What revelations election years bring! (Be not fooled.)

The "new" Rick Scott

One would think Rick Scott has become a chameleon and turned a verdant green over his newfound appreciation for all things environmental.  But only those least jaundiced by his past sins against it might find his new costume even remotely believable.  The more politically astute will know that it’s just election-year smoke and rebranding, the typical re-striping that occurs every election cycle.  There has been no internal epiphany.  There has been no deep revelation.  There has been no newly acquired knowledge-based appreciation for natural Florida.  This man has not changed and those who might be fooled into thinking so, will be suffering just that.  Aristotle noted that the chameleon’s “change of color takes place over the whole body,” but changes not the animal’s interior or behavior.

Such devious strategy just might work, however, because the voting public is so gullible on the one hand and starved for something good to happen on the other.  After having experienced the last three years of his fumbling and disastrous attempts to manage the complex problems of this state, it just may be ready to believe anything.

The reality is, this sudden acknowledgement of problems environmentalists have been frantically trying to educate him and his cadre of hard-core anti-environment minions about is nothing more than a carefully constructed tactic to deflect criticism coming from both environmentalists and like-minded democrats.  The brilliance of it is that instead of using his own ill-gotten money to molt his public persona he now has hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars at his disposal to do it.

Are we really to believe he has suddenly gained a legitimate appreciation for what The Everglades actually represents to Florida?  Remember, this is the guy who decimated the local sponsor of the Federal project that interfaces directly with the United States Corps of Engineers and the myriad of interests involved.  The South Florida Water Management District is singularly the only tool the state had that could field the machinery, generate the dollars through its ad valorem taxing authority, and focus the minds of the phalanx of scientists needed to get this complex job done with any level of competence.  And yet, he destroyed the district’s leadership, cut through its scientific staff with a slingblade and without any apparent responsible thought, hacked through cartilage and muscle to the very bones of its budget. It is a whimpering, weak shadow of its former self.  With over a thousand years of institutional memory summarily fired, its capacity to properly maintain and operate safely the dozens of structures and canals, much less the state’s enormous responsibilities to improve the degraded “Glades” from its sad state, is in question.

The real Scott is still very much beneath his nouveau-green skin.  He is also now  proposing – callously – to throw hundreds of millions of your tax dollars at the state’s iconic, world-renown freshwater springs.  After three years of blistering criticism from the environmental community and a rising chorus of outrage from even the most casually concerned, Scott is seeing his re-election in serious jeopardy.  So now he wants the legislature to hurry up and fix the almost irreversible damage these rare and unique hydrologic phenomena have suffered.  How obvious can he get!  And how eagerly some have praised his vainglorious and thinly veiled attempts to look different than he will always be, an inept guy who cannot distinguish between special interests and those of the public or those of a state whose future depends absolutely upon a fine understanding of the differences.  Surely, their praise can be no more sincere than his newly found concern for natural Florida.

Why you should care about restoration of The Everglades

Most Floridians who live north of the town of Kissimmee consider the massively complex and perennial problems of The Everglades not of their making and therefore none of their concern.   

If this is how you feel, you’re way wrong and you need to know why.   

Jane Graham, Everglades Policy Associate for Florida Audubon, has written an enlightening opinion piece for the Huffington Post.  You should read it.  If you are already informed about what’s going on regarding the nation’s largest natural wetland being systematically destroyed by political paralysis and national neglect but know others who are not, send this to them.  If you know newcomers who are oblivious to what the Everglades stand for, do them a favor and send this to them as well.  It’s important to all of Florida, to all of us, and to our future. 

In her editorial, she gives a smattering of history and some eye-popping numbers that make an economic case the governor and legislature have lost sight of over the last few years and only just now, as re-election time nears, are starting to appreciate anew.   

To hope it is not too late is like hoping for an improbable miracle, but to simply accept the alternative would be devastating (a proposed 700,000 new minimum-wage jobs at Wal-Mart, McDonalds and Burger King notwithstanding).

                                                                 - Sandspur

Why You Should Care About Everglades Restoration

Jane Graham, Everglades Policy Associate, Audubon Florida

Published by the Huffington Post on 10.25.2013; 

Published here with the permission of the author.

___________________________________

This week, the U.S House of Representatives passed a bill to move forward several Everglades restoration projects. According to Audubon Florida's Director of Everglades Policy Julie Hill-Gabriel, if the water resources bill becomes law, four Everglades restoration projects will be eligible for federal funding for the first time.

