Florida Chapter
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Loxahatchee
Group Florida Chapter |
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| NEWS:Turtle Tracks Newsletter |
John Koch Receives State Award
- By Ron HainesOur very own John Koch has been honored with a Manatee Award for Group Service by the Florida Chapter. Group Chair Kay Gates presented the award at our annual awards ceremony in December.
John has been an invaluable activist since he joined us in the late 1990's after his retirement from academia in Illinois, where he was also an active Sierra Club member. He has been on our executive committee for the past six years and has served as political chair since 2001. In this capacity he has interviewed candidates for local office and made recommendations for endorsements.
John’s work was a pivotal factor in our most recent local elections, especially in the cities of Lake Worth and Palm Beach Gardens, where environmental issues were being voted on and voters looked to Sierra endorsements for guidance. John has served as our delegate to Flexcom since 2002, attending meetings four times a year. He has served as Water Quality Chair since 2002, attending many meetings of the SFWMD. Many members rely on John's astute observational and analytical skills for guidance regarding these technical reports and meetings. He makes it understandable with his clearly delineated comments and critiques. No small feat!
In 2004 John took on yet another responsibility, that of Everglades Coalition representative. John is our consummate volunteer — always ready to do what needs to be done, whether it be taking newsletters to the post office, getting the mail, working at our table at public events or going to demonstrations and special meetings regarding local, regional, or national issues.
And the outdoors-loving John still finds time to go on many of our outings. Our group is fortunate to have such a dedicated volunteer activist and we are happy the Florida Chapter has recognized his accomplishments.
Holiday Party & Auction a Huge Success!
- By Sheila Calderon, Fund Raising ChairWOW!!! We had a great turnout for our annual Holiday Party and Silent Auction. Those who attended had the opportunity to share good times with old and new Sierra friends. It was our best auction to date; we raised over $3,000 after expenses. The money will be used for our Inner City Outings (ICO) Program, Elaine Usherson Scholarship Program and conservation efforts. Through fundraisers like this, we have supported ICO outings, sent more than a dozen youngsters to environmental camp and supported conservation priorities.
"THANK YOU" to everyone who volunteered to help, donated auction items, solicited donations, brought delicious food for our "pot luck" and attended our party. Without the help of volunteers, it just wouldn't happen.
The Holiday Party's theme was "Birds of a Feather Flock Together" in honor of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Prizes were awarded to a few Sierrans who not only brought in a great pot luck dish, but managed to make a beautiful presentation in keeping with our theme. We had everything from a feathered appetizer to a desert that looked like bird eggs. Bravo to the winners and to all those who were so creative. Thank you for adding a festive touch to the party.
Awards were presented to several people who our Executive Committee chose as outstanding for their participation and support of our ideals and conservation efforts. Those honored were Marta Edwards, Newsletter Advertising; Peggy Miller, phone hot line, State Representative Ann Gannon for a "100%" conservation issue voting record (bravo!); Marcia Karasoff, Turtle Tracks Newsletter Editor; John & Mary Ann Thomas, Rainbow Printing; and Richard Grosso and Lisa Interlandi, Environmental and Land Use Law Center, who represent the Lox Group in our legal challenge to the Army Corps permit for Scripps on Mecca Farms. (bravo!) Each honoree was given a certificate of appreciation, a Sierra Club calendar, and a native plant.
A really big THANK YOU to the following businesses and friends who made our auction a financial success with their fabulous donations: AmeliaScapes Landscape, Art Marketplace of Delray, Artists Sheila Finkelstein and Gail Larkin; Ballet Florida, The Breakers Seafood Bar; Butterfly World, Carrabas Italian Grille, DisneyWorld, E. R. Bradley's, FAU College of the Arts; Feng Shui Practioner Suzanne Dauber; Heritage of Miami II Tallship; Jazz Arts Music Society of Palm Beach (JAMS); Kravis Center; Lion Country Safari; The Marshall Foundation; Palm Beach Zoo; Photographers extraordinaire Stanley Rosenberg, Sandy Sadja and Janet W. Willis: Pine Jog Environmental Education Center; "Fabulous" Sculpture Norman J. Gitzen; So. Florida Science Museum & Planetarium; SeaWorld of Orland; Stonewood Grille & Tavern and Two George's Waterfront Grille. Thanks also to members Pam Bates for a weeks get-a-way Ocean Condo and Margi & Gary Lehnertz for the weekend Catamaran sail. Additional contributions were made by members Barbara Curtis, Lori Haynes & Mike Yustin, Kay Gates, Beth Jones and Carolyn Digman. Thank you all!!!!!
