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Minutes ADOPTED |
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Myakka
River Management Coordinating Council December 13, 2002
Sarasota County’s Myakka River Flood Plain Study – Steve Suau An update on the floodplain Study of the Myakka River was given. Sarasota
County’s new initiative – the County’s Integrative Water
Resource Program was also discussed as it relates to the Myakka River.
The Myakka Wild and Scenic River Management Plan was reviewed by the Integrative
Water Resource Team, to determine what components needed to be acted on
by the County. A “draft” Natural Systems-Myakka River report
was distributed that showed objectives and actions from the Management
Plan, and partnership opportunities that are relevant to this new initiative.
Additional activities that were not included in the draft plan: The Myakka River floodplain study is nearly complete for the river south of Clark Road. A floodplain map was displayed which showed where flood levels had been computed. The floodplain on rural lands has not yet been mapped, because the initial focus was on areas that are developed, or are subject to development. Much of the area south of US-41 is now part of the City of North Port. Flood levels for the City have been included in the analysis, but they have not been mapped. The City of North Port will be asked about being included in the mapping exercise. These flood levels are consistent with those of the USGS study done 25 years ago. Water draining in from the west side from the existing communities of Plantation, Venice Golf and River Club, and the areas around I-75, were looked at. The whole corridor (Steve refers to map) along River Road has a lot of planning going on, such as, rezoning, etc. for development. The county expects to be finished with the rural lands map in the next month or so, and the area of Myakka River north of Clark Rd. by early next year. Marlene Guffey asked if the Blackburn Canal Study had been included in the analysis. Steve responded, yes. Jono Miller asks, “Do you happen to know at the station in the park what the 100-year flood elevation is?” Steve responded somewhere below elevation 20, probably around 18. He used three different storm events to drive the model - June 92, Sept 88 and he used Tropical Storm Gabriel. The gauge in the park has been there for 60 years, so it was interesting to go back and look at the flood hydrographic in 1962, which is one of the largest on record compared to some of the most recent ones. They lined up almost identical in terms of the shape and magnitude. He thinks what that means is, when there is big rainfall events, the floodplain is recaptured. Any levees or dikes are flooded over during major flood events. Becky Ayech asked about the monitoring stations. Steve responded that monitoring stations would be added at I-75, Border Road, and Myakka Road (SR-780) and Clay Gully (where the Myakka River enters from Manatee County). The USGS also installed a gauge at El Jobean, and US 41 and we have one on Big Slough and Deer Prairie Slough. Additional discussion followed. Sarasota County Permit Update – Matt Osterhoudt, Environmental Supervisor of Resource Protection Services South County Environmental Specialist, Howard Berna, has taken Laura DiGruttolo’s position. If anyone has questions on Myakka River permit issues, please give Howard a call at 492-3277. Little has changed since the last meeting on August 23, 2002. Ten permit applications are still on hold in the Myakka River Trails Subdivision. They are waiting for U.S. Army Corps approval. There are three new permits along the Myakka in for review, one at Myakka River Trails Subdivision, Starfish Circle, and Myakka Country Estates. All are currently on hold, waiting for additional information. The County has a “major work permit” under review for a boat ramp on one of the tributaries to the Myakka (currently on hold). Major work permits go in front of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) as stated in the last MRMCC Minutes of August 23, 2002. It has not yet been scheduled because the application is still incomplete. The boat ramp is located at the southern boundary of the Myakka Trails Subdivision, on a small tributary next to a mobile home park. It’s on the north side of the tributary, at the dogleg. It is planned for use by the Myakka Trails Subdivision. Updates will be forthcoming. Jono Miller asked about enforcement actions taken by the County. Matt Osterhoudt answered that the County is working on one case. Chris Becker mentioned he has some photographs to be shown later in the meeting, showing vegetation removal violations and required restoration plantings. Matt added that there are changes proposed (through the Myakka River Planning Advisory Council) that should increase protection of vegetation along the river. Dan Yoder asked about the date those ordinances will be put into effect. Matt answered that no date has been set, but eventually they will need to be scheduled in front of the Board of County Commissioners for adoption, maybe by early next year. Sarasota County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Program Update – Robert Kluson Robert Kluson displayed a Myakka River Basin map, showing lands that the ES Lands Program has been able to protect in Sarasota County, plus other conservation lands in the Manatee and Charlotte County portions of the Myakka River Watershed. They are trying to keep the map current. He invited the Council to look at the map to make sure it is accurate, and it was developed for them. The program is quickly reaching a milestone of protecting 10,000 acres. Robert highlighted those areas on the map protected and/or acquired along the Myakka River. The program has partnered with SWFWMD on a conservation easement on the Longino Ranch. They have also closed on a few small parcels, which will become part of the Myakka State Forest. They are in negotiations on the Eagle Ridge property, which has shoreline on the Myakka. The Cain and Benton properties are under contract and are scheduled to close in mid-February. The Schmidt property has not yet closed. Questions and answers follow. Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Update on the Englewood Interstate Connector – Gwen Pipkin Not much has changed since the last update. A map was distributed. The consultant is preparing the environmental document, the technical document(s), and a draft GIS. This road project is down to two alternatives. Alternative-N is partially on new right-of-way, while Alternative-X is on the existing Winchester and River Road right-of-way. These are the final two of 26 alternatives that had been looked at. Consultants are preparing environmental analysis for both and at some point in the coming year they will be taken to a public hearing, and one will be selected for approval. Jono Miller asked Gwen which right-of-way does the County possess? Gwen answers by referring to a map. Chris Becker asked, “How many lanes are proposed?” Gwen replied, “four.” More questions and answers follow. City of Venice Update – Marty Black A 10-acre park at the river has been dedicated to the City as part of the Venetian Golf and River Club development. “We adopted our comprehensive plan with our land development regulations requiring consistency with all the Myakka River guidelines, even though we are not currently reflected in the state statute (in anticipation of inclusion in the state designation).” “When WCI gets its first certificate of occupancy on its first home, a payment will be due to the city of a quarter million dollars, to be used for development and master planning the park. We expect to start the master planning of the park this spring, through our Parks and Recreation Planning Commission. It will be used as a passive park, with no motorized boat access. We anticipate a handicapped accessible canoe/kayak launch.” Additional easements may be required to provide utilities (central water and sewer), and facilities at the park, such as a picnic shelter. Chris Becker reported that the City of Venice had been appointed to the MRMCC.
Since the last meeting, there were public hearings on October 22 about an 18-month moratorium on new phosphate mining applications. Current applications were exempt. There are some comprehensive plan amendments and plan development code amendments that need to be made as part of the Phosphate Mining Ordinance amendments There was some discussion on the proposed Pine Level Mine, and Doug explained that it would be affected by the moratorium. Charlotte County Update – Bill Byle Bill Byle states that there is not a lot to report on the Charlotte County portion of the Myakka River. He went on to discuss the phosphate mining issue, Charlotte County challenge on the Manson-Jenkins Mine, which, is at the Myakka River’s headwaters. The other mine being challenged in court is the Altman tract, which would wipe out the entire headwaters of the Clearwater Wetland System of Horse Creek. Both are small projects, but are big as far as impacts to headwater streams/wetlands. The proposed Pine Level Mine was also discussed. It has not gone away, and is the largest mine proposed. Jono Miller added, that at Pine Level they decided to map protected wetlands based on their stream order, which is how many times the stream has branched. Under this standard the large areas of wetlands immediately east of Myakka River State Park were not identified for protection. If this standard was used in the Everglades, little would be protected. More questions and answers followed. Law Enforcement Update – Officer Steven Stewart There has not been much enforcement on the river, because of poor weather conditions and boat problems. They investigated an incident at Myakka Trails North, where wetland vegetation had been cut. They are trying to get a wave runner, to help with boating enforcement. Only one warning and one citation has been issued since the last meeting. Discussion followed about airboats and jet skis. Jono remarked that he thought airboats were banned in 1985. Steve remarked that jet skis are allowed, but they must obey the speed zones. Jono asks of Officer Stewart: Is there any straightforward workable way for people who live on the river that are seeing violations to help you in a law enforcement effort? Is there anything citizens can do? If a pattern is seen make a note of it: places, time, dates. Friends of Myakka River Update – Dr. Mary Jelks A clean-up was done on September 28; totals and graphs for the last 10 years of river clean-ups were on display. Large native trees were planted in the park for public education purposes at near the park’s entrance. An Urban and Community Forestry grant was used, and Sarasota County’s Forestry staff helped, as well as the Scrub Nursery. The Friends are working on raising money for an endowment fund to support resource management activities at the park. Mike Masseau added that Dr. Jelks did not mention that the Friends of Myakka donated a new 13-foot Boston Whaler to the Myakka Wild and Scenic River Management Program for patrols on the river. Dr. Jelks stated that this week we had a big dedication at Sarasota County’s Jelks Preserve Marlene Guffey stated that Dr. Jelks’s family puts “their
