The
initial moves of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at Everglades
protection and restoration won strong approval from Everglades
Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg, but also a warning that continued
vigilance of public officials is necessary if Everglades restoration
is to become a reality.
“This
is a new day,” Eikenberg told a standing-room-only audience at the
Captiva Yacht Club Thursday morning (Feb. 7) of the post-election
attitude changes about Everglades restoration in the governor’s
office. “But we will have to keep their feet to the fire.”
Eikenberg
praised DeSantis for his call for the resignation of South Florida
Water Management District (SFWMD) board members who renewed leases
for state land targeted for Everglades restoration to sugar growers,
as well as his executive order calling for significant funding
increases in Everglades restoration and water resource protection
projects.
He
had particular praise for the governor’s appointment of Sanibel’s
Chauncey Goss to the SFWMD.
“Gov.
DeSantis’s first appointment of Chauncey Goss to serve on this
water district allows us to sleep well at night,” he remarked.
“Chauncey brings experience, and to have an individual that
understands the budgeting process bodes well for all of us.”
Dr.
Stephen Davis, senior ecologist for the Everglades Foundation, said
his organization is working as a science-based organization on
restoration and research projects. He added that it also is working
with more than 20 school districts throughout Florida on projects to
educate the next generation about the value of the Everglades and its
importance to the overall health and economy of the state.
For
some who are involved in the restoration effort, he explained, the
goal is saving the wildlife of the Everglades – especially 70
threatened plant and animal species that live there. For others, it
is protecting the state’s water supply, or preventing algae blooms
and Red Tide.
According
to Davis, the natural flows of water from Lake Okeechobee through the
Everglades were altered by agricultural interests when a series of
dikes, dams and highway projects were built.
“We
changed all of that,” he said of the natural flows of water, “not
out of malice, but largely out of ignorance.”
Since
construction of the Herbert Hoover Dam, the Tamiami Trail and other
projects, about half of the Everglades have been lost, Davis
explained. Water that used to go south from the lake and be purified
by the Everglades before going into Florida Bay at the southern tip
of the state, now goes east and west down rivers to the estuaries.
During
rainy seasons, too much water polluted with fertilizer runoff goes
into the estuaries, he explained. During the dry season, it is too
little water.
“In
the southern end of Florida, in Florida Bay, it is the mirror image
of what is happening in the estuaries,” he said. “Instead of
receiving too much fresh water, it isn’t receiving enough.”
This
causes sea grass to die off, which is necessary to filter the water,
provide a habitat for fish to breed and hold sediment in place.
According
to Davis, restoring the Everglades is complicated, involving raising
parts of the Tamiami Trail to allow water to flow south through the
Everglades, building reservoirs to store water during the rainy
season and release it during drought periods, cleaning up the water
flowing into Lake Okeechobee, and various other “plumbing
projects.”
The
phosphorous and nitrogen that seep from the agricultural and sugar
cane fields into Lake Okeechobee then flow down the rivers into the
estuaries fueling blue-green algae and ultimately the Red Tide that
plagued this area last summer.
“We
are exacerbating the problem,” Davis said.
Eikenberg
concluded the presentation, stating, “The science is clear. What
has been lacking has been the political will.”
According
to Eikenberg, much of what has been done in the past has been “window
dressing.”
Turning
back to the election of DeSantis, he added, “What is different is
that we now have a governor who wants to see change in the next two
years – not the next 25 years.”
But
Eikenberg said change will require massive amounts of money, and not
just for one-time projects but steady funding over a period of time.
It also will require not just state money, but substantial federal
funding.
“This
generation is going to fix this problem,” he concluded. “The
political will is here, but we need to stay engaged. This generation
has a tremendous opportunity, but it has to be ‘we,’ and not just
our elected officials.”
Questions
from the audience varied from the impact of climate change and warmer
water on contributing to algae blooms to specifics about how to
contact local political officials to encourage them to act.
Responding
to a question about the health impacts of algae blooms and Red Tide,
Eikenberg said there are “serious health concerns” about exposure
to the toxins they produce, adding that research is underway into
potential links between that exposure and neurological problems such
as Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig's diseases.
“The
health component of this is a major, major issue,” Eikenberg said.
As
for the impact of climate change, Eikenberg claimed that warmer water
temperatures will invariably cause algae to grow and reproduce
faster, creating more and more of a problem.
“Although
we can’t do much alone about climate change, there is a lot we can
do to control our pollution problem,” he concluded.
In
addition to Thursday’s presentation by the Everglades Foundation,
the Captiva Island Yacht Club is sponsoring a guided “River of
Grass” airboat tour of the Everglades on Feb. 20.
According
to Yacht Club officials, about three times the number of people have
signed up for the tour than the 34 people the airboat can
accommodate.
They
said the club is looking at arranging additional tours.