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 manmade marshes. This growing movement calls for deploying existing, voter-approved dollars to ensure a sustainable future for Florida’s economy, environment and public health.
The science is clear. Land acquisition is the key. Securing at least 100,000 acres for water storage and treatment in the EAA would prevent harmful discharges, restore adequate clean-water flows to the southern Everglades and Florida Bay and protect South Florida’s drinking water.
We are grateful to our Rescue partners at Florida Oceanographic Society for hosting the first of these events in our own backyard in Stuart. We look forward to bringing these Town Halls to cities across Florida with the help of new and existing Rescue partners.
Want to know when we’re coming to your area? Keep an eye out for news about our next stop in Miami with Tropical Audubon Society in October!
For those interested in reviewing last night’s panel discussion facilitated by former WPTV anchor Michael Williams with our own Eve Samples and Florida Oceanographic Society’s Mark Perry, you can view the recorded event at the top of this page.
And be sure to sign and share the Rescue the River of Grass petition!
