From fracking to tree-trimming to using close to $900 million from a voter-approved conservation fund, Florida lawmakers are lining up their wishes ahead of the 2018 session.
florida environment
Florida Lawmakers Drilling the Way for Fracking Even as Need Is Questioned
The assault on Florida’s environment continues as a Senate committee last week approved a bill that would make it easier for companies to use fracking technology to drill for oil and gas in the state.
Florida’s Nature Conservancy Gets It:
It’s About Land Management
Most Florida environmental groups this special session made a lot of noise and spent a lot of money, but came away empty-handed and unhappy. Not The Nature Conservancy.
Against Voter Wishes, Proposal Would Devote Just 1% of Available Cash to Land Preservation
Sen. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican in charge of budget talks with the House–which is already resisting more money for land-buying–says Florida already has enough land in public hands.
$772 Million Amendment 1 Spending Focuses More On Management and Water Projects Than Land Acquisition
The plan drew mixed reviews from conservationists concerned that lawmakers disregarded the intent of voters who supported a constitutional amendment, known as Amendment 1, in November.
Big Sugar Turns to Mass Development, Potentially Affecting Everglades Restoreation Efforts
Environmental groups around the state are alarmed at U.S. Sugar’s plans to change its business model and potentially develop huge tracts of land it owns in South Florida, which might affect Everglades restoration efforts.
Meeting With Scientists on Global Warming, Gov. Scott Shows No Interest in the Science
Gov. Rick Scott, in a 30-minute meeting with scientists, asked whether the professors’ students were getting jobs in Florida, but showed no interest in the science under discussion or scientists’ urging him to prepare the state for the coming challenges posed by climate change.
Florida’s Deepest Pockets: The Best Legislature Money Can Buy
From blocking debate on equal pay for equal work for women, to a head-in-the-sand approach to protecting our environment, the list of issues ignored by this legislature is as long as it is indefensible, argues Mark Ferrulo.
First Manatee Count in 3 Years Shows Healthier Number Despite 2013’s Record Deaths
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported a preliminary count of 4,831 manatees in Florida during a statewide aerial survey conducted on Jan. 24 and Jan. 27. That’s the third-highest number of manatees recorded since such surveys began in 1991. No surveys were conducted in 2013 and 2012 because of unusually warm weather.
GOP Lawmaker Calls State’s Surplus Land Sale Program a “Disaster”
The Department of Environmental Protection effort was created with the intent of generating $50 million and replace the defunct and once-popular Florida Forever program, but so far no money has been raised and what has become a shortened list continues to draw criticism for sites remaining under consideration.
Fish and Wildlife Commission’s Lionfish Summit Will Explore Threats to Florida’s Ecology
As the linfish populations’ expansion threatens marine ecosystems in Florida, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hosting a Lionfish Summit Oct. 22-24 at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront hotel in Cocoa Beach, to determine research and management gaps and to bring together leaders in the lionfish issue.
Despite 1,000-Acre Trim, Environmentalists Warn of Too Much State Land for Sale
The trim still leaves 4,250 acres at 48 state-held sites, such as parks, trails and management areas, that remain under consideration for sale by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection even though the lands fit criteria for protection.
Week In Review: The Return of Candidate Rick Scott and Other Surprises
Rick Scott, the little-known, populist, former tea party politician emerged this week as a sweet-talking alternative to the Rick Scott who got elected in 2010 promising to be stingy and mean, to “Get to Work” at slashing the size of government.
Eyeing Re-Election, Scott Ends Austerity: $4 Billion Extra Spending in $74.2 Billion Budget
Gov. Rick Scott’s $74.2 billion budget proposal unveiled Thursday is the largest in the state’s history and includes a $4 billion spending increase that targets constituencies Scott hopes to win back as he seeks re-election in 2014, among them teachers, environmentalists and what state workers will remain on the payroll.
Losing “Protection”
In Florida’s Environmental Agency
Some of the state’s strongest protectors of our natural resources were recently expelled from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Fifty-eight of the most knowledgeable and long-serving employees were let go in order to fulfill the governor’s promise/threat of less regulation.
Environmentalist Lawyer Clay Henderson Is Stetson’s George and Mary Hood Award Recipient
Clay Henderson, the New Smyrna Beach lawyer and environmentalist who’s leaving his mark on Florida’s geography, is the 2012 recipient of Stetson University’s George and Mary Hood Award, one of the university’s most prestigious honors.
Proposed Conservation Amendment: $5 Billion Over 10 Years, Without Raising Taxes
The proposed 2014 constitutional amendment, dubbed the Florida Water and Land Legacy Amendment, would set aside 33 percent of documentary tax collections for 20 years for land and water purchases, leases and restoration efforts. The taxes are collected on real estate and other legal transactions.