money where their mouth is”. Myakka State Forest/Wildlife Management Area Update – Duane Weis The Myakka State Forest is now designated as a public small-game hunting area. It has been open to hunting for about 30 days. It is currently closed until January 5th. Hunting is by shotgun only, and there have been some safety concerns with the neighboring residents. After the first 30 days we have had 720 hunters check-in. They have taken 184 doves, 31 hogs and some misc. small game (2 quails, 4 squirrels, etc.). Copies of regulations were available. Jono wanted to know if this was seen as a success. Duane responded that being the first year, there are some bugs that need to be worked out. He would like to see a lottery system to limit the number of hunters. 720 people sounds like a lot, but at any one time there are never many people out there. Hunters are restricted to driving the main shell road that goes through the middle of the property. Generally, it has been a success. They are considering opening it to archery. They have a fulltime law enforcement officer, who attended the last meeting. Steve Merrick, is a Dept. of Agriculture Law Enforcement Officer, specifically assigned to this state forest. Another issue at the forest is off-road vehicles. The state forest has been recommended as a potential off-road vehicle site, as part of the Off-Highway Vehicle, Safety and Recreation Act. Wording was added in Chapter 261 of the Florida Statutes, in which the legislature has declared, that effectively managed areas and adequate facilities for the use of off-highway vehicles are compatible with Florida’s overall recreation plan and the underlying goal of multiple use. Off-highway vehicles are motorcycles and ATV’s. The Act requires DOF to appoint a committee to look at potential lands throughout the state and recommend at least two appropriate locations for public access. One of the areas that was specifically targeted was southwest Florida because of the demand and the lack of areas that are open in this region. Very few sites on public lands were recommended for off-highway vehicles because of incompatibility with other recreational activities, negative impacts to conservation lands, and the potential for liability. One other main recommendation that came out of this committee was for purchasing four regional sites that will be used specifically for the purpose of off-highway vehicles. Three sites were recommended for further study. One is the Cross Florida Greenway up around the Rock Reservoir area, the second is in Columbia County, and the third is the Myakka State Forest. This would be limited to the 390-acre parcel that got separated from the main body of the forest through the construction of Winchester Blvd. It is a recommended site for further study. At this point none of these three sites are being recommended, but they are going to be looked at more closely. Any plans would have to go through the same process, as our management plans. An advisory group would be formed and there would be public hearings. The Acquisition and Restoration Council would also need to approve the site. Duane provided comments to the DOF about this particular site, which included a pretty extensive list of concerns that would need to be addressed before it could be considered. The main concerns would be the approximately 350 homes within a quarter mile of the boundary. Noise would obviously be an issue. There are also three families of scrub jays on that site, which is an obvious issue. The site they are studying would not impact the Myakka River, but Ainger Creek could be impacted. This is an issue that is going to be getting a lot of attention in the near future as southwest Florida is being targeted. Jono Miller stated that he heard that the Governor and presiding officers of the legislature are going to be talking about this on the 31st of this month (Dec.). Jono then read the section that relates to the Myakka Forest site. Dan Yoder registered Myakka Country’s strong objection to the allowing of dogs in the hunt. Dan told of an incident where somebody’s large dog killed his child’s cat. Duane states that there is no restriction on breed, but there is a restriction on size. Dan stated that doesn’t mean anything because a pigdog is generally pretty low compared to a birddog. Some type of a buffer between homes and hunters needs to be discussed. Bill Byle asked, “Do shotgun shells use lead shells?” Jon Thaxton answered, “Yes.” Chris Becker asked if Croom was the only state forest that allows off-road vehicles. Duane responded that it is the only state forest with a designated ATV area. There are ATV trails on national forests and in some wildlife management areas. Chris added that he’s heard that one of the problems with those types of trails is serious injury. Somebody needs to consider where the closest emergency rooms are. That could be a real issue. The discussion continued on ATV’s. Dan Yoder asked about the status of exotic removal. Duane answered that they have a contract that has been executed, and his understanding is they are just