Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 8-28-09

FEATURED STORIES

Senator Nelson: No drilling off Florida's coast (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Related: Sierra Club Report: Don’t Rig Our Coastal Economy
Senator Bill Nelson said today he will do whatever it takes to make sure a proposal to allow offshore drilling near Florida's coast is rejected in the Senate.

Sen. Landrieu's plan to export Louisiana's coastal destruction to Florida
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
While Louisiana struggles to restore coastal wetlands ravaged in large part by decades of oil and gas drilling, its senior senator is leading the effort to lift the ban on drilling off Florida's Panhandle.

State Amendment 4 Opposition is The Pot Calling The Kettle Black
By Jill Elverton
Eye On Miami
I keep getting news releases from this young man, Ryan Houck, (who worked for U.S. Senator Martinez) of Floridians for Smarter Growth.

Florida's growth management boss fends off developers' criticism
By Michael Van Sickler
St. Petersburg Times
All summer, Tom Pelham has been Public Enemy No. 1 for developers unhappy with his interpretation of a law passed this year designed to ease regulation of growth.

Judge: Water managers can borrow $650 million for U.S. Sugar deal
By Tony Doris
Palm Beach Post
Water managers' plans to buy a vast swath of sugar cane land for Everglades restoration got a boost today when a judge cleared them to borrow $650 million for the initial purchase.

Florida environmental projects rescued
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
For the first time in 20 years, the governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved a priority list for the nation's largest environmental land buying program without any new money to pay for it.

Future of Apalachicola Bay Hangs on Water Battle (audio story)
By Margie Menzel
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The 19-year court battle among Florida, Georgia and Alabama over the river system they share has flared up again.


Coming to a beach near you? Joel Sandoval, a spill response worker with Miller Environmental, tosses a bag with sand and tar on top of more than a dozen other bags Tuesday, July 28, 2009, as he and other workers clean tar off Malaquite Beach in Corpus Christi, Texas.


MORE GREEN NEWS

Climate panel rejects scrapping energy test
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A state climate panel today rejected a commissioner's recommendation for Florida to replace its test for analyzing energy programs -- a test that environmentalists have argued is a barrier to conservation.

As loggerhead populations decline, group wants turtle on endangered list
By Kevin Lollar
Ft. Myers News-Press
A recent report states that most populations of loggerhead sea turtles worldwide, including those that nest on Southwest Florida beaches, are at risk of extinction.

Eliminate bottom longlines altogether
By Gary Appelson
Tallahassee Democrat
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has an excellent record of protecting Florida's marine resources and safeguarding our coasts from oil and gas development to sustain our unique environment, economy and way of life.

Is it finally time to drill for oil of Florida's coast?
Two views on the topic.
Florida Times-Union
Advocates for oil drilling off the coast of Florida appear to be gathering momentum as the state seeks much-needed revenue and more jobs.

State senator backs drilling off Gulf Coast
By Rick Neale
Florida Today
Florida lawmakers should open the Gulf Coast to offshore oil drilling to help fund schools, State Sen. Mike Haridopolos believes.

EPA Agrees to Set Limits on Florida Fertilizer and Waste Pollution (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
The Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice have negotiated a deal to set limits on the amount of fertilizer and waste that can be released into Florida's waterways.

Environmental group wants to extend coral reef protection
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
An environmental group has petitioned the federal government to extend a coral protection zone 15 miles up the Palm Beach County coast, where it could interfere with plans to widen eroded beaches.

In the Florida Keys, staghorn, elkhorn coral making a comeback
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Every August or September on nights following a full moon, divers descend into the dark, warm waters off the Florida Keys to watch group sex -- a fascinating reproductive eruption known as the annual coral spawn.

Ag Commissioner Bronson pushes conservation easements
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new conservation lands purchase list but only after Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson insisted that the elected panel also should approve a state work plan for buying land.

Drilling debate digs for real solutions
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
The head of Florida's most powerful business group said Thursday a "radical left-wing fringe" of voters is stopping the state from cashing in on offshore oil drilling.

Pro-Drilling, Anti-Carbon Cap (audio story)
By Steve Newborn
WUSF Public Radio Tampa
A group calling themselves Energy Citizens held a rally that included a glossy video presentation, live music and Cuban sandwiches.

