ThePelican Sierra Club Florida · to connect with other coalition groups and work with them to...

www.florida.sierraclub.org 1

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF SIERRA CLUB FLORIDA

Summer 2013

Inside this issueFrom the Chair 2

Join the Ocean and Water Quality Team 2

2013 Legislative Wrap Up 3

Sierrans in Action 4-5

Protesters Turn Out to Support City Hall Action 6

Ancient Islands Promotes Conservation Amendment 7

Here’s How You Fit In 8

LAWSUIT continued on Page 6

Conservation Update

Lawsuit aims to protect Big Cypress and panthers

PelicanTheSierra Club Florida

The Florida Executive Committee (ExCom) has had an active past several months working on conservation issues across the state. Here are highlights of the committee’s work on air, land and water issues:

Water IssuesAt the close of 2012, ExCom authorized joining the Food and Water Watch to urge Gov. Scott to support a bill requiring labeling of all genetically engineered food. We had joined with them earlier in the year to ask the governor to block the release of unregulated genetically-engineered mosquitoes in Florida. ExCom also agreed to donate money to the Florida Conservation Commission rally at Wekiva, and allocated funds to challenge Saint John’s River Water Management District’s Adena Springs Ranch Consumptive Use Permit.

Legislative IssuesAt the beginning of the year, ExCom endorsed the 2013 Legislative Platform/ Priorities recommended by the Lobbying Committee (the platform is posted on florida.sierraclub.org). In other early work, members were notified via email about the Florida Land and Water Legacy Campaign, and asked to volunteer for that effort.

Climate RallyA large group of Florida activists went to Washington, D.C. for the Forward on Climate Rally, which drew Sierrans from across the U.S. and generated media attention. Tom Larson ([email protected]) continues to work on Forward on Climate.

Meeting MosaicThe Phosphate Committee met with the Mosaic Company and its foundation director to open a dialog with the phosphate mining company, while maintaining a strong stance on monitoring mining impacts. Learn more at florida.sierraclub.org.

In an effort to reduce the damage of off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress National Preserve, Sierra Club has joined conservation groups in filing a lawsuit against the National Park Service for failing to protect Florida panthers and other imperiled species. The suit asserts that the Park Service violated the Endangered Species Act as well as the preserve’s own Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan by designating hundreds of miles of new trails for off-road vehicle use across the Corn Dance and Turner River units.

The 720,000 acre Big Cypress National Preserve, located just north of the Everglades National Park, was established by Congress as the first national preserve in our nation’s history to protect the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral, faunal and recreational values of the watershed, including panthers. To that end, Congress stressed that public use would come second to maintaining this fragile and unique natural landscape.

In July 2012, a federal judge

Conservation continued on Page 7

2 www.florida.sierraclub.org

ChairBy Debbie Matthews

From the

The Pelican, Vol. 46, No. 2

Ron Haines, managing editor

The Pelican is published by Sierra Club Florida, 405 Inglewood Dr., Tallahassee FL, and mailed to Sierra Club Florida members. Annual

membership dues include $1 for the Pelican newsletter. Address all inquiries to PO Box 575, Tallahassee FL 32302-0575 or email

[email protected] or [email protected]

Sierra Florida Executive CommitteeMarti Daltry, Calusa, North Fort Myers

Bev Griffiths, Tampa Bay, Tampa Tom Larson, Northeast, Jacksonville Beach

Deborah Longman-Maren, Turtle Coast Stephen Mahoney, Miami, MiamiDebbie Matthews, Miami, Miami

Rudy Scheffer, Suncoast, Safety Harbor

Pelican Editorial TeamLiz Cantarine, Bradenton, [email protected]

Kathy Criscola, Tallahassee, [email protected] Ron Haines, Lantana, [email protected] Hanley, Boynton Beach, [email protected]

Visit www.florida.sierraclub.orgBetsy Grass, Miami, webmaster

Do you know your way around social media and video? The Sierra Club Florida Executive Committee wants to engage more members and activists via social media. The goal is to have more meetings and events videotaped so that we can post on various social media sites. If you are interested in helping us get started, contact Tom Larson at [email protected] or Debbie Matthews at [email protected].

