Tag Archives: florida

SFWMD They say constraints. We say buy the land.

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SFWMD Engineer Jeff Jeff Kivett wrote a report with all the constraints as to why we will never ever ever ever  ever be able to buy the land and send the water south. It reminded me of my son when he was 16 and he told me the million reasons he couldn’t clean his room.  A huge task yes but certainly not impossible. This is the position favored by Big Sugar and they let every person on the Board of Governors know that this is what they had to do. Do nothing. The option will run out and meanwhile our legislators are planning how to use our Amendment 1 money as their slush fund. I find Florida a very frightening place this week. Apparently there is no such thing as climate change.

I thought about how my entire day as a nurse is finding solutions. I hardly doubt I would keep my job if I went around telling people “I’m so sorry. I have constraints.”  Most of us have jobs where we need to come up with solutions. The job of the Government is to protect us. The job of SFWMD is to protect the water. These people need to be replaced. They clearly don’t work for us.

Millions of gallons of  fresh water are being sent out to tide daily. Is this taking care of the water? There are unusable wells in Hallandale. Salt Water Intrusion. Death of the Miccosukee Tribe tree islands.

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2013-10-31/news/miccosukee-battle-for-the-glades/full/

Death of the Florida Bay.

The list goes on. When will you pay attention?

When will it end?

From the blog of Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch:

“Recently US Sugar Corporation, and even some members from the Governing Board of the SFWMD itself , (http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/xweb%20about%20us/governing%20board)  “hijacked” Mr Kivett’s document, to make it seem like it proves everything is “in stone,” justifies the atrocities of the plumbing system, and makes the idea of buying land south of Lake Okeechobee null and void….Nothing, could be further than the truth….and was not the intention of Mr Kivett’s document.”

According to SFWMD we will be getting toxic discharges forever, the water of South Florida will be destroyed, salt water will continue to intrude. They have no intention  of doing anything about this. That means Rick Scott has no intention of doing anything. According to Kevin Powers he is our best friend and we should listen to him.

With friends like that who needs enemies? Same goes for our legislators that voted for the water bill. You are all complicit. Every single one of you.

I don’t need to review the past. I’m sure all these people including Rick Scott, Adam Putnam, and the entire board of Governors are having a good laugh at our expense.

Here is a piece from the Daily Show about Chris Christie who been known to hang out with Rick Scott. Apparently the same thing goes on in New Jersey.

http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/m7tu5x/jersey-ploys—pardon-the-corruption?xrs=synd_facebook_031215_tds_44

When a person on the SFWMD board has no idea who Maggy Hurchella is we are in deep trouble.

We were told if we clapped, or were disruptive they would be removed by a deputy. So we raised our signs and by doing so made the most haunting sound. It was sad and hysterically funny at the same time.

Here is the video.

Cara Capp

Gary Goforth

julia hathaway

Maggy Hurchella

Ray Judah from the west coast

speakers 1

mark perry

Tropical Audubon

john scott

Marjorie Shopshire

jonathan ullman sierra club

Lisa! From the Everglades Law Center! We love you!

I need to apologize from here to the end of the speakers. I thought we were breaking for lunch and took the camera off the tripod.

Ed Fielding

 

Jacque

 

stacie lee sherwood

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Eilleen

More Speakers

Indian RiverKeeper Marty Baum

 

 

 

 

Buy the Land! SFWMD Press Conferance

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The Protest!

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Press Conference Video   https://twitter.com/cyndilenz/status/576100104899145728

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Miami Herald

Coverage http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article13799189.html#/tabPane=tabs-b0710947-1-1

Palm Beach Post http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/03/12/death-mermaid-other-protesters-urge-water-managers-to-buy-u-s-sugar-land/

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Prostest after we spoke

newspress

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2015/03/12/public-demands-sugar-land-buy-district-meeting/70220354/

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sun sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-everglades-land-buy-protest-20150312-story.html

palm beach post

http://postonpolitics.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/03/12/death-mermaid-other-protesters-urge-water-managers-to-buy-u-s-sugar-land/

nbc2

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/28407006/protesters-picket-outside-south-fla-water-management-district#.VQQYeGZ_ir9

cbs 12

http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_24176.shtml

Highlands Hammock State Park an Emerald Wonderland

Last weekend my family decided to meet at Highland Hammock State Park in Sebring. I had cousins in town and my kids and grandson live in Sarasota and Sebring is a good place in the middle. I hope it will be the beginning of many adventures with my grandson showing him nature as I did with my son and my father did with me, my siblings and Adam. DSC_0005

One of Florida’s oldest parks, opening to the public in 1931, Highlands Hammock was established when local citizens came together to promote the hammock as a candidate for national park status. During the Great Depression, prior to World War II, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed additional park facilities and the beginnings of a botanical garden.

