St. Lucie Estuary Archives

The groundswell to Rescue the River of Grass is growing

https://youtu.be/kG9MYnqDMhs?si=NrE74fJ8XfWNaqoP Last night’s Town Hall with our Rescue the River of Grass partner Florida Oceanographic Society put the stakes and the rewards into perspective. The room was filled with people who shared visceral memories of years when the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon were plagued by devastating algae blooms from Lake Okeechobee. We were reminded of the collective fear that can take hold when the waters supporting our livelihoods and ways of life are threatened, but more than that, we were inspired by our community’s staunch belief in the solutions that exist. Rescue the River of Grass is a community-driven movement encouraging policymakers to prioritize land acquisition in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) for water storage and [...]

Allie Preston2026-08-13T15:29:06-04:00August 13th, 2026|Rescue the River of Grass, St. Lucie Estuary|

A fighting chance for the Indian River Lagoon

https://youtu.be/gL150lmeXkc?si=7mgZvsWc76nRYdcT The Indian River Lagoon is a place of extraordinary beauty and abundance. Stretching 156 miles up Florida’s east coast, its depths historically nurtured seagrass meadows, thriving oyster reefs and thousands of marine species, making it one of North America’s most biodiverse estuaries. In its southern reaches, the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon converge, mixing fresh and saltwater. These scenic waterways create an interconnected ecosystem that sustains a way of life, supporting fishing, boating, tourism and local economies that have defined the Treasure Coast for generations. But the future of this remarkable ecosystem is increasingly uncertain. Over 100 years of channelization has altered the natural flow of water across the Greater Everglades. In the St. Lucie River [...]

Allie Preston2026-06-29T16:56:50-04:00June 30th, 2026|All Posts, Florida Legislative Tracker, Florida Legislature, Rescue the River of Grass, St. Lucie Estuary|

“I am the mangrove” — a visual love letter to the Indian River Lagoon

SIGN YOUR NAME TO RESCUE THE RIVER OF GRASS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Friend, I am the mangrove. I build. Quietly, quietly, through the blazing days, Through the breathing nights, I thrust my grey roots, Building. I have spent this spring documenting segments of the Indian River Lagoon, building a story of the estuary using my cameras. The story is as spectacular as the river is resilient. There is rich Indigenous history, which I learned more about while reading Indian River Lagoon: An Environmental History. There is my own history with this waterway — having told its stories throughout my career, having made my own glorious memories [...]

Leah Voss2026-06-15T13:15:58-04:00June 10th, 2026|All Posts, Everglades Zen, Florida Legislative Tracker, Rescue the River of Grass, St. Lucie Estuary|

Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations After Action Report — Our letter to the Army Corps of Engineers

On January 14, 2026, Friends of the Everglades submitted a formal letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding Recovery Operations, which involved discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries beginning in December 2024 and ending March 29, 2025. Friends of the Everglades asked that the “after action report” gauge the effectiveness of Recovery Operation include an analysis of whether water levels in Lake Okeechobee could have been sufficiently reduced without harmful discharges; and that the report include impacts on seagrass, oysters, water quality, fish and other wildlife. Friends also asked for a detailed analysis of whether and how submerged aquatic vegetation benefitted from the drawdown of the lake.

Leah Voss2026-01-20T16:23:41-05:00January 20th, 2026|All Posts, Caloosahatchee Estuary, Friends of the Everglades Statements, Lake Okeechobee, LOSOM, St. Lucie Estuary|

St. Lucie Discharges Begin Ahead of Labor Day Weekend

Army Corps is releasing water from the C-44 Reservoir, not Lake Okeechobee On Wednesday, August 28, the Army Corps of Engineers began discharging water into the St. Lucie River in an attempt to reduce water levels in the newly constructed C-44 Reservoir. This water is NOT coming from Lake Okeechobee — rather, it’s from the mostly agricultural watershed between Lake O and Stuart — but it is nonetheless harmful to the St. Lucie River. These discharges, at a rate of about 300 cubic feet per second at the St. Lucie Lock & Dam (aka S-80), are expected to continue for a couple of weeks, depending on weather. The unnatural flows will lower delicate salinity levels in the St. Lucie [...]