Join the Ocean and Water Quality TeamCalling all interested Sierrans who believe in clean water and the protection of our oceans. Join us on the South East Florida Sierra Ocean and Water Quality Team.

The mission of this team is to strengthen ocean stewardship, in South Florida and beyond, through the implementation of President Obama’s National Ocean Policy (NOP). Our team was formally established last September at a Sierra conference in Fort Lauderdale and is a part of the Sierra National Marine Action Team.

The draft plans and strategies for the NOP were recently revised and published. We are looking for motivated Sierrans who have time to devote to this issue and will work actively with us. We are a hands-on group. Our territory runs from Martin County in the north, on down through Monroe County in the south.

There is much work to be done in many different areas relative to our water and our oceans. We plan to connect with other coalition groups and work with them to achieve our goals. If you have the time and interest and want to make a difference, here is the opportunity. Come work with our team to promote the NOP in our southeast area of Florida.

Call or email Tanya Tweeton at 954-472-3704 or [email protected]. — Tanya Tweeton, Broward Group

Administrative work done by the Sierra Club Executive Committee allows our volunteers to concentrate on environmental activism, while keeping our chapter in compliance with Sierra Club by-laws and policies. The ExCom calendar is posted at florida.sierraclub.org.

Our nominating committee is hard at work finding candidates to replace the three ExCom members whose two-year terms end this year. The election will be held at the Sept. 28 chapter meeting at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. All group chairs or vice chairs in office since at least June 1 will vote on behalf of their groups.

The fund-raising committee mailed the March Appeal and we encourage you to send a check if you have not already done so. Funds are spent on campaigns, legislative battles and legal work, for administrative work like the Pelican and statewide meetings. Mail checks to Sierra Club Florida, PO Box 28353, Kenneth City, FL 33709.

New this year, we supported leaders and groups as they traveled to Washington, D.C. for the big Climate Change Rally/Keystone Pipeline Protest in February.

The legislative lobbying team does most of the heavy lifting during the Florida Legislative session, and works with our professional lobbyist. The chapter mailed various letters during the session – signing on with other environmental groups and sending our own letters to let legislators know we’re watching them. We sent additional letters in May to Gov. Scott urging a veto for the coal ash bill, another to veto an environmental regulation bill and one more supporting the property tax amendment.

ExCom is ultimately responsible for the health of the groups in Florida. We have been working with activists in Tallahassee to rebuild the Big Bend Group. The response has been great and they are now having well-attended outings and general meetings. Big Bend participated in Hands Across the Sand in May and a Paddle Outing Clean Up outing in June. We are so happy to have these hard-working members get a group going again.

Congratulations to all our committees and groups for fighting for the environment, for bringing in new members and for working together to keep Sierra a strong grass-roots organization in Florida.

Save the Trees!Read the paperless Pelican! To read it online or download it, visit florida.sierraclub.org and click the “newsletters” link in the right

panel. Send your name, address and email address to [email protected]. Or mail your request to Pelican

Survey, PO Box 575, Tallahassee FL 32302-0575.


2013 Florida Legislative Wrap

The 2013 Florida State Legislative session was interesting, as are they all. Sierra Club Florida was able to play effective defense and make a few offensive plays.

While this report is a wrap-up of 2013 legislative action, we are mindful that the 2014 session is right around the corner. Now is the perfect time to connect with legislators. Visit their district offices and invite them to your events. Meeting you personally and learning your stories will make a big difference next year. To find your Florida state legislator contact information, visit myfloridahouse.gov and flsenate.gov and click the Representatives and Senators tabs, respectively

Many thanks to our volunteers on the Lobbying Advisory Committee for diligently conferring with us from last fall through to the middle of May. They helped guide our respected lobbyist, Dave Cullen, by providing research, legislative contacts and considered opinion on all the environmental matters that came up this year.

