today's housing units in Collier County were built in those 10 years alone. Lee County's decade chalked up nearly 30 percent; statewide, the count was above 20 percent. The second story chronicled discussions among Collier government officials and the development industry about impact fees for new roads, which by now everyone well knows were neglected altogether for the latter third of that decade.    
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Brent Batten: An uphill battle over a tax for green space
Come Nov. 5, along with the pigs in the crates, along with the Miami-Dade home rule charter, Collier County voters will get a crack at a ballot initiative that could profoundly change the way Collier County looks 25 years from now. It is a proposal to institute a property tax to buy and maintain green space. The import of the matter necessitates a close look at the pros and cons of such a program.  Pro: Buying green space helps save the environment. Land purchased through the program will be kept in a relatively undeveloped state. Only passive recreation uses such as hiking trails or canoe launches will be allowed. Also, part of the tax will be set aside to restore and maintain purchased properties. Non-native plants such as melaleuca will be removed.  Read more . . . 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Florida's butterflies threatened by changing ecosystem    

Monarch Butterfly

A shimmery swallowtail swoops softly across a street. Suddenly, splat! Windshields and grills win every time. Millions of butterflies die every week on roads in Florida, but cars and trucks are only part of the dangers they face. Mosquito spraying, roadside mowing and habitat loss also wreak havoc on Florida's butterfly populations. At least 10 percent of the state's 160 resident species of lepidoptera are in trouble, said Marc Minno, an insect ecologist. The biggest threat to those butterflies is loss of or changes to habitat. "We've reached the point where there are more than 15 million people in Florida," he said. "There probably isn't any natural community that is the same as it was 300 years ago." To Minno, it seems almost miraculous that few species have been lost, but now the situation has reached a critical level, he said. "We will begin to lose things if we don't do something to save them." Across the state, conservationists are battling to save the fragile flutterers.          
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journalonline All rights reserved.

Clyde Butcher sees Glades' big picture 
We're wading out into the Everglades, just the two of us, each step taking us into deeper water and deeper shadows. The trees here in the Big Cypress National Preserve soar as high as Rocky Mountain pines, blocking out the midday sun. Even on a clear, bright day, the sunlight reaches the Everglades floor only in filtered fragments. The water, which is up to our thighs, is surprisingly cold. Searching for a path through dense thickets that are usually seen only by otters, alligators and birds, Clyde Butcher looks ahead to find his way. "Follow the light," he says. Past the wild orchids, the cypress trunks, the sharp-edged blades of sawtooth grass, the low-hanging branches fuzzy with Spanish moss, we slog ahead through the tea-colored water toward an opening that seems to be a private bower concealed from mankind until this moment.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel  All rights reserved.

Rare Miami blue fights to survive
The Schaus' swallowtail -- but the Miami blue butterfly soon may be added to the list. The North American Butterfly Association asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to add the Miami blue to the list last year. The Service recently declined to list the blue on an emergency basis but concluded the listing might be warranted and agreed to do further research, including paying for a survey to search for Miami blue butterflies in the Florida Keys, said spokesman Dave Martin. The Schaus' swallowtail was first listed as threatened but reclassified to endangered in 1984, after University of Florida professor Thomas Emmel found only 70 adults. Emmel traced the species' demise to two pesticides used to fight mosquitoes. Then in 1992, Hurricane Andrew nearly blew the species away. Only 17 males were found that year. But, Emmel already had started a captive breeding program for the butterfly and today the species is slowly recovering.
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journalonline All rights reserved.

Group sues Collier over land use change New rules cut density allowed in rural area 
Collier County's growth plan for its rural fringes is illegal, say two groups headed by developer Don Lester and a family that owns about 1,000 acres in north Belle Meade in two petitions filed with the state this week. The rural fringe amendments cut the density allowed in key areas from one housing unit per 5 acres to one unit per 40 acres. To make up for the loss in value that might create, the county set up a program that allows landowners to sell their development rights as if they were still allowed one unit per 5 acres.  The amendments affect nearly 95,000 acres of land. "That's not unusual for something this large," said Nancy Linnan, outside counsel on growth management issues for the county. Linnan is with the Tallahassee law firm Carlton Fields PA.  "We feel very comfortable that what the county did was in compliance with state statutes and rules."  
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