Okay, I get it. The only alligator you like is the one on your Lacoste polo shirt. Your favorite bird is either barbequed or fried. And you utterly despise mosquitos.

Why then, you ask, should you care about Everglades restoration?

Your water. The Everglades is the primary source of drinking water for more than 7 million Americans -- more than a third of Florida's population.

And the economy. The Everglades cornerstone of the regional economy, supporting the state's estimated $67 billion tourism industry, a $13 billion outdoor recreation economy, and $100 billion agriculture sector.

These sound like talking points, you say? Let's take a quick look at the history to understand how and why it matters.

Almost everywhere you go in South Florida used to be part of the Everglades. Miami International Airport? A wetland. South Beach? Mangroves. Weston? Well, take a look at what is just little west of there. When we talk about the "Greater Everglades," it refers to the ecosystem from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (close to Disney World), all the way south to Florida Bay by the Keys. Not just Everglades National Park in Miami Dade County.

Last century, conveniently after the invention of air conditioning and mosquito control, people started to settle in South Florida. After a few rainier than usual wet seasons and particularly nasty hurricanes in the 1940's, the Florida government asked the federal government for help to drain excess water off the landscape.

On this particular task, the federal government was quite effective. The project, known as the Central and South Florida Flood Control Project, transformed miles of wetlands into a regional water management system with thousands of miles of canals, thousands of levees and berms, dozens of pump stations and hundreds of water control structures and culverts. A gargantuan feat in human engineering.

The new water management system was so efficient that it drained too much water from the region -- water that otherwise would have gradually seeped into our aquifer to recharge public water supply and give life to the region's abundant ecosystems.

The severely altered ecosystem/man-made infrastructure remains today. During rainy periods, water is quickly flushed to tide. Approximately 1.7 billion gallons of water from the Everglades drains to the coasts each day. Conversely, this water is not available for use during dry periods.

This has some serious consequences for the region's ecosystem and economy. This summer, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries were hammered by large releases of water from Lake Okeechobee, leading to widespread devastation of these ecosystems. Prior to human alterations to the ecosystem, this water would have naturally flowed south. Sadly and ironically, in one or two years from now, the same estuaries may need water from Lake Okeechobee to help sustain their ecosystems during the dry season, likely at the same time agriculture and public water supply users will compete for water allocations.

Fortunately, at the turn of the new millennium, a new plan emerged. Encouraged by the unusual coalition of environmentalists, agricultural interests, and public water utilities, the Federal and State Governments embarked on a groundbreaking plan, known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), or just "Everglades restoration" for short. This effort is known as one of the largest ecosystem restoration projects in the world.

The plan sets forth more than 60 different projects to store water, clean water, and flow water through the system. It is projected to take several decades to complete. The plan aims to restore ecosystems, provide flood protection for residents, and ensure clean and abundant water supplies for South Florida's residents.

Thirteen years into the plan, we are slowly trudging along. There are a few Everglades restoration projects that are nearing completion. The Picayune Strand project, which restores wetlands on drained and on Florida's southwest region is nearly complete. This past March, the 1st mile of Tamiami Trail Bridge opened.

Where do we go from here? Finish projects. Get new ones authorized. And keep an eye toward adaptive management. No one said this was easy. Or cheap. Or that we would get it right all the time. But for our water, for our economy, and for our future, we must keep going.

_________________________________________________

JANE GRAHAM is Everglades Policy Associate at Audubon Florida. At Audubon,  Jane advocates for Everglades restoration at the South Florida Water Management District, the Water Resources Advisory Commission, county commissions in South Florida , and various state and federal agencies. Jane focuses on Florida water policy and law, wildlife protection, and Everglades funding issues. Jane enjoys giving presentations to  schools, universities, and community groups about her work with Audubon. Prior to joining Audubon Florida in 2010, Jane clerked at the National Wildlife Federation Northeast Regional Office in Montpelier, Vermont, where she worked on cases related to the endangered species act and wetlands jurisdiction.

Jane is a licensed attorney in Florida and the U.S District Court, Southern District of Florida. She is a double Hurricane- receiving a J.D. in 2009 and a B.A. in History and Political Science in 2006 from the University of Miami.  After law school, Jane traveled to Vermont to receive an LL.M in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School, where she focused on endangered species and climate change. Several of Jane’s articles have been published in journals, including her LL.M thesis on invasive species, “Snakes on a Plane, or in a Wetland: Fighting Back Invasive Non-Native Animals” the Tulane Environmental Law Journal.

