Panther Advocates,
Some additional articles on the proposals to create and expand refuges.
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, Jan. 7, 2011
WESTON — In a significant commitment to clean polluted runoff before it enters Lake Okeechobee, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday that the federal government would create a 150,000-acre refuge south of Orlando.
About 50,000 acres would be purchased by the federal government, and the remaining 100,000 would be protected through conservation easements on private land, Salazar said Friday afternoon before delivering the keynote address at the annual Everglades Coalition conference.
In a role reversal of sorts, the federal government is taking the initiative to buy land for Everglades restoration that had been lacking in previous years. Still unknown is how engaged the state government will be. Under former Gov. Charlie Crist, the state proposed a huge land purchase south of Lake Okeechobee but Gov. Rick Scott has opposed that approach.
Also unknown is how much Salazar's proposal will cost and where the money will come from. Efforts to restore the natural flow of the Kissimmee River between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee have been ongoing for decades. The goal is to remove nutrient pollution from runoff from ranches, dairies and cities that have been polluting Lake Okeechobee.
The state's efforts to cleanse Lake Okeechobee water before it flows south into the Everglades has been the subject of lengthy legal disputes and carries a multi-billion-dollar price tag.
Salazar embraced what his office is calling a new national wildlife refuge and conservation area. It's based on buying easements from ranchers, which would allow ranching to continue while preserving wildlife habitat and allowing water storage and treatment.
"That means that (the land) won't be developed, and it will continue to be maintained as a ranch," Salazar said. "I think from the point of view of a rancher, and I've been a rancher for a good part of my life, this is a way of preserving ranches not only for this generation but for future generations."
Salazar said this initiative is not tied to a pilot program in early 2010 led by the World Wildlife Fund to develop a similar tool, in which ranchers are paid to flood pastures to slow and cleanse runoff flowing south without requiring that ranchers sell or give up their land rights.
Salazar added that landowners across the region have supported the creation of the wildlife refuge, and he expects to finalize details about the agreement with ranchers in a couple of months.
"The partnerships being formed would protect and improve water quality north of Lake Okeechobee, restore wetlands, and connect existing conservation lands and important wildlife corridors to support the greater Everglades restoration effort," Salazar said.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who spoke at the conference minutes before Salazar's announcement, praised the project as "an important first step aimed at preserving and protecting thousands of acres vital to the Everglades."
"Projects like this will ensure future generations will be able to benefit from and enjoy the River of Grass," Nelson said.
Some environmentalists at the conference also were satisfied to hear of Salazar's initiative.
"I think it fits perfectly with our (conference) theme, working with new partners," said Julie Hill-Gabriel, co-chair of the conference. "It's great, and on behalf of the coalition, we will say that we are in favor of more land conservation."
Jerry Montgomery, vice chairman of the South Florida Water Management District board, also supports the proposal.
"Combined with last year's federal investment to conserve 26,000 acres in the northern Everglades, this effort builds on the momentum to deliver water quality improvements, water storage and environmental restoration benefiting all Floridians," he said.
New wildlife refuge would be created north of Lake Okeechobee
By David Fleshler and Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel
11:04 p.m. EST, January 7, 2011
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Obama administration on Friday proposed protecting a vast mosaic of wilderness, streams, lakes and ranchlands north of Lake Okeechobee. The initiative is intended to guard the water sources of the Everglades and prevent development in a landscape that recalls a Florida before Disney, condominiums and interstate highways.
The $700 million proposal — which lacks specifics on funding and the exact locations of land to be protected — calls for buying about 50,000 acres for a new national wildlife refuge and protecting another 100,000 acres through agreements with landowners and other means.
The proposal describes the areas as "one of the great grassland and savanna landscapes of eastern North America," providing habitat for the Florida panther, black bear, Florida scrub-jay, Everglades snail kite, red-cockaded woodpecker and many other species.
The region also serves as the headwaters for the Florida Everglades, gathering water that flows slowly south through the Everglades to the coast. Among the Everglades' knottiest problems is the pollution washing off farms and cities from fertilizers, particularly phosphorus.
