2009 Report on Wildlife

Policy and Conservation in

Florida and the World

by Grant Campbell

2009 has been a very productive year for the environment, and 2010 promises to
be even more so.

Dozens of projects for Everglades’ restoration will be infused with federal

stimulus dollars this year, including repairs to Lake Okeechobee's dike, sewer
improvements to protect the Florida Keys from polluting their waters and
improvements to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach
County. The Obama administration's commitment to the clean-up and Secretary
Salazar's early attention to the Everglades are most gratifying.
________________________________________________________________

Big Sugar and the State of Florida have reached a tentative agreement on the
sugar farming land in the EAA that will make it easier for Florida to fund the deal
and also to begin construction on the water treatment areas that will provide
filtered water for the restoration of the Everglades.

For $533 million, the South Florida Water Management District gets 72,500
acres, with an option to buy 107,500 acres within 10 years at fair-market value at
the time of acquisition. A portion of the land, 40,500 acres, will be leased back to
U.S. Sugar at $150 per acre. This will allow sugar farming to continue for at least
seven years. Some of this land, about 3,000 acres, will be set aside for economic
development projects in nearby communities.
________________________________________________________________

In a letter sent to the Palm Beach County commission, FDEP Secretary Mike
Sole and Florida DOT Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos urged the
Port of Palm Beach to hold off until further study on where the proposed inland
port might go and whether it is even needed.
From discussions with people from the Port of Miami and Port Everglades, it is
doubtful that either port will utilize the Palm Beach facility. It is also quite likely
that the deep draft ships will bypass South Florida entirely in favor of the Port of
Savannah where the necessary infrastructure has long been in place.

However, the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners has chosen to allow
the Port of Palm Beach to build its inland port in an area that is in close enough
proximity to interfere with CERP’s Everglades restoration plans for water
treatment areas. The Everglades Foundation and the Everglades Law Center are
planning litigation to prevent the construction at the proposed Okeelanta site.
________________________________________________________________

With the release of Federal funding, Everglades restoration projects on hold until
now will be finally put on a schedule to begin. On Jan. 7, the Picayune Strand
restoration project will get under way in Collier County. The project's goal is to
restore the natural hydrology to 55,000 acres drained in the early 1960s as part
of the failed Golden Gate Estates housing development.

In February, contractors, including Wright Construction Group of Fort Myers, will

begin work on the C-111 canal project in Miami-Dade County. Before the C-111
was built, fresh water from Taylor Slough flowed into central Florida Bay to keep
the estuary's salinity in balance. The canal, though, drained large amounts of
water from the slough and sent it in to the eastern end of the bay, so the salinity
rose in the estuary. As a result, bird, fish and invertebrate populations declined.
The project will help to restore natural flows into Florida Bay.

US 41, the Tamiami Trail, has been an asphalt dam across the River of Grass
altering the sheetflow to Florida Bay and Everglades National Park for nearly 80
years. After a Miami federal judge cleared the path for a long-delayed plan for a
new long bridge on the Tamiami Trail, work has finally begun on the mile-long
structure. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro lifted an injunction she had issued in
November when the Miccosukee Tribe contended that the Army Corps of
Engineers hadn't properly studied alternatives to a planned $225 million, one-
mile bridge.

In a 10-page order Judge Ungaro wrote that Congress had made it clear in
recent months that it wanted work on the bridge to start immediately, by inserting
a short clause in a massive spending bill to grant the Corps an extraordinary
legal exemption for the project. The clause also effectively removed the project
from court jurisdiction, she ruled.

Environmentalists praised the decision, saying work crucial to restoring the

Everglades had been pushed back too many times, for too many years. The road
overhaul will restore water flows to the Northeast Shark River Slough, the historic
headwaters of Everglades National Park.
The mile-long bridge will increase water flow by 90 percent, helping native plants
and wildlife. But that would still be only about half the water the project was
originally supposed to deliver.

The Miccosukee have complained for years that high waters north of the Trail
have damaged tribal lands and wildlife. They fought the bridge as an
unnecessary and expensive delay. The tribe believes a $17 million plan to clean
out culverts under the road would provide more immediate relief.
________________________________________________________________

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to break ground in December on a

Picayune Strand Restoration Project, the Merritt Pump Station, which is the first
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) project to get under way. It
will help to restore important areas of southwestern Florida and to protect critical
habitat of the Florida panther.

The contract to build a pump station on the Merritt Canal, plug 14 miles of canals
and remove 95 miles of roads was awarded to Harry Pepper & Associates,
based in Jacksonville. A groundbreaking ceremony is set for early January,
according to the Corps of Engineers.
________________________________________________________________

With the advent of the 2009 hurricane season and weeks of above average
rainfall, a new pump station located in southwestern Miami-Dade County has
successfully began pumping water away from the residential community called
the "8.5 Square Mile Area" (8.5 SMA).

The S-357 pump station, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and located less than a half-mile from the eastern boundary of Everglades
National Park, began operation on May 30

This allows for maintenance of the existing level of service for flood protection in
the area without increasing seepage out of Northeast Shark River Slough, a
major source of fresh water within Everglades National Park.
________________________________________________________________

The Environmental Protection Agency will finally be able to set limits on

nutrients entering Florida's waterways.

In 2008, the Sierra Club, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Florida Wildlife
Federation and other groups sued the EPA to set numeric standards for nutrient
runoff. According to the settlement in the case, the EPA must propose its new
nutrient limits by Jan. 14; the rule must be finalized by October.

