Blog - Page 46 of 63 - Friends of the Everglades

VIDEO: What’s going on with red tide?

We have a system that helps us identify impaired water bodies. We have established targets for necessary pollution reduction to bring water bodies back to health. But the state of Florida is failing to crack down on polluters by adequately enforcing these rules. The results are catastrophic. Just look to the prolonged red tide event happening right now on the west coast for proof. We'd like to extend a big thanks to Jacki Lopez of Center for Biological Diversity, Justin Bloom of Suncoast Waterkeeper, and our own Gil Smart for sharing their insight and knowledge with us as we talked red tide during today's Clean Water Conversation. If you missed the event today, you can find the full recording below. And as recommended during [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-25T14:01:45-04:00August 25th, 2021|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Toxic Algae, Wildlife Habitat|

Miami-Dade County should deny application to expand Urban Development Boundary

As a member of the Hold the Line Coalition, Friends of the Everglades signed on to the following letter urging Miami-Dade County Commissioners to "deny and do not transmit" an application filed by the Aligned Real Estate Holdings LLC and South Dade Industrial Partners LLC that would allow for the building of a 794-acre industrial complex on agricultural property that sits outside of the county's Urban Development Boundary. The development not only represents unnecessary threats to Biscayne Bay and Everglades National Park, but also could create additional pressure to bring cargo jets to the nearby Homestead Air Reserve Base. The County's own Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources' Planning staff wisely recommends that this application be denied. We could not [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-25T10:57:07-04:00August 25th, 2021|Friends of the Everglades Statements, Homestead Air Reserve Base|

We need your help to stop an 800-acre development on farmland in Homestead

There's a swath of farmland in Homestead that represents some of the last remaining green space in Miami-Dade County. It's not far from Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys. It sits outside the county's Urban Development Boundary. Yet developers want to build a 794-acre industrial complex on the agricultural property — posing a needless threat to Biscayne Bay and, potentially, Everglades restoration efforts. The proposal also could create additional pressure to bring cargo jets to the nearby Homestead Air Reserve Base, a dangerous idea. Luckily, the county's own staff has wisely recommended the Board of County Commissioners deny this development application. We need commissioners to follow that advice. If you're a resident of Miami-Dade County, we're making it easy for [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-17T11:52:53-04:00August 17th, 2021|Action Alerts, Homestead Air Reserve Base|

Everglades Illustrated: The northern estuaries are stronger together

See the three southern outlets from Lake Okeechobee circled in red? Each of them represents an opportunity to remove harm from the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. This week the Army Corps of Engineers announced its goals for improving the foundation of a new plan that will govern releases from Lake Okeechobee for the next decade, called LOSOM. The “optimization” goals presented were the result of thousands of public comments submitted to the Corps by stakeholders across the state — including Friends of the Everglades supporters. The Corps aims to strike more regional balance throughout a system that has long catered to the powerful agricultural industry south of Lake Okeechobee. Though we viewed the foundational plan selected as an encouraging [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-10T12:06:18-04:00August 10th, 2021|Everglades Illustrated, LOSOM|

United we stand for a better Lake O plan

More than 1,100 Friends of the Everglades like you sent messages to the Army Corps of Engineers in recent weeks, asking for specific improvements to the new Lake Okeechobee plan that’s being developed. Today, we saw where the Army Corps took our advice, and where we still have work to do. During a virtual meeting, Corps officials unveiled new details of the preferred alternative for the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, or LOSOM — the “playbook” for managing the lake in the decade to come. Col. Andrew Kelly, who is leading the effort, articulated goals for how the plan, previously known as “Alternative CC,” will be optimized and deliver benefits to all stakeholders. Friends of the Everglades previously made [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-09T16:29:01-04:00August 9th, 2021|LOSOM|

Your moment of Everglades Zen: Successful restoration looks like this

We know the bad-news reel gets old. It’s good to stop and remember what we’re working so hard to protect. Here’s your dose of Everglades zen. Take a look at the 11-second video above. Posted to Twitter by Shannon Estenoz, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Park, it offers a glimpse of the completed restoration of the Kissimmee River from a channelized canal back to historic, winding oxbows. Twenty-two years after construction began, the project represents progress our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, would be proud of. She spoke vehemently about the disastrous impacts that removing the serpentine curves of the Everglades’ headwaters would have on the entire flowing ecosystem from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-03T15:44:10-04:00August 3rd, 2021|All Posts, Everglades Restoration, Everglades Zen|

Relief on the horizon?

Is relief from harmful discharges and toxic blue-green algae finally in sight for the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries? In meetings around the state this week, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials heard praise and criticism of Plan “CC,” the proposal chosen as the framework for the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). Plan CC could cut discharges to the St. Lucie by 60 percent, and send more water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay. But it needs work. It must do more to protect the Caloosahatchee and send more dry-season flows to the Everglades and Florida Bay. And you can email the Corps today asking for modifications that prioritize public health and environmental protection across the Greater [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-30T10:01:52-04:00July 30th, 2021|LOSOM|

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|