Political clout bolsters FPL push for rate increase
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related: FPL chief says his $3.6 million pay is justified
Related: Sparks fly as FPL rate-increase hearing opens
When Florida's largest electric utility goes to state regulators Monday to ask for permission to dramatically raise rates, it will have recent history, powerful supporters and financial clout on its side.

Beaches Energy weighs nuclear energy option
By Caren Burmeister
Florida Times-Union
The Beaches-area electric utility could tap into the first nuclear power plant to be built in Florida since 1976 as part of a long-term plan to diversify energy resources and limit pollution and price fluctuations.

Citrus County residents plan protest of proposed nuclear plant
Staff Writer
St. Petersburg Times
Angered by Progress Energy Florida's proposed rate hikes, a group of Citrus County residents are taking their opposition of the utility to the streets and the media.


Editorial cartoon by Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 8-21-09

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FEATURED STORIES

Fla. could run out of land-buying money by Oct. 1
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Related: Ranking system urged to save nation's largest land-buying program
Florida could be out of money for buying conservation lands by Oct. 1 unless new bonds are issued to allow purchases.

Fla. Governor's Moves Scrutinized for Clues to U.S. Climate Debate
By Alex Kaplun
New York Times
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is getting intense heat from his party's right wing over his support of climate legislation, fueling speculation that the popular politician may move away from "pro-green" positions that have been praised by top Democrats and environmentalists.

Activists criticize pro-oil rallies (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Next Thursday in Ybor City, a rally is being organized by Energy Citizens, a pro-oil, anti-cap-and-trade group.

Forget Russians; fear Texas oilmen
By Eric Draper
TC Palm
In the 1960s comedy “The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming,” coastal villagers and hapless sailors almost start a war as their imaginations get the best of them.

FWC invites public comments on endangered and threatened species listing changes
Staff Report
Foster Folly News
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will hold a meeting for the public to comment on draft rules for the state’s imperiled species listing process.

Florida's utilities want to build, not conserve
By Stephen Smith
Tallahassee Democrat
Last week was a big one for Florida utilities in Tallahassee.

Sea turtle hatchlings get running start to a life full of peril
By Terry Tomalin
St. Petersburg Times
This evening, shortly after sunset, Jim Wilson plans to dig a hole in the sand and look for stragglers in nest No. 22.

So long, Gov. Green, vanishing in political smog
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Two years ago, Gov. Charlie Crist looked more green than tanned. In a single day, he signed three executive orders that set Florida on an environmental course as progressive as California's.


Sea turtle hatchling looking to beat the odds.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Ruling on Longline Fishing Aids Turtles
By Cornelia Dean
New York Times
When a federal panel that regulates fishing in the Gulf of Mexico voted last week to limit the use of longlines to catch grouper because the lines can snag and drown threatened loggerhead sea turtles, no one was completely satisfied with the decision.

One Person’s Boondoggle, Another’s Necessity
By Michael Cooper
New York Times
The $14.7 million for a new airport on an Alaskan island that averages only 42 flights a month.

Land swap helps St. Johns River stay wild
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Authorities are on the verge of finally assembling a vast sanctuary along a Central Florida stretch of the biggest and most beleaguered river within the state.

We can protect turtles and fishermen
By Sen. Bill Nelson
Tallahassee Democrat
One of the things I've tried to do in the U.S Senate is to protect Florida's marine resources, upon which many livelihoods depend.

Lobbyist hisses: Give snakes fair shake
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
For Andrew Wyatt, a fascination with snakes began when he was the son of an American serviceman stationed in India.

Crist checks out beach erosion in Destin
By Tom McLaughlin
Northwest Florida Daily News
Gov. Charlie Crist traveled to Destin Monday to survey damage done by Tropical Storm Claudette.

Gator hunters taunt protesters as season starts
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Gator meat tastes like chicken," and "Going to get a few of them right now" are some of the jeers tossed at a handful of alligator-hunt protesters holding signs that read: "If you respect them, protect them" and "Ban gator hunt."

Crist considers meeting with Ala., Ga. in water dispute
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida via FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist is mulling over dates to meet with his counterparts from Alabama and Georgia as leaders of the three neighboring states try to resolve a longstanding feud over how to divvy up water coming from Lake Lanier.

Regulators: FPL must reveal executives' salaries
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
State regulators on Tuesday unanimously voted to force Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy to disclose how much they pay their top executives. FPL's response: We'll see you in court.

FPL says bills will go down
Staff Report
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Power and Light -- under attack for a proposed rate increase and with questions being raised about its executive compensation -- said that it expects its overall customer rates to drop about 8.3 percent in 2010.