The $700 million proposal — which lacks specifics on funding and the exact locations of land to be protected — calls for buying about 50,000 acres for a new national wildlife refuge and protecting another 100,000 acres through agreements with landowners and other means.
The proposal describes the areas as "one of the great grassland and savanna landscapes of eastern North America," providing habitat for the Florida panther, black bear, Florida scrub-jay, Everglades snail kite, red-cockaded woodpecker and many other species.
The region also serves as the headwaters for the Florida Everglades, gathering water that flows slowly south through the Everglades to the coast. Among the Everglades' knottiest problems is the pollution washing off farms and cities from fertilizers, particularly phosphorus.
"The Everglades' rural working ranch landscapes are an important piece of our nation's history and economy, and this initiative would work to ensure that they remain vital for our future," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a written statement. "The partnerships being formed would protect and improve water quality north of Lake Okeechobee, restore wetlands and connect existing conservation lands and important wildlife corridors to support the greater Everglades restoration effort."
There was no immediate reaction from Gov. Rick Scott. The proposal would remove the possibility of development from an enormous slice of land, and the new Republican governor has been sharply critical of government actions that discourage economic growth.
Salazar said he didn't know whether Scott knew about the plan. "My hope is that he will be supportive," he said in a Sun Sentinel editorial board interview. "It is so important for the economics of Florida and the environment of Florida."
Salazar's announcement came the day he was to deliver the dinner speech at the annual Everglades Coalition Conference, being held this year in Weston. The coalition includes more than 50 South Florida, state and national organizations that push for Everglades restoration.
Environmentalists say the benefits of a new wildlife refuge would reach all the way to South Florida. Part of the land could be used to help clean up polluted water that now washes into Lake Okeechobee and makes its way south to the Everglades. Protecting 150,000 acres from development also would preserve land that provides wildlife habitat and recharges water supplies.
"Everglades restoration isn't complete without fixing the northern end of the system," said Kirk Fordham, CEO of the Everglades Foundation. "We see this as interlocking with what's happening below the lake."
While Salazar's announcement created a positive buzz at the conference, the economic downturn and funding cuts at the state and federal levels remain key roadblocks to building more of the stormwater treatment areas and reservoirs long-planned for Everglades restoration.
"The only thing that is holding us back is funding," said Carol Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, which leads Everglades restoration. "We have projects that are designed and permitted and sitting on the shelf."
The refuge plan is highly preliminary. Exact locations of these areas are yet to be determined, but they would be located roughly in the Kissimmee River Valley in parts of Osceola, Polk, Okeechobee, Highlands and Indian River counties.
Also undetermined is how to pay for the acquisitions. The proposal states that multiple funding sources "may be available" from programs in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and state of Florida.
Salazar said he is confident of finding the money, saying there was sufficient support for Everglades restoration to fund the acquisitions.
This proposed land deal is one of several in various stages of development to protect land in and around the Everglades.
In October the state closed on a $197 million deal to buy 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. south of Lake Okeechobee. The Water District plans to use the land to build water storage and treatment areas to help restore water flows to the Everglades.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pursuing a proposed $89 million plan to set aside another 26,000 acres of ranchland along Fisheating Creek, north of Lake Okeechobee, for environmental protection. The goal is to protect habitat and restore natural flows of water across ranchlands to the creek that feeds Lake Okeechobee.
The new 150,000-acre proposal adds a "critical landscape north of Lake Okeechobee" to conservation efforts, said Keith Fountain, director of land acquisition in Florida for The Nature Conservancy.
"It's another component," Fountain said. "It's like putting together the puzzle."
Florida's new commissioner of agriculture, Adam Putnam, called the proposal a "tremendously exciting opportunity" to protect wildlife habitat and "conserve a working rural ranching landscape."
"Agriculture, landowners, farmers and ranchers … are all important partners in protecting all the things that make Florida special," Putnam said.
