Volume 40, Issue 1

The Pelican, Spring 2008

The official publication of the Sierra Club Florida Chapter

The Pelican
Victory over Magnolia Bay Inside this issue:

Celebrating Big Bend residents Rick and Patti Causey, government agencies, Inner City Outings 2
and environmental organizations making history together.
Everglades 3
By Linda Jamison, Education Co-Chair, Big Bend Group Florida Legislature 4
Little more than a year and a half has Georgia home: dominated by Lobbyist message 5
passed since the proposed Magnolia serenity, isolation, vast expanses of
Bay Marina and resort ballooned into salt marsh, and the endless sweep of Florida Forever 6
much more than a blip on ocean sky. Seeing their retirement Chair’s report 7
environmental organizations’ dream about to crumble, they
collective radar. spearheaded a phenomenally Chapter awards 8
successful effort to stop this More awards 9
Destruction of coastal wetlands in
development.
Taylor County to construct a marina Regional briefs 10
housing over 1,000 boats, several Hosting tours of the target area near
25-story buildings and prospective their home, Rick and Patti drove an Rock mining 11
residents in a low-lying coastal high- escalating effort to educate and unite Aquaculture 12
hazard zone with a recent history of allies from all over. The crowd of
extreme storm damage and multiple committed environmentalists grew, Outings 13
fatalities? Unacceptable. as more organizations were Green Swamp 14
represented. Involvement in public
Dredging a 100-foot-wide channel Growth 15
meetings occupied much of Rick’s
through Big Bend Seagrasses
time. He even organized some of his
Aquatic Preserve to accommodate Chapter successes 16
own, contacting Melissa
immensely increased boat traffic,
Charbonneau, the Department of
supposedly sacrosanct from such
Environmental Protection official in
abuse under Florida law?
Unacceptable. Seagrasses adjacent (Continued on page 11)
to such a channel would also host
similarly increased small-boat traffic,
where propeller scarring would take
up to 10 years to heal, if it heals at
all.
In spring 2006, Taylor County couple
Rick and Patti Causey, Big Bend
Sierrans from Dekle Beach, site of
the proposed marina, emerged as a
human-dynamo opposition team.
Causey, a retired soil scientist, and
his wife Patti came from Sidney
Lanier’s fabled “Marshes of Glynn”
region on Georgia’s Atlantic coast.
They retired on Boggy Bay, west of
Perry, Florida, so like their coastal

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet

 Volume 40, Issue 1
Page 2 The Pelican, Spring 2008

Inner City Outings hatches new environmentalists

By Ana Rodriguez, Loxahatchee Group

I f you have not yet heard about the West Palm Beach
Inner City Outings (ICO), you'll be pleasantly enthused
to find the positive ways in which our local Sierra Club
Loxahatchee Group members are making their turtle
tracks with our local hatchlings! ICO is by far the most fun
way to have a say in the shaping of today's kids into
tomorrow's environmentally aware adults.
As a Venezuelan activist and a new volunteer for our
Loxahatchee Sierra Club and West Palm Beach ICO
group, I am thrilled to give a small glimpse of the
experiences that I have shared with our local kids.
The first impression that I got from my first ICO Outing in
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park was that this was an
experience that these children never had the opportunity
to enjoy, an experience that I myself never got to enjoy at
their age. We rounded the children together and began to
give them a sense of order and a small educational Ana Rodriguez with ICO kids and leaders.
overview of the ecosystem. These starry-eyed children Photo by Russ McSpadden.
squirmed and eagerly raised their hands in the contagious
spirit to participate, ask and answer questions. I have shared numerous other, just as exciting, treasured
memories highlighting the value of nature with grateful
We were grouped at the foot of a wild, bright mangrove children, most of whom usually spend their recreational
shore, circled by wading birds such as the magnificent time within the confines of an urban and commercial
roseate spoonbills, and overlooking brackish water alive landscape.
with living sea creatures as far as the eye could see. ICO
leaders Mike Yustin and Lori Haynes explained to the After a couple of children declared that they had decided
children how to do the "sting-ray shuffle," a technique that they wanted to be marine biologists when they grow up;
consists of dragging one's feet close to the bottom of the after a few others were caught voluntarily picking up litter;
ground in order to prevent stepping on sting-rays and and as one of the children, who had come to us with
horseshoe crabs. This explanation was a very necessary nervous ramblings about "squishing" spiders, returned to
task which excited the children (and us as new the shore relaying fascinating information about the
volunteers), more in the realization of how alive everything necessary roles of spiders, bats and other misunderstood
would be that we would be coming into contact with. creatures to their ecosystems... I remember thinking,
"yeah, this is the most important and successful activism I
We gave the children the supervised opportunity to can ever be a part of."
carefully and selectively gather some life-forms into
buckets for closer observation and group discussions, an
exercise that piqued the curiosity of all and proved
immensely successful in getting hands-on experience and Chapter endorses in Sierra
limitless education. A couple of the most popular findings
were the horseshoe crabs and the puffer-fish. The final
Club national board elections