Excess nutrients have caused large algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River,
its estuary and the Gulf of Mexico off Lee County, so reducing nutrients will help
reduce algal blooms.
________________________________________________________________

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection is looking to prohibit

single-use plastic and paper bags. In October, the DEP released a draft report
recommending the Legislature prohibit retail establishments from providing paper
and plastic bags to customers. The report was withdrawn, but the DEP is
considering other rules for retail bags and will present a final report to the
Legislature by Feb.
________________________________________________________________

In a meeting attended by Frank Ortis, the Mayor of Pembroke Pines, Ken

Schneider, Barry Heimlich, Doug Young, Diana Guidry, Victor Suarez, and Grant
Campbell, it was decided that the City of Pembroke Pines, in cooperation with
SFAS, will create an Eagle Sanctuary on the site of the successful eagle nest
owned by the City. The property contains the first productive eagle nest in
Broward County since 1972, and has fledged at least three eaglets since 2008.
Plans include a parking area, a viewing area and an “eagle cam” with internet
capability to allow area schools and residents to monitor the eagle’s progress in
real time.

A steering committee has been formed to devise and implement an Eagle

Ordinance that will protect both the eagles and the site from future development.
________________________________________________________________

In as much as Broward County has no existing wildlife policy, SFAS has begun
the process to institute such a policy. We are currently studying the rough
document to ascertain the legalities of both the document and its implementation.
Two law students from Nova University are working with SFAS in the endeavor.
________________________________________________________________

Port Everglades is still seeking to vacate a portion of the conservation easement

that currently protects a 50+ acre mangrove stand within the port. Although the
Port administration agreed to extend the protection over the balance of the
original stand to include the proposed mitigation area, and to have the new
conservation easement granted to the FDEP and to an undetermined
environmental group for protection in perpetuity, a change in attitude prompted
SFAS to write a letter to the Secretary of FDEP stating our opposition to any
construction in the mangrove stand without the agreed upon protection.

This has resulted in an action by FDEP that will possibly bring about the granting
of the new construction easement to SFAS to administer. This has yet to be fully
determined and may necessitate testimony before the Governor and Cabinet. A
resolution has been adopted by SFAS to insure monitoring of the easement on a
permanent basis if the easement should be granted.
________________________________________________________________
Some ancillary construction that will be required to facilitate the movement and
storage of cargo in the affected area has begun. Construction of a bridge over
the FPL discharge canal is well underway, and the re-configuration of Macintosh
Boulevard will begin soon.
________________________________________________________________

SFAS has hosted several events including “Water Matters Day”, “Give Thanks for
the Environment Day”, and several middle school outings in cooperation with
“Project Perch”, which was founded and is being very competently managed by
SFAS general member Kelly Heffernan, who began the project as a census
taking endeavor.

Project Perch is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of Florida

Burrowing Owl habitat found on Broward County school grounds, city and county
parks, playgrounds and sports complexes and the goal has been to preserve and
improve the habitat of the Florida Burrowing Owl and to educate the students in
the stewardship of the owl habitat in concurrence with the guidelines of the FWC.

Educational materials have been provided at all gatherings, for adults as well as
students, regarding the work of SFAS in the fields of advocacy espoused by AOF
and National Audubon.
________________________________________________________________

A dispute over a few inches of water from the Lake Okeechobee may only
be the first of many to come. On one side, Lee County, backed by
environmentalists and Southwest Florida fishing and tourism interests, is
clamoring for more lake water to protect the Caloosahatchee River and one of
the richest estuaries in the state.

On the other side are farmers who tap the lake for irrigation, and Southeastern
cities that rely on it as a backup. Both are watching the ever-changing lake levels
with growing unease. Farmers fear the diverting the water to the Caloosahatchee
River would leave them short when they need the water the most.

In the middle of the debate are the two agencies that oversee the lake, the South
Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With
the lake dropping below 12 feet, both had discussed cutting off the
Caloosahatchee to stockpile water should an exceptionally dry winter morph into
another full-blown drought.

The district's governing board dodged the difficult issue by deciding that the call
-- at least for the moment -- was the Corps'. The Corps agreed to continue
pumping small ''pulse releases'' of fresh water down the Caloosahatchee for up
to nine days, then to reassess future releases. The temporary reprieve is unlikely
to end the debate.
________________________________________________________________

SFAS actively opposed the development of the Everglades Corporate Park

in the City of Sunrise, which would have been the only commercial
development west of the Sawgrass Expressway.

The situation looked bleak from an environmental stand point in that there was
not be a lot that could be done to prevent it. As with too many projects, this came
to light when the project was far enough along to make opposition nearly
ineffective. SFAS focused on trying to persuade the Marriott Corporation not to
build in this environmentally sensitive area.

The Everglades Corporate Park project is on hold for the time being as the
developer has backed away from the project and let the permit applications
expire. This does not prevent the developer from applying for new permits in the
future, but a possible land swap is being sought by Commissioner Sheila Alu of
Sunrise by which the developer would gain a more valuable property east of the
Sawgrass Expressway in exchange for the development of the area now under
consideration as a community park.
________________________________________________________________

The holding company for the Florida Panthers proposes building a more
than $2 billion mixed-use project on land surrounding Sunrise's Bank
Atlantic Center.

The company that owns the Florida Panthers has some bold plans for the land
surrounding the hockey team's lair in Sunrise.

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the team's owner, says the project -- dubbed Oz
-- will exceed $2 billion in value when completed. It's forecast to create 14,000
jobs with an estimated annual payroll of $443 million – not including the
entertainment component. It says it will create $80 million in annual tax revenue.

''Oz will create a great, dynamic place for all of us to treasure, a great place to
live, shop and work,'' said Uri Man, vice president of development for Oz, in an e-
mail. He added there is nothing in South Florida that compares with Oz.

Here's what is planned for the ambitious mixed-use development on 140 acres of
county-owned land around the Bank Atlantic Center:

* 1.85 million square feet of office space

* Almost a million square feet of shops

* 4,800 apartment units

 * 1,450 hotel rooms

* A 9,200-seat theater

* 30,000 square feet of classrooms

As Sunrise Sports proceeds with its plans, a report surfaced this week that the
company and team are in talks to merge with a publicly traded company based in
New York. Spokesmen for Sunrise Sports and Sports Properties Acquisition
Corp., the public company, have been mum on the subject, first reported Monday
in SportsBusiness Journal.