Sen. Bill Nelson praised the refuge proposal as a way to set aside land for conservation that protects wildlife habitat and helps stop pollution from washing into Lake Okeechobee.
Nelson said he considers more federal funding for the Everglades a "desperate" need that should not be sacrificed among budget cuts due to the struggling economy.
"We will just have to fight those battles," said Nelson, D-Fla. "We are able through conservation programs to start restoring Mother Nature. That is critical."
The proposal's timetable calls for public hearings and comment periods over the next few months, with a final plan developed by August or September.
Salazar said no one would be forced to sell land, with all acquisitions coming from willing sellers, not condemnation. The wildlife refuge may be patchy at first, he said, with private holdings within its boundaries.
National wildlife refuges vary dramatically in the level of activities they permit, with some allowing hiking, hunting and other activities and others prohibiting any public access.
David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4535.
There was no immediate reaction from Gov. Rick Scott. The proposal would remove the possibility of development from an enormous slice of land, and the new Republican governor has been sharply critical of government actions that discourage economic growth.
Salazar said he didn't know whether Scott knew about the plan. "My hope is that he will be supportive," he said in a Sun Sentinel editorial board interview. "It is so important for the economics of Florida and the environment of Florida."
Salazar's announcement came the day he was to deliver the dinner speech at the annual Everglades Coalition Conference, being held this year in Weston. The coalition includes more than 50 South Florida, state and national organizations that push for Everglades restoration.
Environmentalists say the benefits of a new wildlife refuge would reach all the way to South Florida. Part of the land could be used to help clean up polluted water that now washes into Lake Okeechobee and makes its way south to the Everglades. Protecting 150,000 acres from development also would preserve land that provides wildlife habitat and recharges water supplies.
"Everglades restoration isn't complete without fixing the northern end of the system," said Kirk Fordham, CEO of the Everglades Foundation. "We see this as interlocking with what's happening below the lake."
While Salazar's announcement created a positive buzz at the conference, the economic downturn and funding cuts at the state and federal levels remain key roadblocks to building more of the stormwater treatment areas and reservoirs long-planned for Everglades restoration.
"The only thing that is holding us back is funding," said Carol Wehle, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, which leads Everglades restoration. "We have projects that are designed and permitted and sitting on the shelf."
The refuge plan is highly preliminary. Exact locations of these areas are yet to be determined, but they would be located roughly in the Kissimmee River Valley in parts of Osceola, Polk, Okeechobee, Highlands and Indian River counties.
Also undetermined is how to pay for the acquisitions. The proposal states that multiple funding sources "may be available" from programs in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and state of Florida.
Salazar said he is confident of finding the money, saying there was sufficient support for Everglades restoration to fund the acquisitions.
This proposed land deal is one of several in various stages of development to protect land in and around the Everglades.
In October the state closed on a $197 million deal to buy 26,800 acres from U.S. Sugar Corp. south of Lake Okeechobee. The Water District plans to use the land to build water storage and treatment areas to help restore water flows to the Everglades.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is pursuing a proposed $89 million plan to set aside another 26,000 acres of ranchland along Fisheating Creek, north of Lake Okeechobee, for environmental protection. The goal is to protect habitat and restore natural flows of water across ranchlands to the creek that feeds Lake Okeechobee.
The new 150,000-acre proposal adds a "critical landscape north of Lake Okeechobee" to conservation efforts, said Keith Fountain, director of land acquisition in Florida for The Nature Conservancy.
"It's another component," Fountain said. "It's like putting together the puzzle."
Florida's new commissioner of agriculture, Adam Putnam, called the proposal a "tremendously exciting opportunity" to protect wildlife habitat and "conserve a working rural ranching landscape."
"Agriculture, landowners, farmers and ranchers … are all important partners in protecting all the things that make Florida special," Putnam said.
Sen. Bill Nelson praised the refuge proposal as a way to set aside land for conservation that protects wildlife habitat and helps stop pollution from washing into Lake Okeechobee.