M
touch was an exercise of "silence and stillness" as the
embers will soon receive ballots and candidate
children were asked to focus on an area and discover the
information for the national Sierra Club Board of
life that scurries about, once we humans become
Directors election. The Florida Chapter recommends a
imperceptible to them. This exercise impressed and
vote for Clark Buchner, Jim Dougherty, Larry Fahn,
deeply touched the kids.
Jerry Sutherland and Lane Boldman in the upcoming
Similarly, on our ICO canoe trip down the Loxahatchee election for the Sierra Club's Board of Directors.
River, we were proud to find one of our young friends
pretending to be "clean-up super-hero." Others exercised Those eligible to vote in the election will receive in the mail
their muscles while canoeing in rain and shine, (or by Internet if you chose the electronic delivery option)
discovering self-confidence and pride in their effort. One of your national Club ballot. You will find the ballot is quite
my favorite memories is the unanimous "aaaawww" we all straightforward and easy to mark and mail. A growing
let out in the close encounter we shared with an animated number of members find the user friendly Internet voting
limpkin, as it chowed down on an apple snail. option to be very convenient as well as saving postage.
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Restore historic freshwater flow to the Everglades
By Drew Martin, Co-Chair of 12th Everglades Coalition Conference
The Everglades Coalition is an alliance of the Sierra Club
and 45 local, state and national conservation
organizations dedicated to the full restoration of the
greater Everglades ecosystem, from the Kissimmee Chain
of Lakes into Lake Okeechobee, through the "River of
Grass" out to Florida Bay and the Keys.
The 12th Everglades Coalition Conference featured many
high-level participants, such as Senator Bill Nelson,
Governor Charlie Crist, former Governor Bob Graham,
Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection Mike Sole, and Secretary of the Florida
Department of Community Affairs Tom Pelham.
Conservationist Nathaniel Reed was given the annual
award for his many achievements. Many citizens,
members of Congress, staff from the Army Corps of
Engineers and the Department of the Interior attended the
annual meeting, held January 10-13 on Captiva Island.
The highlight of the conference was a lecture by Dr.
Harold Wanless, a University of Miami expert in coastal
marine environments, who said that restoration of the
Everglades is more important now than ever. Dr. Wanless
said that establishing the natural flow of water to the 2.4
million-acre marsh to rebuild its eroded peatlands could
hold back salt water intrusion from rising sea levels, and
protect South Florida's drinking water. His gripping lecture
left the group speechless. He showed clearly what is in
store for South Florida without a restoration or a reversal
of greenhouse gases. He pointed to conservative
estimates that predict a two-foot increase in sea levels by
2100, and cited other studies that indicate the sea level
rise could amount to 20 feet by 2200, which would
submerge all of South Florida.
The Sierra Club advocates an 11-mile skyway across the
Everglades to restore natural sheetflow to the Shark River
Slough in the heart of the Everglades. The U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers opposes this popular concept,
suggesting a one-mile bridge on the east edge of the
border of the Everglades instead.
The Sierra Club also continues to advocate for the
restoration of sheetflow through the Everglades
Agricultural Area EAA. Hundreds of miles of deep canals
drained this historic 700,000-acre wetland to create
farmland. The water is pumped to the coastal estuaries,
and during wet periods these estuaries are inundated with
polluted water. Sheetflow would permit water to be sent
south rather than being sent out to tide. Restoring water
south will save the Everglades wetlands and bring back
wildlife.
There were many excellent panels which were both
educational and informative. I encourage anyone who can
attend next year to do so.
Page 3
Drew Martin, Co-Chair of the Everglades Coalition
Conference, put a great deal of effort into organizing this
conference. He also co-chairs the Florida Chapter
Everglades Committee, and is the Loxahatchee Group
Conservation Chair.
The Pelican Vol. 40, No. 1
Editor: Kathy Criscola
Pelican Committee Co-Chairs: Kathy Criscola and Rosalie
Shaffer
Published by the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club, 319
E. Park Avenue, Tallahassee FL.
Address all inquiries to: PO Box 575, Tallahassee FL
32302-0575 or e-mail editor@floridasierraclub.org and
Shaffer_us@yahoo.com
The Pelican is mailed three times per year to members of
Sierra Club in the state of Florida. Annual membership
dues include $1.00 for the chapter newsletter.
Send address changes to: Sierra Club Member
Services, PO Box 52968, Boulder CO 80322-2968 or e-
mail address.changes@sierraclub.org.
Send articles to: the Pelican Committee, in Word or text
format on disk to PO Box 575, Tallahassee FL 32302-
0575 or e-mail editor@floridasierraclub.org and
Shaffer_us@yahoo.com
Articles and letters may be edited for space and clarity.
Next deadline: May 15, 2008
Pelican Committee Members:
Joan Altman, joanaltman@mindspring.com
Andrea Canelos, andycanelos@yahoo.com
Frances H. Coleman, fcoleman@tampabay.rr.com
Maryvonne Devensky, marydeven@bellsouth.net
Joy Towles Ezell, hopeforcleanwater@yahoo.com
Marilyn Goodwin, mochaboo@embarqmail.com
Ron Haines, ronaldhaines@bellsouth.net
December McSherry, Lmcshe2001@aol.com
Betsy Roberts, ex-officio, betsyred@comcast.net

