Allie Preston, Author at Friends of the Everglades

VIDEO: The Army Corps must make LOSOM a system-wide win

"Cautiously optimistic." That's the way we're feeling as the process to write a new Lake Okeechobee management plan, known as LOSOM, continues into the optimization stage with Plan CC as the foundation. During today's Clean Water Conversation you heard from experts on the east and west coast as they tackled details about the differences in the impacted coastal ecosystems and the necessary modifications it will take to make sure the new LOSOM is a win for everyone. We'd like to extend a big thanks to Mark Perry of Florida Oceanographic Society and James Evans of Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation for sharing their knowledge and insight with us. If you missed the conversation today, you can find the full recording here. And if you [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-29T17:36:09-04:00July 29th, 2021|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, LOSOM|

Help us make public health a priority for LOSOM Alternative CC

Your voices helped us secure Plan CC as the foundation of the new Lake Okeechobee playbook. As the most balanced plan proposed, it was the right choice, offering us the greatest opportunity to protect communities from toxic algae events in the future. But we know there’s work to be done to make it a real system-wide win. As we enter the next stage of "optimization," we need your help again to make sure it's modified to benefit all of the impacted stakeholders. We've made it easy. By clicking the button below, you can send a pre-formatted letter to the Army Corps calling for specific modifications to LOSOM Plan CC that will help to provide true balance and protect our waters from future harm.

Allie Preston2021-07-27T08:03:52-04:00July 27th, 2021|Action Alerts, LOSOM|

Documenting the discharges by plane — 7-23-21

https://youtu.be/bOzIao3lH2M Our partners at LightHawk are helping us keep a close eye on the toxic algae crisis in Lake Okeechobee. This past Friday, pilot John Kusianovich flew a route along the northwest shoreline of the lake. The video above captures the back half of the trip, following the flight path seen in the image below. By John's account, the flight which included a 360 where the Kissimmee river enters the lake, didn't yield too many views of algae on the surface "aside from some patches here and there." The latest NOAA satellite imagery estimating an active bloom that was roughly 260 square miles as of yesterday, is a good reminder that algae can be present even when it's not visible. [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-26T16:44:53-04:00July 26th, 2021|Toxic Algae|

Army Corps’ choice of Plan CC for Lake O presents opportunity for relief from toxic discharges

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers heard our voice — and yours. Now the hard work really begins. After more than two years of meetings, modeling, debates and advocacy, the Corps whittled down the list of potential new “playbooks” to manage Lake Okeechobee to just six: Plans AA, BB, CC, DD, EE1 and EE2. On July 19, the Corps announced CC was its preliminary preferred plan. It was the right choice. Friends of the Everglades and our supporters have for weeks urged the Corps to select an enhanced version of CC, the most balanced overall proposal. It sends more water to the parched Everglades and Florida Bay. It slashes discharges to the St. Lucie Estuary, and outpaced the other five [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-19T15:06:45-04:00July 19th, 2021|LOSOM|

Plan CC makes LOSOM a win for this entire region

The following comments were made during the July 15, 2021, meeting of the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board by Gil Smart, policy director of Friends of the Everglades. Good morning, my name is Gil Smart and I’m Policy Director for Friends of the Everglades, founded in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Today we first wish to first thank the governing board members and everyone at the water management district who have been neck deep in the LOSOM process. The selection of the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual will have a huge impact on the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, Lake Worth Lagoon, the southern Everglades and Florida Bay — all of which have suffered under the current [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-16T10:31:01-04:00July 16th, 2021|All Posts, LOSOM|

Everglades Illustrated: An industry exposed

NASA satellite image of multiple sugarcane fires burning near Belle Glade, Florida, acquired January 5, 2021 See the plumes of smoke in the satellite image above? They mark actively burning sugarcane fields, a practice that’s been used for decades at the expense of exposed residents to make harvesting cheaper. The surrounding black squares show an expansive checkerboard of recently burned sugar fields in the Everglades Agricultural Area. Now imagine living in that area where skies regularly fill with dark smoke that causes eyes to sting and chests to tighten almost every day for six or more months of the year. In Glades communities, nestled south of Lake Okeechobee, that’s reality. Sugar companies set fire to cane fields spanning [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-13T10:35:16-04:00July 13th, 2021|All Posts, Everglades Illustrated, Sugarcane Burning|

Time to step it up on the Lake Okeechobee playbook

With just a week to go before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers tentatively selects its new Lake Okeechobee “playbook,” today’s meeting was crucial. Dozens of stakeholders — “project delivery team” members, federal and state agencies, local governments and members of the public — had a chance to weigh in and endorse one of six prospective plans. It was a crucial opportunity to help shape water policy in Florida for the next decade, and many seized the chance. But others ignored it — and a few seemed utterly unprepared. LOSOM, as the playbook is known, will impact the future of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, the Lake Worth Lagoon, the Everglades and Florida Bay, and could be one of [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-13T11:52:14-04:00July 12th, 2021|LOSOM|

Your moment of Everglades Zen: Wild, wonderful Everglades

Wild, Wonderful Everglades A Friend of the Everglades, Josh Staab, recently gifted us a glimpse of the unspoiled beauty and adventure that is the River of Grass. The short video shows us moments that not even all Floridians are lucky enough to have seen, featuring miles of uninterrupted watery views and animal encounters unique to this part of the world. The video perfectly capture the solitude and beauty of an ecosystem that, despite all odds, remains wild and untamed, all backed by an expansive and ever-changing Everglades sky. These are views worth fighting for. Take a minute to watch the video at the bottom of this page — you'll be glad that you did. In Josh's own words: "In this [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-06T10:24:15-04:00July 6th, 2021|All Posts, Everglades Zen|

Tell the Army Corps the new Lake O plan must protect Florida’s health and environment

The new Lake O plan must protect Florida's health and environment. We’ve got more work to do. That became clear this week during two important meetings about the new Lake Okeechobee plan that the Army Corps of Engineers is developing. The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), as it is known, will determine when and where water is moved from the 730-square-mile lake in the decade to come. LOSOM will have a huge impact on the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, Lake Worth Lagoon, the southern Everglades and Florida Bay — all of which have suffered under the current Lake O plan, which prioritizes sugarcane irrigation over the environment and public health. The Army Corps has whittled its choices down [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-30T17:01:45-04:00June 30th, 2021|Action Alerts, LOSOM|

VIDEO: The latest on Florida’s toxic algae crisis

With toxic algae yet again plaguing Florida's water, residents are still left vulnerable due to inadequate warnings about the health impacts of exposure and retroactive "solutions" that focus more on temporary clean up than tackling the issue at its root cause. Today's Clean Water Conversation delved into the details of this worsening crisis. We heard input from Florida Gulf Coast University algae scientist Dr. Barry Rosen, Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reinaldo Diaz, and Stuart resident Becky Harris on the toxins in our water, the threats they pose to people and our pets, and how you can become an advocate for change. If you missed the conversation today, you can find the full recording below. https://youtu.be/1sI0f0DylFs Today's Clean Water Conversation was brought [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-25T16:38:49-04:00June 25th, 2021|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Toxic Algae|

About Allie Preston