Details of Sunrise Sports' plans for the Sunrise property are outlined in a
development of regional impact application filed with the South Florida Regional
Planning Council, which reviews large-scale development projects. There are two
other major mixed-use developments that have been approved nearby.

Sunrise Sports envisions breaking ground next year and taking 10 to 15 years to
complete Oz. The company has assembled a development team, but some parts
of the project could be done in joint ventures.

The project will be privately financed, but a special taxing district is being
considered as a method to pay for infrastructure improvements.

One major hitch: Sunrise Sports doesn't have the rights to develop the property,
which is owned by Broward County. The county also owns the Bank Atlantic
Center, which a company affiliated with the team leases.

Sunrise Sports and Sports Properties Acquisition Corp. has since been acquired
by a different group of investors who seem more environmentally minded, so
time must be given to see if the acquisition has brought about changes in plans.
________________________________________________________________

Brazil is on track to meet its target to reduce Amazon deforestation this

year and will cut credit to ranchers and meatpackers who raise or buy
cattle from illegally logged land, the environment minister said on Tuesday.
A quarterly government report released on Tuesday showed that 76 square miles
(197 sq km) of the world's largest rain forest were destroyed between February
and April, a 90 percent reduction from the same period last year.
________________________________________________________________

The FWC has approved the removal of the peregrine falcon from the state’s
list of endangered species. FWC chairman Rodney Barreto said, “This is a time
to celebrate peregrine falcons,” This is a tremendous success story.”
Whenever the FWC delists a species, a management plan must be in place, with
guidelines to ensure the continued conservation of the species, and the
Commission has also approved a final Peregrine Falcon Management Plan. The
peregrine will still be protected by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. “The
peregrine falcon is a success story showing what well-coordinated conservation
can accomplish for a species,” said Robin Boughton, the FWC’s peregrine falcon
management plan leader. “The management plan ensures the continued success
of peregrine falcons.”

Through the efforts of wildlife managers and individuals, the peregrine falcon has
become one of the best examples of how wise conservation practices can assist
a species to come back from the brink of extinction. The peregrine falcon made a
dramatic comeback from about 650 birds in 1965. Of the two populations of
peregrine falcon that pass through Florida, there are now at least 3,100 breeding
pairs. While peregrines do not breed in Florida, they are commonly seen in the
state. Although the FWC has proposed actions to preserve the population of our
Peregrine Falcons, they, in their next breath, allowed the limited trapping of
falcons for use in falconry.
________________________________________________________________

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) ended its
session by voting to appoint Nick Wiley, assistant executive director, to the
position of executive director when Ken Haddad, current director, retired in
December.

Haddad announced his retirement and discussions of his retirement and

replacement took place at the meeting in Crystal River. As the session drew to a
close, Commissioner Kenneth Wright made a motion to appoint Wiley to the top
position of the FWC. All seven commissioners voiced their support for the motion
to select Wiley and praised his leadership and consensus-building abilities
________________________________________________________________

The FWC approved a rule banning the commercial harvest of freshwater

turtles in Florida as a result of a vote taken by the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission in the Crystal River meeting.
________________________________________________________________

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

successfully removed a black bear in Palm Beach County. The 300-pound
bear was spotted several times in the Wellington area. The bear was found to be
the same one that was transported to Picayune Strand from Weston, and was
relocated to the Osceola National Forest in North Florida. The bear has since
traveled to southeast Georgia where it was shot and killed by a homeowner.
________________________________________________________________
A proposal to install an electrified artificial reef on the ocean floor off Lauderdale-
by-the-Sea has won approval from The Army Corps of Engineers, who have
issued a permit to the town to work with Massachusetts-based Global Coral Reef
Alliance to construct artificial reefs using a cluster of metal structures that would
use a low-voltage current to stimulate the growth of corals.

Divers will collect pieces of living coral that have been broken off by storms or
ship groundings and attach them to the metal structures. Two buoys equipped
with solar panels will provide the electricity through insulated cables. The
electrical current will draw dissolved minerals from the water, causing the
minerals to build up on the metal structures. Construction is probably several
months off.
________________________________________________________________

Port Everglades has gotten the “green light” from the Broward County
Commission to explore the possibility of installing shore-side power,
commonly called “cold ironing,” at the new Cruise Terminal 18, which will be
the year-round homeport terminal for Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis-class
ships. If deemed fiscally and operationally feasible, Port Everglades will become
the first seaport on the East Coast of the United States to install cold ironing.

Cold ironing allows a ship to shut off its diesel generators and operate with
shore-side electrical power as opposed to burning diesel fuel while the ship is
docked in the port. The Oasis-class ships, the two largest cruise ships in the
world, would experience annual reductions of 40.9 percent less CO2 emissions,
97.7 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions, 95.2 percent less sulfur dioxide
emissions, and 88.1 percent less particulate matter.
________________________________________________________________

A recently released environmental report finds that Broward County

government exceeded its annual reduction goal of greenhouse (GHG)
emissions – carbon footprint – in 2008 with an estimated reduction of 10,184
tons of carbon dioxide equivalence (eCO2). This exceeds the target of 6,389 tons
per year established by the Broward County Climate Change Government
Operations Workgroup.

The County’s goal is to reduce government operations GHG emissions by 7

percent below the 1997 baseline by 2015. In order to accomplish that target, the
County must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6,389 tons per year.
________________________________________________________________

With the passage of SB 360, more than half the cities in Florida now qualify
under a new state law as "dense urban" land areas which can be exempted
from state review for adequate roads to accompany development, according
to a list published today by the Florida Department of Community Affairs.
The list includes cities such as Tallahassee, Gainesville, Sarasota, Fort Myers,
Fernandina Beach, Key West, Panama City and Destin as well as cities in seven
qualifying counties: Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas
and Seminole. Of Florida's 411 cities, 238 now qualify under the law.