Page 4
Florida Legislature, 2008 Regular Session
By Susie Caplowe
The Florida Legislature will convene March 4 for its annual 60-day session. This year, according to former Sierra Club
lobbyist Susie Caplowe, the issues and potential volumes of bills and amendments that will have our attention will be all
about water, energy, and growth management.
Springs legislation: In general, Florida’s springs are
threatened by flow reductions and declining water quality.
Many of Florida's springs show signs of ecological
imbalance, increased nutrient loading and lowered water
flow. It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a pilot
program for the protection of Rainbow Springs and Silver
Springs, first magnitude springs in Marion County, which
may serve as a model for other springs in the state. Local
governments would be required to deal with point and
non-point source pollution.
Water wars: Watch for legislation that will tag waterways
for water resources and find ways to sustain water
supplies for current users. The tug of war continues
between all users and consumers of water. Who will get
theirs first and by what means? Options include:
Ramping up measures to capture runoff and treat it -
Capture and storage of rain - Maximize conservation and
efficiency efforts - Educating users -Wastewater treatment
and reuse - Reverse osmosis – Desalination - Tapping
into more lakes and rivers - More surface-water
withdrawals
Ocean outfall wastewater discharge: The national
pollution permits for all the south Florida outfall pipes
have expired or are about to — a violation of federal law.
This discharge from pipes is damaging our coral reefs.
The sewer plants have not and cannot meet the level of
proof required by the Clean Water Act and will continue to
operate in violation until enforcement action is taken. The
Florida Legislature needs to weigh in, and no doubt they
will.
Ocklawaha River restoration: DEP’s application to
remove the Rodman Dam is complete, but first there has
to be a strategy developed to clean up Silver River. The
Silver River has significant nitrate and phosphorous
loading in it and it dumps into the Rodman, which acts as
kidneys, cleaning the effluent that comes from Silver River
prior to the water making its way to the St. Johns River.
Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR): Here we go again.
We fought the fight and won a few years ago. We stopped
then-Governor Jeb Bush and the Legislature from allowing
the dumping of untreated water into our aquifers. Now,
because of severe droughts in recent years, we need
to be on the lookout for possible legislation similar to the
ASR bills from 2000 or 2001, that would allow untreated
groundwater to be injected into the aquifer.
Energy: There are still a few who don’t believe that the
planet is heating up and glaciers are melting down. Watch
for last year's legislation (vetoed by Governor Crist) to
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
make a comeback, in addition to new bills to set up
roadblocks to any progress we strive for: legislation filled
with renewables, conservation, efficiency, biofuels,
biomass, cap and trade, solar, subsidies, tax incentives,
tax credits, and rebates. Watch for who gets the benefits
and who pays. It will be dynamic, intense and all-
consuming.
Florida Forever: The state needs to continue to purchase
environmentally sensitive lands for wildlife preservation
and conservation. We’re hoping for a follow-on program to
Florida Forever, Florida’s nine-year-old land-buying
program. With the state funds shortfall, any monies for
land purchases will have to be maximized.
Everglades funding and
restoration: This issue
affects the restoration of Lake
Okeechobee, the St. Lucie
and Caloosahatchee Rivers,
Everglades National Park
and ongoing needs of all who
benefit from the resource;
water conservation, ways to
combat the drought through better capture of water from
runoff; homeowner association ordinances versus water
use restrictions; models, methodology, alternatives, rules
and enforcement issues, meeting the phosphorous
reduction goals and restoring the natural habitat; land
acquisitions versus construction projects; what
contributions will come from federal government sources?
Pre-emption: Wetlands delegation from the Army Corps
of Engineers to DEP of projects impacting 10 acres or less
— the same fight we fight every year. Wetlands
jurisdictions: local versus state control; and the recurring,
general theme of preventing local governments from
having stronger protections: fertilizer ordinances, or
mining regulations, or in this particular case, stronger
wetlands protections. Just this past summer, the
developers who lost the battle during session asked the
Hillsborough County Commission to de-fund the excellent
wetlands program of the Hillsborough County
Environmental Protection Commission. The developers’
lobbyists continue to go after strong local governments
that do a good job of protecting their wetlands from the
bulldozer. Many of you remember how we, for three years
running, stopped them from preventing local governments
from having stronger wetlands protections than the state.
(Continued on page 5)
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008
A farewell message from
Susie Caplowe
Florida Chapter Sierra Club lobbyist 1993-2007
Susie Caplowe has made outstanding contributions to our
efforts as lobbyist. She recently announced that after 14
years of service, she will be leaving us to pursue other
career options.
I have been the Florida Chapter Sierra Club Contract
Lobbyist for 14 years. I started out as a volunteer
legislative lobby coordinator, working with several activists
and two paid lobbyists. To improve communication, I
began the Tallahassee Report (TR), a weekly legislative
update describing committee reports and proposed bills
that affect the environment. Now Sierra members, citizens
and local Florida government entities can access
legislative matters with ease.
Several hundred of you, volunteering when you can, have
done an excellent job contacting legislators locally and in
Tallahassee, reaching out to more activists, and building
our movement and our network. We have worked in
coalition with our allies and are well respected by
governmental agencies and the Florida Legislature. We
have a very good relationship with Governor Crist, who
has excellent staff willing to listen to us and work with us
on a daily basis.
I wanted all of you to know how much I appreciate every
one of you for staying with us online for so many years,
and reading our Pelican legislative reports. Even though
the Chapter renewed approval for me to contract for 2008,
I have decided to move on.
There are so many to thank that the list would take up the
whole page. So THANK YOU to all the issue chairs,
activists and environmental heroes. I will continue to work
in the environmental movement and fight for those who
cannot, and I thank you all for all your dedication and
energy to be with us for so long.
I hope you will look at the archives on
www.florida.sierraclub.org/tracker, a website that was
already designed and all I had to do was fill in all the
legislative information. We compiled hundreds of pages of
detailed legislative information in each of these last two
sessions.
With the departure of Susie Caplowe as the Florida
Chapter’s legislative lobbyist, the leaders of the Florida
Chapter are working together to make sure the Chapter
has a presence in Tallahassee during the 2008 legislative
session.
Page 5
Florida Legislature
(Continued from page 4)
Growth management: Department of Community Affairs
Secretary Tom Pelham agrees with citizens that the
system is broken, and he is trying to instill and enlighten
the home builders, developers, local governments,
businesses, and industry, that if they don’t like the Florida
Hometown Democracy campaign for a constitutional
amendment requiring citizen approval of comprehensive
plan changes, then they'd better fix what is broken or face
the consequences. Here is the menu of the DCA’s draft
legislation so far: fixing the Rural Stewardship Lands
program; rural and urban fixes; school and transportation
concurrency; affordable housing; and public participation.
Election reform/deform: For years we have supported
having clean money, clean elections or voter-owned
elections. We had momentum in the beginning and had
legislators signed on, then the opposition began calling it
welfare for politicians and the make up of the legislature
worsened. Now Florida’s spending limits for statewide
elections are under attack in new legislation.
Manatees: No doubt because of the great success we
had before the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to
maintain the manatees status as endangered and
because of Gov. Crist’s help, the go-fast boat
manufacturers, developers and marina owners who want
to expand their facilities will come out in full force.
This is just the short list; there are always more bills that
come our way and we have to be able to respond to them.
We have won a lot of battles together and we still need to
be ever-vigilant and hold on to, or improve, what
regulations and protections we have for Florida’s wildlife
and natural areas.
Everything is hitched to
everything else…
Make a commitment to the next generation by
remembering Sierra Club in your will. Your support will
help others to preserve the intricate balance of nature.
Bequests have played a key role on the Sierra Club’s
environmental successes over the years.
There are many gift options available. We can even
help you plan a gift for your local Chapter.
For more information and confidential assistance,
contact:
John Calaway, Director of Gift Planning
Sierra Club 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco CA 94105
Phone: 415-977-5639
E-mail: planned.giving@sierraclub.org