Mercury In Fish Widespread (audio story)
By Trimmel Gomes
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
A federal study out Wednesday shows that mercury in fish is widespread across the country, and some of the highest levels of contamination are found right here in Florida.

Polluted policy
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Taxpayers in Florida and across the nation are spending billions of dollars to restore the Everglades.

Back on Everglades track
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
When it comes to restoring the Everglades, an agreement on science may be only as good as an agreement on finances.


Endangered wood storks and others in Everglades National Park.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 8-14-09

FEATURED STORIES

Scientists: Development draining St. Johns springs
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
Some springs that feed the St. Johns River are producing less water, likely because of spreading development around them, a team of federal scientists has found.

Third proposal surfaces for pumping water for public use from St. Johns River
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County and a half-dozen Central Florida cities are getting ready to spend $5 million to draw up what could become another controversial plan to pump water from the St. Johns River.


By Dana Summers, Orlando Sentinel.

U.S., Florida reach Everglades restoration deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Water managers and the White House signed a crucial contract Thursday that promises a much-needed infusion of federal dollars for the Everglades.

Crist, Cabinet okay Progress Energy's nuclear power plant in Levy County
By Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times
The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved Progress Energy's controversial proposal to build a nuclear plant in Levy County, the first such plant approved in Florida in 33 years.

Crist averts GOP heat, tables climate summit
By Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist's plans for a third high-profile climate summit have been indefinitely postponed as the Republican weighs the political cost of the event's expensive price tag.

Lehigh Acres: Florida's lesson in unregulated growth
By Kris Hundley
St. Petersburg Times
Hoping to jump start the economy, Florida lawmakers have eased the rules on developers.

Commercial sustainability in North Florida requires collaborative effort
By Will Brown
Tallahassee Democrat
There may be an “I” in sustainability, but the term is certainly not something that can be done by individuals alone or on an isolated basis.


St. Johns River near Blue Spring State Park.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Florida to unveil rules for listing imperiled species
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
The state will unveil draft rules Monday night for listing imperiled species.

The Future of Florida Bay
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
Can Florida Bay be restored? Yes.

Florida, federal government declare truce in Everglades money war
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
After eight years of wrangling, the state and federal government have come to terms on how to split the multibillion-dollar cost of restoring the Everglades, clearing the way for the money that President Obama has pledged to the effort.

Gov. Crist still upbeat on Everglades deal
By Michael Peltier
Naples News
Despite legal challenges that may stall the project, Gov. Charlie Crist continues to support the $536 million plan with U.S. Sugar Corp. to buy 73,000 acres in the Everglades.

Environmentalists call for more green jobs in Florida (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Although health care is the raging issue in Washington and across the country, U.S. Senators are also likely to take up climate change when they return from the August recess next month.

Nuclear Plant Protest
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
For the first time in 33 years, the state cabinet approved plans to build a nuclear power plant.

Off-Shore Drilling: Opportunity or Mistake?
By Heather Biance
WCTV CBS News Tallahassee
Floridians guzzle 10.4 billion gallons of gas and diesel each year, making the Sunshine State the third largest consumer in the nation.

Enviros, utility reps clash over RIM test
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Representatives of utilities and environmental groups disagreed today on whether the Florida Public Service Commission now is required to use a new test to analyze utility conservation programs.

Florida lawmakers could force ban of Burmese pythons
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Lawmakers may force the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to ban sales of Burmese pythons and other dangerous reptiles if the agency fails to act on its own.

U.S. regulators cut longline grouper fleet by 50%
By Stephen Nohlgren
St. Petersburg Times
Federal regulators decided Thursday to cut Florida's longline grouper fleet in half to protect loggerhead turtles.

Cockaded woodpeckers need your help
By Terry Pelican
Pensacola News Journal
Liz Langston is looking out for a few of our feathered friends.

Nesting numbers continue to decline for loggerhead sea turtle
By Whitney Bryen
Naples News
At 6:30 a.m., the sand on Vanderbilt Beach is void of yesterday’s footprints and sand castles as the sun rises over downtown Naples to the south.

Sea Turtle Workshop (includes video)
Georgia is preparing to step up its offensive in the long-running battle with its neighbors over federal water rights by focusing on Florida's environmental record and dredging up a 150-year-old ruling that could give Alabama less control of a key river, Gov. Sonny Perdue said last week.