We were able to improve a number of bills through the amendment process. Working with the sponsor and stakeholders, we amended bills we opposed into bills that we could support. SB 948, respecting Water Supply, sponsored by Sen. Grimsley, is a clear example of this. Sometimes when we couldn’t get to “yes” on a bill, we could at least get to “neutral.”

Elections make a difference. Democrats had over a third of the seats in each chamber this year, which allowed them to block majority attempts to suspend the rules. At the end of session, House Democrats required a word-for-word reading of each bill, which slowed down things a lot. Delay can prevent bad bills from being heard. This may have played into the final result on the fertilizer issue. Fertilizer is still an issue and is likely to be one next year as well.

Visit Florida.SierraClub.org for David’s detailed report, especially on H 0999/S 1684:Good bills that passed• HB0277 Assessment of Residential & Non-

homestead Real Property by Rep. Rehwinkel-Vasilinda

• S1770 Property Insurance by the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee

• S0948 Water Supply by Sen. Grimsley• H0007 Water Management Districts by Rep. Porter

/ S0244 by Sen. Dean• S0050Public Meetings by Sen. Negron / H 0023 by

Rep. Rodrigues

Bad bills that died• CS/HB33 State Lands by Rep. Smith / SB466 by

Sen. Altman• HB431 Development of Oil and Gas Resources by

Rep. Broxson• Fracking bills: CS/CS/HB743 Fracturing Chemical

Usage Disclosure Act by Rep. Rodrigues / CS/CS/SB1028by Sen. Clemens

• CS/HB745 Pub. Rec./Fracturing Chemical Usage Disclosure Act by Rep. Rodrigues / SB1776 by Sen. Clemens

• S0584 Purchase of Land by a Governmental Entity by Sen. Hays / H0901 by Rep. Stone

First steps• Recycling S0722 Disposable and Reusable Bags by

Sen. Bullard • H0957 Recyclable Paper Bags and Reusable Bags

by Rep. McGhee• S1154 Chemicals of High Concern by Sen. Sobel /

H0773 by Rep. Danish• H1233Genetically Engineered Foods by Rep.

Rehwinkel-Vasilinda /S1728 by Sen. SachsBills improved by amendment• H0203Agricultural Lands by Rep. Beshears / S

1190 by Sen. Brandes• H4007 Powers of the Department of Environmental

Protection by Rep. Nelson / S0326 by Sen. Hays• S0528 Growth Management by Sen. Simpson

(Sen. Thrasher amendment re St. Johns County Agricultural Enclave) / H0537 by Rep. Moraitis

Environmental losses Bad bills that passed for which we requested vetoes• Coal Ash bill S0682 Fossil Fuel Combustion

Products by Sen. Simpson / H0659 by Rep. Goodson

• S1808 Numeric Nutrient Criteria by Sen. Simpson / H 7115 by Rep. Raburn

• H0319 Community Transportation Projects by Rep. Ray /S0972 Transportation Development by Sen. Hukill

• H0999/S1684 Environmental Regulation by Rep. Patronis and Sen. Altman (Omnibus permitting bill with multiple issues of concern)An informed electorate really can make a difference.

Now is the time to learn what happened and what is likely to come next year. It’s not too early to help and change next year’s outcome. Get involved in your district or with our committee — by lobbying. We really do make a difference. Your continuing support is appreciated!

The good, the bad and the ugly


The Central Florida Group staged a media event at Rep. Andy Gardner’s office in Orlando in April to bring awareness to

the plight of Wekiva Springs and Rock Springs suffering from very high levels

of nutrient pollution that is turning the water green and causing algae blooms.

Strong nutrient standards are needed. Sierra staff member Macy Zander, left,

and former Group Chair Mary Bolton were at the event.

Sierrans in Action!Sierrans from around Florida gathered recently at the Circle B Bar Ranch in Lakeland for a meeting of chapter and group leaders. At left, left to right, from back: Macy Zander (with head poping out on left back), behind her, Betsy Grass, Tanya Tweeton, Frank Jackalone, Stephen Mahoney, John Swingle, Whitey Markle, Rudy Scheffer, Gabe Hanson, Dave Wilson, Susan Kairys-Cousect, Janet Stanko, Adrienne Ruhl, Bev Griffiths, Deborah Longman-Marien, Tom Larson, Marge Holt, Gail Parsons, Marcia Biggs, Debbie Matthews, Andy Quinn, Marti Daltry.