State law had required that roads be planned to accompany for new
development. Senate Bill 360, signed by Gov. Charlie Crist on June 1, lifted the
requirement in those dense urban land areas. Miami-Dade County was
specifically exempted from the law along with portions of Broward County.

Cities and counties qualified for exemptions as dense urban land areas if they
averaged more than 1,000 people per square mile. Cities qualified if they were
within a county other than Miami-Dade that qualified as a dense urban land area.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs is emphasizing that road

requirements contained in local ordinances and land-use plans are not affected
by the new law unless those local governments take action to rescind them,
department spokesman James Miller said.

SB 360 supporters said the previous requirement in state law for transportation
"concurrency" encouraged urban sprawl into rural areas with highways rather
than redeveloping cities with more traffic congestion. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-
Bradenton and SB 360 sponsor, said in a newspaper opinion column that the bill
provided cities with the planning tools they've been asking for.

Crist signed the bill over the objections of environmental groups and the Florida
Association of Counties. The association said previous estimates of more than
200 cities that would qualify for the exemption raised planning concerns for the
counties surrounding them.
________________________________________________________________

SFAS has three sitting board members, one former board member and one past
president on the Broward County Climate Change Task Force “Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Sub-committee”, which is chaired by SFAS President Doug
Young; the input from SFAS has been met with favor and acceptance.

Recommendations to this point have been geared toward development and

utilization of mass transit through a Regional Transit Authority separate from the
Commissions of Broward, Palm Beach and Miami – Dade Counties, single
stream recycling, eco-friendly building and increased urban forestry.

Public Service Announcements are appearing on television to educate the public

as to the benefits of mass transit at the recommendation of the GHGR sub-
committee and more will be appearing regarding the establishment of a
dedicated source of funding for the RTA.
________________________________________________________________
The fight against runway expansion at FLL is ongoing, but currently, very little is
happening pending the lawsuit the Cities of Dania Beach and Hollywood have
filed against the FAA.

SFAS is proud to be affiliated with the Everglades Coalition as the effort to

protect what is left of the Everglades and to restore what is restorable continues.
The more voices speaking about the restoration of the Everglades, the better our
chances of being heard.
________________________________________________________________

The wedge-shaped portion of Palm Beach County south of the Hillsboro Canal,
known as the Parkland wedge, has been ceded to Broward County for
development. This is one of the last undeveloped parcels west of 441 and, in my
opinion, is better left as is because of its proximity to the Everglades. However,
one of the principal owners behind the scheme is Wane Huizenga, so we can
expect a concentrated push for this development.
________________________________________________________________

The National Park System has received a significant increase in funding for
2010. President Obama signed a $32.2 billion Interior and Environment
Appropriations bill for the 2010 fiscal year. In this bill, the National Park Service
(NPS) received $2.7 billion--roughly $218 million above the 2009 funding level!

This bill demonstrates a concerted effort by Congress and the Administration to

restore our national treasures in time for the 2016 centennial of the National Park
Service
________________________________________________________________

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District has released an

Environmental Assessment (EA) and Design Test Documentation Report
for the Water Conservation Area 3 Decompartmentalization and Sheet Flow
Enhancement (Decomp) Project Physical Model in Miami-Dade County. The
Corps accepted written comments through December 6, 2009 .

Restoring sheet flow and connectivity of habitats within the Everglades is one of
the most important goals of Everglades restoration. Modification of more than
240 miles of canals and levees was included for consideration in the "Yellow
Book," the framework for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

The project team has developed a temporary field test, as a part of the Water
Conservation Area 3 Decomp Project, to investigate design of features for
restoring sheet flow and for removing barriers to habitat connectivity in Water
Conservation Area 3. The field test - also known as a physical model -is
important because there are critical questions regarding design and effectiveness
of decompartmentalization features that the team cannot answer with current
knowledge or computer simulation models.
________________________________________________________________

The Coral Reef Protection Act, which went into effect on July 1, 2009,
increases the protection of Florida’s endangered coral reefs by helping raise
awareness of the damages associated with vessel groundings and anchoring on
coral reefs. It also authorizes penalties for the destruction of reef resources and
provides for efficient repair and mitigation of reef injuries. I am hoping that this
act can be used to prevent massive destruction to the coral reef in the widening
of the Port Everglades entry channel.

After more than five years of work by Oceana and others, the South Atlantic
Fishery Management Council approved a plan to protect more than 23,000
square miles of known deep-sea coral, from North Carolina to Florida, from
destructive fishing gear. It's believed to be the largest contiguous distribution of
pristine deepwater coral ecosystems in the world. The decision will now be sent
to NOAA for approval, and new regulations will likely take effect by the end of
2009.

The U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Environment Subcommittee has

approved the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control
Amendments Act of 2009 to control Harmful Algal Blooms. This bill requires
federal agencies to create a comprehensive and integrated strategy to address
and reduce harmful algal blooms and hypoxia (inadequate oxygen in the water).
________________________________________________________________

Palm Beach county commissioners have considered two locations for a

new waste dump-- one at State Road 80 and U.S. 98, the other just to the
south on County Road 880.

Environmentalists fought the southern location, because of fears a landfill there

could contaminate the nearby Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, which is
home to Palm Beach County’s remaining Everglades. It's also next door to a
Stormwater Treatment Area, where water runoff from Glades farms is cleansed.

In the end, commissioners decided to reject both locations, and hold off on
making a landfill decision, to see if they could find better-- and less expensive--
sites, through the state's planned U.S. Sugar land buy. Commissioners said they
will revisit the landfill issue next October.
________________________________________________________________

A new federal study of the assorted threats posed to the nation by Burmese
pythons and eight other large exotic constrictors indicates that the giant
snakes are here to stay.
The report analyzed the biological risks posed by nine species, including the
world's four largest snakes, all of which can top 20 feet: the green anaconda,
Indian or Burmese python, Northern African python and reticulated python.
Those, along with the boa constrictor, were ranked high risk. All have been found
in South Florida.