21-September-02

Group right to challenge
Environmentalists have challenged a process that could lead to a less-protected status for three tributaries feeding Estero Bay. We share their concern over any step that might lead eventually to lower pollution standards for waters leading into this bay, which is so environmentally rich, yet so threatened by growth in its drainage basin. The state has reclassified the Imperial River and two creeks as fresh water rather than estuarine - that is, mixed salt and fresh water. Estuaries are considered "impaired" at a lower pollutant level than the threshold for fresh water. Environmentalists are worried that the changes will weaken state protections. The state counters that new standards are critical to cleaning up bays, streams and lakes, which requires scientifically defensible, legally enforceable standards.    
Copyright  © 2002  News Press  All rights reserved.

Everglades restoration based on sound science, public policy
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) would like to respond to issues raised in the Aug. 24 guest editorial entitled "Human costs in Everglades Plan" authored by B. Suzi Ruhl of the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation. We would like to state for the record that protection of public health is an unequivocal goal of all of our plans to restore the Everglades. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan not only benefits the natural system, but it also provides a healthier human environment and a portion of the future water supply for South Floridians. This drinking water supply must be safe and reliable. We would like to address one of the main focuses of the guest editorial: the storage of large amounts of water underground for later use by the Everglades ecosystem, people and farms.     
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journal Online All rights reserved.

20-September-02

Critics want say in Everglades plan
The $8.4 billion Everglades restoration plan threatens to help farmers and developers much more than South Florida's environment, activists complained Thursday night as they criticized rules proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Environmentalists told corps leaders that wildlife and science need a  starring role in the rules that will govern how state and federal agencies carry out the four-decade project. Among other changes, environmental groups want the rules to set firm goals for restoring the Everglades' health -- for instance, how many wading birds would flock to the marsh. They also want the rules to give the U.S. Interior Department an equal role with the corps in decision-making, along with an "audit" by financially independent scientists. "You wouldn't buy a car with this kind of contract," said Jonathan Ullman of the Sierra Club, which held an 11-person protest before a hearing of the South Florida Water Management District.
Copyright  © 2002  Palm Beach Post  All rights reserved.

Group seeks more pollution protection for Estero Bay tributaries
A local citizens group wants the state to change the designation of several Estero Bay tributaries from freshwater to estuarine, a move that would add water bodies such as the Imperial River to a list of Southwest Florida's polluted waters.The Responsible Growth Management Coalition Inc. filed a petition Wednesday with the states Department of Environmental Protection. The citizens group represents Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties.Coalition members want DEP to change the classification of the Imperial River, Estero River, Hendry Creek, Mullock Creek and Spring Creek to estuarine. The tributaries are listed as freshwater, meaning higher levels of pollutants like chlorophyll are acceptable to the state. Hendry Creek and Mullock Creek are still listed for dissolved oxygen and Spring Creek is listed for lead.Ralf Brookes, a Cape Coral attorney, is representing the coalition. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Renowned biologist Stuart Pimm
Don't let the warm, unassuming smile and the cheery British inflection in Stuart Pimm's voice fool you. Pimm is no ordinary science teacher. Already the recipient of several accolades over the past decade, Pimm was recognized this year by the Institute of Scientific Information as one of the world's most highly cited scientists. And now he can add "first Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology" to his list of distinctions. Pimm, now rounding out his third week at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, is lauded as one of the world's foremost experts on endangered species and habitat destruction. "I've known of his research for about 20 years.... I'm just thrilled that he is here," said Norm Christensen, former dean of the Nicholas School. "He adds a tremendous amount to the faculty. Besides being a distinguished scholar, he's a colossal teacher." Read more...
Copyright  © 2002  Chronicle  All rights reserved.

Group challenges on waterways' status
Responsible Growth Management Coalition Inc. said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection should not have reclassified the Imperial River and two creeks as fresh water instead of estuarine, a mix of fresh and salt water. Estuaries are considered impaired at a lower nutrient level than fresh water under the latest DEP rules. The department reclassified the waterways after a July public workshop comment that some waterways west of Interstate 75 should be listed as fresh water.  "We double-checked our numbers, and fresh water was the right call," said Daryll Joyner, a DEP program administrator.  While the coalition acknowledges parts of the waterways are fresh, it has data showing significant portions of Spring Creek, Imperial River and Mullock Creek are estuaries, said Susan Brookman, treasurer for the coalition. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News   All rights reserved.