Suwannee-St. John’s Group Youngsters from Lake Forest Elementary

School participating in the

Sierra Club’s Gainesville Inner

City Outings Program use

binoculars to view the turtles on

the Sante Fe River at O’Leno Park.

Photo by Maryvonne Devensky


The Central Florida Group staged a media event at Rep. Andy Gardner’s office in Orlando in April to bring awareness to

the plight of Wekiva Springs and Rock Springs suffering from very high levels

of nutrient pollution that is turning the water green and causing algae blooms.

Strong nutrient standards are needed. Sierra staff member Macy Zander, left,

and former Group Chair Mary Bolton were at the event.

Sierrans in Action!Sierrans from around Florida gathered recently at the Circle B Bar Ranch in Lakeland for a meeting of chapter and group leaders. At left, left to right, from back: Macy Zander (with head poping out on left back), behind her, Betsy Grass, Tanya Tweeton, Frank Jackalone, Stephen Mahoney, John Swingle, Whitey Markle, Rudy Scheffer, Gabe Hanson, Dave Wilson, Susan Kairys-Cousect, Janet Stanko, Adrienne Ruhl, Bev Griffiths, Deborah Longman-Marien, Tom Larson, Marge Holt, Gail Parsons, Marcia Biggs, Debbie Matthews, Andy Quinn, Marti Daltry.

Manatee-Sarasota Group members and supporters demonstrate outside Rep. Ray Pilon’s office during the 2013 Legislative Session in opposition to legislation

to allow the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to set water quality

standards for Florida lakes, rivers, streams and other water bodies rather than using

stronger standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Looking to meet like-minded environmental folks and have some fun? Consider joining one of our many Sierra Club outings around Florida. These fun, outdoor events are attended by folks you will enjoy meeting. They’re all environmentalists who love our natural surroundings as much as you do! Sierra Club outings are the easy and fun way to get involved with a great group of people.

See details of Florida Sierra outings at florida.sierraclub.org. Click Get Outdoors in the upper right menu, then choose an outing near you, or even plan a weekend getaway if you see one a distance away you want to join. As we say in Sierra Club, get out there!

C’mon , what are you waiting for?

Photo

by Jo

hn M

yers


More than 100 protesters from the Sierra Club and other groups rallied May 1 in front of Rockledge City Hall. They came from across the central east coast, Orlando and even Sarasota to show unified support for the city’s March decision to enact a strong fertilizer ordinance to protect the Indian River Lagoon.

Rockledge has become ground zero in Florida in the fight for strong urban fertilizer controls. The strong ordinance set by the Rockledge City Council was threatened not only by the commercial industry in Brevard County, but also by preemption moves in the state legislature (“preemption” would take away Florida municipalities’ rights to set strong fertilizer ordinances).

Brevard County’s own Rep. Steve Crisafulli, Florida’s House speaker-designate, started the preemption attempt only one week after the Rockledge ordinance was adopted. Simultaneously, the record-breaking manatee deaths within the Indian River Lagoon were being highlighted in the media across the country, with fertilizer pollution and its resulting loss of seagrass as a likely culprit.

Protesters displayed various signs to passersby, including one 11-foot-long poster displaying photos of the 100 dead manatees, and another calling on Sen. Thad Altman to stop preemption language from being added to Senate Bill 1684. The volunteers gathered around as city council members Frank T. Forester and Ted J. Hartselle, as well as other major business and environmental leaders, spoke on behalf of the lagoon. The Marine Resource Council and Save our Aquifer partnered with Sierra Club to put on the tremendous event.

After the protest, the crowd moved into the meeting to show city hall how much they cared about keeping the ordinance in place. The council members voted to maintain their strong ordinance and not open it to any exemptions for commercial applicators.

