An economic case for restoration Here’s the problem: Lake Okeechobee discharges harm local economies, tourism and real estate. Let's break that down. 🏝️ Tourism damage: $2.62 billion in lost revenue from red tide in 2018 🏡 Real estate damage: $1.95 billion in potential property value losses in Lee and Martin Counties (2013 blue-green algae blooms) 🐟 Local businesses feel the pain: $75.75 million lost in 2018 from red tide in Sanibel, Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach 🧹 Cleanup costs: $7.4 million annually spent on small business losses, real estate impacts, and direct cleanup Here’s the solution: Rescue the River of Grass! Everglades restoration not only saves money, it makes money. Using revenue from voter-approved Amendment 1 funds, the State [...]

https://youtu.be/RTOTyPtxOwc?si=2hc_gURCKM-sp-DE “It's scary to know that I have been exposed — my children have been exposed, my pets have been exposed — to that type of environment that could have been prevented.” Costa was a healthy 3-year old golden retriever when an encounter with toxic water left her life hanging in the balance. She’d escaped from her backyard and made a run for the St. Lucie River during an active blue-green algae bloom in 2018. Shortly after ingesting some of the algae-laden water, she began vomiting — her body’s desperate attempt to clear itself of the poison. Unbeknownst to her panicked family, Costa was already experiencing organ failure. Only the fast action of emergency vets who quickly diagnosed her [...]

https://youtu.be/C03W3ImxUgk?si=xIiPV7GuH2RbGQI7 "If we lose these places, we lose the resiliency that we need to combat all of the changes that are coming our way. This Rescue plan is so wise, so timely, so responsible. To move the water cleanly into the South Florida system and to restore the River of Grass is vital to us all." — Jim Moir, Indian Riverkeeper For decades, Jim Moir, the Indian Riverkeeper, has watched one of the most biodiverse estuaries in North America become a shadow of its former self. Polluted, opaque discharges from Lake Okeechobee have wiped out once-legendary seagrass meadows that serve as the basis for life in the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.  This incredibly diverse and resilient [...]