Nelson said he considers more federal funding for the Everglades a "desperate" need that should not be sacrificed among budget cuts due to the struggling economy.
"We will just have to fight those battles," said Nelson, D-Fla. "We are able through conservation programs to start restoring Mother Nature. That is critical."
The proposal's timetable calls for public hearings and comment periods over the next few months, with a final plan developed by August or September.
Salazar said no one would be forced to sell land, with all acquisitions coming from willing sellers, not condemnation. The wildlife refuge may be patchy at first, he said, with private holdings within its boundaries.
National wildlife refuges vary dramatically in the level of activities they permit, with some allowing hiking, hunting and other activities and others prohibiting any public access.
David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4535.
BY CURT ANDERSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A wildlife refuge and ranching conservation area would be carved out of 150,000 acres in the Everglades headwaters north of Lake Okeechobee under a proposal unveiled Friday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
The proposal, still under study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, envisions government purchase from willing sellers of about 50,000 acres along the Kissimmee River valley. Another 100,000 acres would be preserved under conservation easements and other agreements with private landowners that restrict development and other uses.
Salazar told reporters the goal is to protect threatened wildlife and habitat, improve water quality flowing into Lake Okeechobee and preserve the region's "rural working landscapes."
"The Everglades are unique," Salazar said. "They are probably one of the most important ecosystems we have in the United States."
The plan is the second involving Everglades restoration from Salazar in as many months. In December, the secretary proposed raising an additional 5.5 miles of the cross-South Florida Tamiami Trail highway to improve water flow into Everglades National Park - which represents about one-fifth of the original Everglades. A one-mile bridge span is under construction now.
For more than two decades, state and federal officials have wrestled with how to restore the natural balance of the Everglades, which has been decimated by farm runoff and urban pollution and by water diverted away through hundreds of manmade canals. A shallow sheet of water once flowed unimpeded from the Kissimmee River south to Florida Bay.
Current restoration plans include construction of huge reservoirs to filter water flowing into the wetlands and the purchase of some agricultural land from sugar companies to return to its natural state.
The headwaters proposal announced Friday would add to the federal purchase last year of about 26,000 acres in the region. Several key Florida officials have endorsed the new plan, along with environmental groups such as the Nature Conservancy.
"The entire state and visitors from around the world will benefit from the foresight to keep these rare Florida habitats natural," said Jeff Danter, the Nature Conservancy's Florida director.
Cary Lightsey, whose Lightsey Cattle Co. is working with Interior officials on the plan, said he has had conservation easements on his land since 1990.
"They have all been win-win situations and we have never looked back," he said. "It makes us feel good that we are providing green space and wildlife habitat for future generations."
The project would depend on continued funding from Congress, something U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he would make a priority.
"When I see this desperate need, I will request the appropriations to fill that need," said Nelson, who appeared at the news conference with Salazar.
Salazar said the goal is to finalize the plan by the end of 2011, including setting boundaries for the refuge. Public workshops will be held later this month and February.
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011
WESTON — Former Sen. Bob Graham told a group of environmentalists at an Everglades Coalition conference Saturday that recent efforts to secure funds and create awareness for restoration of Florida's River of Grass were commendable.
But challenges in the near future are expected, with a new administration in Tallahassee and changes on Capitol Hill, Graham said.
"We are going to have a challenging time in terms of getting adequate resources for the Everglades, and we are going to have a collective responsibility to develop a strategy to get those new leaders educated about the Everglades," Graham said.
Graham said Florida's primary economic issue was saving the Everglades, which supplies water for a large percentage of the state's residents and provides hundreds of jobs through some restoration projects already in place.
Funding from the federal government is key, he said, cautioning environmentalists to correct anyone who labels Everglades funding as an earmark.
"If anybody says Everglades and earmark in the same sentence, it is our responsibility to tell them, 'You don't know what the hell you are talking about,' " Graham added.
At the conference, an event he helped create in 1986, Graham also talked about his work with the commission created by President Obama to study the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
He said changes in energy policy were needed to create a sustainable economy.