While water advocates mobilized in Rockledge, the preemption battle in the state legislature was brewing. Rep. Crisafulli had called industry stakeholders together to create an amendment that would stymie any new strong fertilizer regulation and set the stage for full preemption statewide. The result was the “Florida Fertilizer Regulatory Review Council” amendment that was rushed to the House floor attached to the environmental cluster bomb HB 999 and passed just a week before the end of session. The ultimate fate of preemption rested on the shoulders of Brevard County’s Sen. Thad Altman and his SB 1684, the senate companion to HB 999.

Thanks to grassroots and local government pressure, Altman rejected the preemption amendment, effectively killing preemption for the seventh year in a row. The

protection of the Rockledge ordinance, one of the strongest on Florida’s east coast, and the successful battle against preemption, is a double whammy to special interests. Next step? Cover the rest of Brevard County and the entire state with strong, protective ordinances! – Macy Zander, Sierra Club associate organizing representativeProtecting Florida’s Waters Campaign

Protesters Turn Out to Support City Hall ActionRockledge Fertilizer Ordinance Stands Up to Industry, Legislative Threats

The Florida Sierra Club Chapter seeks a volunteer with Drupal setup and design experience

to help on a short-term assignment. We’re moving the Sierra Florida website to a new

server and converting it to Drupal. The “job” entails creating templates for the new site,

incorporating the Florida-specific material and training the web team to move existing files

and perform updates. Interested? Contact [email protected].

Handy with Web Tools?

ruled that the Park Service’s major expansion of ORV trails in the preserve’s Bear Island Unit violated environmental laws and the Park Service’s management plan for ORVs in the preserve, and set aside the unauthorized increase in trails.

The current litigation would secure similar protections for endangered and threatened species such as the Florida panther and eastern indigo snake, as well as fragile wetlands and rare and endemic plants in the Corn Dance and Turner River units.

“Big Cypress is one of the most important sanctuaries for Florida panthers,” said Alexis Meyer, Sierra Club’s associate organizing representative. “The addition of hundreds of miles of trails for motorized recreational vehicles not only poses a threat to panthers, but also degrades the habitat of many plant and animal species.”

The Park Service issued the ORV plan in 2000 following years of advocacy by environmentalists for transition from dispersed use — which had created 23,000 miles of trails throughout the preserve — to a sustainable system of designated trails. The plan drastically reduced the extensive network of trails that had been created. But in defiance of that plan, the Park Service has now increased the miles of trails where ORVs may go in the Corn Dance and Turner River units by nearly 100 percent and 60 percent respectively.

Contact Alexis Meyer at 727.490.8215 or [email protected] to learn more.

LAWSUIT continued on Page 1


The Ancient Islands Sierra Group, along with the Florida Wildlife Federation, Lake Region Audubon, Bok Tower Gardens and the Polk County Cattlemen’s Association co-sponsored a February 2013 event at Bok Tower Gardens presenting slides and videos documenting last year’s Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition from the Everglades to the Okefenokee.

Trekkers Elam Stoltzfus, Carlton Ward, Joe Guthrie and Mallory Dimmit traveled 1,000 miles in 100 days by kayak, horseback and foot to illustrate that a major wildlife corridor still exists (due to public land ownership and large cattle ranches), but is in jeopardy and needs to be protected.

The Bok Tower event in Polk County drew attention to the importance of the corridor and the proposed Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment. Petitions are circulating throughout the state to put the amendment on the 2014 ballot. If your Sierra group doesn’t have a Legacy campaign coordinator with petitions available, call the Legacy office at 850.629.4656 or email [email protected] and request a petition. Visit floridawaterlandlegacy.org to learn how you can get involved conserving our water and lands.

Ancient Islands Promotes Conservation Amendment

The amendment would dedicate for 20 years one-third of the net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents to a Land Acquisition Trust Fund that Florida desperately needs to acquire and manage watersheds to improve water quality and quantity in its springs, rivers and aquifers. Dedicating existing revenues to this goal is prudent and imperative both for our economy and quality of life.