Page 6
Florida Forever II
By David Auth, Florida Chapter Biodiversity Issue Chair
As of August 2007, one-fourth of Florida -- almost 9.5
million acres -- is in public ownership. Since 1990, almost
7 percent, or 2,341,000 acres, were purchased by the
state from private owners, at a cost of almost $5.4 billion.
We must thank our Florida Legislature and two governors
for passing and then signing, respectively, Preservation
2000 followed by Florida Forever, which made this
additional protection a reality. This is a magnificent
achievement -- the largest land-buying success in recent
United States history.
The Legislature cleverly funded P2000 and Florida
Forever with a state tax on every home sale, so the
population explosion partly pays for state land buying. In
addition, residents have been more than willing, through
referenda in 22 of 67 counties, to tax their property or pay
additional sales tax for land buying. Floridians, new and
old, recognize the great importance of saving natural
habitats before they are converted into urban or
agricultural areas.
Assuming the annual net increase in new residents
remains the same as between 1950 and now, according to
Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimates,
Florida’s population will be almost 36 million people by
2060, twice what the land and water must now support.
Seven million acres of private rural lands would be
converted to cities, including 2.7 million acres of native
habitats, more than have been bought back by the state
since 1990. A glimmer of hope emerged in 2007, that this
projection is too high; almost as many people left Florida
as moved in. However, the net increase continued, due to
high birth rate, lower death rate and undocumented
immigration.
The big question is: When the population inevitably
stabilizes, will there be enough natural land left to protect
Florida’s biodiversity and wildlife corridors, as well as
provide us with clean air and water and carbon dioxide
capture? The Florida Natural Areas Inventory estimates
that 3,470,000 acres of highest priority, private natural
lands still need to be permanently protected through public
effort, either bought outright or saved through
conservation easements. The average price per acre for
raw land started increasing exponentially after 2000: 1980,
$648; 2001-5, $2,304; 2006-7, $3,894. Even at the
present average land price, buying only the highest priority
land at today’s average price would cost $13.5 billion.
In November 2005, 16 environmental organizations, led by
the Trust for Public Lands and five other voting members,
formed the Florida Forever Coalition, to ensure state land
buying will continue through 2019, rather than end in
2009. Sierra Club was initially a non-voting member, but
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
later it was decided the Club would be the watchdog of all
proposed legislation from outside the Coalition.
The Coalition is helping to write the bill, sponsored by
Sen. Burt Saunders of Naples/Ft Myers. This bill proposes
to fund Florida Forever II at $600 million a year, twice the
level of Florida Forever. Once the bonds for Florida
Forever are paid off in 2013, funding would increase to $1
billion annually through 2019, for a total decade
expenditure of $8.4 billion. Thus, Florida Forever II would
not provide enough funding to protect even the still-
outstanding highest priority lands. Floridians would have
to tax themselves more, not less, as has been
incrementally the case since Jeb Bush became Governor
in 1998.
Florida’s infrastructure costs explode along with our
population. Florida Forever II funding will be only a tiny
fraction of the cost of new roads, schools, police and fire
protection, environmental protection, electricity, water, etc.
No one knows how much land $8.4 billion will buy by
2019, but it definitely won’t buy nearly enough. This is why
county land-buying programs will continue to be so
important.
To keep track of developments through the Florida
legislative session starting March 4, and ending hopefully
with the Governor’s signature on a great law, I suggest
watching the Trust for Public Land website
(www.tpl.org/floridaforever), our Chapter’s Legislative
Tracker (www.florida.sierraclub.org/tracker) and the
Florida Legislature’s website (www.leg.state.fl.us).
Members can start writing now to Sen. Burt Saunders,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Environmental
Preservation and Conservation, to stress how important it
is to buy land to protect Florida’s remaining water and
wildlife resources for future generations. Email:
saunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov.
Florida Sierra's Conservation Committee is watching and
waiting to see the first version of the Coalition bill.
Probably two versions will move through the legislature
during session, in both the House and Senate. The other
version was less acceptable in 2000 and became law. It
won’t be long before Sierra volunteers should lobby for the
best possible version of the Florida Forever Coalition bill!
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Florida Hometown Democracy
is here to stay
By John Hedrick
First, I want to thank everyone who was involved in getting
FHD where it is today. Because if you—our petition
gatherers, signers, and contributors—hadn't worked so
hard, it never would have gotten this far. Over 814,000
signatures were submitted to the Supervisors of Elections
throughout Florida.
However, our ballot initiative that sought to give citizens
the right to control the growth of their own communities,
and hopefully bring some sanity to growth in our entire
state, is being claimed to have fallen 65,182 signatures
short of the 611,009 needed to make the ballot. This is
partly due to a massive campaign by the development-
business industry, with its huge financial resources, to
crush this effort using massive mailouts to get signers to
rescind their petitions. They also created a secondary
sham growth-control measure, “Floridians for Smarter
Growth,” that flooded the Supervisor of Elections offices
with petitions at the last minute, making it hard for our own
petitions to get verified in time.
We are not folding our tents or giving up this effort, which
is essential for growth control, the protection of our natural
resources and water supplies. Our first job is to get all the
petitions that were submitted counted. We asked the
state to extend the time limit for verification, and were
promptly denied. The state must hold the local
supervisors to the election rules. Irregularities need to be
addressed. For example, Miami-Dade Supervisor of
Elections rejected valid petitions, and Broward and Bay
County’s Supervisors of Elections acknowledge they did
not count all the petitions. We are also reviewing all our
options for both this year and election 2010, if necessary.
Petitions are good for up to four years.
We will make the citizens’ petitions count, and we will be
on the ballot. Previous polls indicate that if FHD gets on
the ballot, it will pass. If these are accurate, eventually
FHD will be in the Florida Constitution. Thanks again,
everyone, for your past and anticipated future efforts in
this important initiative.
Please contact us if you need any information or want to
help:
John Hedrick, phone 850-339-5462; e-mail:
johnhedrick13@yahoo.com
Lesley Blackner, phone 866-779-5513; e-mail:
lblackner@aol.com
Page 7
Chapter Chair Report
By Betsy Roberts
This year brings numerous challenges and lots of politics.
We will be electing a new president and many other office
holders. It will be an exciting year politically, which will
hopefully result in a huge voter turnout. We will have many
local and state candidates as well as referenda to
consider. I know lots of requests for our club endorsement
will come our way.
As in most years, we have had many tough issues to deal
with. Thanks to our hard-working energy folks and
Governor Crist for halting coal-burning power plants.
We need to be vigilant, as issues have a way of coming
back. There are five nuclear power plants and garbage,
tire and wood incinerators being proposed, as well as
agrofuel and coal-burning refineries. As for solar energy,
we are the Sunshine State, so let’s focus on that
alternative fuel and continue to promote conservation,
efficiency and lifestyle changes.
The Florida legislative session will surely bring with it
challenges in the form of bills that will be good or bad for
the environment. We will sorely miss Susie Caplowe, who
has lobbied for Sierra Club for many years. Going to
Tallahassee to lobby will not be the same without her.
The Chapter might get someone to take Susie's position,
but no single person could ever replace her and do all that
she did for us and the environment. I know wherever she
goes, she will always work to protect our Florida
environment. Thank you Susie, beyond words!
We have so much yet to do - so many important issues
face us. More of our members need to get involved. We
do not want to see a concrete Florida that ends up under
water due to global warming.
Want to help? There are many issues and committee
chairs who need assistance. Our environmental issue
committees are listed on page 14 and on the Florida
Chapter website at www.floridasierraclub.org . Call or e-
mail the committee chairs for more information or to offer
your help. Please encourage others to get involved also.
Lastly, I do want to emphasize the importance of working
as a team. We all have very important roles and so many
talents to bring to the table. This year we face important
organizational challenges in working to make our Chapter
work better to achieve all our goals. I have no doubt that
with the help of all our dedicated volunteers, we will
succeed and come out of this a better, stronger, Chapter.