Graham added that he was meeting with Florida Gov. Rick Scott Friday to discuss the spill.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we had an opportunity to talk about some broader issues," he told the crowd.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, January 7, 2011 (ENS) - The federal government is looking for landowners in the Everglades headwaters area willing to sell land to the federal government for conservation easements that will protect an area of streams, lakes, wilderness and ranch lands north of Lake Okeechobee.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with private landowners, conservation groups and federal, tribal, state and local agencies to create a new national wildlife refuge and conservation area that will "preserve the community's ranching heritage and conserve the headwaters and fish and wildlife of the Everglades."
Under the $700 million proposal, the government would purchase about 50,000 acres for a new national wildlife refuge and protect another 100,000 acres through agreements with landowners.
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"The partnerships being formed would protect and improve water quality north of Lake Okeechobee, restore wetlands, and connect existing conservation lands and important wildlife corridors to support the greater Everglades restoration effort," Salazar said.
The Service, along with its partners, is conducting a preliminary study to establish a new National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area of 150,000 acres of important environmental and cultural landscapes in the Kissimmee River Valley south of Orlando in central Florida.
The proposed area includes 50,000 acres for potential purchase, and an additional 100,000 acres that could be protected through conservation easements and cooperative agreements, keeping the land in private ownership. The Service will only work with willing sellers to purchase land rights.
"This is an important first step aimed at preserving and protecting thousands of acres vital to the Everglades," said U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who joined Secretary Salazar in today's announcement. "Projects like this will ensure future generations will be able to benefit from and enjoy the River of Grass."
"We have been working with various easement programs since 1990," said Cary Lightsey of the Lightsey Cattle Company, a cooperating rancher. "They all have been win-win situations and we have never looked back."
A swan flies over the Everglades headwaters. (Photo by Don Stonehouse) |
"It makes us feel good that we are providing green space and wildlife habitat for future generations," Lightsey said. "I appreciate this proposal. I don't see my grandchildren coming back and questioning why we preserved the landscape."
In addition to improving water quality, the proposed conservation area and refuge would protect habitat for 88 federal and state species listed as threatened or endangered, including the Florida panther, Florida black bear, whooping crane, Everglade snail kite and the Eastern indigo snake.
It will also link to about 690,000 acres of partner-conserved lands.
The proposal will be front and center this weekend at the annual Everglades Coalition conference in Weston, where environmentalists and elected officials will discuss progress on Everglades restoration. Secretary Salazar, Senator Nelson and former Governor Bob Graham will be in attendance.
The South Florida Water Management District is one of more than a dozen partners working on the proposed refuge and conservation area. SFWMD Governing Board Vice Chairman Jerry Montgomery today applauded the "bold" proposal.
Combined with last year's federal investment to conserve 26,000 acres in the Northern Everglades, this effort builds on the momentum to deliver water quality improvements, water storage and environmental restoration benefiting all Floridians," said Montgomery.
Other partners working together through the Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative include, the Florida Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Florida Division of State Lands; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Osceola County Parks Division; the National Wildlife Refuge Association; The Nature Conservancy; U.S. Air Force - Avon Park Air Force Range; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Their efforts are part of a larger conservation effort across south-central Florida. A final plan for the Everglades Headwaters proposal is expected by the end of this year.
A proposed federal refuge north of Lake Okeechobee would be built on a new conservation approach that would leave most of the land in the hands of ranchers.
BY CURTIS MORGAN
CMORGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COM
The Obama administration wants to create a sprawling new national wildlife refuge north of Lake Okeechobee, a proposal intended to preserve not only the ecologically rich prairie bordering the Kissimmee River but also the livelihoods of ranchers who have worked much of the land for decades.
The plan, unveiled Friday by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, also would expand the scope and approach of Everglades restoration, protecting a swath of the Everglades' original headwaters from suburbs marching steadily southward from Orlando and potentially helping stem the flow of farm and suburban pollution into Lake Okeechobee.