PRESS RELEASE: Everglades Cannot Recover If Environmental Health Suffers
While Florida is marketing its Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan as the model for future restoration projects, environmentalists are publicly condemning the plan for damaging the ecosystem. But too little attention has been given to the human health costs that may result from the plan, says B. Suzi Ruhl, president emerita of Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation, in an article for Florida Forum. The recovery plan, among other projects, addresses the regions low water supply by injecting unprecedented amounts of stormwater and agricultural run-off into or above underground sources of drinking water. The solution to our water-quantity crisis in the Everglades and elsewhere is not to re-hydrate the system with water coliform-laden water pesticides, heavy metals and other contaminants, Ruhl says.
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journal Online All rights reserved.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT/GUEST EDITORIAL SUBJECT: THE EVERGLADES 
The following commentary has been provided this station by the Florida Forum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational organization. They are solely responsible for its content. DESPITE WHAT PUBLIC OFFICIALS ARE TELLING US, THE EVERGLADES RESTORATION PLAN IS NOT THE NEXT WONDER OF THE WORLD. THE PLAN MAJOR FLAW IS ITS FAILURE TO RECOGNIZE THE POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS IT COULD HAVE. BY INJECTING STORMWATER AND AGRICULTURAL RUN-OFF INTO UNDERGROUND SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER, WE WILL LIKELY WORSEN OUR ALREADY TROUBLED WATER SUPPLY. THE PEOPLE OF THE EVERGLADES SHOULD NOT BECOME GUINEA PIGS FOR AN EXPERIMENT IN HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING.
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journal Online All rights reserved.

Everglades Recovery Plan Ignores Human Costs    
There has been much ado about plans to restore Florida Everglades in media, government and stakeholder circles. The importance of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is beyond dispute, being touted as a national model for future restoration and blueprint for the world and marketed as the ultimate restoration project. Many government officials and environmentalists have expressed concern that the ecosystem is being left behind in favor of water supply and flood control. Ironically, while there is debate on the relative attention placed on the natural systems of the Everglades, there is no debate on the attention placed on the humans of the Everglades, because human health protection has been virtually ignored. All questions as to the suitability of the plan aside, the plans major flaw is the failure to take into account the potential health effects it could have on people living in the Everglades.
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journal Online All rights reserved.

Letter: Re human costs in Everglades plan
The Everglades plan    
Florida Voices column by Suzi Ruhl, president emerita of Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation Inc., Aug. 24: On Dec. 11, 2000, the president officially enacted legislation authorizing the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Congress had passed the measure by large bipartisan margins. As secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, I know that Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature have consistently proposed and supported full funding for the world's largest environmental restoration project. It enjoys the support of every federal, state and local environmental agency and is endorsed by every major environmental organization.  Yet, fringe environmental activists would rather the plan not go forward. Ruhl's column tried to make the case that restoration will risk human health. 
Copyright  © 2002  Daytona News-Journal Online All rights reserved.

Thirsty California Cities Covet Farms' Full Glass

Larry Gilbert showing how he and his 
fellow farmers in the Imperial Valley tap 
the Colorado River for irrigation. Crops 
of one variety or another grow year-
round here.

Rarely have so few had their hands on the spigots of so many. Here in the Southern California desert, about 400 farmers and the local water authority hold Colorado River water rights that 17 million people closer to the coast desperately want. The two sides are struggling to resuscitate a deal that would sell water from the farms to the cities, but the obstacles are formidable, and time is running out.There is more at risk than just the water now on the negotiating table. Unless there is a deal by the end of the year, the cities stand to lose much more, through an abrupt federal cutoff of 15 percent of Southern California's water supply.  The situation has elevated the farmers to a position of great power, and they are capitalizing on the moment, demanding more and more from the cities — beginning with payments of $2 billion over 75 years — for water the farmers now get for next to nothing.   
Copyright  © 2002  NY Times online  All rights reserved.