Limpkin on the St. Johns River near Blue Spring State Park.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 8-7-09

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Bay's ecology on the brink of collapse
By Brian Skoloff
The Associated Press
Boat captain Tad Burke looks out over Florida Bay and sees an ecosystem that's dying as politicians, land owners and environmentalists bicker.

Pipeline Leak in Gulf: Oil Spills Do Happen
Staff Report
Lakeland Ledger
Some 63,000 gallons of crude leaked from a cracked oil pipeline 30 miles off the Louisiana coast late last month.

Chance at $2.3B a year spurs Florida politicos to rethink oil-rig opposition
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Congress is offering Florida potentially billions of dollars in royalties if the state bows to the growing clamor to expand oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Both Major Candidates for Florida Governor Oppose Offshore Drilling (audio story)
By Tom Flanagan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Neither the Democratic nor Republican candidates for Florida governor seem impressed by the growing clamor for oil and gas drilling off the state's coast.

Charlie Crist cooling on climate change
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Charlie Crist is cooling to global warming.

Judge to decide next step for U.S. Sugar land deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Water managers once hoped their plan to borrow as much as $2.2 billion for Gov. Charlie Crist's land deal with U.S. Sugar would breeze through judicial approval, setting aside just three hours for the hearing seven months ago.

Study points to carbon-capture benefits of Florida public lands
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Florida's state parks, forests and other public lands some day could pay millions of dollars to the state annually for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are captured and stored in plants and soils, according to a recent study.

Navy Does FL Right Whales a Wrong (includes audio)
By Glen Gardner
Public News Service Florida
Groups in Florida committed to protecting the North Atlantic right whale say the Navy has made an end run around environmental protections in announcing construction of its Undersea Warfare Training Range off the Florida and Georgia coasts.

DEP requests approval of Levy Co. nuke plan
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Take action: August 11th Tallahassee meeting info from Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is asking the governor and Cabinet to approve Progress Energy's site application to build a nuclear power plant on 3,105 acres in Levy County.


From nature coast to nuclear coast: groups working to oppose Progress Energy’s Levy County nuclear plant include Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, the Green Party of Florida and NoNuke.org.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Burmese Python Hunt Extended
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Related: Governor visits FWC
The open season on Burmese pythons is being extended past its October 31st end date.

Neither Sink nor McCollum endorse Crist climate goals
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
With CFO Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum ahead early as the leading candidates for governor, neither is being specific on whether they would keep the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals put in place by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Clyde Butcher continues to capture mystique of the Everglades
By Jeff Klinkenberg
St. Petersburg Times
As much as I love Clyde Butcher's Everglades photographs, I think I love watching him take a photograph even more.

Panther killed on I-75
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A Florida panther was struck by a semitrailer and killed overnight near mile marker 90 on Interstate 75 in Collier County, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Brazen Young Panther Killed a Long Way From Home
By Lisa Rab
Broward New Times
​Males. When they're young and brash, trying to mark their territory and impress girls, there's no telling what they'll do. Run off to Georgia, even, and get themselves killed.

Rough year for turtle hatchlings
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Dozens of sea turtle nests are hatching now, but street and residential lights are drawing hundreds of them away from the water, according Mote Marine Laboratory.

Anglers Divided Over New Florida License Program
By Damien Cave
New York Times
One of the few things Eddy Corea enjoys since being laid off 18 months ago is fishing from the shore.

Scientists searching for elusive largetooth sawfish
By Neil Johnson
Tampa Tribune
Scientists will spend the next three months looking for what may be a phantom with fins.

State parks feeling budget cuts
By Amanda Nalley
Tallahassee Democrat
Stabilizing the Lake Overstreet trails at Maclay Gardens State Park is high on the park's priority list for maintenance requests. The estimated cost: $30,000.

Experts reduce hurricane season forecast
By Eliot Kleinberg
Palm Beach Post
El Niño's emergence has led the Colorado State University team of William Gray and Phil Klotzbach to reduce their forecast for this hurricane season.

Dispute over Everglades funding finally settled
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
After eight years of bickering, the state and the federal government have finally shaken hands on how to split the massive bill to restore the Everglades.

Public needs a voice in land-use changes
By Daniel Shoer Roth
Miami Herald
The epic battle waged by Lowe's to build a superstore on land protected by Miami-Dade's Urban Development Boundary ended last week when Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet voted against the home-improvement chain.

