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Marjory’s Circle Member Spotlight: Meet Annie Potts

Marjory’s Circle launched in 2020 to sustain the legacy of our spirited founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The group that emerged hails from all over, possessing different backgrounds and motivations, but is connected by a desire to see the Everglades protected and preserved. Meet Annie Potts Name: Annie Potts Location: Palm City, FL Member since: December 2021 As a long-time supporter of historic lighthouse restoration in the Bahamas, Annie Potts is no stranger to the tenacious work required of preservation efforts or the impact that individuals can make when they join forces. Born in New York, Annie has lived in Palm City for more than 30 years. The secluded little peninsula she calls home juts into the south fork of [...]

2023-02-07T15:52:03-05:00October 13th, 2022|Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Marjory's Circle|
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VIDEO: Treating the symptoms, not the disease

Florida has a long history of treating the symptoms of a problem instead of the root causes. A lingering algae bloom in Florida Bay, fed by an excess of nutrients, is just the latest example. During today's Clean Water Conversation, we heard from fisheries scientist Jenn Rehage, Florida Keys fishing guide Steve Friedman and avid angler Dave Preston on the current conditions in Florida Bay, the importance of addressing water-quality issues proactively and at the source, and possible impacts on the Bay from Hurricane Ian that may still be yet to come. Harmful algae blooms are increasingly prevalent in Florida. Today's conversation scratched the surface of one of Florida's most challenging environmental problems and underscores the state's inadequate response [...]

2022-10-12T15:42:15-04:00October 12th, 2022|Clean Water Conversations, Florida Bay|
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Everglades Illustrated: A system overwhelmed

Hurricane Ian barreled into the west coast of Florida on September 28 as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. As relief efforts remain rightly focused on the heartbreaking human toll of the storm, the environmental fallout has yet to come front and center. Satellite images are helping to piece together the beginnings of a story that has only just begun to play out. In the NASA satellite image above, swirls of sediment stirred up in Florida’s coastal water, “lifted from the seafloor as Ian neared the coast,” starkly contrast with dark plumes of stormwater runoff exiting the land. Though this tannin-colored runoff is not altogether unusual, the sheer volume of water coming off the landscape is out of the ordinary, [...]

2022-10-11T12:58:37-04:00October 11th, 2022|Caloosahatchee Estuary, Everglades Illustrated|
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Clean Water Conversation Rescheduled for October 12

NEW DATE: Our Clean Water Conversation about Florida Bay, originally scheduled for September 28, has been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 12. We have much to discuss, including Hurricane Ian's impact on a lingering algae bloom that had been troubling Florida Bay. Our featured guest list has grown to include Islamorada fishing guide Steve Friedman who serves as Commodore to the Florida Keys Guides Association. He'll join leading fisheries scientist Dr. Jennifer Rehage, full-time Everglades and Biscayne National Park fishing guide Benny Blanco and Friends of the Everglades board member Dave Preston for a live discussion about current conditions in Florida Bay. This live conversation will be streamed directly to our Facebook page and our YouTube channel from 12 - 1 p.m. on Wednesday, [...]

2022-10-05T09:00:59-04:00October 5th, 2022|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Florida Bay|
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Your moment of Everglades zen: After the Storm

Many of us are still struggling to wrap our minds around the immense toll of Hurricane Ian. The powerful storm that ripped across Florida last week, bringing record winds and flooding, has left areas from southwest Florida to north Florida devastated and tens of thousands of people displaced or without power or water. The economic damage has been estimated over $100 billion, and we haven’t realized the full extent of the storm’s lasting environmental damage. Of course, the human toll will be the most catastrophic cost, with deaths attributed to the storm surpassing 100 as of Tuesday morning. Nature can be brutally destructive. But it is also resilient. The calm after a storm always clears a path for new [...]

2022-10-04T09:07:28-04:00October 4th, 2022|Everglades Zen|
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Clean Water Conversation Postponed

Due to the approaching Hurricane Ian, our Clean Water Conversation about Florida Bay, originally scheduled for tomorrow is postponed in order to ensure that everyone is focused on hurricane safety this week. Please bear with us for a few days as we work out the specific details with our featured guests: Dr. Jennifer Rehage, Capt. Benny Blanco and angler Dave Preston. In the meantime, registration will remain open. Our hearts are with all Floridians as we prepare for and weather the storm in the days ahead. We look forward to connecting with you all again when the skies clear. Best of luck to all and stay safe!

2022-09-27T11:17:08-04:00September 27th, 2022|Clean Water Conversations, Florida Bay|
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The Last Burn Season video series: “Isn’t our life worth it?”

Sugarcane burning leaves communities vulnerable to air pollution, health risks and economic stress. It’s time to forge a meaningful path to a long-overdue solution. Make this the Last Burn Season. "I don't blame the people for not having hope, but I've got hope for them. I'm standing in the gap for my people."— Kina Phillips Kina Phillips knows what it is to sacrifice. At her home in South Bay, Florida, all she has to do is look past the fence line in her backyard for a reminder of the largest agricultural influence south of Lake Okeechobee, and the risks it poses to residents of the Glades communities. Sugarcane stretches for miles into the horizon. When the cane is burned [...]

2022-10-11T12:20:52-04:00September 22nd, 2022|"The Last Burn Season" Video Series, All Posts, Sugarcane Burning|
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Miami-Dade County: Tell Commissioners to vote NO on the South Dade Logistics and Tech Center!

Boca Chita Key at Biscayne National Park on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Aerial support provided by LightHawk. As a resident of Miami-Dade county, we need your help to hold the line against industrial development that threatens fragile ecosystems and jeopardizes local water quality. The Aligned Holdings application in District 8 has been reduced from an 800-acre footprint to 350 acres. But that does not diminish our concerns about the proposal which lies in a flood-prone, coastal high-hazard zone that is currently being farmed. This area is important for aquifer recharge and serves as an important line of protection from storm surge and other impacts of climate change. The proposed project is a risk to ongoing efforts to [...]

2022-09-14T17:08:58-04:00September 15th, 2022|Action Alerts, Hold the Line, Stopping Sprawl|
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