“The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families as part of the New Deal. Originally for young men ages 18–23, it was eventually expanded to young men ages 17–28.[1] Robert Fechner was the head of the agency. It was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s New Deal that provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments. The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory. Maximum enrollment at any one time was 300,000; in nine years 3 million young men participated in the CCC, which provided them with shelter, clothing, and food, together with a small wage of $30 a month ($25 of which had to be sent home to their families).”

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Acquired by the state in 1935, it has grown over the years and now has 15 distinct natural communities in its more than 9,000 acres that include large tracts of pine flatwoods, hydric hammock, cypress swamp, and baygall.

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Several of the communities are designated as imperiled or of concern, such as the Florida scrub, scrubby flatwoods, and cutthroat seep.  It is one of the highest ranking parks in Florida for endemic biodiversity.  The park is known for its beautiful old-growth hammock and thousand year old oaks.  Ferns and air plants are abundant.

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Black bear and the Florida panther tread softly through the hammock and may be glimpsed occasionally.  An elevated boardwalk with an historic catwalk traverses cypress swamp, and visitors may observe alligators, birds and other wildlife.

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We went on the cypress walk. A 2o minute loop thru this incredible emerald fairyland of majestic nature. It was nice after spending so much time defending  the environment to just be in a peaceful place enjoying it. Thank you Mother Nature for the awesome day.

Entrance fee to the park was 4 bucks a car. Get there early if you want tram tickets. They sell out fast.

Saving Florida’s Water Action Alert

Right before “Meet the Press” I saw this on wptv channel 5.

I almost fell off my couch.

Here is the website

http://savingflwater.com/

GO there and sign the petition. You can tweet or facebook  Rick Scott.  Tell him to buy the land. Share the website with your friends and family. This website is a gift. It’s a miracle. So please break twitter and facebook. lets do this folks. This petition needs thousands of signatures.

According to the Scientists at the Everglades Coalition meeting “The most important thing to prevent sea level rise in MIami is to send the water south.”

75% of Floridians voted in amendment one. This land was written into that.

If you have any questions watch this video presentation.

Here is a good article about this project. http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/a-new-tv-campaign-presses-for-purchase-of-us-sugar-land/2218650

now go sign the petition 1-2-3 go http://savingflwater.com/

2015 Floridians for Clean Water & Amendment 1 Rally

Here are all the videos. If I spelled anyone’s name or didn’t include your name please send me an email at clenz@mac.com and tell me which video you were in and send me a link to your organization. Much apologies I don’t have a list of speakers.

After you watch the videos  please go here and follow the directions to sign the petition.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/02/23/saving-floridas-water-action-alert

River Kidz

Opening Statements

speakers 1

Mark Pafford

The St johns Riverkeeper

John Scott

Mark Perry

Tropical Audobon

from the keys

Eula Clarke, LWV Honoree of the Susan B. Anthony Award

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Today Eula received the   LWV Honoree of the Susan B. Anthony Award from the Martin County League of Woman Voters.

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Crystal Mills Lucus and Mary W. Higgins.Candidates for House of Representatives 82 and 83.

Thank you to Candidate Mary Higgins for inviting me.

https://www.facebook.com/maryhiggins82

https://www.facebook.com/lucasfor83

http://www.lwvmartincounty.org/home

Eula http://elections.tcpalm.com/candidates/eula-clarke

Advocates at the Governing Board Monthly Meeting at SFWMD

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Advocates came from all over South Florida. Representation from Everglades Coalition (The awesome Cara), The Everglades Foundation, The Sierra Club, The Conservation Alliance of Martin County, The Indian River Keeper, The Audubon Society , Tropical Audubon, Mark Perry, Dawn Shirreffs,  Julia Hathaway, Maggy Hurchella, George Jones,  Donna Melzer,  a kick your butt blonde fisherwoman, and of course our awesome River Warriors of the Indian River Lagoon. Even Me. Even the video girl.

All saying the same thing #buytheland #sendcleanwatersouth

Make sure you watch Eileen DuClau’s  impassioned speech. You don’t mess with Gramma’s from Providence, RI.

45 speakers. All saying the same thing to a stoned faced board who because of political reasons has no interest in doing this. For us Science has trumped politics. For them politics has trumped Science.

I have only one question. What will South Florida look like if this doesn’t happen? Will these people be held responsible?

Save the Halpatiokee wetlands

Please take a moment to watch the video and  then sign the petition.

Here is the  Petition https://www.change.org/p/mr-garett-lips-please-do-not-approve-the-city-of-port-st-lucie-s-request-to-fill-the-halpatiokee-wetlands-for-the-crosstown-parkway-extension?recruiter=57074585&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-custom_msg&utm_content=rp_petition_fb_share_desc%3Acontrol