The truth about Florida Hometown Democracy
By George Niemann
Hernando Today
The person on the street, pretty much anywhere in Florida, will attest to the fact that we all have seen the way we live change significantly as a result of Florida's booming growth.

Offshore drilling risks offset rewards
By Roland Loog
Gainesville Sun
Related editorial: Messy business
With our economy facing many challenges, offshore oil drilling has become an increasingly important topic for Floridians.

The Gulf and the 10th Amendment (audio story)
By James Call
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Pressure is growing to allow drilling off Florida's Gulf coast.

Push back on drill push
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The bill is labeled "The Domestic Energy Security Act of 2009," but the more accurate name would be "The Help Louisiana and Alaska at the Expense of Florida Act of 2009."

Nothing slick about spills
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Some 63,000 gallons of crude leaked from a cracked oil pipeline 30 miles off the Louisiana coast last weekend.

Keep Florida safe from offshore drilling
Editorial
Miami Herald
When the Florida House of Representatives this spring passed a bill to allow oil and gas drilling three miles off Florida's coast, Senate President Jeff Atwater called the measure ``dead in the water,'' and it went nowhere.


Endangered wood stork soaring above Fred George Basin, June 2009.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 7-31-09

FEATURED STORIES

Report ranks Florida 9th in U.S. beachwater quality
By Kevin Barnard
Tampa Tribune
Click here to see how the NRDC report rates your beach.
Water quality at nine beaches in Hillsborough County failed to meet Florida's daily maximum bacterial standards during sampling in 2008, the Natural Resources Defense Council says in a national report released Wednesday.

Opposition squares off on growth amendment
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Click here to visit Florida Hometown Democracy and learn more about Amendment 4.
City and county governments have treated growth-management plan changes "like Halloween candy" for developers and voters need a "veto," the head of a controversial constitutional-amendment campaign said Thursday.

Florida Cabinet thwarts plan to alter Miami-Dade development boundary
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Click here for the National Parks Conservation Association/Clean Water Action press release.
Gov. Charlie Crist and Cabinet members sent Miami-Dade and other urban counties a message Tuesday when they rejected the county's attempt to move the development line west to accommodate a Lowe's Superstore.

Pollution still feeding Gulf dead zone
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald Tribune
The vast oxygen-starved dead zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico shrunk by more than half its typical size this year, but scientists see nothing to celebrate.

An Advocate’s Guide to Growth Management Advocacy After SB 360
Audubon of Florida
The Florida Legislature passed SB 360 in 2009, despite objections from environmental and growth management advocates.

An Advocate’s Guide to Navigating Permit Program Changes at Water Management Districts
Audubon of Florida
The Florida Legislature passed SB 2080 in 2009, changing the water management district (WMD) permit approval process, despite objections expressed by Audubon and the conservation community.

DEP requests approval of Levy Co. nuke plan
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is asking the governor and Cabinet to approve Progress Energy's site application to build a nuclear power plant on 3,105 acres in Levy County.

Supporters of drilling eyeing area off coast
By Lesley Clark
Miami Herald
Two senators from oil-producing states have introduced legislation that would bring oil drilling to within 45 miles of Florida's Gulf coast.


Coming to a beach near you? Gooey blobs of oil washed ashore on Texas beaches last week. The source has yet to be identified.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Ala. Governor Warns Utility on 3-State Water Feud
By Ben Evans
The Associated Press
Alabama Gov. Bob Riley is warning utility giant Southern Co. to stay out of the region's tri-state water war.

Postcard from The Everglades
By Tim Padgett
Time Magazine
This is the everglades that they put in brochures.

Study points to carbon-capture benefits of Florida public lands
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Florida's state parks, forests and other public lands some day could pay millions of dollars to the state annually for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are captured and stored in plants and soils, according to a recent study.

Powerful sides face off over Florida's power-saving plan
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
An energy conservation plan affecting millions of Floridians' electric bills is sparking a fight between big power companies and environmental activists.

FPL: State's growth calls for new gas pipeline
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Florida's population growth and economic prosperity will require a gas pipeline, angling down the peninsula from near the state line to south of the Space Coast, a Florida Power & Light Co. executive testified Monday.

Would Florida recycling plan raise local trash pickup costs?
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
For people to buy into recycling, maybe they need meters on their trash cans, a Florida agency says.