waiting for dryer conditions. It is a $106,000 project with the DEP. Charlotte Harbor NEP Update – Maran Hilgendorf Maran informed the group that CHNEP publication and information on grants is available at www.charlotteharbornep.org. Maran discussed $250.00 micro grants. Thay are really easy to get for projects that support protecting estuaries and watersheds. Report on the Water Conference in New Orleans – Becky Ayech The conference was for southern states to discuss water issues. Becky explained that they heard dire stories and some hopes for the future, on water issues. The Gulf of Mexico is receiving 40-90% less freshwater. Janet Llewellyn, DEP, talked about water resources in Florida. The reservation of water was then discussed, which is the setting aside (reserving) water for natural systems, and keeping it from permitting through rule making. Ernie Estevez added that a workshop was being held on the water reservation issue, called “Reservations for River Flow and All Aboard” sponsored by Southwest Watershed Council, The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, and others, at South Florida Water Management District on Tuesday, December 17th at 6:30 P.M. Southwest Florida Water Management District Update – Dianne McCommon-Beck Myakka River Minimum Flows Levels update, the schedule remains with the upper river in 2003, and the lower river in 2005. Dianne distributed a few copies of the Myakka River Addition Resource Evaluation Report. The Manasota Basin Board approved the resource evaluation to be included in our 5-year Acquisition Plan. At the September Governing Board meeting it was approved as well. At this time there are no plans to actively go out and purchase these properties, but they are included as priorities. It consists of 14,038 acres, running from the northern boundary of Myakka River State Park to Flatford Swamp, and Owen Creek to the Hardee County Line. It also includes Tatum Sawgrass. Dianne distributed brochures on the Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) Program. It’s a new agricultural best management practices (BMP) cost share program, to reduce water usage. Questions and answers followed. LUNCHBREAK (11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M.) The meeting was called to order about 1:50 P.M. Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson’s Activities – Jono Miller/Jean Ost Jono spoke of a meeting he attended with Sarasota County where the goals of the Myakka River Management Plan where discussed as to how they might be integrated into activities of the County. There was an article reported in the Herald-Tribune, about a Canoe Journal that listed North America’s best unknown paddling destinations and the Myakka River was included. Jono read the article: “Myakka River, one of the only two rivers in Florida to be recognized for this special status, etc.” Jono wrote to the editor in hopes they might print his letter. He then read his letter. Jean Ost reports that she attended a Wetland Mitigation Workshop, and she learned a lot. She also attended the DEP’s Myakka River Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Public Meeting held at the Lemon Bay Preserve. Jean has also been active on the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program’s Citizens Advisory Council, which recently met to decide on which grant applicants should receive funding. MRPAC Update (Matt Lewis) and Sarasota County 50-foot Water Course Buffer – Kelly Pluta Resource Protection regulates single family home and subdivision developments
through land development regulations, air pollution program, tree removal
program, and the Water and Navigation Control Authority, which regulates
docks and setbacks for construction on the gulf. The Myakka River Planning Advisory Council is proposing amendments to the tree protection code, the earthmoving code, the zoning code, and land development regulations, to regulate activities within the 220-foot wide river protection zone. Tree removal in this protection zone would require a tree removal permit from the county. Most earthmoving would be prohibited in that area, with the exception of fill for a house pad, up to 150 feet. In association with the house pad there is a Vegetative Removal Standard proposed which would prohibit clearing of native trees and understory vegetation within that 220-foot area except for that house pad and a fire protection zone around that structure. These proposals will be taken to the Board of County Commissioners in March 2003. Right now the county has no vegetation removal prohibitions or regulations, if the vegetation is not a tree and if it’s not in a protected habitat. The proposed Vegetative Removal Standard would prohibit clearing in the 220-feet river protection zone prior to permit issuance. Once the permit is issued they’ll be able to designate a site plan the location of the buffer and then stipulate or require that the buffer be untouched. Questions and answers followed. Crowley Lawsuit – Aliki Moncrief Aliki is with Earth Justice a non-profit, environmental law firm, which has an office in Florida, and nine throughout the country. The Florida office generally works on cases which somehow relate to water. Crowley is short for the Crowley Museum and Nature Center, which is just north of the Myakka River State Park. It’s been around since 1974. (She then presented a PowerPoint program) Crowley Nature Center owns a portion of the Myakka River Floodplain. It is approximately 190-acres with at least five different natural communities. As you all probably know the Myakka River Basin is a heavily farmed area. In fact, tomatoes are one of the key crops, as are cucumbers, peppers, and melons. Manatee County is #1 in tomato production in Florida. 