Putting 2019 into perspective: A historic year for Everglades restoration and Florida’s water quality

Over the greater part of a century, the Everglades was systematically drained by man as a means of progress and development. The fragile wilderness was slowly decimated, leaving unintended consequences: degrading water quality, loss of habitat and native species, and severe economic impact.   Once it was realized that Florida’s economy and water quality depend...

Florida Bay Day: Creating alignment and allies in the fight for clean water

  At the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula, there’s an unassuming map dot that marks a place called, Flamingo. To get there, you must enter the gates of Everglades National Park, then drive for an hour more, carving through an endless expanse of marsh, cypress heads, and dwarf-pine prairies. Don’t bother mapping it from...

2018 versus 2019: Florida’s water crisis idle, but not over

Image source: Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Memorandum, Caloosahatchee & Estuary Condition Report released June 11, 2019 Here we are, living out a beautiful Florida summer—one that’s defined by our iconic vibrant water, reports of incredible fishing, and the return of visitors to our beaches. Thoughts of last year’s “lost summer” are but a distant memory....

CFCW Board Member Chauncey Goss elected SFWMD Governing Board Chairman

“You do work for the taxpayers. And we all expect a little better.” – Chauncey Goss Only a few short months ago, our board member, Chauncey Goss, stood before the corrupt SFWMD Governing Board and spoke these words. The South Florida Water Management District is a powerful government agency, responsible for managing and protecting water resources...

The South Florida Water Management District must be held accountable

The South Florida Water Management District is responsible for managing and protecting water resources of South Florida. As an agency funded partially by taxpayer dollars, it is their responsibility to operate in a manner that takes the public’s interests into consideration; especially when their decisions affect the fate of the Everglades and the future of...

Florida’s water crisis 2018: Lessons learned from a year of bad water

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), passed in 2000, included a series of 68 projects that were supposed to be completed within thirty years. Most of the significant features to reduce discharges from Lake Okeechobee and rehydrate the Everglades were to be completed within the first twenty years. Instead, a lack of funding and political...

Drain the district, save the swamp

The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board is preventing Everglades restoration and clean water in favor of special interests. On November 7, 2018 at 9:00pm, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the agency responsible for Everglades restoration, amended the agenda for their Governing Board meeting that was scheduled for 9:30am the next morning....