The plan envisions the outright purchase of about 50,000 acres from willing sellers. A further 100,000 acres would be targeted for easements or other conservation agreements that -- unlike in a national park -- would allow continued agricultural use but perpetually restrict most development.
For now, the proposal lacks a detailed map and any money. But even with costs easily running into the hundreds of millions of dollars, Salazar is confident the idea will win support in Washington.
``The Everglades are unique,'' he said. ``They are probably one of the most important ecosystems we have in the United States.''
Environmentalists attending the 26th annual Everglades Coalition Conference in Weston, where Salazar outlined the proposal Friday evening, praised the proposal -- and said they hope it is only the first of more refuges to come.
``We've got a very big and exciting vision,'' said Eric Draper, the executive director of Audubon of Florida, one of several groups that for months have been quietly pushing for the White House to expand protection for what remains of the historic Everglades.
WILDLIFE CORRIDORS
In addition to what would be called the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area, Draper said activists are urging the administration to expand the existing Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Florida and to create a third refuge in between -- with the goal of creating wildlife corridors that help species such as the Florida panther expand their range and population.
Adam Putnam, Florida's newly elected agriculture commissioner, lauded the refuge proposal in his talk to the coalition.
``You can't restore the lower Everglades as long as you've got problems in the Northern Everglades,'' he said. ``It all rolls down hill.''
By that, he meant the flow of phosphorous, a damaging nutrient that runs off farms, ranches and yards and into Lake Okeechobee, the heavily polluted heart of the Everglades ecosystem.
Cleaning up the lake -- and water flowing in theEverglades -- remains one of the biggest and most expensive challenges in Everglades restoration.
The state has already spent more than $1.6 billion on a network of pollution treatment marshes but nutrient levels flowing from them remain higher than the super-low concentration scientists say is essential to protecting native plants.
With dwindling budgets for buying land, Jeff Danter, state director of The Nature Conservancy, said a buffer of agricultural lands, managed with the goal of improving water quality, offered the best and most affordable hope for protecting the lake and the Everglades.
``If we can create a viable ranch economy, it's going to stop the threat of development,'' he said.
State and federal agencies have been working with ranchers for decades on conservation programs but recently, the efforts have been stepped up.
After two years of political and legal battles, state water managers closed a $197 million deal with the U.S. Sugar Corp., with plans to eventually convert the 26,800 acres of sugar fields and citrus groves into reservoir and water pollution treatment marshes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture also agreed to a far less controversial $89 million deal to preserve almost 26,000 acres of ranch land. Four owners will keep the land rights but agree to protect the wetlands in the Fisheating Creek watershed, which feeds into Lake Okeechobee.
As a first step, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will look for promising parcels in a 4.5 million acre study area extending from the outskirts through the Kissimmee RiverValley down to Lake Okeechobee -- a massive swath that includesportions of Polk, Osceola, Indian River, Okeechobee and Highlands counties.
After conducting public workshops this month and next, the Service hopes to have a final plan -- and specific map -- by September.
The proposal, which has been under discussion for months, already has support from some ranchers.
Cary Lightsey, whose Lightsey Cattle Co. is working with Interior on the plan, said he has had conservation easements on his land since 1990.
``They have all been win-win situations and we have never looked back,'' he said in a statement provided by the Interior Department. ``It makes us feel good that we are providing green space and wildlife habitat for future generations.''
NEW MODEL
Salazar called the public-and-private mix a new model for land conservation, one built on partnering with existing landowners to protect their economic interests along with the environment.
``We're not going to condemn anybody's property,'' he said. ``It's not going to be a federal land grab.''
It could take years to create the refuge, even if Congress provides funding, which historically has come in small amounts for refuge land purchases.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, said there was ``desperate need'' for more federal dollars but he also acknowledged that partisan battles and the shifting political landscape in Congress could pose hurdles to both the refuge and existing Everglades restoration programs.
``These are the times we live in,'' Nelson said. ``We'll just have to fight those battles.''
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