The prospects of eliminating Burmese pythons, estimated at tens of thousands in

the wild in the Glades alone, are bleak, the report concludes. No current
weapons, from python patrols to traps, appear capable of controlling the reptiles
________________________________________________________________

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and other law
enforcement agencies throughout state are advising Floridians about new laws
and enhancements to existing laws that deal with boating under the influence,
boating safety education, waterway markers, possession of gasoline on a vessel
and destruction of coral.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2010, any boater born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 will be required
to take an approved boating safety course and possess an FWC-issued
boating safety identification card. Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 and
purchases a boat will have 90 days from the purchase date to obtain a boating
safety identification card.

Another prohibited activity is placement and use of a waterway marker that does
not conform to the U.S. Aids to Navigation System and does not have an FWC
permit. It’s also unlawful for boaters to moor to government-placed waterway
markers or lawfully placed waterway markers except in emergency situations or
without written consent of the marker’s owner.

Boaters who damage coral reefs are required to notify the Department of
Environmental Protection. In addition, boaters who damage coral reefs are
required to cooperate with that department to remove their vessels and to assess
and restore the coral reef.
________________________________________________________________

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Executive

Director Ken Haddad announced that Lt. Col. Jim Brown will assume
command of the agency’s law enforcement division. Brown began his
conservation law enforcement career in 1981 and he has served as the FWC’s
law enforcement deputy director of operations since 2006.
________________________________________________________________

The Arctic ice cap will disappear completely in summer months within 20 to 30
years, according to a London based polar research team. Experts say it is likely
to be largely ice-free during the warmer months within a decade.
Veteran polar explorers went out on the Arctic ice cap to take more than 6,000
measurements and observations of the sea ice. The raw data they collected from
March to May has been analyzed, producing some stark predictions about the
state of the ice cap. "The summer ice cover will completely vanish in 20 to 30
years but in less than that it will have considerably retreated," said Professor
Peter Wadhams, head of the polar ocean physics group at Britain's prestigious
Cambridge University. "In about 10 years, the Arctic ice will be considered as
open sea."
________________________________________________________________

The nuclear reactor design that Florida Power & Light has chosen for its
expansion at Turkey Point has inherent safety flaws, according to federal
regulators. The problem is weakness in a structure called the shield building. It is
erected around an internal nuclear containment building primarily to protect it
from natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes.

In a letter to Westinghouse, the NRC said that part of its AP1000 reactor design
did not withstand design loads. The agency said it would require additional
analysis, testing and possibly redesign.

FPL is one of several utilities that have chosen the Westinghouse design as part
of a resurgent effort to build nuclear plants. Progress Energy, which is planning a
nuclear plant in Levy County, is also using the design. Overall, 14 AP1000 units
are under review in the US, and Westinghouse is building several overseas, with
one in China farthest along.
________________________________________________________________

The U.S. House passed an amendment authored by Congressman Ron Klein

(FL-22) to support cutting-edge solar energy technology in Florida and across
the country. Klein's amendment to the Solar Technology Roadmap Act passed
the House with a bipartisan majority. The legislation makes a critical investment
in clean energy technology that will stimulate economic growth and create jobs,
and Klein's amendment ensures that the funding in the bill can be applied to the
research and development of solar energy storage technologies.
________________________________________________________________

Ferro Investment Group is asking the Miami-Dade community, for the third time,
to approve the commercial development of 9.9 acres, located on the southeast
corner of SW 167th Avenue and 104th Street, putting renewed pressure on
Miami-Dade’s UDB. The UDB was created to control the western expansion of
new homes and commercial real estate, and to prevent the expansion into the
Everglades.

Today, with residential and commercial vacancies decimating entire

neighborhoods, and with unsold housing projects and stores sitting empty, the
idea of approving farmland on the western edge of our community for real estate
development is absurd.
________________________________________________________________

A Federal judge has revoked permits for Mirasol, a 799-home golf course
community planned in North Naples. Audubon of Florida, National Audubon
Society, Collier County Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Florida
Wildlife Federation and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, with litigation
support from the Everglades Foundation, have collaborated to protect the
Cocohatchee Slough from these destructive developments.

The proposed community has been the center of controversy for years because
its plans included building on 645 acres of wetlands. Opponents claimed Mirasol
would destroy woodstork habitat, harm the natural watershed and remove
important wetlands. Mirasol’s plans also included a 36-hole golf course.

The project developer, IM Collier Joint Venture, planned to preserve 832 acres of
wetlands, 109 acres of uplands and purchase 27 wetland credits at the Panther
Island Mitigation Bank in exchange for the planned wetlands destruction. The
revoked permit does not mean the end for Mirasol, which can reassess its
environmental impacts and reapply for permission to build.

Audubon expects a ruling from the same judge on a similar challenge filed
against the Saturnia Falls project, another proposed development adjacent to
Mirasol. While such rulings can be appealed, it is not clear what course the
developers will take next. However, this is an important victory for wetland and
habitat protection, and is the result of the support, persistence and passion of our
members, friends and allies!
________________________________________________________________

SFAS has been called upon to express an opinion of the proposed sand bypass
system under consideration for the North Jetty at Port Everglades.
The system will include a sand entrapment area that will be dredged periodically
and the sand will subsequently be deposited on the south side of the entry
channel where it will migrate southward and refurbish eroded beach areas
naturally.

Considering the proximity of the inner reef to the North Jetty and the Port
Everglades Entry Channel, it will be necessary to dismantle a two acre portion of
the reef to facilitate future ingress and egress of dredging equipment as
necessary to relocate the sand that will be trapped. I point out that the difference
between destruction and dismantling is that dismantling will consist of careful
removal and offsite placement and monitoring of the component parts as
mitigation. There is presently a mitigation reef in existence east of the North Lake
area of Hollywood that will be enlarged to accommodate the removed coral.
Feelings about the project are mixed in that, although mitigation is very
expensive and time consuming, if successful, it could lead to further negative
impacts to the reef structure, both in the proposed widening and deepening of the
entry channel and in some possible future scheme.