Page 8
Florida Sierra Club recognizes activists
By Mary-Slater Linn, Awards Committee Chair
At the annual Florida Sierra
Club Conservation
Conference in November,
members and community
activists were recognized with
awards for their outstanding
work.
The highest honor this year,
the Red Howell Legal
Services Award, was
presented to Lesley
Blackner, a Palm Beach
attorney dedicated to the
environment of Florida.
Lesley is noted currently for
her championing of the Florida
Award recipients Bryanne Hamilton, Tom Larson and Bill
Hometown Democracy
Hamilton. Photo
constitutional amendment
campaign. The FHD
amendment would provide citizens
with the final vote on substantial
changes to local comprehensive
land-use plans She was recognized
for this and for her long-term legal
assistance to the Florida Chapter,
including such cases as the legal
challenge to the unneeded, sprawl-
driven Suncoast Parkway.
Other awards for outstanding service
to the community were:
Indigo Writers Award, for a
writer/journalist who provides
balanced reports on Florida's
environmental issues.
Jack Gurney, Sarasota. Jack writes
about environmental issues in “The
Pelican Press” and consistently
creates public awareness, the critical
first step toward effective, long-term
environmental protection. The
Pelican Press website has proven to
be a very effective local tool used by
area environmentalists to get the
word out and Jack’s articles serve as
important background information
and support for local causes.
The Barred Owl Award, for a
business that makes environmental
concerns a major part of its presence
in the marketplace.
courtesy of Tom Larson.
Southern Horticulture of St.
Augustine, owned by Bill and
Bryanne Hamilton, sells native
Florida plants and also does private
landscaping. They refuse to apply,
sell or use chemicals, pesticides,
fungicides or herbicides. You can
buy ladybugs there for pest control.
Laurilee Thompson, owner of Dixie
Cross Roads Restaurant in
Titusville. Dixie Cross Roads has
consistently made sustainable
fisheries a major part of its presence educational materials, Bill showed
in the marketplace through its
dealings with suppliers, consumers
and the general public. The
restaurant also displays work by
Florida environmental artists and is a record of long-term, invaluable
supporter of the Space Coast Birding
Festival.
Osprey Award, for extraordinary
effort by a governmental staff person
to promote or effect changes in
policy or practice to protect or
preserve Florida's environment.
Danon Moxley, nominated by the
Polk Group. He is Project Leader of
the Tenoroc Fish Management Area.
Under his guidance, this area was
changed from a phosphate mine to a
wildlife viewing and hiking hot spot,
in a short period of time and on a
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
shoestring annual budget
of $82,000 (FY’07). This
is especially significant
because Tenoroc is the
largest green space in
close proximity to the
greater Lakeland metro
area.
Cypress Award, for an
individual who has
contributed greatly to the
public's environmental
awareness in one’s own
locale or Florida as a
whole.
Karl Nurse from the
Suncoast group received
this award for his role as
one of the founders and continuing
organizers of the Pinellas Living
Green Expo, an event designed to
provide information, ideas,
resources, products and motivation
for Pinellas County residents to live
more sustainably.
Bill Sanders, Executive Director of
Keep Pinellas Beautiful, started an
educational campaign with the
middle school students using “Rosie
the Spoonbill” as a mascot. Through
kids the impact of litter in our
waterways.
Dolphin Award, for an outstanding
service in sustaining a vital Chapter
function. Kathy Criscola from
Tallahassee received for her work in
the past 10 years plus as volunteer
editor of the Florida Chapter Sierra
Club publication “The Pelican.”
Pine Tree Award, for outstanding
group leadership.
Tom Larson of the Northeast Group,
and Rob Brinkman of the
Suwannee-St. Johns Group.
(Continued on page 9)
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Ellen Peterson wins
Everglades Coalition
John V. Kabler Award
Congratulations to Ellen Peterson,
who received the Kabler Award for
her lifetime service in protecting
Southwest Florida and Fisheating
Creek at the Everglades Coalition
Conference held in January.
From the award:
In honor of her work to organize and
educate the public and generate
grassroots support for Everglades
restoration, we, the undersigned,
nominate Ellen Peterson for the
Everglades Coalition John V. Kabler
Award.
Ellen is a native of Georgia, where
she graduated from the University of
Georgia with a degree in chemistry in
1945 and then from Appalachia State
with a masters in counseling. She
has lived in Southwest Florida since
1963. Ellen has been an active
member of the Regional Growth
Management Committee since its
inception in 1988. Her long-time work
also includes efforts to preserve and
protect Estero Bay, Black Island, and
Fisheating Creek in Southwest
Florida. She has worked tirelessly to
help preserve and protect natural
Florida throughout the southwest
part of the state. Through her efforts
there is public access to Fisheating
Creek and a plan to preserve it for
future generations.
Ellen is the President of Save Our
Creeks, the main group credited with
re-opening Fisheating Creek as a
navigable waterway and returning
this, the crown jewel of Glades
County which winds through an
enchanting cypress slough before it
empties into Lake Okeechobee, to
the public trust. She is also the Chair
of the Calusa Group of Sierra Club
and the Vice President of the
Environmental Confederation of
Southwest Florida.
She has transformed her home on
the Estero River into an
environmental spiritual retreat,
Happehatchee Center, opening it
and her heart to others seeking the
restorative relief of meditative
moments in one of Lee County’s last
remaining private riparian
sanctuaries.
Photo of Ellen by Rhonda Roff
Chapter awards
(Continued from page 8)
Manatee Award, for outstanding
service to the Group. Gina Burrell,
from the Northeast Group, and
Suzanne Valencia of the Turtle
Coast Group.
Panther Award, for outstanding
conservation work on a project within
the Group's area. Rick and Patti
Causey, Big Bend Group, for their
work in preventing the Magnolia Bay
Marina.
Otter Award, for Group outings
work. Charles Hunt, Loxahatchee
Group.
Whooping Crane Award, for group
public relations. Lucy Peak,
Suncoast Group.
Sand Dollar Award, for group fund
raising. Sheila Calderon,
Loxahatchee Group.
Awardee Lucy Peak and presenter
Rudy Scheffer.
Photo by Tom Larson.
Page 9
Susan Reske wins
National Club award
Susan Reske, the first chair of the
Greater Charlotte Harbor Group, was
awarded a Special Achievement
Award from National Sierra Club in
September. Under Sue's leadership,
a brand new group was born into a
whirlwind of critical issues. In less
than two years, Sue has established
Sierra Club as an essential voice at
the table in government issues,
committees and negotiations.
Under Sue's leadership, the Greater
Charlotte Harbor Group has been
involved in county comprehensive
plan revisions, ordinances on density
and rock mining, phosphate mining
challenges, water supply, water
quality, dredging in Florida's aquatic
preserves, and a challenge to the
development of Babcock Ranch,
resulting in 76,000 acres in
preservation. The group has been
involved in an array of community
activities, including festivals,
parades, county advisory
committees, political endorsements,
stakeholder meetings and success of
an environmental lands referendum.
Sue recruited four officers and six
committee chairs—none of whom
ever participated in Sierra Club
leadership before! Sue energizes
and motivates her volunteers, and
recognizes all voices. A new and
effective Sierra Club was born
because of Sue Reske's outstanding
leadership and dedicated service.