Jane’s passion for Everglades restoration comes from her love of wildlife.  In her spare time, Jane enjoys spending time wildlife-watching with her husband Jon, and drawing (mostly birds!).                                                                                       Everglades Coalition

Orland Sentinel asks questions. Gets responses.

Last week, Kevin Spear, reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, called and asked if I would respond to a few questions.  His article, published yesterday, can be found HERE.

What the Sentinel published was slightly shorter, 650 words, than my first response which was edited down from about 1000 words.  This is the longer version:

CFB: Gov. Scott’s administration has slashed budgets of the water-management districts and ordered them to adhere to core missions. What’s that about?

Vergara: It was a mistake the governor is now in the process of trying to repair in order to get re-elected.  Ignorant of the impact of his actions and pandering to right wing sympathies and special interests, he has gloated over his reducing government and taxes.  But, he significantly underestimated the complexities and cost of effectively managing the state’s natural environment in a manner that will protect and sustain what’s left of it, and it’s importance to the state’s future economy.   He is now tossing state and federal dollars at problems he first discounted, like The Everglades/Lake Okeechobee fiasco, the decimation and polluting of the state’s iconic springs, and the growing fear that there is not enough cheap groundwater to support future growth, to name just a few.  Frankly, he has severely handicapped the state’s ability to handle its truly complex and mounting environmental problems.  He and the right wing of the legislature will eventually realize, hopefully, that the regional water management taxes they cut are the logical sources of funding for these implacable regional problems.  It is foolish to believe they can be politically resolved by Tallahassee and paid for from state coffers, a lesson learned decades ago. 

CFB: How have state environmental protections been weakened and what do you fear the results will be?

Vergara: Tallahassee has directed hundreds of talented, nationally respected resource management scientists to be summarily fired.  Decades of critical institutional knowledge has been lost.  The districts can no longer raise enough funds to do what’s needed because the governor and legislature placed unreasonable limits on their constitution-based authority to levy an ad valorem tax.  The tea party’s allegiance to Grover Norquist’s idiocy is now going to prevent the return of this authority for a long time, even as problems mount.  In addition to cutting the state’s environmental muscle, it has weakened its tools.  The state’s entire body of environmental rules is being reviewed to accommodate the panting of special interests.  Rules and policies carefully developed over the last 50 years are being systematically weakened.  Other indicators of waning environmental concern by the governor and legislature include the cessation of environmental land acquisition and the continued introduction of narrow interest laws like the ones that would re-define the “Ordinary High Water Line” or move Florida’s public water resources toward private ownership. This annual right-wing legislative frenzy to reduce environmental protections has become a metastasizing cancer.  It is systemic and pervasive.  It has put every Floridian who cares even a little about Florida’s environment on high alert. 

CFB: Who are the winners as a result of Scott’s changes and what have they gained?

Vergara: Special interests, lobbyists, and the politicians who serve them are the winners.  They have gained a freehold on the future of the state all in the interest of greater profits at the public’s expense.  Any concern for public interest has become nearly equated to socialist thinking.  Private interests such as big agriculture, mining companies, power companies, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and other powerful Tallahassee entities have been elevated above the interests of the public. 

CFB: Critics have said the state water district’s grew arrogant and too powerful.

Vergara: This tired complaint is used universally by regulated interests to gain political control of regulators.  It will never go away because it makes good theater.  Regulators are only human, and face some of the most powerful corporate and legal firepower in the business world.  Regulators have to be smart and tough if they are to be effective in their jobs protecting the interests of the public.  It is difficult not to be defensive at times, often interpreted as arrogance and uncaring, in the face of the aggressiveness of certain powerful private applicants and their well–paid lawyers.  The largest majority of the regulators, by far, go out of their way to be courteous and helpful to the extent the law allows them.

CFB: If you were governor for a day, what changes would you bring to environmental safeguards?

Vergara: The biggest resource problem facing Florida today and into the future is obtaining enough sustainable and affordable water to meet the state’s growth demands and still maintain healthy natural ecosystems.  Continuing to have adequate and clean flows for sustaining natural water bodies and the natural biological systems that depend upon them will be a growing problem.  The water management districts were founded through the wisdom and shrewdness of governors and legislators of both parties over the last 50 years to address these problems on a regional basis.  I would apply every measure possible to return the districts to their original mission, along with the authority and resources to do the job … as a start.  Then I’d ask for another day to do more.

