Greetings,

    Since 1990, endangered Everglades snail kite numbers have declined 50% to only 1,500 today. One reason? Ten years of failed nesting on Lake Okeechobee. Apple snail populations--the kites' food source--were slow to rebound after drought took lake levels to drastic lows in the mid 1990’s. In 2005, only 30 kite pairs nested on the lake, with little success.
    Sixty square miles of wetland plants were drowned under excessive lake levels as a result of last year’s hurricanes. To restore these communities, which will ultimately benefit snail kites, lake scientists have called for a drawdown lowering lake levels to allow the plants’ return. However, this could further depress snail populations, presenting the conundrum: in trying to help future snail kite numbers, will we harm them now?
    Audubon staff helped lead a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary tour of the lake’s kite breeding areas to find a solution to this dilemma.  Possible compromises include a snail re-stocking experiment to accelerate snail recovery after Okeechobee’s drawdown. Audubon is committed to restoring balance to this "liquid heart of the Everglades," including the assurance of many snail kite generations to come.    

A male snail kite guards his nest on Lake Okeechobee. Numbers of this South Florida signature species have declined in recent years, due in part to the failing health of the lake. The kites' uniquely curved bill allows them to easily extract apple snails--the birds' preferred food-- from their spiraled shells.

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    The Army Corps of Engineers announced their surprising denial of the wetland permit for Mirasol on December 7th!  If allowed, this golf course residential project with a three-mile drainage ditch would have degraded or destroyed at least 1000 acres of the Western Everglades and devastated the endangered wood stork colony at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  While the Corps denies few wetland permits, this decision confirms there still is a place for good science and public interest in the permitting process.
    This is a rousing endorsement of the environmental coalition which documented the project’s flaws with good science and communicated this to the permitting agencies. This two-year partnership was comprised of Audubon of Florida, Collier County Audubon Society, Florida Wildlife Federation, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Everglades Foundation, National Wildlife Federation, and the Florida Conservation Network, and our success would not have been possible without the emails YOU sent to the Corps and the EPA!
    Expected appeals or litigation could still reverse the Corps’ permit denial. We’ll keep you informed on the process, as we advocate not only for complete denial of the Mirasol project, but ecological restoration for Cocohatchee Slough.

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Everglades Land Acquisition: The Year in Review and Audubon's 2010 Strategy

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) focused the State's Everglades land acquisition on several priority areas in 2005, including projects within and outside the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).

Over 10,000 acres were purchased in 2005 for Everglades Restoration;
just under half were for CERP projects.

    Audubon of Florida seeks to double the pace of land acquisition for Everglades restoration projects so that all needed land is acquired by 2010. This 2010 Strategy is restoration acquisition's only hope to keep pace with development pressure and land prices in south Florida.
    While fifty-one percent of all Everglades lands are already in public ownership, increasing development threatens the restoration’s success. Typical acquisitions completed to-date have been large, single-owner tracts. Remaining land purchases will prove more challenging, as most are smaller parcels under scattered ownership.  
    To keep restoration on track and ahead of development pressure, the State must acquire almost 200,000 acres by 2010, or more than 39,000 acres per year. We are proud of our 2005 accomplishments with SFWMD and the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a restoration advisory committee comprised of federal and state agency staff. However, the number of acres acquired this past year fell short of our 2010 Strategy targets. Audubon of Florida looks forward to the new year and continued federal, state, and local partnerships to identify funding for these dwindling restoration opportunities.

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Audubon Science Helps Protect the Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Bay

When Hurricane Wilma seriously impacted roseate spoonbill nesting grounds at Frank and Sandy Keys, Audubon of Florida scientists quickly documented the damage and recommended protective measures.      A storm surge washed away Sandy Key’s northern sand bar and defoliated red and black mangroves, leaving spoonbills and their nests vulnerable to intruders. To protect these rare birds, Audubon of Florida Research Director Jerry Lorenz immediately notified Everglades National Park, recommending closure of a nearby channel and backcountry campground.  Park officials later closed Frank Key Channel and Carl Ross Key to visitors.

Hurricane damage demonstrates how precarious the roseate spoonbill population is in Florida Bay.  Over the years, these lovely wading birds have been displaced by development and their foraging grounds have been degraded by poor water management practices.  Their last hold out—where large numbers nest successfully—is in western Florida Bay, at Frank and Sandy Keys.       By closing the camping area and canal, park officials afforded the roseate spoonbills the protection they need during their November to March nesting season. However, until Everglades restoration is fully implemented, this special bird's population will remain vulnerable to extreme weather events like hurricanes.

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Audubon Defends DEP in Developers' Challenge to
Florida's Guarantee of Water for the Environment

      Audubon and partner organizations the Everglades Foundation and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida were there to defend the rule as interveners on behalf of DEP. The Association of Florida Community Developers and the Florida Home Builders Association put two expert witnesses on the stand to testify against the rule. They claimed that protection and restoration were mutually exclusive terms and the rule was confusing and could not be implemented. 
     Janet Llewelyn of DEP testified as to how the proposed rule was developed and the public process it went through before being finalized. She also testified that protection of fish and wildlife and the restoration of habitat for fish and wildlife were not mutually exclusive.
    Dr. Mark Kraus of Audubon of Florida also testified. He concurred with Ms. Llewelyn that protection of fish and wildlife and the restoration of habitat for fish and wildlife were not mutually exclusive, and gave several examples both real and hypothetical of how these two actions could be complimentary. Kraus, an expert who provided much of the NGO science input into the Everglades restoration plan also expressed the view that the rule did not need more specificity because each species protection plan or habitat restoration plan would need site specific detail that would need to be provided by water management district staff. 
    The administrative hearing officer is expected to issue a ruling in January. We expect that the developers will then take the issue of Everglades water back to the Legislature where a more partial hearing may result in legislation undoing the current legal protection extended to water for the environment.

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Miami-Dade Mayor and Five Commissioners Stand Against Sprawl Into the Everglades

The Coastal Everglades are a habitat corridor of fresh and saltwater wetlands connecting Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. In Miami-Dade County, they have been protected by the Urban Development Boundary (UDB), a line separating urban development from the Everglades.      Last month, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners considered nine applications to push development past the UDB towards Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. During two days of public hearings, over 200 advocates, including many Audubon members, filled the commission chamber to voice support for holding the UDB and protecting our Coastal Everglades.

While all nine applications were ultimately transmitted, the Mayor and five commissioners voted "no transmit" in defense of the Coastal Everglades. Applications transmitted to the State will return for a final vote in April 2006.  HOW YOU CAN HELP Use our advocacy site on the UDB issue to thank the mayor and commissioners who voted "no transmit," on behalf of Miami-Dade residents and Everglades advocates everywhere. Encourage them to reassert this position when the issues come before the Commission again in April.

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