Cabinet to consider first "rural lands" purchase
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet on Tuesday will consider approving the purchase of a 690-acre conservation easement in Flagler County, the first purchase under a state program aimed at preserving agricultural lands.

Everglades restoration in danger from inland-port plan, groups say
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The fight over where to build Florida's proposed "inland port" has Palm Beach County considering allowing more industrial development on former Everglades land, even if the coveted distribution center goes elsewhere.

Army Corps begins dumping Lake O water as drought turns to fears of a glut
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
The drought just ended last month, and already, fresh water is being emptied to sea.

Navy gets OK for Florida sonar range, but faces obstacles to use it
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
The Navy is finalizing plans to build a $100 million training range off Jacksonville's coast - but may be years from getting permission to use it.

Saving the sawfish
By Cindy Swirko
Gainesville Sun
George Burgess is so associated with sharks that he often can be seen explaining the beauty of the fearsome creatures during the Discovery Channel's annual Shark Week programming, the summertime favorite that begins Sunday.

At biofuel summit, Bronson says oil drilling is needed
By Keith Laing
News Service of Florida via FloridaEnvironments.com
Drilling for old-fashioned oil in near shore Florida waters should be part of the nation's energy diet, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson said today at a conference about increasing the use of newer fuel types.

Crist declines to say how close is too close for oil drilling
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist this morning declined to say how close is too close for oil drilling off the Florida coastline.

Eric Draper on off-shore drilling (audio story)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Eric Draper from the Florida Audubon Society is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Agriculture Secretary next year.

Oil Fight Rages
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Legislation allowing oil drilling 45 miles off the coast of Florida is making waves in congress.

Area legislators, business owners oppose drilling
By Lee Logan
Bradenton Herald
Local legislators and business owners are worried the latest push to open Florida’s Gulf Coast to oil drilling might harm the environment and tourism industry.

Is the python hunt all hype? Scientists try to squeeze some truth into snake search
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
One week after a pet python escaped its terrarium and strangled a 2-year-old girl in Sumter County, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson unfurled a 16-foot python skin at a congressional hearing and warned, "It's just a matter of time before one of these things gets to a visitor in the Florida Everglades."

Supporter, opponent of growth amendment sling mud in debate
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A founder of a proposed state constitutional amendment on growth said during a debate today that supporters face "greedy" opponents, while a spokesman for an opposition group said the founder has shown people they can have any opinion "as long as it's her's."

People need veto power of Hometown Democracy
By John Hedrick
Tallahassee Democrat
Architect Steve Jernigan opposes the Hometown Democracy Amendment No. 4 to the Florida constitution, which will be on the Nov. 2, 2010, ballot.

There is no need to drill off Florida's Gulf Coast
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Why would senators from Alaska and Louisiana lead the latest congressional effort to end legislative protection for Florida's coastline from offshore drilling?

Time for Obama to squelch offshore drilling
Editorial
Bradenton Herald
Once again, we’re engulfed in a battle over drilling off Florida’s Gulf coast.


Endangered wood storks nesting in Fred George Basin, June 2009.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 7-24-09

FEATURED STORIES

Cities team up to oppose law
By Howard Cohen
Miami Herald
More cities are joining Weston's lead in opposing the state's recently signed Growth Management Act, which local leaders argue will limit developers' responsibility in paying for expanded roads while promoting more sprawl.

Without a vote, controversial golf course west of Boca Raton gets water managers' OK
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
After two years on hold, a controversial water permit for a south Palm Beach County golf course became one of the first to win approval under the state's new system of making such decisions behind closed doors.

Alabama, Florida see water wars differently
By Kathy Seale and Bruce Ritchie
Atlanta Journal-Constitiution
Six days ago, a federal judge ruled that Georgia is drawing water illegally from Lake Lanier and set a three-year deadline for Georgia, Florida and Alabama to settle their long-running water war.

Want sensible growth? Take matters into your own hands
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
Support Amendment 4, Hometown Democracy.
Development interests are gearing up for a fight, stocking their war chests with millions of dollars to do battle against the people they fear most in the world: You.

Hold the line on development
Editorial
Miami Herald
Learn more about this issue at Hold the Line.
With empty land available to build stores and homes in Miami-Dade County's designated urban area and with thousands of vacant homes waiting to be bought in this recession why would commissioners push for development out in the western fringes?


Snowy egret chicks nesting in Fred George Basin, June 2009.