We hope all our members will make certain to show their appreciation on behalf of our group by patronizing these establishments and artists.
Inner City Outings (ICO) Report
- By Sheila Calderon, ICO Chair"Wilma" set us back a bit for the fall season of Inner City Outings. However, we ended our 2005 season with a very successful outing to the Savannas State Park on a great weather day during Xmas Week. The Savannas is a unique and beautiful wetlands area just South of Ft. Pierce. Lori Haynes and Mike Yustin led a group of 13 youngsters from the Boys and Girls Club of Martin County to this great location. The hi-light of the day was the canoeing and kayaking which was enjoyed by all. The children had an ecology lesson as well from Lori and Mike (two of our great ICO leaders who always manage to capture the imaginations of the children).
Our next two outings will be to the Manatee Education Center in Ft. Pierce where the children from both our Melaleuca School and Boys and Girls Club will enjoy a boat ride. Hopefully they will get to see some Manatees and Dolphins up close; followed by a picnic lunch and a special program at the Manatee Education Center.
We always hope that the great experiences we offer the ICO children will bring them a little closer to loving nature so that they will someday be Sierra Club volunteers working to protect our environment and the natural areas surrounding us; who knows, maybe even leading their own ICO groups.
Anyone wanting to participate in our ICO Group as a leader or volunteer should contact me at shecal@bellsouth.net or (561) 968-4166.
From the (Easy) Chair
- By Kay Gates, Group ChairWe are all well acquainted with the negative ecological effects of hurricanes — loss of tree canopy and the spreading of weedy invasive species — but Neil Santaniello (nsantaniello@sunsentinel.com) piqued my interest with his article on Dec. 27, “It’s Small Consolation, but Hurricanes provide some benefits to South Florida environment.” Did you know, hurricanes build soils in marshes, cleanse and seed new patches of coral reef in the sea and bring new life into static coastal waters? Amazing what mother nature can do.
Humankind has manipulated the natural systems so significantly that it is difficult, if not impossible, for nature to take its course. We saw this with Katrina. We continue to struggle with our surrounding development to prevent a catastrophe with the Everglades. Hopefully with our legal victory we will be one step closer to Everglades restoration and replenishing the Loxahatchee River. Stay alert for what happens next in Palm Beach County’s western sector. We wish our environmental friends to the north in Martin and St. Lucie Counties success in shaping and maintaining their comprehensive plans in the face of pressure from developers (see page 4).
Welcome to new Executive Committee Board members Jack White and Adele Wolok. A huge thanks to outgoing members Maryvonne Devensky and Louise Austin. Both plan on staying active with the group. Welcome to Sabrina Carle, new (actually renewed) newsletter editor, and newcomer David Keith as Webmaster. Thanks to Marcia Karasoff for doing both jobs for so long. Please check our directory for openings and commitees you might like to participate with. 2006 is an election year; our Political Committee could sure use new members. Hope to hear from more of you.
Global Warming: It's Real & It's Here
- By Drew Martin, Conservation ChairHigher sea temperatures are disrupting delicate coral biosystems, causing a devastating phenomenon known as "Coral Bleaching." Coral thrives and gets its beautiful coloration from a symbiotic relationship with algae. When the water gets too warm and bright, the algae leaves the coral, which then loses its color and becomes susceptible to disease. Amphibians in South America are suddenly going extinct. Scientists now believe that this may be the result of Global Warming.
In the article by David Ignatius "Is It Warm in Here? We Could Be Ignoring the Biggest Story in Our History" we learn that a scientist who has studied the Amazon for over 40 years fears that changes in the Amazon's ecosystem may be irreversible. The article states that "Scientists reported last month that there is an Amazonian drought apparently caused by new patterns in Atlantic currents that, in turn, are similar to projected climate change. With less rainfall, the tropical forests are beginning to dry out. They burn more easily, and, in the continuous feedback loops of their ecosystem, these drier forests return less moisture to the atmosphere, which means even less rain. When the forest trees are deprived of rain, their mortality can increase by a factor of six, and similar devastation affects other species, too.
"When do you wreck it as a system?" Lovejoy wonders. "It's like going up to the edge of a cliff, not really knowing where it is. Common sense says you shouldn't discover where the edge is by passing over it, but that's what we're doing with deforestation and climate change."
