EcoFlorida

Manatees, considered an endangered species by the federal government and the state of Florida, could lose their endangered status by the state today when the state wildlife agency votes, the Tampa Tribune and other sources report.

Back in September, Gov. Charlie Crist asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to hold off on voting whether to downlist the manatee to threatened status. Now the time to vote has rolled around again, and the FWC will consider a different classification for manatees.

Photo from U.S. Geological Survey

Florida is great in the winter — just ask the birds. Many birds fly through Florida or stay in Florida for the winter.

In fact, a third of the most imperiled birds in the States come to Florida at least part of the time, which has some bird lovers concerned, according to the News-Press. In Florida, birds are subject to habitat loss, invasive species and the effects of warming trends, the article points out.

Audubon has compiled a list of imperiled bird species called the WatchList. These birds are most in danger. An Audubon spokesperson called for people to do what they can, even simple steps like making your yard a helpful habitat for birds, in order to help the bird populations.

Environmentalist circles are buzzing about the removal of an EPA scientist from the Everglades restoration effort after he reportedly spoke against U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to flush dirty water from Lake Okeechobee into Biscayne National Park, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Times writer Craig Pittman uncovered the details and also pointed out in the article that other scientists working on Everglades restoration have been removed from the project for offering alternative viewpoints or pointing out concerns.

State officials say they didn’t remove the scientist from the restoration project, according to the article.

It’s too bad when any group or organization is closed to differing viewpoints, and especially for something as important as Everglades restoration. Firing scientists and removing them from projects just for pointing out problems doesn’t solve anything — it just makes the public suspicious.

I suspect we’ll hear more about this in the future.

If Everglades National Park had a birthday cake, what would it look like? I imagine a freeform shape with various habitats portrayed on it: freshwater marsh, cypress domes, mangroves…maybe a great blue heron in flight….

Well, Everglades National Park is having a birthday — its 60th — and there will be a cake! There is a weeklong celebration going on starting this Saturday.

Our national wildlife refuges are important to the economy, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Study has shown again this year, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Because of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge alone (a goody), $23.6 million was generated, along with 346 jobs. Florida has many more national wildlife refuges than just that one, so it’s apparent that conserving land makes economic sense. As the article points out, though, refuges also just enrich our lives aside from the money factor.

You can find the whole report Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation here.

Can you build a man-made surfing reef, and would it translate to tourism dollars? That’s what Brevard County is asking in approving a study to find out, Florida Today reports. The county also wants to make sure the reef will be ecologically sound.

Many surfers already flock to Sebastian Inlet and the Cocoa Beach pier. But a reef made for surfing might bring even bigger waves than the ones that already exist in Brevard.

What do you think?

Image from NASA

We pay a lot of attention to the Everglades restoration and perhaps not enough attention to other important restoration projects in Florida, like the Indian River Lagoon and the Kissimmee River. This Orlando Sentinel article reminds us the Kissimmee River restoration is ongoing, and points out that studying the river’s inhabitants is a good way to assess pollution in the river. The restoration project will cost more than a half-billion dollars and take until at least 2012, the article says.

Image from Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Back after a trip and hectic holiday….

Have you ever thought about kayaking / paddling around the entire Florida peninsula? It could be done. Especially when the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail is completed, which should be soon, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Some parts of the Florida paddling trail already marked and ready for paddlers.

This is going on my wish list! How about you?

The cause of red tide is under debate again (is it caused or aggravated by pollution runoff, or does it occur naturally?), and this time the culprit is from far away — the Mississippi River, of all things, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Seems nitrogen (runoff) from the mighty river gets blown right across the Gulf of Mexico to southwestern Florida, a NOAA report suggests. The article points out that the Mississippi carried 800,000 metric tons of nitrogen into the gulf last year. (No wonder there’s a “dead zone” at the river’s mouth.)

This is an interesting idea, but it doesn’t explain the red tides on Florida’s eastern shore.

Image from NOAA

Hey, I missed the news, but last week was the official unveiling of the third leg of the Great Calusa Blueway. This is a looong paddling trail that winds through southwestern Florida. The original trail was 100 miles — and now it’s 190. You can get a map of the trail here.