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Sierra Club Florida
Calendar
| DATE |
EVENT |
| Last Wednesdays, 2012 |
Group Chairs Monthly Conference Calls - John.Swingle@florida.sierraclub.org |
| March 3, 2012 |
ExCom & Group Chairs' Orientation Meeting - Circle B Bar Reserve |
| June 8, 2012 |
Nominations Open for SC Florida ExCom |
| July 7-8, 2012 |
ExCom & Group Chairs' Meeting - Eckerd College |
| August 10, 2012 |
Nominations Close for SC Florida ExCom |
| August 10, 2012 |
Petitions Accepted for SC Florida ExCom |
| Sept. 14, 2012 |
Petition period closed for SC Florida ExCom |
| Sept. 21, 2012 |
Slate for SC Florida ExCom Announced |
| Oct. 6-7, 2012 |
ExCom & Group Chairs' Meeting and Election - Eckerd College |
| Dec. 1-2, 2012 |
ExCom Meeting - Circle B Bar Reserve |
| January 2013 |
New SC Florida ExCom takes office |
Sierra Club Florida Group Chair Training Workshop, March 3.
Circle B Bar Ranch, D. Matthews
The Florida Chapter Executive Committee will be holding training for new Sierra leaders in Florida,
at the Spring ExCom & Group Chair Meeting, at the Circle B Bar Ranch in Lakeland Florida.
There will be information for long-time leaders on the work of the Chapter, and an introduction for the new leaders.
See your FL_LEADER_ANNOUNCEMENTS listserve for details.
We need volunteer leaders for new Everglades Habitats Project.
The new year started out badly for the Florida Panther. A 4-5 year old male panther was hit and killed
by a vehicle on State Road 82 in Collier County on January 2, 2012. In 2011 there were 24 panther mortalities recorded,
9 of which were caused by collisions with vehicles.
Volunteer now to work with Sierra Club’s National Resilient Habitats Leadership Team
to develop and implement local action plans to protect the Greater Everglades eco-region.
This Local Delivery Team will create task forces, committees, action teams and whatever is needed
to deliver the full range of work of the project, while providing leadership and coordination
with strategic partners and other Sierra Club entities. The new volunteers will be expected
to work closely with the Sierra Club Florida Chapter and Groups located within the Greater Everglades eco-region.
To Apply: Email Craig.Diamond@florida.sierraclub.org, volunteer co-lead of the Greater Everglades Resilient Habitats
Local Delivery Team. Please provide a short description of your experience, skills, availability and interest
in serving on the Team.
Campaigns: Sierra Club’s Greater Everglades Resilient Habitats Project has five initial campaigns.
The Local Delivery Team will create an action team to carry out the work of each campaign:
1. Restoring the River of Grass
If water were compared to traffic, Shark River Slough would be the Everglades superhighway.
It is the deepest, fastest moving part of the Everglades and is itself a collection of interconnected
rivers and elongated islands called ridges and sloughs. Shark River Slough slices through Everglades
National Park and flows into Florida Bay. The flow through the national park determines the health of
its flora and fauna, and the mix of fresh water into salt water is critical to Florida Bay’s wildlife.
In 1928, Tamiami Trail blocked the Everglades water superhighway, cutting the Everglades in two.
To restore this critical area and the natural flow of fresh water and sediments to the southern
end of the Everglades—thus facilitating new mangrove growth, increasing carbon sequestration, sustaining fisheries,
and providing a barrier to encroaching salt water as sea level rises—we will:
-Encourage and facilitate the acquisition of 180,000 acres of sugar lands offered by U.S. Sugar to the State of Florida
in the Everglades Agricultural Area and convert it to natural storage and filtration wetlands.
-Elevate at least 6.5 miles of the Tamiami Trail in the southern Everglades and remove existing canals wherever possible.
-Protect and restore existing wetlands and expand the area of the Everglades.
-Develop management plans to remove invasive species—from cattails to pythons—that threaten the health of the Everglades
and its native flora and fauna.
2. Florida Panther Critical Habitat Designation and Wildlife Corridors.
The iconic Florida panther stands as a living symbol of the health and wild beauty of the ecosystem.
Protecting panther habitat will require the protection and habitats and corridors that will help reconnect
the Everglades as a functioning natural system. The Florida panther faces numerous and significant threats
and sea level rise will further reduce its dwindling habitat. To protect the Florida panther in light of
these many threats, including the projected impacts of climate change, we will:
-Obtain critical habitat designation for the Florida Panther and secure a revised recovery plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
that fully reflects anticipated climate impacts on panther habitat.