The alternative to the sand bypass is periodic site-specific dredge and fill
operations which will prove even more costly in the long run and will pose
unnecessary risks of damage to the reef. A case in point is the damage caused
by the Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Company when they dragged a slurry pipe
across thirteen miles of hardbottom, causing millions of dollars in damage that I
rather doubt has ever been fully mitigated.

It has been proven that the bypass system can be successful by the positive
results of the operational bypass at Hillsboro Inlet. If bypass systems were to be
placed at all inlets along the coast, natural sand flow would approximate the
conditions in existence prior to the dredging of the inlets.
________________________________________________________________

South Florida water managers issued a new memo about what developers
should do to comply with water quality rules.

The memo updates a 2004 memo that required developers to do more to treat
runoff into polluted waterbodies — particularly nutrients that spur algae blooms
that can smother waterbodies.

“It’s not a new issue for us,” Terrie Bates, the South Florida Water Management
District’s assistant deputy executive director for regulatory affairs, told the
district’s Governing Board meeting in Key Largo.

The Conservancy of Southwest Florida filed a legal challenge in 2003, saying the
district’s environmental permitting review was too lax. With this update, the
Conservancy has agreed to keep the challenge on hold for another 18 months.

The district memo is intended to fill in the gap while the state Department of
Environmental Protection works on a statewide stormwater cleanup rule.
A timetable calls for the DEP rule to be adopted by next July but could take
longer.
________________________________________________________________

South Florida moved closer to year-round watering restrictions Friday, but

sprinklers in Collier and Lee counties already comply with the proposed limits.

The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board, meeting in Key
Largo, voted unanimously to enact three-day-per-week watering restrictions —
drought or no drought — throughout the district’s 16 counties.
The vote capped more than two years of wrangling with utilities over the rules,
which at one point would have required two-day-per-week limits.
Utilities, including Collier County, remain opposed to the new limits, which still
must undergo a 21-day challenge period and survive a legislative review.
The water management district estimates that the year-round restrictions would
reduce water use by up to 10 percent.

Water conservation advocates, though, said the new rules don’t go far enough.
The year-round restrictions would replace stricter two-day-per-week emergency
watering rules that have been in effect since a 2007 drought. “That’s not a step
forward, that’s a step back,” said Jacquie Weisblum, Everglades team leader for
Audubon of Florida.

Broward County, along with several other South Florida Counties has
adopted 2 day per week restrictions. This move was supported by SFAS
________________________________________________________________

Want to help the painted bunting?

The Painted Bunting Observer Team (PBOT) Project at the University of North
Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) needs your assistance with these brightly colored
migratory birds.

The team is looking for volunteers to help with a research study in Florida to
develop strategies to bring the bird’s population up to healthy and sustainable
levels.

“Although past data from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) show that painted
bunting populations were declining for 30 years, more recent data, along with
detailed monitoring, indicate that these birds appear to be on the rebound,” said
Dr. Jamie Rotenberg, ornithologist in the Department of Environmental Studies at
UNCW. “Still, the good news is tempered by uncertainty surrounding the causes
for the recent rebound or whether the population is doing well on both the
breeding and wintering grounds.”

The painted bunting's decline may be caused by a variety of factors, including

increased coastal development and more intensive agricultural practices, both of
which clear scrub-land vital to breeding birds, according to Mike Delany, a
biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC)
Wildlife Research Laboratory in Gainesville.

“The recent turnaround in the painted bunting population may be due to a suite of
factors, including more people feeding birds at backyard feeders,” Delany said.
In North Carolina and Florida, painted buntings typically breed in a narrow range
along coasts and waterways. In South Carolina and Georgia, the birds also favor
the coast, but breed well inland in low country scrub and young pine stands. As
coastal habitats continue to be developed and as more inland scrub is cleared,
these birds are losing their homes.

“Florida is unique in that it is the only one of the four eastern breeding ground
states that also supports a wintering population of painted buntings,” Delany said.
In Florida, the team wants to recruit and maintain an active group of volunteers
who can make observations and collect data at backyard bird feeders and can
help band and monitor banded buntings, especially during the winter months.

“We hope to determine the abundance and distribution of painted buntings at

backyard feeders and to detect population patterns across the coastal-inland and
suburban-rural landscapes,” Rotenberg said. “We want to know if there are
differences in how males and females use feeders and how important these
backyard feeders are as a food resource. Already, just from last year’s data, we
may be seeing a winter-range expansion for painted buntings in Florida, possibly
because of backyard feeders. Ultimately, we want to find out why the species
was in decline and pinpoint what is causing the new increase.”

Since painted buntings readily visit backyard bird feeders, volunteers can easily
participate in gathering a variety of data that can aid the project in comparing
populations breeding in suburban, rural and natural habitats, from the coast to
more inland areas.

Last year, Rotenberg and his colleagues had more than 13,000 data hits to their
Web site - www.paintedbuntings.org - from volunteers in the Carolinas and
Florida, and the team captured and banded more than 600 painted buntings.
The banded birds allow the team to learn about migration, site fidelity, lifespan
and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth, as well as the
behavior of individual birds.

“When we began, most of our volunteers wanted to know if the same birds were
returning to their feeders every year,” Rotenberg said. “With the bands, our
volunteers can actually identify individual birds and know if the same ones are
visiting.”

Each painted bunting receives three pre-determined colors and one silver band
with inscribed numbers. The silver band is a federal band from the U.S. Bird
Banding Laboratory. The bands are easily viewed with binoculars.

This December, Rotenberg will be conducting several PBOT workshops around

Florida to help with the “how-to” part of being an observer, as well as providing
basic information about the species. As information becomes available, I will
post it on the website.