Sierran and Florida Wildlife Federation Director director Bob Taylor was the main organizer of the Bok Tower event, which raised over $2,000 for the cause from silent auction items donated by Polk County businesses and individuals. — Frances Howell-Coleman

Spring MeetingA successful Spring Chapter meeting was held at the Circle Bar B Reserve near Lakeland. Frank Jackalone described current staff projects, such as the opening of our new green Florida headquarters in St. Petersburg, Everglades Restoration, work against slime crimes, eliminating coal-fired plants, working to protect critical Florida Panther habitat and working on a multi-modal transit campaign for Tampa Bay. Everglades SkywaySeveral ExCom members attended the March 19 ribbon cutting for the first stretch of the Everglades Skyway on Tamiami Trail, which allows more water to flow to the Everglades.Marine IssuesExCom voted to support the National Park Service Preferred Alternative Management procedures for the Everglades, which includes changes in the management of boating in Florida Bay to reduce propeller scarring of sea grass beds. As for other marine issues, a letter was sent to Sen. Marco Rubio

protesting his bill amendment that would have spurned partnership with the federal government regarding stewardship of our oceans (debate was cut off on this bill before the amendment was passed).Local Fertilizer IssueIn late April, Rockledge area members were emailed an alert to rally in support of the Indian River Lagoon, and stand up to big fertilizer prior to an important city council vote. The Rockledge City Council voted to keep their fertilizer ordinance as strict as it was written, instead of caving to the fertilizer interests in the state. See related article on Page 6.Park ProtectionAlso in May, ExCom agreed to a lawsuit to challenge the U.S. Park Service management of secondary trails in two areas of Big Cypress National Preserve. We also funded a technical analysis in the Silver River protection action and the Consumptive Use Permit application. See related article on Page 6.— Deborah Longman-Marien, Sierra Club Florida Chapter secretary

Conservation continued from Page 1

Photo by Mac StoneTrekkers Mallory Dimmit, Joe Guthrie, Carlton Ward and Elam Stoltzfus on their 1,000--mile journey from Florida Bay to Okeefenokee Swamp.


Sierra Club FloridaThe PelicanPO Box 575

NON-PROFITORGANIZATION

U.S. POSTAGE PAIDTALLAHASSEE FL

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Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet

Here’s How You Fit InAs a Sierra Club member, you belong to the National Sierra Club, the Florida Chapter and, most important, your local group. As a national organization with a solid grass-roots local base, Sierra also comprises many hard working volunteers right in your area organizing outings and programs and environmental campaigns to serve you, the Sierra Club member, and make your area a better place to live.

One big reason this local work continues to happen year after year is a Florida Chapter committee called the Group Advisory Council (GAC). Its official definition: The Group Advisory Council is a permanent committee of Sierra Club Florida tasked with: advising the Chapter Executive Committee on Group leadership issues, with advising Group leaders on Chapter Executive Committee work, with assisting Groups with skill and leadership issues, and involving Group leaders in developing a strong, statewide organizational structure.

The health and welfare and proper functioning of your local group is important enough to the Sierra Club that the state chapter has a permanent committee in place to assist groups in many ways. The goal is to have groups functioning at their best, contributing to a stronger, more efficient organization statewide. GAC is there to assist

groups with developing good leaders, recruiting activists, fundraising, personal conflicts and anything else that allows it to fulfill all of the requirements of a functioning group.

With ongoing face-to-face training, regional meetings and monthly conference calls, GAC supports the many Sierra volunteers in your community who are the leaders of your local group.

What’s this mean to me, you might ask. Well, it means a lot. It means that if you see something happening in your community that harms the environment, you have a solid core of likeminded volunteers to help you correct the situation. It means that if you want to see the outdoors with friendly folks who care about the natural environment, you have many local outings to choose from. And it means that if you want to help keep the Sierra Club a strong force in your community and in the state, there are many volunteers in place willing to assist you.

As a Sierran, take advantage of all this. Join us. Visit florida.sierraclub.org, and click on “groups” on the right panel to learn how you can find active volunteers in your area and let them know you want to join in the fun, and work, so that you can Enjoy, Explore and Protect the Planet with your local Sierrans. — John Swingle, Chair, Group Advisory Council

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