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New Rule Restricts Take of Turtles (audio story)
By Trimmel Gomes
WFSU-FM Public Radio Tallahassee
Starting Monday the harvest of freshwater turtles from Florida waterways will be banned.

Panama City airport to pay $251,323 for violations
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Airport officials in Bay County have agreed to pay the state $251,323 -- reduced from nearly $400,000 as proposed in May -- to settle proposed violations issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Everglades Earth First protecting Florida old growth cypress by protesting FPL
By Virginia Jones
Treasure Coast Legal News Examiner
There are few people that see old growth trees, especially in Florida.

Gov. Crist Calls New Water War Ruling 'Monumental'
By Ben Evans and Errin Haines
Lakeland Ledger
Metro Atlanta and its 4 million residents have almost no rights to a massive federal reservoir and must stop taking water from it within three years unless Congress authorizes continued withdrawals, a federal judge ruled Friday.

Finally, Crist names three to fill vacant board seats at South Florida Water Management District
By Tony Doris
Palm Beach Post
With his massive sugar land purchase in the balance, Gov. Charlie Crist today named three relative unknowns to fill seats on the water board overseeing the Everglades restoration and South Florida's faucets.

Judge's Ruling Boosts Florida in Water Wars (audio story)
By Margie Menzel
WFSU-FM Public Radio Tallahassee
In a dramatic ruling, a federal judge has ruled that Georgia must stop withdrawing water within three years from a federal reservoir outside Atlanta that is the city's main water supply.

Peregrine Falcon Removed from Florida’s Endangered Species List
By Bryan Nelson
Planetsave
The recovery of peregrine falcons is one of the great success stories of conservation. Now their population in Florida has rebounded enough to remove them from the state’s endangered species list.

Rare ghost orchid draws the curious
By Andrea Stetson
Ft. Myers News-Press
It buggy, it's hot and thunder rumbles in the dark clouds nearby. But that doesn't stop the crowds from visiting Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

Miami-Based Manatee Is Spotted in Chesapeake Bay
By Martin Weil
Washington Post
In an unusual northern foray, a manatee has made its way into the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay, authorities said last night.

Environmental groups accuse ranch owners of clearing land without authorization
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A ranch in the heart of Florida panther country is at the center of renewed scrutiny over its compliance with environmental laws.

Ponte Vedra turtle Patrol gets to observe a special moment
Staff Report
Florida Times-Union
Northeast Florida's sea turtle nesting season, from May 1 through Oct. 1, offered a rich reward for Ed Butler, a volunteer with the Ponte Vedra Turtle Patrol, and others. This month, they witnessed a turtle laying her eggs in the sand then returning to the sea.

Burmese Python hunting opens
By Diana Moskovitz
Miami Herald
The Burmese python unfurled on the grass, a long slit running down its white belly where hunters had gutted it with a knife.

In Florida, it's snakes and more snakes
By Deirdre Conner
Florida Times-Union
A pygmy rattler bites a man in a Wal-Mart garden center.

County governments want part of Florida's python purge
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
The python roundup ordered by Gov. Charlie Crist last week doesn't go far enough to protect neighborhoods from the scary serpents, Florida counties assert.


Endangered indigo snake.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 7-17-09

FEATURED STORIES

New Airport Impact: A closer Look Pt. 1 (video)
Reported by Mark Vaughn
WJHG NBC 7
Follow-up report: New Airport Impact: A closer Look Pt. 2
The initial plan, to extend the current airport's runway into North Bay, was shot down for environmental reasons.

Millions in road fixes, once promised by developers, could be jeopardized by new law
By Michael Van Sickler
St. Petersburg Times
Related column: Crist signs bad growth law, is 'punished' with $4.3 million in campaign contributions
As mammoth subdivisions got approved amid worsening traffic congestion during the housing boom, residents were continually assured by local officials that future road improvements were covered by developers.

State of the Everglades Report
Audubon Everglades Team
Audubon of Florida
This report recaps Audubon of Florida's progress on Everglades restoration over the past six months.

Wood storks have their best nesting season since the 1930s
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
Related Ft. Myers News-Press story: Wood storks breeding season finally a success
A frenzy of wood stork nesting in the Everglades this year has been one for the books.

NW development moves forward
By Will Brown
Tallahassee Democrat
Leon County commissioners unanimously moved to consider plans for the first phase of the Summerfield property in compliance with the county's comprehensive code Tuesday night.

