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The Eco-Voice Daily Digest
June 19, 2016
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Lake O Conditions:
Caloosahatchee Condition
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Shorebirds battling time, foes in struggle for survival
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Nesting colonies trying to come back from Tropical Storm Colin's mighty blow
By Eric Staats
Some tough shorebirds live on Marco Island.
It's not easy to get to them, one of the largest nesting colonies of least terns and black skimmers in Florida, on the northern end of a spit of sand called Sand Dollar Island at Tigertail Beach.
But Tropical Storm Colin found them when it blew north through the Gulf of Mexico two weeks ago. Surge from the storm washed out hundreds of nests - 90 percent of the colony's black skimmer nests and 20 percent of the least tern nests.
Now the birds are renesting in a race to once again try to fledge young before another storm has a chance to deal another blow.
"I'm hopeful," said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission...more...
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This summer, enjoy our majestic national parks - carefully
WASHINGTON -
We forget, in our over-air-conditioned, too-containerized world, that nature is dangerous.
The heartbreaking tale of the toddler snatched by an alligator as he splashed his feet at the water's edge in the shadow of one of Florida's most luxurious hotels, his parents hovering closely nearby, must remind us to be careful out there. Very careful.
This summer, millions of Americans will head to our magnificent 59 national parks as the National Park Service, one of the most wonderful gifts we citizens have received, celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Millions of those visitors will be unprepared for being in the great outdoors. ...more..
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Dr. Harold Wanless researches climate change as chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. He documents coastal erosion caused by hurricane damage - and the impact of sea-level rise.
Wanless calls South Florida the poster child for climate change.
"Only 8 percent of Miami-Dade County is greater than 10 feet above sea level. When you think about heavy rains and hurricane storm surges, that sort of focuses how vulnerable we are," Wanless says. "Hurricane Andrew was an amazingly tight storm and it had like a 17-foot storm surge."
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Commentary: Opinion - light blue background
The opinions posted on this site are not necessarily those of the site managers or all of our sponsors. Eco-
voice can not verify the accuracy of facts asserted in commentaries but does not knowingly post articles which have serious errors.
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STORAGE & TREATMENT PROGRESS SUMMARY
JUNE 1, 2016
Goals and Objectives
The purpose of this document is to summarize and place into context the projects and policies needed to restore freshwater flows to the Caloosahatchee River and estuary. It outlines a number of the challenges we must overcome in order to be successful in restoring the Everglades and Northern Estuaries. This document is not meant to be all inclusive of Everglades and Northern estuaries projects; but rather its focus is on those projects that will provide the greatest short and long-term benefits to the Caloosahatchee estuary. Introduction
The coastal communities of Lee County are routinely impacted by freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee and excessive stormwater runoff from the Caloosahatchee watershed. The latest event occurred during the winter and spring of 2015/16, at the peak of Southwest Florida's tourism season. A strong El Niño that developed in 2015 and extended into 2016 resulted in rainfall throughout south Florida exceeding 400% of the historic average. This resulted in water managers releasing billions of gallons of freshwater to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries. During the peak of the freshwater flows (late January-early February), the Caloosahatchee estuary received daily average flows exceeding 14,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) measured at the Franklin Lock (S-79). The Caloosahatchee continued to receive flows exceeding the high-flow harm threshold (2,800 cfs) through the middle of April 2016. These damaging flows were the result of runoff from the Caloosahatchee watershed and the regulatory discharges from Lake Okeechobee. As with past high-volume Lake releases in 2005-2006 and again in 2013, the excessive freshwater discharges impacted the ecology of the Caloosahatchee estuary and coastal waters of Lee County. This in turn impacted the quality of life of our residents, regional property values, revenue of area businesses, and it continues to have a lasting effect on our local economy. This problem persists because of inadequate water storage within the Kissimmee, Lake Okeechobee, and Caloosahatchee watersheds and our inability to treat and convey more water south into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay where it is desperately needed. ...
rest of the report
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Purpose for State Acquisition
Northwest of Fort Myers lies the largest and highest quality slash-pine flatwoods left in southwest Florida. The Charlotte Harbor Flatwoods project will protect these flatwoods and connect the Charlotte Harbor State Buffer Preserve with the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area, helping to protect both of these managed areas and the waters of the Aquatic Preserve.