Page 10
Florida Regional News Briefs
By Kristina Jackson, Sierra Club Florida Regional Office
Phosphate settlement dead—for now
In September 2007, mainly as a result of negotiations
between Mosaic, the Peace River Water Authority, and
Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, a proposed settlement
(Mosaic Compact) of outstanding legal challenges was
released. It was slated for discussion and vote just two
weeks later in Sarasota and Charlotte counties. The
settlement was inadequate, unenforceable and eliminated
the counties’ ability to challenge mining permits for 30
years.
The Sierra Club:
• Quickly organized an anti-Mosaic Compact coalition of
64 conservationists, business owners, and sportsmen
to sign a letter directed to the affected county
commissioners (those of Charlotte, Sarasota, Lee,
Manatee and Desoto counties).
• Distributed a second sign-on letter calling for a more
deliberate agreement and stakeholder participation.
This letter was even larger with 322 signatures from
organizations and individuals.
• Used meetings and e-mail trees in Charlotte, Lee,
Sarasota and Manatee counties to respond to the
subsequent settlement proposal. Area volunteers
were highly successful in drawing press attention and
turning out voters in large numbers for every public
commission meeting.
The 2007 Mosaic Compact required acceptance by all
three counties (Charlotte, Sarasota and Lee), so it died
when Sarasota County Commission rejected it. However,
we expect to face a new Mosaic settlement threat in 2008.
Florida panther corridor
Our steady building of a Florida Panther Corridor coalition
has progressed recently with:
• A continuous conversation with the Conservancy of
Southwest Florida regarding Collier Enterprises’ Big
Cypress Community – a development threat that
encompasses primary panther habitat .
• Coordination between the Nature Conservancy, the
Coastal Corridor Conservation Project/Southwest
Florida Regional Planning Council, the Conservancy
of Southwest Florida and the Sierra Club to organize a
highly successful Florida Panther Corridor panel at the
recent Everglades Coalition Conference. The
relationships begun on the Florida Panther Corridor
panel will also support our work on mapping the lands
needed for the Florida panther corridor.
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Also, kudos to Matthew Schwartz from the Broward
Group, who has tirelessly led Sierra’s efforts to protect
panther habitat from off-road vehicles in Big Cypress
National Preserve.
Progress on clean energy in Congress
Last fall, we had a great opportunity to affect change
through the federal energy bill. Sierra Club set up a
concentrated two-month campaign to influence the votes
of key Florida congressional delegates. We asked them to
vote for a bill requiring a renewable energy standard of 15
percent and a corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) for
cars of 35 miles per gallon -- both by 2020.
Our efforts included:
• A media campaign with newspaper editorial board
meetings and many letters to the editor in the target
congressional districts.
• Chapter-wide constituent calls and emails to
congressional offices.
• Outreach to Sierra Group members via newsletters,
tabling, Group meetings, house call-in parties, and
lots and lots of phone calls.
• Direct meetings and press events with lawmakers
and/or their staff, notably: Senator Bill Nelson, Rep.
Ron Klein, Rep. Kathy Castor, Rep. Gus Bilirakis,
Rep. Vern Buchanan and Rep. Tim Mahoney.
Ultimately, the energy bill passed both houses with the
CAFE standards, but with renewable energy standards
were removed. Sierra Club intends to work for renewable
energy standards again this year.
Red tide
Scientist Peter Barile and horticultural technical expert
Mike Holsinger are helping us to advise the campaign on
current fertilizer use in the state of Florida. Sierra Club
staff and volunteers attended and testified at state
consumer fertilizer taskforce meetings in order to improve
statewide education efforts and advocate for
administrative rule changes. The Sierra Club worked in
coalition with a broad spectrum of groups to block
unwarranted fertilizer preemption by fertilizer industry
representatives. However, Rep. Bryan Nelson (R –
Apopka) stated his intention to ignore the
recommendations and provide a minimum mandatory
standard for the state of Florida which would effectively
preempt cities and counties from enacting new fertilizer
ordinances. Watch out, this may be a key fight in the 2008
legislature!
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Victory over Magnolia Bay
(Continued from page 1)
charge of the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve and
arranging for her to educate citizen groups about the
ecological and economic value of Florida’s near-shore
seagrass beds.
Rick contacted the press. After the first article appeared, a
steady stream of articles from a variety of newspapers
followed. Next, Rick organized a petition-gathering
campaign.
In April 2007, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a
rare permit denial. In its permit denial letter, the Corps
cited 736 petition signatures as a factor in their denial as
well as official opposition from an array of state and
federal agencies, a host of local and national
environmental groups, and individual letters from more
than 1,100 citizens, including scientists, all requesting
denial. The Corps cited 20 letters supporting of the
project.
Denial and the nationwide notoriety the development
garnered between spring 2006 and spring 2007, would not
have occurred without the Causeys’ dogged
perseverance. They have unequivocally elevated
awareness of coastal issues in a populace languishing in
ocean and coastal illiteracy. Their work to preserve Boggy
Bay and leave Magnolia Bay Marina parked in Memory
Lane has made its mark. Today a Google search for
Magnolia Bay Marina, Dekle Beach, Florida, yields several
hundred results; the verbiage does not paint it lovingly.
Leading by example, Rick and Patti Causey have become
models for us all to emulate as our country appears
poised on the brink of a sea change in the environmental
arena. In recognition of their work, in 2007 they received
the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Conservationist of the
Year Award and Sierra’s Florida Chapter Panther Award.
Let’s celebrate Rick and Patti! Thanks for giving more
than a year of your lives in the brilliant orchestration of an
individual history-making event. Sierra loves you!
Special thanks to supporting entities urging permit denial
by the Corps of Engineers (and to the Corps for making
the right decision): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Gulf Marine Fisheries Management Commission,
Florida Department of Environmental Protection,·
Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida
Department of Community Affairs, State Historic
Preservation Officer, Taylor County Soil and Water
Conservation District, The Nature Conservancy , National
Audubon Society (Apalachee Chapter), Sierra Club
(Florida Chapter and Big Bend Group), 1000 Friends of
Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, The Ocean
Conservancy, Clean Water Network, Heart of the Earth,
Gulf Restoration Network.
Page 11
Rock mining industry, DOT
seek to limit local land use
control
By December McSherry
The rock mining industry and the Florida Department of
Transportation are launching a campaign to eliminate local
government zoning control over thousands of acres of
potential mining sites across the state.
The Strategic Aggregates Review Task Force has
finalized their report, which includes proposals to change
current local and state policies. The task force’s findings
were presented to the Governor, President of the Senate,
and Speaker of the House of Representatives in February.
One of the options in particular should concern you and
your local government—the state would preempt local
control of land use for rock mining. Local governments
would lose their authority to regulate wetlands impacts,
endangered species impacts, evaluation of surface-water
management impacts and water quality impacts.
Please read the Final Report and notify your county
commissioners:
www.dot.state.fl.us/statematerialsoffice/administration/res
ources/library/issues-trends/aggtaskforce/reports.htm
Also watch for state legislation this session that would
carry out these proposals, and be ready to comment to
your state legislators.
Tune in to Sierra Club Radio
Sierra Club has a weekly half-hour radio program that you
can listen to on the Web and via podcast. Sierra Club
Radio is designed to help us meet the mounting demand
for “green” news -- information Americans can use as
consumers, citizens, neighbors and parents to make
responsible choices and to connect to the growing
environmental community.
The program, produced by Sierra Club staff and hosted by
Club publicist Orli Cotel, will feature Sierra Club content –
including lifestyle tips from Sierra magazine's Green Life
editor Jennifer Hattam and Mr. Green, Bob Schildgen; and
commentary by Executive Director Carl Pope. The
program will also highlight stories from our conservation
work, our grassroots fieldwork, and our partnership work --
especially our hunter/angler and faith outreach efforts.
Sierra Club radio is broadcast every Saturday in the San
Francisco Bay area. The program will be available on the
Web and via podcast the following Monday at
www.sierraclubradio.com. You can also listen to past
shows. Please check it out.
 Volume 40, Issue 1
Page 12 The Pelican, Spring 2008