City, county continue discussion on merging growth departments
By Will Brown
Tallahassee Democrat
The nuances of moving forward with the consolidation of the Growth and Environmental Management Department was the crux of Wednesday's conversation between Tallahassee Mayor John Marks and Leon County Commission chairman Bryan Desloge.


Endangered Florida Panther.

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Attack Survivors Stand Up for Saving Shark Species (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service of Florida
The shark literally bit the hand that fed it - or at least the leg - but now its victim, Miami Beach dive boat owner Michael Beach, is working to conserve and protect sharks like the one that bit him.

Advocate on challenge to proposed nuclear plant (audio interview)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Progress Energy’s plans for a nuclear power plant in Levy County became a little bumpier this week.

Power Giants Seek Big Rate Hikes
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Florida’s two biggest power companies want to dig deeper into your pocket.

Hunters get go-ahead to kill pythons in Big Cypress
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The federal government on Thursday said it would open up Big Cypress National Wildlife Refuge, which borders Everglades National Park, to a pilot program allowing licensed hunters to ''terminate'' any python they encounter.

Humane Society urges state agency to reconsider python decision
Staff Report
Naples Daily News
The Humane Society of the United States is urging the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to reconsider its decision to allow python hunting in Florida.

Delays, price hikes make a muck of $800 million Everglades project
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Deep in the cane fields south of Lake Okeechobee, a massive construction site sits abandoned along U.S. 27, its dreams for the Everglades unfulfilled.

Everglades land swap may be key to FPL plans to expand in West Miami-Dade
By Tania Valdemoro and Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Florida Power & Light bought a ribbon of Everglades marl prairie 40 years ago, envisioning it as an isolated place to some day run power lines.

Sides argue pros and cons of U.S. Sugar deal
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Opponents to an Everglades land deal have stepped up their attacks on a plan they say costs taxpayers too much and threatens to set back environmental restoration.

Outlaw swimming with manatees, environmental group demands
By Barbara Behrendt
St. Petersburg Times
A national environmental organization has asked the federal government to prohibit all swimming with manatees, citing increasing harassment of the endangered species.

Rare ghost orchid blooms again near Naples
By Penny Carnathan
Tampa Tribune
Corkscrew Swamp is happy to be haunted for an unusual three years in a row: Its rare ghost orchid is in bloom again, and again drawing visitors from around the country to the sanctuary northeast of Naples.

Water managers shaking up staff, reducing number of senior employees
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
South Florida's largest and most powerful environmental agency is thinning its management ranks in its largest staff shake-up in years.

Halting wildlife trade
By Jennifer Hobgood
Miami Herald
The 2-year-old Sumter County girl killed last week by an eight-foot pet Burmese python underscores the threat posed when wild animals are kept as pets.

Plan would open Big Cypress to hunting, vehicles
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun Sentinel
A federal proposal would open up a vast sweep of forest and swamp on both sides of Alligator Alley to hunting and off-road vehicles, ending a 20-year stretch in which the only serious predator on the local deer and hogs was the Florida panther.

Turtle harvest ban takes effect July 20
The Associated Press
Miami Herald
A ban on commercial harvesting of Florida's freshwater turtles takes effect July 20.

FWC Requests Comments on First Draft of Imperiled Species Listing Changes
FWC Press Release
Wakulla.com
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) seeks public input on the first draft of rules to revise Florida’s imperiled species listing process.

Supporters say Amendment 4 won't kill jobs
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
Letting voters decide on changes in comprehensive land-use plans will not kill jobs or force a referendum on every new growth opportunity, supporters of a "hometown democracy" amendment said Wednesday.

Amendment 4 corrects power failure
By John Hedrick
Daytona Beach News-Journal
The News-Journal editorial Sunday conceded that the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment would give voters direct veto power over every major land use change approved by local governments.

Vote 'yes' on Amendment 4 to improve your community
By Pedro Monteiro
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Amendment 4, Florida Hometown Democracy, gives the people of a community the right to vote on whether to approve amendments to their local land use plans.

Amendment would please Jefferson
By Rebecca Eagan
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Thomas Jefferson sold me on Florida Hometown Democracy.

SB 360 must be nullified
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
Kudos to Lee County for joining the lawsuit against the state of Florida over a new growth-management law that compromises state and local government's ability to regulate growth and pay for infrastructure.

Move to protect sharks, panthers in South Florida
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Two threatened species of predators, panthers and sharks, deserve an assist from South Floridians.


Endangered whale shark.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"