Allie Preston2024-08-29T13:28:19-04:00August 29th, 2024|Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie Estuary|

Young Friends Update: Miami Beach 4th Graders Discover the Magic of the Everglades!

When did you fall in love with the Everglades? For more than 50 fourth-grade students from Miami Beach, that moment occurred recently at the Royal Palm area of Everglades National Park. With cameras, ID sheets and a tool bag of resources, students and leaders embarked on the first-ever Young Friends of the Everglades-led field trip to Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails. “Why does that alligator have its mouth open?” “What makes the water so clear?” “What kind of fish is that? Is it native or invasive?” “Why does the Everglades need more water?” Eager questions like these empowered South Pointe Elementary teachers to build on essential classroom [...]

Allie Preston2024-05-29T15:47:04-04:00May 31st, 2024|All Posts, Florida's Right to Clean Water, St. Lucie Estuary, Toxic Algae|

Will this be another Lost Summer?

Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples joined VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart and TCPalm outdoors writer/columnist Ed Killer for a panel discussion in Stuart on Lake O discharges, the politics of clean water and the prospect of another “lost summer” in 2024. With high water levels in Lake Okeechobee and a busy hurricane season projected, the risk of harmful discharges to the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon are looming. But the May 1 event, hosted by the Council on Aging of Martin County at the Kane Center, focused on short-term and long-term solutions that we can all help advance. Friends of the [...]

Allie Preston2024-05-30T11:42:03-04:00May 3rd, 2024|All Posts, Florida's Right to Clean Water, St. Lucie Estuary, Toxic Algae|

An evening at Bay Tree Lodge

Relive a memorable evening with Friends of the Everglades at Bay Tree Lodge! Special thanks to our hosts Ann and Knight Kiplinger for creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere for our conversation about the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. The fate of these cherished waters is interwoven with Friends of the Everglades' core mission to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world. [...]

Allie Preston2024-05-30T11:42:03-04:00April 17th, 2024|All Posts, Marjory's Circle, St. Lucie Estuary|

Everglades Illustrated: piecing together the Toxic Puzzle

Documentary reveals potential solution to toxic algae exposure Every rainy season in Florida brings the threat of toxic slime in our waterways. At its worst earlier this year, Lake Okeechobee was covered in 400+ square miles of harmful blue-green algae blooms. Thankfully, Floridians have been largely spared in 2023 from large blooms entering the waterways to the east and the west of the lake, but the threat of damaging discharges isn’t over yet. Those of us living near the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and their canals, Lake O, and other waters previously tainted with algae know all too well the environmental and economic harm these discharges can bring. Green water clumped like guacamole, with dead fish at the [...]

Leah Voss2023-09-12T17:18:04-04:00September 12th, 2023|All Posts, Caloosahatchee Estuary, Everglades Illustrated, Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie Estuary, Toxic Algae|

WATCH NOW — Why we’re concerned about Lake O’s toxic algae threat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArvKcEdIufY With Lake Okeechobee just under 16 feet, we’re concerned about what that could mean in the months ahead. We’re already getting discharges east to the St. Lucie and west to the Caloosahatchee in an effort to bring that lake level down. Though the Caloosahatchee does need some dry season flows to keep salinity in check, the nutrient pollution that comes with those discharges can be problematic. Making matters worse — there’s an intense algae bloom predicted on Lake O this spring due to heavy rainfall from Hurricane Ian that caused the lake to rise, bringing nutrient-loaded runoff from the surrounding areas with it and putting stress on the submerged aquatic vegetation. With wet season only 3 months away, we’re [...]

Allie Preston2023-06-09T10:06:20-04:00February 21st, 2023|Caloosahatchee Estuary, Demand Cleaner Water, Florida Legislative Tracker, Red Tide, Restore More Wetlands, St. Lucie Estuary, Toxic Algae, Voice of the Everglades|