The dates and locations of the workshops are being finalized, according to
Rotenberg. For updates about the workshops in Florida or to become a Painted
Bunting Observer Team volunteer and learn more about the project, please sign
up on the project Web site - www.paintedbuntings.org - or e-mail the project
coordinator at [email protected].
________________________________________________________________

November 16, 2009, Miami, FL-Veteran conservation advocate Eric Draper

today assumed the position of Executive Director of Audubon of Florida on
an acting basis. He follows David Anderson in the role, who last week
concluded more than five years of distinguished service. Audubon of Florida is
the state office of National Audubon Society. Henry Tepper, Audubon's Vice
President of Eastern State Programs, made the announcement saying, "Eric is
one of Audubon's most talented conservation leaders. He has an impressive
record of accomplishment and the skills to lead Audubon's largest state
program."
________________________________________________________________

At the conclusion of a 10-month undercover investigation, the Florida Fish and

Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) arrested 12 people for the illegal
purchase and possession of live foxes and coyotes, and the unpermitted use
of these animals in fenced enclosures for the purpose of allowing dogs to pursue
them. In addition to undercover work, the investigation involved aerial
surveillance as the suspects moved from county to county, transporting the
animals to enclosures.
________________________________________________________________

The Floreana mockingbird - now one of the world's rarest birds, has been
placed on the Red List of critically endangered birds by the International Union
for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - was common when Charles Darwin
collected specimens on Floreana during the voyage of HMS Beagle in 1835.

Just over 30 years later, the birds were already extinct on Floreana and confined
to the neighboring two small islets of Gardner-por-Floreana and Champion, and
by 2007 that population had dwindled to roughly 200 birds. Speaking about the
appeal GCT's President Andrew Marr pointed out this is "about as close to
extinction as you can get".

Thanks to some high rainfall however, numbers have doubled, and there are now
more birds than these small satellite islands can support. This provides a real
opportunity to reintroduce a small number of birds back on the island of Floreana
and gather vital scientific data about their progress.
________________________________________________________________

Japanese whaling fleet sets sail – For the last time? Following a week of
potentially crippling budgetary reviews and a high-profile visit from US President
Barack Obama to Japan, the so-called ‘scientific' whaling fleet crept out of port in
Japan, as Greenpeace called for this departure to be the programs last.
Greenpeace unveiled a ‘Yes We Can' banner in front of the whaling factory ship
Nisshin Maru, calling on new Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and the
visiting US President Barack Obama to work together to end whaling.

In their election campaigns, both leaders signaled that there is no future in

whaling. The Obama administration is publicly opposed to ‘scientific' whaling,
while Hatoyama promised to wipe out bureaucratic corruption and the waste of
taxpayer money, of which the whaling industry is a prime example.
________________________________________________________________

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that that the brown pelican, a
species once decimated by the pesticide DDT, has recovered and is now being
removed from the list of threatened and endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act.

The brown pelican was first declared endangered in 1970 under the Endangered
Species Preservation Act, a precursor to the current Endangered Species Act.
Since then, thanks to a ban on DDT and efforts by states, conservation
organizations, private citizens and many other partners, the bird has recovered.
There are now more than 650,000 brown pelicans found across Florida and the
Gulf and Pacific Coasts, as well as in the Caribbean and Latin America.

The Fish and Wildlife Service removed the brown pelican population in Alabama,
Georgia, Florida, and northward along the Atlantic Coast states from the list of
endangered species in 1985. This action removes the remaining population from
the list.

The pelican's recovery is largely due to the federal ban on the general use of the
pesticide DDT in 1972. This action was taken after former U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring and alerted the nation to
the widespread dangers associated with unrestricted pesticide use.
________________________________________________________________

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will issue permits
for capturing reptiles of concern on state-managed lands in South Florida,
beginning January 2010. These permits will expire Dec. 31, 2010. Applications
are available at MyFWC.com; click on “Burmese pythons” from the “Quick Clicks”
menu. Only qualified applicants will be issued the permits.

The first phase of this program began July 17 and ran through Oct. 31. The FWC
issued 15 permits for capturing Burmese pythons and other reptiles of concern
on specific state-managed lands in South Florida. Ten of the 15 permit holders
actually made trips on the wildlife management areas, capturing a total of 39
Burmese pythons. No other reptiles of concern were found. For the 10 who made
trips, their original permit has been extended through Dec. 31, 2009. They are
eligible to apply for the new permit.
________________________________________________________________

In a huge victory for the Arctic, all waters north of the Bering Strait are closed to
commercial fishing, effective December 3. The closure will allow for more time to
assess the health of Arctic Ocean ecosystems and the potential impacts of large-
scale fishing, given the impacts the Arctic is already facing from climate change
and ocean acidification.
________________________________________________________________

PAK 2000, packaging supplier to the fashion industry's finest companies,

including Versace, Coach, Calvin Klein, and Marc Jacobs, has rejected
rainforest destruction!

PAK 2000 announced that they will cut all financial ties with their majority
shareholder Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), likely the biggest destroyer of
Indonesian rainforests, by the end of 2009. Additionally, they are working with
Rain Forest Action Network to develop and implement a leadership paper policy
that preferences recycled and Forest Service Commission certified paper and
phases out all controversial and high conservation value forest fiber, including all
fiber from Indonesia, from its paper products within 180 days.
________________________________________________________________

The Environmental Protection Agency's announcement that it is going to

regulate emissions that cause global warming has been expected ever since
President Barack Obama took office.

The timing of the announcement sends a welcome signal at a crucial time. It

comes as international momentum is building for the United States to take
climate change seriously and lead to cut carbon emissions.

On greenhouse-gas emissions from trucks, SUVs and automobiles, the Obama

administration wants to set emission standards, which would be a first, and raise
fuel economy standards for vehicles to 35 miles per gallon by 2016 to reduce
carbon. It should proceed with both.

Ideally, it would be better to have Congress approve the cap-and-trade bill on

industrial polluters in the first half of 2010. The United States needs to assert
itself as a leader in the effort to combat global warming. Nowhere is that more
obvious than Florida, where a gradual rise in sea level would drastically affect the
state's economy along with its coastline.