19-September-02

Petition filing halts Collier rural fringe plan
A plan for controlling rural growth in Collier County came to a screeching halt Wednesday with the filing of a petition in Tallahassee challenging the plan. The petition by The 15,000 Coalition Inc. and Century Development of Collier County Inc. asks for a formal administrative hearing to determine whether the plan Collier County commissioners adopted in June complies with state law. The 15,000 Coalition is a nonprofit group that is helping organize a private property rights rally in October in Naples to cap a cross-country caravan against Everglades restoration. One of its directors, Don Lester, is an officer in Century Development of Collier County.  The petition comes a day after HHH Ranch owners Francis D. Hussey Jr., a local doctor, and Mary Pat Hussey, filed a similar challenge against the growth plan — known as the rural fringe plan.  
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Officials will relocate 60 endangered tortoises
They lived life on the wrong side of the tracks. Now almost 60 of Palm Beach County’s gopher tortoises, animals that move at a crawl, are going to be uprooted to help rail commuters make haste during rush hour. The tortoises, a species of special concern in Florida, have to be unearthed from their tunnels on the west side of the CSX railway line hugging Interstate 95 so Tri-Rail can lay a second set of tracks there, Tri- Rail officials said. The $456 million double-track effort, covering 30 miles from West Palm Beach to Boca Raton, will bury 100 tortoise burrows in a 100-foot-wide strip of railroad right of way, according to an environmental consultant for Tri-County Rail Constructors, the track builder. While being railroaded out of their current habitat — land that shudders with each passing train — tortoises flanking the tracks won’t be left homeless.
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Why We Need Our Sea Cows
Aren't manatees a nuisance? The way they get in the way of our fun, make us slow our boats, make us, of all things, be careful? Oh, sure, they're cute and all, but would it really be so terrible if they just, you know, went extinct? We'd have some fun then, wouldn't we? Maybe. But we'd miss them. And not just because they're cute. They're our friends, in more ways than one. Manatees, it turns out, may hold the key to curing some nasty human diseases. Scientists at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce are studying a virus found in manatees that is similar to one that causes cervical cancer, which kills 200,000 women a year worldwide. They hope to learn what triggers the papillomavirus, which can cause wartlike growths and is contagious. Among the many questions scientists hope to answer through their research on manatees is why the cervical cancer virus can lie dormant and undetectable in normal cells. 
Copyright  © 2002  Sun-Sentinel / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

Scientists say fish lesions not caused by stormwater runoff
State scientists determined Wednesday that the lesions on fish caught at the Fort Pierce Inlet were most likely not directly caused by stormwater runoff into local waterways. Emilio Sosa, a researcher with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. Petersburg, said the lesions were caused by bacterial rather than fungal infections. Fungal infections are seen primarily after a substantial influx of fresh water into the brackish St. Lucie Estuary. After a local fisherman sent more than two dozen lesioned striped mullet across the state last week, scientists performed tests to isolate the 12 different types of bacteria found on the fish. Tests are under way to identify the individual bacteria. Still, Sosa said the fact that bacteria infected the fish suggests that the stress that caused the disease is probably something other than runoff from nearby drainage canals. "There's definitely some environmental problem there; that is without a  doubt," Sosa said. 
Copyright  © 2002  TC Palm All rights reserved.

Activist Stinnette named river keeper
Position will serve as water quality and funding watchdog
With fish jumping from a brown St. Lucie River as a backdrop, Kevin Stinnette on Wednesday introduced himself to about 50 environmental activists as the Treasure Coast's new Indian River keeper. Not that the crowd didn't already know Stinnette, president of the Treasure Coast Environmental Defense Fund and former technology coordinator for Forest Grove Middle School in Fort Pierce. But with the fund's board of directors giving the nod, Stinnette said he would now be known as an advocate who will watch over the lagoon's water quality, ensure state and federal agencies spend Everglades restoration dollars wisely and demand attention for the lagoon and its connected rivers. All without any financial connection to any government agency allowing him the freedom to criticize when necessary, he added. 
Copyright  © 2002  TCPalm All rights reserved.