CFB: Is it possible to protect springs, wetlands, rivers and estuaries in a state that has 19 million residents and is expected to add millions more in coming years?

Vergara: It’ll be an increasingly complex and expensive job, but the state’s economic future is at risk if we do not.  People will not continue to hold Florida as a global destination just to visit its malls, endure its sprawl, and fight its crowded highways.  Florida is unique within the continental United States because of its tropical and subtropical climatic character and its associated environmental systems.  People will not want to visit polluted beaches, fish and swim in slimy lakes and rivers, drink from tainted aquifers or gasp polluted air.  So, is it possible to protect and sustain Florida’s unique ecology in light of Florida’s expected future growth?  The answer must be, yes, because there is no other acceptable alternative; but to get there, will require the current political direction to be quickly reversed.

Happy Birthday, Marines!

Happy Birthday, Marines

Today is the 238th anniversary of the formation of the United States Marine Corps. Around the world, Marines will slice a cake with an officer’s Mameluke Sword and sing the Marine Corps Hymn. It is a tradition that celebrates the pride and honor of being a member of one of the most effective military fighting organizations in the history of humankind.

Northern I Corps, Khe Sahn, Vietnam
1967

When that song is sung by some of the toughest men you might ever chance to meet, they sing it gruffly and off-key but with immense pride. When I hear it again and again on this day each year, November 10, I can still smell the always-leaking hydraulic fluid of an H-46 helicopter, the cosmoline of a freshly issued rifle, and even the unique odor that accompanies a half-dozen men as they rush up the back ramp after having been on patrol in the bush for a week. It is the smell of the jungle, not men. I can hear the chaos of the radio in my ears as men on the ground, rescue choppers, fighter support, and air traffic control - all on the same frequency - coordinate the pickup of a reconnaissance team in trouble or a wounded Marine in a gunfight. I can remember clearly the smell of burning sandalwood, the fuel of choice for heating and cooking throughout the country, and the rancid pervasiveness of the fish sauce they put on nearly everything they ate - noucnam.

"Yankee Tango"
The "Rock Pile", Northern I Corps, Vietnam
1967

My time in Vietnam was over 45 years ago and while the sensations and images that work their way out of the back recesses of my mind each year are still fresh, the actual memory of the experiences that caused them are, thankfully, no longer as tack sharp as they once were. While normally ignoring the occasional emotional ripples that might catch me by surprise during the rest of the year, on this day I quietly allow them, as many will, in honor of our comrades in arms who shared with us the unique fears and strange exhilarations of war.

Semper Fi, Marines, and Happy Birthday.

 

Sandspur

SWFWMD is allowing pumping violations. Is this "getting the water right?" Even legal?

Apparently, you can get a permit from SWFWMD and completely ignore any maximum pumping limitations as long as you believe you’re “doing what you think is right.”  Apparently, this is the case even if it impacts other legally permitted water users, is not in the public interest or harms the water resources of the area, according to a report in this morning’s Tampa Bay Times.

One grower near Brandon who is limited to pumping no more than 200,000 gallons per day, instead, pumped 1.6 million gallons to counter the effects of citrus greening even though there’s no scientific evidence supporting excessive irrigation as a valid way to fight the citrus tree disease.  Evidently, SWFWMD is not going to pursue its legal prerogatives to stop the violation and over-pumping. 

Scientists contacted by the Times say they’ve never heard of over-irrigating as means to fight the disease which is impacting Florida citrus growers statewide.

Robert Beltran, the new executive director at SWFWMD has a lot to learn about resource management.  He needs to realize that limits for pumping are based upon law and are established on specific permits for sound, technical, science-based reasons.  No permit holder can legally be allowed to exceed the limits of a valid permit without similar sound, technical, science-based reasons unless the law provides for it and the governing board makes the decision.  No infraction of a law can be legally allowed, as far as I know, simply because an executive director is "no expert" and because the permittee thinks "it's right."

Beltran needs to check with his lawyers ricky-tick.

There may be more to this story, however.  If it is not simple naiveté on the new ED’s part, it could certainly be a more insidious attempt to subvert critically needed resource protections by an ill-advised governor desperate to bolster his re-election poll numbers within the ag community. 

 

In any case, if it’s not blatantly illegal, it’s a pathetic thing to let happen. It’s also just one more reason to hold the CEO governor accountable in 2014 and get rid of the destructive sham leadership of Herschel Vinyard, the inept secretary of the state's flagship environmental protection agency, DEP.

 

Need to follow this closely.