Sierra Club opposes Gulf aquaculture plan

By Kristina Jackson, Sierra Club Staff

No national standard regulates the burgeoning field of N. Lois Ave. Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607. Toll free: 888-
open-ocean aquaculture, or offshore fish farming, in our 833-1844. Fax 813-348-1711.
federal waters. In these offshore confined feeding For more information on Sierra Club’s Gulf Sustainable
operations, up to 10,000 fish are held in large cages Fisheries work contact Kristina Jackson, (352) 375-1441
anchored to the sea bottom. The huge amount of waste or e-mail: Kristina.jackson@sierraclub.org.
created causes water pollution and may damage the
existing natural fisheries. Right now, no single federal
agency has been set up to regulate and enforce water
quality, siting standards, chemicals and feed use, and
protection of natural habitat in these offshore fish farms.
In the absence of such an agency, the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council, which regulates commercial
and recreational fishing in federal waters, is working to
create its own rules. The official Sierra Club comments on
this document, drafted with Sierra volunteers at national
and local levels, were submitted in January.
Specific recommendations on how the document must be
changed were submitted, but the overall position of Sierra
Club is against open-ocean aquaculture in the Gulf of
Mexico .
First, Sierra Club objects to the fact that no funded agency
or program exists to deal with the varied monitoring and
enforcement required to prevent aquaculture from
damaging natural ecosystems.
Second, many observers feel that the menhaden
populations in the Gulf are already negatively
affected. Menhaden, called "the most important fish in the
sea," is harvested in massive proportions, then used as
omega-fatty-acid supplements and a primary source of
fishmeal to feed poultry or pen-raised fish. Overfishing the
menhaden may already be negatively impacting marine
mammals, sharks and other wild fish that depend upon the
menhaden for food.
Last, other regional fishery management councils are
looking to the Gulf Council regulations as a template for
permitting large-scale fish farming in their areas. Whatever
language is approved here may be adopted in any of the
nation’s seven other marine management areas. We must
do it right the first time.
This issue is bringing together commercial and
recreational anglers, divers and conservation
advocates. We all know that the open ocean is legally in
the public trust -- belonging to everyone. So permitting a
private, for-profit enterprise should only be allowed under
strict written regulations, wisely selected, and enforceable
-- or not at all.
We are proud of the many concerned Sierrans who show
up for these aquaculture meetings. It is your Gulf, too! Let
them hear from you—contact the Gulf Council members
and ask them to oppose open-ocean aquaculture. Go to
www.gulfcouncil.org or contact them through the Council
Office: Wayne Swingle, Executive Director, GMFMC, 2203
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008 Page 13

Get out there! Enjoy Springtime on a Chapter outing

Here is just a sampling of the trips we have planned for
you. For more, visit www.florida.sierraclub.org, call
Chapter Outings Chair Rudy Scheffer at 727-726-8375 or
e-mail rudy@adventuresworldwide.com
Nonmembers are welcome on our outings. All participants
are required to sign a standard liability waiver. If you want
to read the waiver before signing up, go to
www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/forms, contact the
outings Department at 415-977-5528 or ask the trip leader
for a copy. Florida Seller of Travel Ref. No. ST37115.
March 22 -- Ocean to Lake Trail day hike. We’ll hike
from Riverbend Park west of Jupiter to the Jonathan
Dickinson State Park marina. The total distance is 11
miles. More details are available at
http://lox.floridatrail.org/html/ocean_to_lake.html.
Moderate to strenuous. Limit 20. Donna Brown, 561-317-
8288, cips07@comcast.net. (Loxahatchee)
March 22-23 -- Collier-Seminole State Park car
camping and Big Cypress swamp walk; Corkscrew
Swamp Ecowalk. For details, Sabrina Carle, 561-732-
4486, Carles@bellsouth.net, or Charles Hunt, 561-967-
4770, sierra@smartsolutions.com (Loxahatchee)
back on Sun. We've rented 3 primitive cabins and 3
campsites for the trip. This trip is rated moderate to
strenuous because of open water and possible wind
conditions. Reserve early. Contact Don Kirkley, (941)
493-3085 or donkirk@gte.net, for cost info and
reservations (Manatee/Sarasota)
Outings Leadership Training Event
April 12-13 --Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course at
Paynes Prarie State Park Park. Cost is $170 for the 16
hour course. No CPR just WFA. Includes book and three
year certification from the American Health and Safety
Institute. Instruction by UF staff. Contact Rudy Scheffer at
727-726-8375 or e-mail: rudy@adventuresworldwide.com
Outing tip: Pack it in, pack it out!
Repackage food into reusable containers or combine
ingredients in plastic bags. This not only helps avoid
inadvertently leaving litter behind, but also reduces the
weight of the food packed in and the amount of garbage
packed out.

March 22/23 -- Backpack trip to Hidden Pond in the

Ocala National Forest. We will explore the Juniper
Wilderness Area trail and discover our National Forests,
and a little bit of Wilderness in our own state. A moderate
hike of about 12 miles total. Co-Leaders: Mike Pici, 727-
798-9227, revmp777@earthlink.net, and Ben Berauer,
727-392-2821, bfberauer@aol.com. (Suncoast)

March 30 -- Off-road bike trip on the original road to

Flamingo. See gators, birds and wildflowers. Moderate
to strenuous. $10 members, $12 non-members. Includes
lunch; park admission extra. Diane Jacobs, 305667-6962,
diane@cobb-ebin.com or Lee Jacobs, 305-667-6962,
eeljac@earthlink.net. (Miami)

April 19-20 -- Overnight backpack trip to Mossy Island

campsite - Myakka River State Park. We will explore
this beautiful park and learn about what Florida's prairie
was like. An easy backpack of only about 5 miles. Limit 6.
Leader Mike Pici, 727-798-9227 or
revmp777@earthlink.net (Suncoast)

May 2-4 -- Cayo Costa weekend kayak and camping.

Come join us for a great weekend at one of the state's
premier island state parks. Cayo Costa State Park, truly a
Gulf Coast paradise located on Lacosta Island west of
Fort Myers, has one of the top rated beaches in the
nation. We'll paddle out on Fri. morning with a stop at
legendary Cabbage Key restaurant for lunch and paddle

