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Sierra Club Florida
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation and Parks (DRP) invites you to participate in a survey to gain a better understanding of recreation-related issues in Florida. Participation in this survey is both voluntary and anonymous. Responses from this survey will be used as part of the 2013 update of Outdoor Recreation in Florida, the statewide comprehensive outdoor recreation plan (SCORP) In addition to participating in the public survey, if you manage public lands, please contact Adam Straubinger, Planning Consultant with DRP's Office of Park Planning by emailing Adam.Straubinger@dep.state.fl.us. Adam will send you a link to a survey for Public Land Providers that will also be used to help prepare the SCORP. Please take a few minutes to share your comments on the service you received from the department by clicking on this link. (DEP Customer Survey) http://survey.dep.state.fl.us/?refemail=Robin.Birdsong%40dep.state.fl.us. No Water for the Caloosahatchee.  Message from the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, April 6, 2012 The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have cut off all water flow to the Caloosahatchee. Toxic algae has started blooming in the river as a result. Three weeks ago the SFWMD Governing Board made a decision to cut off all freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee Estuary. This decision singles out the Caloosahatchee -- NO OTHER WATER USERS are even asked to conserve or restricted from using their full demand! This past week, the Army Corps of Engineers, who has the option to override the SFWMD recommendation, succumbed and cut off all flow to the Caloosahatchee. The Caloosahatchee and Estuary are dependent upon freshwater releases during the dry season and drought years. Without flow the river and estuary have two problems: 1) the estuary becomes too salty upriver and 2) upstream of the lock, the water stagnates and becomes a breeding ground for toxic algae blooms. When the estuary is too salty it devastates snook, blue crab and shrimp breeding habitat, causing a total loss of tape grass that Manatees depend upon for food in the winter months. Lack of fresh water flow causes stagnation of the river upstream of the lock which results in the formation of toxic blue green algae blooms that contain nervous system and liver toxins, affect respiration and can cause skin eruptions. These impacts also impact our local economy which is heavily dependent upon the quality of our waters to attract visitors, businesses and our quality of life. All we are asking is for fair access to life-giving water. If one user is cut back due to low water levels, ll should be cut back in equal measure. Please write, email and call both the SFWMD Governing Board and Corps of Engineers. Ask them to resume these vital releases. Please also call the Army Corps as they retain the ability to override the District at present lake levels. There are links to sample letters to the SFWMD and Corps of Engineers can be found on our website www.sccf.org . Two New Videos show an "environment under attack" in Miami-Dade County.
Bradley Stark, SC Miami Group, joined up with creative director, Nick Katzenback and Ed Asner, to create an Anti-nuclear Video.
Working with Ed Asner was a real treat for the producers and as Nick describes, Sierra Club Florida would like to foster conservation activities in the Panhandle (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington and Bay Counties), with a focus on coastal resources, including oil spill recovery and protecting aquatic preserves, several of which are at risk of closure. The Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process for the BP Oil Spill is underway and local expertise is both needed and highly valued. In addition, based on last year's survey many members expressed an interest in participating in an outings program. Outings are one of the Club's strongest complements to its conservation work. The Chapter Outings Leader will provide training to any members wishing to receive certification to lead future outings. If you are interested in outings in the region, please email Rudy Scheffer, outings@florida.sierraclub.org. If you wish to work on coastal issues in the region, please contact Craig.Diamond@florida.sierraclub.org The new year started out badly for the Florida Panther. A 4-5 year old male panther was hit and killed by a vehicle on State Road 82 in Collier County on January 2, 2012. In 2011 there were 24 panther mortalities recorded, 9 of which were caused by collisions with vehicles. Volunteer now to work with Sierra Club’s National Resilient Habitats Leadership Team to develop and implement local action plans to protect the Greater Everglades eco-region. This Local Delivery Team will create task forces, committees, action teams and whatever is needed to deliver the full range of work of the project, while providing leadership and coordination with strategic partners and other Sierra Club entities. The new volunteers will be expected to work closely with the Sierra Club Florida Chapter and Groups located