-Encourage and facilitate acquisition of sufficient land and connect large protected natural areas with contiguous
corridors that would allow panther migration to higher ground as sea level rises.
-Transform the Florida Wildlife Action Plan into a climate adaptation plan that emphasizes acquisition of
lands and conservation easements to provide habitat, corridors, and connectivity.
-Prevent any new housing developments in primary or secondary Florida panther habitat.
3. Improving Water Quality
Water is the lifeblood of the ecosystem and essential to the health and well being of Florida’s economy
and communities. Our water quality improvement efforts, aimed at reducing nutrient enrichment and red tides will:
-Set final numeric nutrient standards for nitrogen and phosphorus in Florida’s lakes, rivers, streams,
springs, canals, and coastal waters (as proposed by EPA).
-Secure an administrative directive to the US Army Corps of Engineers to conduct and implement
new area-wide environmental impact studies for phosphate mining in the Peace River Basin and for 404 permit
decisions that would destroy Florida wetlands.
-Halt activities that threaten water quality and inhibit water flow, including new rock mining in the Everglades
or the Everglades Agricultural area.
4. Sustainable Fisheries and Coral Reef Protection
The health of the Gulf of Mexico is greatly affected by land and water management decisions made onshore.
Water diversions from the Everglades as well as water pollution have taken their toll on Gulf fisheries and
coral reefs. To protect fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico that are threatened by climate change, increased ocean salinity,
overfishing, oil spills, and large dead zones off Louisiana and Florida created by excessive nutrient runoff, we will:
-Set aside new Marine Protected Areas.
-Protect coral reefs and reef fish in Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
-Ensure that federal and state agencies carry out fisheries management plans to enforce
catch limits for overfished species in the Gulf of Mexico.
5. Beyond Oil Drilling in the Eastern Gulf, Big Cypress and Atlantic
To reduce the threat to the Greater Everglades ecosystem from oil spills, we will maintain the ban on offshore
drilling in the outer continental shelf surrounding Florida’s coastline and oppose oil drilling in Big Cypress Natural Preserve.
News from Around the State
Florida Surplus Lands Assessment Project Meeting, March 7, 10am, Sarasota
The meeting will take place at the Sarasota County Government Building, 1660 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota, Florida. All
meetings are open to the public.
Meeting Agenda
- Welcome and Introduction
- Project Timeline
- Brief Review of Surplus Lands Assessment Process
- Review of Properties in Evaluation Area 1
- Upper Myakka River Watershed – Flatford Swamp
- Tampa Bay Estuarine Ecosystem – Frog Creek
- Prairie/Shell Creek Project
- Myakka River – Schewe Tract
- Jack Creek Project
- Little Manatee River – Southfork Tract
- Edward W. Chance Reserve – Coker Prairie Tract
- Edward W. Chance Reserve – Gilley Creek Tract
- Lower Peace River Corridor – Deep Creek Preserve
- Public Comments
- Subcommittee Discussion
- Adjournment
The notebook on the Surplus Lands Assessment Project can be downloaded here.
(note: it is 14mb)
Miami Port Deep Dredge gets green light in Tallahassee in back room deal.
Carlos Lopez-Cantera sticks an amendment on House Bill 373 to push things through.
Read the story in the Miami New Times and then call your State Senator and tell him you don't like the deal to
bypass environmental issues. This would also effect efforts to dredge in Jacksonville, and Ft. Lauderdale. Get the background on the threat to destroy Biscayne Bay on
The Miami Group's Marine Protection Page
Northwest Florida Activities
Sierra Club Florida would like to foster conservation activities in the Panhandle
(Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington and Bay Counties),
with a focus on coastal resources, including oil spill recovery and protecting aquatic preserves,
several of which are at risk of closure. The Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) process
for the BP Oil Spill is underway and local expertise is both needed and highly valued.
In addition, based on last year's survey many members expressed an interest in participating
in an outings program. Outings are one of the Club's strongest complements to its conservation work.
The Chapter Outings Leader will provide training to any members wishing to receive certification
to lead future outings.
If you are interested in outings in the region, please email Rudy Scheffer, outings@florida.sierraclub.org.
If you wish to work on coastal issues in the region, please contact Craig.Diamond@florida.sierraclub.org
Want to See Your Sierra Group's News Here?
Send your story (200 words) to webmaster@florida.sierraclub.org
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