FGCU Foundation gives go-ahead for Ginn Co. land swap proposal
He said it three times: The university will not participate in any project that's environmentally irresponsible. And with that pledge, William Merwin, president of Florida Gulf Coast University in Estero, on Wednesday won the almost-unanimous vote of the FGCU Foundation Board of Directors for a proposed land swap with the Ginn Co. of Orlando. If the deal goes through, FGCU could end up with land and some $30 million in startup money for its dream engineering school - which Merwin said would "really put FGCU on the map." One Foundation Board member, Dick Ackert, abstained from voting because he works with Alico Inc., a company directly involved with the proposed land deal and the university's biggest benefactor. Because of several environmental concerns surrounding the project, Merwin said the proposed deal will probably be the biggest challenge of his presidency at FGCU, which he joined three years ago.  
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

18-September-02

The Habitat sold to Miami residential developer for $25M 
Drinking Dom Perignon under a relentless afternoon sun in a remote cow pasture in eastern Estero, John West and Wes Brodersen celebrated a deal Tuesday that was 20 years in the making. Earlier that day, they completed a $25 million contract to sell the 1,012-acre parcel, dubbed The Habitat, to a Miami residential developer. The land is 3½ miles east of Interstate 75 on the south side of Corkscrew Road. The new owner, Habitat Lakes, could build a golf course and up to 2,350 homes, 100,000 square feet of retail and 20,000 square feet of office space on the land, which is zoned as a Development of Regional Impact. That zoning applies to developments that will affect a wide area. West is a partner of Corkscrew Enterprises, a Naples investment group that purchased the undeveloped tract for about $4.75 million in 1982. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Regulators have questions about Immokalee-area growth plan

Florida growth regulators have questions about how a sweeping proposal to control growth on almost 200,000 acres of farmland and natural areas around Immokalee will really work. The questions came Tuesday from the state Department of Community Affairs in an Objections, Recommendations and Comment Report, or ORC - a significant step in the long process of meeting a 1999 slow-growth order from Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet. "For this endeavor to pass muster under state law, further refinements are necessary," the report says. Six of the county's largest landowners hired local engineering and planning firm WilsonMiller Inc. to craft the proposal, and county commissioners agreed in June to send it to Tallahassee for review. It is different than a separate plan for some 93,000 acres called the rural fringe, on the edges of Golden Gate Estates and closer to the urban area. Commissioners and the DCA have signed off on that plan. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

Census data shows 58,000 homes built in Collier during '90's
If it feels like a building boom and looks like a building boom, it probably is. And boy was it. U.S. Census data released Tuesday shows that 40.5 percent of all homes in Collier County - or 58,572 units - were built from 1990 to 2000. In Lee County, 28.2 percent of all homes - or 69,269 units - were built in that same time period. Statisticians have been slicing and dicing Collier's growth rate a number of ways since the census took a snapshot of the nation in April 2000. One such ranking put Naples as the second-fastest growing metro area in the nation behind Las Vegas. One figure to emerge from census statistics shows just how fast population growth in Collier has taken place: The county added 9,488 housing units from 1999 to March 2000. Nancy Payton, Southwest Florida field representative for the Florida Wildlife Federation, said the census figures on growth aren't a surprise. "It's confirming the obvious," Payton said. 
Copyright  © 2002  Naples News  All rights reserved.

The Nature of Things: 
Ducks Unlimited Seeks a Larger Role in Florida 
At a conference earlier this year, noted bird researcher John Fitzpatrick from Cornell University said the key to bird preservation was to treat all birds like ducks. That may seem like a puzzling statement to many of you. What it means is that since the 1930s there has been a concerted effort to protect waterfowl habitat, primarily in the nesting grounds in places like the Great Plains, but also in some of the wintering areas in the South. A significant amount of the work has been done by a private organization known as Ducks Unlimited, which was founded in 1937. To some, Ducks Unlimited is a duck hunters' organization whose goal is simply to make sure there's enough ducks to shoot. That's certainly part of it. But that's only some of the story. At base, Ducks Unlimited's work involves wetlands habitat protection. 
Copyright  © 2002  The Ledger All rights reserved.

Ex-director of UT's marine institute dies
Howard Thomas Odum turned small field station in Port Aransas into modern lab
Howard Thomas Odum, a founder of the modern science of ecology and an influential voice in the restoration of the Everglades, died on Wednesday at a hospice in Gainesville, Fla. He was 78. The cause was cancer, The Gainesville Sun said. In six decades as a professor of environmental sciences at a succession of universities, Dr. Odum pioneered research into ecosystems and helped integrate ecology and economics. His research, often conducted with his older brother, Eugene, an ecologist at the University of Georgia, who died on Aug. 10 at 88, led to the formation of many fields of science, including systems ecology, ecological economics and ecological engineering. In 1987, the brothers received the Crafoord Prize, the most prestigious award in ecological sciences, from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. 
Copyright  © 2002  Caller All rights reserved.

