This is a watershed moment for Marine Resources Council (MRC)
There is a newfound enthusiasm for doing something positive to restore the damaged Indian River Lagoon (IRL), which we all love. Since 1990, MRC has stirred a SEA Change: Science + Education + Action, adding to the recent rising tide of progress.
- There are funding commitments and restoration opportunities up and down the IRL.
- The Brevard County Save Our Indian River Lagoon Program, made possible with a one-half cent sales tax, is having a positive and progressively additive benefit.
- The Lake Okeechobee Management Schedule is going into effect, protecting the southern IRL from harmful discharges.
- Reservoirs are being constructed and septic to sewer conversions are being funded.
- Sewage treatment facilities are being planned and upgraded.
- Environmental organizations are gearing up, as well as mobilizing nurseries to grow and plant seagrasses and mangroves, to help restore our ecosystem.
- The Manatee has become a cause celebre, and an atmosphere of optimism pervades as a tide of awareness and action swells.
For 10 years, Leesa Souto, PhD, directed the MRC. With Dr. Souto’s guidance, MRC made great strides in expanding public awareness of poor water quality and nutrient pollution entering the IRL from groundwater stormwater and urban infrastructure. She led MRC through many valuable initiatives that have made it a better, stronger organization. It is with sincere gratitude and respect for Dr Souto’s leadership that we continue our course toward a new beginning for the IRL.
I’m Jim Moir.
I feel privileged to be part of MRC, and to have been a member of its Board of Directors for nearly 18 years, and to now be its Chairman and interim Executive Director. The search for a new executive director, the fourth since our founding in 1990, is underway, and we will keep you posted.
MRC will always stand by its mission:
To improve water quality and to protect and restore the fish and wildlife resources of the Indian River Lagoon, coastal waters, inshore reefs, and the watershed by advocating, using sound science, education, and the involvement of the public at large.
MRC means many things to many people. To me, it is a connection of community to the IRL. That connection is multifaceted. It’s not only educational, recreational, economic, physical and political; it’s emotional and symbiotic.
I also serve as the Indian Riverkeeper; the region I monitor and patrol is the entire 156 mile lagoon from the Loxahatchee River at its south to the Halifax River at its north. You can learn more about the Indian Riverkeeper here.
The Indian River Lagoon system is a marvelously diverse set of ecosystems, as are the
communities living on its margins. I live at the southern end of the IRL system, in Stuart. Some of the most important environmental issues there, in the St. Lucie estuary, are not the same as the issues confronting residents of elsewhere.
Nutrient pollution, urbanization, and loss of habitat are conditions familiar to all of us.
Our goal must be to regain the fragile balance within all of the IRL ecosystems.
As we restore the habitats and get the water quality right, we need to be mindful that we are connected in many different ways to the IRL. Many of our land use decisions and infrastructure demands are going to have long lasting impacts. We have to be accountable for our own behaviors and policies. The resilience of the IRL is linked to our own ability to manage and adapt ourselves to changing circumstances.
East central Florida communities need to convert to Low Impact Development (LID) practices and should be adapting their comprehensive plans, zoning, codes and ordinances to do that. At home and work, we all should follow common sense yard design and maintenance; learn how at https://befloridiannow.org/.
The MRC Board of Directors is undertaking a search for a new Executive Director. As we do, we will do some introspection, evaluate our past record, and attempt to reconcile that with some of our strategic goals and objectives. This is a process rather than an event, and will take some time. I feel strongly that it will be time and effort worth spending because this organization is relevant and worthwhile.
Remain connected, involved and engaged in this new beginning. I welcome dialog and your contribution during this transition. My cell phone number is: 772-341-4953 and my email is [email protected].
