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• President's column: Audubon of Florida Sets Conservation Priorities
• Historic Passage of the Real Act
• Arbor Day Enthousiasts needed January 20

     The first Audubon Assembly in Fernandina Beach in November picked 17 regional and state priorities on which to focus Audubon Florida's education and advocacy work. The Year 2001 priorities follow issues developed by 44 local chapters statewide, including our three priorities initiated by Apalachee and other North Florida chapters.
     Our key issues related to St. Joe Company lands, funding parity for the Northwest Florida Water Management District and the Pinhook Swamp-Osceola National Forest-Greater Okefenokee Ecosystem (POGO).  All were enthusiastically endorsed by the assembly. The St. Joe resolution calls on Audubon to work with the large landowner in disposing major amounts of forest in and west of our area.  Audubon will seek to help the land and development company to assess holdings and support conservation or public purchase of key habitats. The NWFWMD resolution directs Audubon to support amending the Florida Constitution to allow our district to carry out environmental protection programs, noting ad valorem taxes for water management in our vast area are only one-twentieth of the rest of the state.
     The POGO resolution backs federal and state purchases of Pinhook Swamp lands linking national forest and national wildlife refuge ecosystems.  Larry Thompson was key in creating the cross-state POGO Coalition to deal with threats to swamp and forest habitats. 2001 priorities also addressed Everglades Ecosystem restoration, growth management to protect ecosystems and habitat, funding for conservation education, rural land protection with new state agricultural easements and coastal protection limiting development impacts and restoring damaged habitats. Other issues were Collier County/Lee County land use, Lake Wales Ridge ecosystem, local land acquisition/habitat protection, Loxahatchee NWF leases,  Okalawaha River restoration, phosphate mining environmental impacts, Southwest Florida water resources, transportation diversification/toll roads and Indian River water quality. For the complete text of assembly resolutions, please go to our chapter  web site, or you can call our voice mailbox.
     Over 200 leaders, including 12 folks from our region, focused on environmental education, growth management and ecosystem protection.  Chapters, state staff and Audubon directors will now mobilize volunteers and allies for state legislative and local community work. For 100 years Audubon's science-based priorities have led to state laws and local initiatives to protect wildlife habitat and restore bird populations.  As if to confirm our value and efforts, news broke right as the assembly got underway that Congress had just passed major Everglades restoration legislation.   Whether it's money for the nation's most endangered ecosystem or just one new Florida scrub jay nest, Audubon Florida and members like you have made all the difference.

Jim Crews, President
 
 

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By Eric Draper

   Victory, at last!  After eight long years Congress has passed (and the President just signed into law) the Restoring the Everglades, an American Legacy Act (REAL) on November 3rd.  This bill authorizes and initiates funding for the $7.8 billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and provides direction for the many individual and complex decisions and projects to take place over the next two decades.
 
   The key measure of success is that ecosystem health is at the heart of this new law.  We can expect that once abundant populations of wading birds will again return to the Everglades system.  However, environmental restoration decisions will be balanced against the needs of agricultural and urban interests.
The REAL Act marks a major victory for Audubon.  We really pulled together around the  campaign to pass the federal bill.  Members, chapters and leaders throughout Florida and the nation communicated with the Florida Legislature and Governor, Congress and the White House on the need for this historic act.
Our consensus-based approach of building a diverse constituency of stakeholders has proven effective.  Working with political, environmental, economic and agricultural interests for the support the Everglades plan was the key to holding down controversy and building across the board support.  This union ultimately convinced first the Florida legislature and then Congress that restoring America’s Everglades is a national priority.
      Some key issues in Everglades restoration include:

Keeping water in the system that is currently drained to tide.  Precious water that used to slowly seep toward the sea through sloughs and marshes is now drained off farm and residential land.  Restoration will recreate some of the lost storage capacity.
Improving the timing and distribution of water flows through Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.  This should allow for more successful nesting and breeding for Spoonbills, Woodstorks and Seaside Sparrows among other birds.
Purchase, preservation and restoration of remaining natural areas throughout the system.
 
    We are grateful to Senators Bob Graham and Connie Mack, Congressmen Clay Shaw, Peter Deutch, Mark Foley and Bill Young, Governor Jeb Bush and DEP Secretary David Struhs and of course, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore for working hard and tirelessly to make Everglades restoration possible.
Gratitude is also owed to all those Audubon members who wrote and called public officials to support both the state and federal versions of Everglades restoration.

Eric Draper is Conservation Director for Audubon of Florida.  He can be reached at edraper@audubon.org or 850 224-7546.

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   Apalachee Land Conservancy is looking for volunteers to participate in an Arbor Day tree planting effort scheduled for January 20, 2001, at 9:00 a.m.  The planting site is the same as last year.  It is located about one mile west of San Luis Park.  To get there, take Tharpe St. west from Ocala Road.  Go south on Trimble.  Trimble deadends in one block at the planting site. The location for the planting is a 40-acre parcel of vacant, floodprone land purchased by the city using FEMA money.   Apalachee Land Conservancy approached the city with the concept of restoring wildlife habitat on the site as part of a corridor that might link San Luis Park with the habitat area behind Tallahassee Community College.  The city accepted the concept and the new San Luis Wildlife Park was born.
   This year the city and county funds of $8000 will be supplemented with a $10,000 grant obtained by ALC from the Division of Forestry.

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