The EPA's significant move should propel the United States toward tackling the
very real threat of global warming.
________________________________________________________________
Thank you to those of you who called the Governor and Cabinet members
regarding the Balsamo and Lantana Farms cases. In another important victory
for growth management, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet today voted
unanimously to order Palm Beach County to rescind two comprehensive plan
amendments that would have increased density for these two properties. Both
cases involved inappropriate conversions of rural lands for urban and suburban
development.

This important order follows on the heels of two other significant Cabinet rulings
protecting urban service boundaries in Miami-Dade and Marion Counties. As with
the Miami-Dade and Marion County cases, today’s decision reinforces and
upholds the importance of urban boundaries as a growth management tool, the
need for overall consistency with the goals, objectives and policies of the
comprehensive plan, and the necessity of demonstrating fundamental need prior
to granting density or intensity increases.

1000 Friends of Florida and Rosa Durando were represented by the Everglades
Law Center’s Richard Grosso on the Palm Beach County cases. In addition to
this important Cabinet ruling, these cases are also significant because they
overcame the difficult “fairly debatable” legal test to determine that the land
development regulations authorizing the increased density were not in
compliance with the local comprehensive plan.
________________________________________________________________

A deal between the AFL-CIO, state transportation officials and Tri-Rail paved the
way for a rail bill to cruise to an easy 27-10 vote in the Senate ahead of
schedule.

The compromise, brokered by Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson, eliminated

a major sticking point for Democrats and allowed the Senate to send it to Gov.
Charlie Crist's desk for his certain signature.

Crist quickly praised the bill, saying, "Providing jobs for Floridians continues to be
to the most important reason to pass this legislation" in an echo of his comments
last week that the defeat of the bill would be "catastrophic."

The measure, as the governor and sponsors said, is meant to transform Florida's
transportation policy – by creating and funding a new agency responsible for
all passenger rail in the state; providing more money for Tri-Rail, currently the
state's only commuter rail line; and allowing the state to buy 61 miles of tracks
from CSX Inc. to start its next commuter system, SunRail in Central Florida.
Additionally, all are meant to serve as proof to the federal government of Florida's
commitment to public transportation to better the state's chance of being
awarded $2.6 billion in stimulus money for a high-speed rail project.
________________________________________________________________
Amid numerous changes in the senior-level staff at the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC), the seven-member Board of
Commissioners unanimously voted to retain Rodney Barreto as chairman
.
Commissioner Kenneth Wright noted the FWC has a new executive director,
assistant executive director, director of law enforcement and will need a new
general counsel soon.

“We need to ensure continuation of leadership with the most-experienced

commissioner as chairman,” Wright said.

Commissioner Brian Yablonski amended the nomination to include naming

Commissioner Dick Corbett as vice chairman. Corbett is second to Barreto in
experience on the Commission.

FWC chairmen and vice chairmen serve one-year terms, beginning the first day
of the calendar year.
________________________________________________________________

The governors of Alabama, Florida and Georgia reached a tentative water-

sharing agreement when they met to discuss the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-
Flint river system, a Florida official said today.

The three states have been battling in federal court since 1990 over the river
system, which is a source of drinking water for the metro Atlanta area. Florida
depends on fresh water to maintain fish and wildlife along the Apalachicola River
and the seafood industry at Apalachicola Bay.

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue requested a meeting
of the governors after U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson ruled in June that
federal law does not authorize cities to withdraw water from Lake Lanier, the
huge federal reservoir north of Atlanta. The governors announced they will meet
in Montgomery, Ala. on Dec. 15 to discuss the water dispute.
________________________________________________________________

Citing the federal government’s failure to conserve and protect the Florida
panther and its habitat, as required under by the Endangered Species Act, the
Sierra Club and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida today sent a notice letter
to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Department of Interior of their
intent to file a legal challenge. The notice gives the federal agencies sixty days
to respond.

The letter from the two organizations states that “The Florida panther was listed
as endangered in 1967, in large part due to habitat loss. Forty-two years later,
the panther still does not have protected critical habitat, even as development
continues to accelerate in south Florida. To fulfill its conservation mandate under
the ESA [Endangered Species Act], and to avoid violating the basic strictures of
the APA [Administrative Procedure Act], FWS must finally designate sufficient
critical habitat for the panther.”
________________________________________________________________

On January 21, 2009, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida petitioned FWS with
a formal request that it designate three important regions in south Florida as
critical habitat. These regions known as the “Primary”, “Secondary”, and
“Dispersal” Zones, embrace the core of panther habitat in the region. They
extend from the Everglades through the Big Cypress National Preserve to the
Caloosahatchee River, including vital migration corridors to South Central
Florida, relatively undisturbed core habitat, and areas with important habitat
restoration activities and opportunities. A broad coalition of citizen’s groups
including the Sierra Club joined the Conservancy in a second petition on July 23,
2009, which reiterated the need to protect the habitat described in the
Conservancy petition. FWS has not acted upon the petitions.

“Unfortunately, despite the pressing conservation needs outlined in the petitions,”

the Sierra Club and Conservancy of Southwest Florida said in its letter, “FWS
has not acted to designate critical habitat and has not responded in the manner
and within the time period required by the ESA and the APA. Instead, it has
allowed the petitions – and the panther – to continue to languish, even as habitat
destruction and other threats to the panther’s survival intensify.”

Only 90-120 Florida panthers remain, but 20 have been killed so far in 2009,
including 12 run over by cars.
________________________________________________________________

Everyone wants clean air, clean water and green space, but it takes independent
research and tough-minded advocacy to win concrete results for our
environment, especially when powerful interests stand in the way of
environmental needs. SFAS focuses intently on protecting Florida’s air, water
and open space. We continue to speak out and take action at the local, state and
national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.
________________________________________________________________

Grant Campbell
South Florida Audubon Society
Director of Wildlife Policy
Conservation Chair