Florida Conservation Groups Mobilize for National Public Lands Day Saturday
A coalition of Northeast Florida’s leading conservation organizations are using this occasion to raise awareness about the importance of  publicly-owned conservation lands and to encourage the community to explore, volunteer and advocate for the protection of these vital natural resources.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Charts Next Steps For Expanded Panther Population and Range
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), working in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, plans to document where panthers are roaming beyond south Florida and develop the best practices to help people and panthers coexist.
Tired of Waiting, Florida Audubon Sues Management District Over Everglades Pollution
Florida Audubon Society on Friday filed legal petitions to force the South Florida Water Management District to enforce more-stringent laws put in place five years ago to reduce phosphorus levels in the Everglades.
Everglades Water Clean-Up: After Rejecting Scott’s Earlier Plan, EPA Approves Revisions
The EPA will allow the state and the South Florida Water Management District to move forward with a historic Everglades plan for the construction of stormwater treatment areas and huge new areas of water storage.
Best Way to Keep Florida’s Manatees Wild: Do Not Disturb
Manatees are experts at finding food and fresh water – they don’t need our assistance. Quite the contrary, they will do far better if we can give them a wide berth and keep our distance, writes Katie Tripp.
Invasion of the Giant African Snail: Florida’s Latest Slimy Bane
The giant African snail is again invading South Florida and possibly spreading north, devouring numerous crops such as banana, potato, onion and cabbage, and also eating stucco plaster and concrete. Frank Gromling reports.
Between a Tortoise and a Turtle
Living on the Atlantic Coast, we often hear about sea turtles while gopher tortoises get second billing, though they’ve inhabited Florida and a few other southern states for millions of years. A primer.
The North Atlantic Garbage Patch: A Plastic Soup Ladled from Consumption
A floating garbage dump consists of billions of small plastic man-made items stretches in the Atlantic from Cuba to Maryland by way of Florida. Here’s what you can do to keep plastics and other litter out of the oceans.
Florida Senate Says No to No Fast-Tracking Oil and Gas Drilling on State Lands
A bill making it easier to drill for oil and gas on state lands hit the skids Tuesday as it failed to advance from a key Senate Committee that does not intend to meet again.
Audubon of Florida Applauds Gulf Coast Task Force’s Restoration Roadmap From BP Spill
Audubon of Florida Monday said it applauded the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force for crafting a road map for Gulf restoration in response to the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
Claude Kirk, Florida’s First 20th Century Republican Governor, Is Dead at 85
Gov. Claude Kirk–flamboyant, outspoken, quirky–gave rise to Florida’s Republican ascendance and ushered in an era of environmental stewardship and conservation as governor between 1966 and 1970.
Banning Near-Shore Oil Drilling for Good in Florida: Proposed Constitutional Amendment Is Filed
The proposed amendment, filed Tuesday by Sen. Arthenia Joyner, matches a House version filed earlier this year by Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg. It would ask voters to put into the constitution a ban on exploration, drilling, extraction or production of oil in Florida waters.
A 6% Tax on Bottled Water in Florida: Ormond Beach’s Sen. Lynn Revives Proposal
The bottled-water tax in Florida would pay for repairing environmental damage from trashed plastic. The water industry is opposing Ormond Beach Sen. Evelyn Lynn’s proposal.
Sprawl-Fighting State Oversight Agency Is Dissolved, To the Delight of Local Developers
The Florida Department of Community Affairs, created in 1969 to manager growth, is being diluted into other agencies, leaving local governments much freer to develop as they choose.
Flagler Ranks Low in Latest Florida Forever Priorities, But Money Is Elusive Anyway
Only one project–the 4,200-acre Flagler County Blueway–made the list of the state Florida Forever priorities for preservation this year, and at a low ranking–with little to no money in the state fund anyway.
Hurricane Tallahassee: Environmentalists Survey Wreckage of 2011 Legislative Session
Developers gained more power in environmental disputes, state regulation of development was scaled back, the Department of Community Affairs is all but history as the Florida Legislature diminished the state’s growth management role in favor of development.
From Flagler’s Washington Oaks, Fla. Audubon Launches Campaign to Save 53 State Parks
Some 65 people gathered at Washington Oaks Gardens State Park Monday to kick-off the campaign to save endangered parks, including two in Flagler County, as Gov. Rick Scott was pledging to cut $5 billion from the budget.
The Southern Redcedar, or “Sand-Cedar”
The Southern Redcedar: a brief definition and description of the hardy tree found in mid-to-northern Florida and the coastal South, with images.
23 Panthers Killed in Florida in 2010, 16 of Them by Vehicles
The endangered Florida panther numbers less than 200 animals in South Florida. Every year, in rising numbers, 12 to 17 panthers are killed on Florida roads. Yet the panther population may be increasing.