Old-growth South Florida slash pine forests on site are home to at least 10 rare animals including red-cockaded woodpeckers, bald eagles, and Florida panthers are known to use the site. The tract also provides important habitat for several rare plants, most notably a globally critically imperiled plant, the beautiful pawpaw,
Deeringothamnus pulchellus
. The project provides additional protection for the Outstanding Florida Waters of the Gasparilla Sound-Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve and will also connect the Charlotte Harbor State Buffer Preserve and the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area. This upland site is particularly suited for development, especially
The Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) voted unanimously to move the Tidal Creeks Priority #1 Hog and Bear Branches Property forward in the Florida Forever Process.
The Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) is a 10-member group with representatives from four state agencies, four appointees of the Governor, one appointee by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and one appointee by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS). ARC has responsibility for the evaluation, selection and ranking of state land acquisition projects on the
Florida Forever priority list, as well as the review of management plans and land uses for all state-owned conservation lands.
With assistance from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staff and the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI), ARC has the following responsibilities:
Acquisition responsibilities:
- Reviews Florida Forever project proposals and decides evaluation needs.
- Determines final project boundaries.
- Establishes priority ranking of projects and adopts annual land acquisition work plan.
Management responsibilities:
- Reviews all management plans for state-owned lands.
- Reviews land use requests on state conservation lands, including easements, subleases and others.
FNAI provides scientific support to DEP staff and ARC in several key ways:
- Scientific review of newly proposed land acquisition projects.
- Comprehensive analysis and scoring of all Florida Forever projects using the Conservation Needs Assessment and F-Trac.
- Reviews land management plans and participates in land management reviews.
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The Exploring Florida Maps collection contains approximately 6,000 historic and contemporary Florida maps that support all subject areas in the K-12 classroom
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Green Politics - yellow background
The opinions posted on this site are not necessarily those of the site managers or all of our sponsors. Eco-
voice can not verify the accuracy of facts asserted in commentaries but does not knowingly post articles which have serious errors.
Comments on postings can be made on our Facebook page under the Digest of the day.
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Our Principles
Citizens' Climate Lobby is more than non-partisan. We take it one step father in that we aim (we take a vow) to show respect, appreciation and gratitude to all regardless of their political persuasions, beliefs or values. All meetings with members of congress, or their staff, begin with a thank you.
In order to generate the political will necessary for passage of our Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal we train, support and empower volunteers to engage elected officials, the media and the public. Through our education entity, Citizens Climate Education Corporation (CCEC), we train a growing, grassroots network of CCL volunteers, the backbone of our work.
Support includes start up training for new chapters and new members, monthly group meetings, national conference calls with expert guest speakers, and extensive education resources. Training and education are hallmarks of the way CCL does its business.
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Commentary: Opinion
The opinions posted on this site are not necessarily those of the site managers or all of our sponsors. Eco-
voice can not verify the accuracy of facts asserted in commentaries but does not knowingly post articles which have serious errors.
Comments on postings can be made on our Facebook page under the Digest of the day.
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Please hold, Wednesday, June 29, 2016 for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force meeting. Our meeting is tentatively scheduled from 1:00 - 5:00 PM in the Governing Board Auditorium at the SFWMD in Building B-1 located at 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406.
The draft agenda and read-ahead information will be provided at a later date.
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American Ground Water Trust
"For state-of-the-art information, updates on Florida projects and networking among professionals and end-users, this annual AGWT groundwater program gives the best return on investment for any water conference in Florida!"
16th ANNUAL FLORIDA AQUIFER CONFERENCE
September 21 and 22, 2016
WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS WORKSHOP
September 23, 2016
Being held at the same location: Florida Hotel & Conference Center
A great opportunity to attend one or both! Big discounts for attending both events!
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Save the date for 27th annual "Ding" Darling Days
Mark your calendars for this year's "Ding" Darling Days birding and eco-festival at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida, the week of Oct. 16-22, 2016.
Family Fun Day kicks off the week with free activities on Sunday, Oct. 16. It features all-free refuge tours, live wildlife presentations, archery clinics, hot dogs, a touch tank and butterfly house, and kids' nature crafts.
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Eco-voice is a non-partisan, independent, volunteer-run organization, which endeavors to communicate multiple positions on important environmental issues effecting south Florida. The opinions posted on this site are not necessarily those of the site managers or all of our sponsors. Posts are not reviewed for accuracy, spelling or grammar. Comments on postings can be made on our Facebook page or sent to the moderator, ecovoicemoderator@msn.com for posting to our website. License to solicit: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES By CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.'' REGISTRATION# CH31394. "
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