Judge won't appoint cleanup overseer
A federal judge Tuesday refused to appoint a special overseer to closely monitor state and federal compliance with Everglades cleanup requirements.  U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler gave government lawyers one month to respond to other requests by Miccosukee Indians and environmentalists for enforcement of a 1992 lawsuit settlement. The tribe claims government agencies are dragging their feet on pollution control projects and violating terms of the settlement intended to protect the Everglades from ecology-choking phosphorus.  "You're saying that there is plenty of time and plenty of opportunities and not enough dust to close our eyes," Hoeveler said, summarizing the position of state water managers. "I think that you're right."  Phosphorus reduction rules took effect in 1999 at the Loxahatchee refuge in western Palm Beach County and will extend to Everglades National Park in October 2003 and December 2006. 
Copyright  © 2002  Tampa Tribune / Associated Press  All rights reserved.

17-September-02

Swiftmud says county has plenty of water
The agency makes that assessment at a meeting that drew a standing-room-
There is enough water to serve Citrus County now, as well as the new homes and businesses expected to crop up by 2020, officials from the Southwest Florida Water Management District told residents Monday at a County Commission workshop. Despite those assurances, some residents complained Swiftmud sends mixed signals by granting water use permits for large projects, such as the 322- acre dairy farm in the works near Lecanto, while homeowners are told to conserve water. "If you can give the water to the cows, why can't you give it to us?" Beverly Hills resident Dick Schnably asked, referring to the permit allowing Dale McClellan's dairy farm to pump an average of 470,000 gallons a day. Swiftmud officials said they won't grant a permit that would damage the aquifer or harm neighbors by using too much water.   
Copyright  © 2002  St. Petersburg Times  All rights reserved.

Editorial: Keep it clean
Okeechobee project: Take care not to lend our aquifer to pollution
Nothing is certain except death and taxes or so it is said. Let's hope we can add a water filtration project now going on in western Martin County to that short list. It's hoped that scientists working on methods of filtering water from Lake Okeechobee would not act hastily until they are sure of the outcome of their theories. Out at Port Mayaca, two engineering firms are testing methods to filter lake water and pump it into underground storage areas, as part of the $8 billion Everglades Restoration plan. The tests are being overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Martin County Health Department, the South Florida Water Management District, and the University of South Florida.   
Copyright  © 2002  TC Palm All rights reserved.

Group examines future of Florida's water
Underneath Marion County's vast and diverse landscape flows 10 percent of the state's drinking water, some of which surfaces from about a dozen of the world's most unique springs linked directly to the Floridan Aquifer. At the same time, Marion County also rests on a karst sensitive barrier that's just over that water table, where sinkholes —- especially in the western half of the county —- open up to provide a direct route into the drinking water supply. Those sinkholes are one way Central Florida's water supply could be damaged. Sunday, the Smart Growth Coalition of North Central Florida hosted an educational forum about the area's drinking water. "Sinkholes are like IVs to the Floridan Aquifer," explained panelist Trudy Phelps, a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist since 1974. "That's why it's important that hazardous chemicals do not end up in these sinkholes."  
Copyright  © 2002  Ocala Star Banner All rights reserved.

                Related Links,

                Smart Growth Coalition of North Central Florida
                (no web site found)

                Florida Department of Environmental Protection Florida's Springs

Website Offers Chesapeake Bay Monitoring Data
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has launched a new Web site that uses new monitoring technologies to provide a better picture of the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The site (http://www.eyesonthebay.net) provides real time information on a range of environmental data, including salinity, temperature, levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, water clarity, algal levels and chlorophyll concentrations. The Web site also offers background material to help the public to understand why the data is relevant, how to interpret it, and what Maryland is doing to restore the health of Maryland's coastal bays and their tributaries. "These are both exciting and challenging times for our Bay cleanup," said DNR Secretary J. Charles Fox. "These powerful new tools combine remote sensing technology and the use of the Internet to link former gaps in data. 
Copyright  © 2002  Environment News Service (ENS)  All Rights Reserved.

                Related Articles,

                September 13, 2002
                New technologies Advance Understanding of Water Quality in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays: 
          &nbs