The best reporting of the non-news of climate change has come from Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker. Her three-part series last spring lucidly explained the harbingers of potential disaster: a shrinking of Arctic sea ice by 250 million acres since 1979; a thawing of the permafrost for what appears to be the first time in 120,000 years; a steady warming of Earth's surface temperature; changes in rainfall patterns that could presage severe droughts of the sort that destroyed ancient civilizations."
Are the fires in Texas the result of Global Warming? Are severe hurricane's the result of Global Warming? They may be. We need to begin to reduce fossil fuel use. We need to take Global Warming seriously. Next issue we will talk about the actions we can take to improve this situation.
What We Can Do to Save Martin County from Overdevelopment
Sixth Annual Citizens' Growth Management ForumFebruary 18 (Saturday) 10 am - 2 pm at MORGADE LIBRARY (next to IRCC)
Open to the public. Seating is limited so call now (772) 286-9845 (Donna).2006 WILL HAVE ITS CHALLENGES - Developers, land speculators, special interests seeking to increase their profits are making demands for higher density both inside and outside the urban boundary despite growing traffic congestion and school overcrowding; mounting county debt and rising taxes.
The core Comprehensive Growth Management Plan protections are under siege; growth is accelerating — more people, faster. The County Administrator recently announced at the Strategic Planning meeting that development reviews have TRIPLED in the last 4 years. Existing rules are too often not enforced. The County Commission is scheduled to talk about the Development Patterns Study on February 7th.
Join us to hear what the experts have to say about what citizens working together and with citizen-organizations can do and what affects the outcome — locally, in the legislature, and in the courts.
Speakers - Experts on Growth Management and the IRL Plan:
The sponsors working together with citizens have been key to preserving critical Comprehensive Growth
Management Plan protections. The sponors are:
Executive Committee Meetings
February EXCOM: Tuesday, February 14th, 7 p.m. at Harriet Boggi’s (carpooling needed).March EXCOM: Tuesday, March 21st, 7 p.m. at Kay Gates’. Call for directions if you plan to attend. All members are welcome!
Volunteer Opportunities
The Lox Group participates in environmental events and festivals to share our message — "To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth." We meet and greet folks, pass out literature and sell t-shirts to raise money for the cause. If you would like to help at an event, please get in touch. Or just attend. For details, e-mail kay.gates@florida.sierraclub.org.Everglades Day: Saturday, Feb. 11 at the AR Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in western Boynton Beach, off US 441. 9AM till 4 PM.
NatureScaping: Saturday, April 15 at MacArthur Beach State Park. Details in April Turtle Tracks. Save the date!
The Palm Beach County Dept. of Environmental Resources (ERM) has more work days upcoming at Jupiter Ridge and Hypoluxo Scrub natural areas. See the ERM website at www.pbcgov.com/erm/calendar.asp for details. (non-Sierra events)
Holiday Party & Auction: If you want to volunteer to work on next year's party and auction, please e-mail Sheila Calderon at shecal@bellsouth.net. We need you!!!
Newsletter Labeling Party
Watch the e-mail Forum for info on the next Turtle Tracks Labeling Party, which will be in late March or early April.
Join Our E-Mail Forum
- By Ron HainesGet on board with the Loxahatchee Group's very own e-mail forum. This is a general e-mail discussion and announcement list for members of the Loxahatchee Group of the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club. Our forum is a strong network for communications, announcements, action alerts and just plain fun for members of the Loxahatchee Group. To sign onto the list, have your Membership Number handy and fill out the form on one of the following websites: http://www.sierraclub.org/memberlists or http://www.sierraclub.org/memberlists?listname=FL-LOXAHATCHEE-FORUM.
Turtle Tracks is published bi-monthly by the Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group, P.O. Box 6271, Lake Worth, FL 33462-6271. Non-profit postage paid at West Palm Beach, FL.The purpose of this newsletter is to inform members about environmental issues and events. Members subscribe through their annual dues; nonmember subscriptions are available for $12/year. Send address changes to: Sierra Club Member Services, Box 52968, Boulder, CO 80322
Newsletter submissions are welcome. The deadline is the third Tuesday of each month. Email articles to Sabrina Carle at carles@bellsouth.net or deliver on PC format 3.5" disc or CD/DVD to general membership meeting. Typed hardcopies are also acceptable, but not preferred.
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The Loxahatchee
Group is an environmental organization serving Sierra Club members in
Palm Beach
County, Martin County, St. Lucie County and Okeechobee County, Southeast Florida