Page 14
New Green Swamp
signs grace Polk
County roads
Lots of folks know the importance of
the Green Swamp and its
relationship to the Floridan Aquifer—
they just don't know where it is,
exactly. New signs like the one
pictured will help.
Marian Ryan, Green Swamp Issue
Chair, approached Jeff Spence,
Director of Polk County Natural
Resources Division, about creating
the signs. The signs were made and
installed in November at the
entrance to the Green Swamp Area
of Critical State Concern on four Polk
County roads.
We hope that more signs will be
installed on state roads once
approval is granted by the Florida
Department of Transportation.
Moving?
Don miss any Club publications!
Send your address change to:
Sierra Club, P.O. Box 52968,
Boulder CO 80322-2968
OR e-mail:
address.changes@sierraclub.org
Get involved!
Conservation
Committee contacts
The Florida Chapter is run entirely by
volunteers. We pursue a wide variety
of conservation projects within
Florida with special emphasis on
lobbying the Florida legislature and
fighting the negative impacts of
growth.
Conservation Chair: Joy Towles
Ezell, phone 850-584-7087; e-mail:
hopeforcleanwater@yahoo.com
Our conservation committee is
organized along the lines of that of
Sierra Club's national conservation
program featuring:
Safe Energy Solutions—Chair, Joy
Towles Ezell, phone 850-584-7087;
e-mail:
hopeforcleanwater@yahoo.com
Subcommittees: No Nukes, Offshore
Oil Drilling, Solar Energy, Stop the
Coal Rush.
America’s Wild Legacy—Chair,
John Hedrick, phone 850-339-5462;
e-mail: johnhedrick13@yahoo.com
Subcommittees: Agriculture,
Biodiversity, Bone Valley,
Everglades, Green Swamp,
Growth/Sprawl, Manatees,
Protecting Florida’s Native Habitat.
Safe and Healthy Communities—
Chair, Karen Orr, phone 352-372-
8712; e-mail:
thibeau48@bellsouth.net
Subcommittees: Marine and
Coastal, Safe Drinking Water, St.
Joe/ Panhandle, Toxics, Wetlands
and Water
Democracy and the
Environment—Chair, Pedro
Monteiro, phone 954-525-3324; e-
mail: pedro_monteiro @yahoo.com.
Subcommittees: Citizen
Participation, Clean Money
Elections, Election Reform, Florida
Hometown Democracy, Trade.
Volume 40, Issue 1
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Park honors
Broward Sierran
By Sara Case, Broward Group
In February, Broward County’s
newest natural area -- the 13-acre
Helene Klein Pineland Preserve --
opened in Coconut Creek. The site is
dedicated to the late
environmentalist Helene Klein, who
spearheaded the drive to preserve it
the land. It is located at the
northwest corner of Hillsboro
Boulevard and Lyons Road (south of
NW 71st Place).
The preserve is one of the smallest
sites in the Parks and Recreation
Division’s natural areas system, but
also one of the most diverse. Up to
55 species of wildlife have been
observed in the preserve. Site
amenities include seating areas, a
covered information kiosk, a covered
picnic table, interpretive signage, a
covered overlook, and 1,250 feet of
nature trails, including a boardwalk.
The property was acquired in 2002
through the 2000 Safe Parks and
Land Preservation Bond program
and a Florida Communities Trust
grant, at a total cost of $3.4 million.
Helene Klein was an outstanding
environmental activist and political
chair from the Broward Sierra Group.
She worked tirelessly, and often
single handedly, gathering
signatures for an ultimately
successful referendum to save
environmentally significant land from
development.
For more information, see:
www.broward.org/parks/hk.htm
Volume 40, Issue 3
The Pelican, Spring 2008
Changing the future, one county at a time
By Marian Ryan and Frances Howell-Coleman, Polk Group
Despairing of a future scenario that shows sprawling
subdivisions with high maintenance lawns, dwindling
water supplies in the heartland of the Floridan Aquifer,
disappearing farmland in an agricultural county, over-
stretched infrastructure and congested roads, Polk
Sierrans are going for a bold “fix.” Polk is a charter county
and the proposed “fix” is an amendment to the charter
which will:
• Limit the total number of residential units allowed
under County and municipal comprehensive plans to
the total that exists upon approval of the amendment.
Polk's population is roughly 600,000 and current
comprehensive plans will allow housing for another
estimated 1.2 million people. Polk's growth rate
outpaces Florida’s as a whole.
• Set Urban Service Areas to limit sprawl into rural
areas and allow for the transfer of residential density
from rural areas into said Urban Service Areas.
• Prevent cities from increasing residential density
outside of the established Urban Service Area.
• Apply to both Polk County and all its municipalities,
and should institutionalize cooperation among cities
and the county.
• Will encourage redevelopment in city cores and
should make mass transit feasible.
• Concentrate population, which will cause the costs of
providing infrastructure to decrease. Therefore, taxes
and fees should also go down.
• Preserve open space, which will enhance wildlife
resources and water quality.
The free market concept in the proposal should make it
more palatable to large landowners. No one will ever force
ranchers or farmers to give up their development rights.
Page 15
However, if the landowner wants to stay in agriculture and
pay taxes based on that use, then he can sell his
development rights to a developer in an Urban Service
Area. The developer can then increase residential density
in an area where infrastructure is already in place.
The Growth Cap Coalition spearheaded by Sierrans is
going through all the procedures necessary to start
collecting the required 25,000 petition signatures. The
best-case scenario would see the amendment on the
November 2008 ballot. But if we miss that goal, the
signatures gathered will still be good for the 2010 election.
Sierrans in other charter counties might want to consider
this as a future course of action.
Endangered Species Day: May 16
May 16 is the third annual U.S. Endangered Species Day
and the timing couldn’t be better.
Not only are birds migrating and prairies, forests, deserts,
marshes, pastures and parks greening across America,
but Sierra Club and other environmental groups are
concerned about actions from the Bush administration that
impact the plight of endangered speciescts and reptiles.
These include the repeal of logging restrictions in Pacific
Northwest old-growth forests that are the habitat of the
endangered Spotted Owl; future protection for Gray
Wolves, Grizzly Bears and American Bison in Yellowstone
National Park; and with development issues in the
Everglades that may adversely affect the imperiled Florida
Panther.
While many Washington legislators have expressed a
strong desire to further protect threatened and
endangered wildlife, especially Polar Bears, funding is
chronically short for for federal listing and species
protection programs.
But one concrete action by the the U.S. Senate is its
designation of May 16 as Endangered Species Day.
Dedicating a specific day to public outreach about
Endangered Species is a wonderful way to help everyone
from school children to politicians to Joe Q. Public about
the importance of maintaining strong protections for
wildlife around the world that is threatened by habitat
destruction, neglect, excessive exploitation and global
climate change.
To learn more about the Endangered Species Act and the
Sierra Club’s efforts to protect wildlife, see:
www.sierraclub.org/esa
For more information about Endangered Species Day,
see: www.stopextinction.org/endangeredspeciesday
FLORIDA CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB
THE PELICAN
P.O. Box 575
Tallahassee, FL 32302-0575
How your Chapter works to protect Florida’s natural resources
F lorida Chapter successes are built upon our
grassroots activists working in our excellent
conservation, education, political, litigation and
legislative lobbying teams, often in collaboration with our
environmental allies, neighborhood associations, local
governments and elected officials.
Strong advocacy, combined with legal intervention,
stopped the rush to build eight new coal-burning power
plants in Florida. Our grassroots participation in decision
making and legal intervention resulted in victories over
energy giants such as the Florida Power & Light Glades
Plant cases; JEA, Tallahassee, FMPA, Disney's Taylor
Energy Center Coal Plant, Tampa Electric Company's
IGCC Plant and Orlando utilities' Stanford IGCC plant.
Watchdogging the Florida Legislature is a very important
part of our work (see page 4). We work with legislators to
advocate for good bills, and against bills that would harm
our environment. We engage all our members in
contacting their representatives. Last session former
Sierra lobbyist Susie Caplowe and dedicated volunteers
worked with local governments to prevent the state
legislature from pre-empting, or not allowing, local
governments to have their own, stronger rules for
protecting wetlands, and instead being forced to use only
the less protective state wetlands rules. The team also
stopped the recurring attempts to prevent local
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governments from having stronger rules for the use of
polluting fertilizer, and for mining activities.
We deal with some very complex issues, and often the
public needs to learn more about them before they can get
involved. To that end, our groups hold countless
educational programs to inform the public about our
Florida natural resources, how our ecosystems work and
the threats to their quality. Speakers also visit schools and
give talks to organizations. They lead Inner City Outings,
so children will grow up with an appreciation for how
special our natural surroundings are (see page 2). Our
active outings program for all ages helps to get folks out
into our environment to enjoy and work to protect (see
page 13).
And lastly, we try to get environmentally conscious
decision-makers into office. Working through our Political
Action Committee, we endorse and fund good candidates
for office, and work for their campaigns. The Sierra Club
endorsement is highly sought after by candidates.
Protecting our environment can be a lot of work. But it’s
also very rewarding and a lot of fun. Want to become
more active? Visit our website at
http://florida.sierraclub.org or contact one of the
conservation leaders listed on page 14.