within the Greater Everglades eco-region. To Apply: Email Craig.Diamond@florida.sierraclub.org, volunteer co-lead of the Greater Everglades Resilient Habitats Local Delivery Team. Please provide a short description of your experience, skills, availability and interest in serving on the Team. Campaigns: Sierra Club’s Greater Everglades Resilient Habitats Project has five initial campaigns. The Local Delivery Team will create an action team to carry out the work of each campaign: 1. Restoring the River of Grass If water were compared to traffic, Shark River Slough would be the Everglades superhighway. It is the deepest, fastest moving part of the Everglades and is itself a collection of interconnected rivers and elongated islands called ridges and sloughs. Shark River Slough slices through Everglades National Park and flows into Florida Bay. The flow through the national park determines the health of its flora and fauna, and the mix of fresh water into salt water is critical to Florida Bay’s wildlife. In 1928, Tamiami Trail blocked the Everglades water superhighway, cutting the Everglades in two. To restore this critical area and the natural flow of fresh water and sediments to the southern end of the Everglades—thus facilitating new mangrove growth, increasing carbon sequestration, sustaining fisheries, and providing a barrier to encroaching salt water as sea level rises—we will: -Encourage and facilitate the acquisition of 180,000 acres of sugar lands offered by U.S. Sugar to the State of Florida in the Everglades Agricultural Area and convert it to natural storage and filtration wetlands. -Elevate at least 6.5 miles of the Tamiami Trail in the southern Everglades and remove existing canals wherever possible. -Protect and restore existing wetlands and expand the area of the Everglades. -Develop management plans to remove invasive species—from cattails to pythons—that threaten the health of the Everglades and its native flora and fauna. 2. Florida Panther Critical Habitat Designation and Wildlife Corridors. The iconic Florida panther stands as a living symbol of the health and wild beauty of the ecosystem. Protecting panther habitat will require the protection and habitats and corridors that will help reconnect the Everglades as a functioning natural system. The Florida panther faces numerous and significant threats and sea level rise will further reduce its dwindling habitat. To protect the Florida panther in light of these many threats, including the projected impacts of climate change, we will: -Obtain critical habitat designation for the Florida Panther and secure a revised recovery plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that fully reflects anticipated climate impacts on panther habitat. -Encourage and facilitate acquisition of sufficient land and connect large protected natural areas with contiguous corridors that would allow panther migration to higher ground as sea level rises. -Transform the Florida Wildlife Action Plan into a climate adaptation plan that emphasizes acquisition of lands and conservation easements to provide habitat, corridors, and connectivity. -Prevent any new housing developments in primary or secondary Florida panther habitat. 3. Improving Water Quality Water is the lifeblood of the ecosystem and essential to the health and well being of Florida’s economy and communities. Our water quality improvement efforts, aimed at reducing nutrient enrichment and red tides will: -Set final numeric nutrient standards for nitrogen and phosphorus in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams, springs, canals, and coastal waters (as proposed by EPA). -Secure an administrative directive to the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct and implement new area-wide environmental impact studies for phosphate mining in the Peace River Basin and for 404 permit decisions that would destroy Florida wetlands. -Halt activities that threaten water quality and inhibit water flow, including new rock mining in the Everglades or the Everglades Agricultural area. 4. Sustainable Fisheries and Coral Reef Protection The health of the Gulf of Mexico is greatly affected by land and water management decisions made onshore. Water diversions from the Everglades as well as water pollution have taken their toll on Gulf fisheries and coral reefs. To protect fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico that are threatened by climate change, increased ocean salinity, overfishing, oil spills, and large dead zones off Louisiana and Florida created by excessive nutrient runoff, we will: -Set aside new Marine Protected Areas. -Protect coral reefs and reef fish in Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. -Ensure that federal and state agencies carry out fisheries management plans to enforce catch limits for overfished species in the Gulf of Mexico. 5. Beyond Oil Drilling in the Eastern Gulf, Big Cypress and Atlantic To reduce the threat to the Greater Everglades ecosystem from oil spills, we will maintain the ban on offshore drilling in the outer continental shelf surrounding Florida’s coastline and oppose oil drilling in Big Cypress Natural Preserve. |