50% of the domestic fresh tomatoes are produced in Florida. The main environmental concern that we have representing Crowley is irrigation practices. There are two main types of technology being used, seepage irrigation and drip irrigation. At the core of our lawsuit is seepage irrigation, where the water zone fills up to the plants root zone, thereby flooding the whole area. Seepage irrigation fills the water table till it goes up to the root zone of the plant. SWFWMD found that up to 12 million gallons of water a day is draining into Flatford Swamp from the tomato farms that surround it; water that would never have gotten there had it not been for this seepage irrigation. The ground water runoff from the farms goes to the swamp and the root zone of trees in the swamp never dry out. The results are an extended wet season with too much water, lasting too long. This results in all sorts of environmental effects, mainly stress to the trees. Row crop acreage between 1990 to 1995 (this is from a study Water Management District completed in 1998) increased by 42%. Almost 3,000 (2800) additional acreage went to row crops, largely tomatoes in that period of time. In 1990, there were just under 500 acres of dead, dying, or stressed trees in Flatford Swamp. In 1997, it was more than double that. Too much water at the wrong time of the year. In 1995 there was a lot of stress, and in 1998 it increased (Ms. Moncrief referred to a map). Two thousand acres of Flatford Swamp is public property owned by SWFWMD, but unlike Crowley they are taking a different path as far as trying to protect their property. Classy Growers owned by John Falkner in the Myakka River Basin and Four Star Tomatoes are the defendants that are using seepage irrigation. In the 1990s the Water Management District first started getting reports of dead and dying trees. So they commissioned a study in 1998 to try to figure out what was going on. The conclusion of the study for the cause of death of the trees was hydrological stress. Ecosystems on Crowley are being transformed. The reason Crowley Museum and Nature Center brought this lawsuit is because they wanted to avoid being the next Flatford. The goal of the lawsuit is to eventually stop the flooding of Crowley Museum and Nature Center and have the tomato farmers pay for the damage they have done. Approximately 37% of the Crowley property has been impacted. In 1995, 8% of Crowley forest was undergoing stress, dead, or dying and
in 1998, three years later, 21% was impacted, which is a dramatic increase
in a short period of time. Dan Yoder asked, “How easy is it to get positive results? Does anybody know the cost of one type of irrigation compared to the other?” Aliki responded that drip irrigation is more costly on a yearly basis because of the extensive pipe system that requires maintenance on a regular basis. But it uses less water. Questions and answers followed. Dianne McCommons-Beck maked a point that growers like Mr. Falkner have spent millions of their own money, and have not just relied on public funding. Doris Schember spoke out and said that, “Growing tomatoes takes an awful lot of water, twice as much as citrus. We just can’t keep accommodating all the people that want to keep growing tomatoes.” The roll was taken and it was determined that there was a quorum present. A motion was made by Ernie Estevez to adopt the minutes from the last meeting. Dr. Jelks seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Florida DEP Total Maximum Daily Loads Update – Peggy Morgan Peggy was standing in for Cece McKiernan from the Tampa Office. She referred to her overhead presentation during this update. The DEP watershed management for river basins in Florida is on a five-year cycle. Each DEP district is divided into 5 watershed groups and each project takes 5 years to complete. Each group is scattered over the 5 years. Phase I is the Preliminary Basin Evaluation which utilizes water quality data and information on land use, etc., to evaluate the basin for a status report. Phase II is to go out and collect the data particularly on the water bodies that do not have enough data to do a preliminary evaluation. And Phase III is data analysis of the data collected and to begin the TMDL development at that point. Phase IV is the Basin Management Action Plan development and Phase V is the implementation of the action. Group 3 - TMDL Basins are Sarasota Bay, Peace and Myakka River combined. This is from the Status Report. Now she refers to her overhead. They are just getting started in Phase I right now in preliminary watershed evaluation. The schedule for Group 3 has started and the Status Report is being developed and should be out by the winter of 2003. The verified list should be out in October of 2004, after which the TMDLs will be developed, with the Action Plan development and implementation as the final phase. Once the Action Plan is implemented the entire process starts over again. This is a 5-year cycle using up-to-date data. The TMDL management cycle will be integrated with the 305B Report submitted to EPA. EPA produced a draft Myakka River TMDL in December 2001. They did not use Florida Impaired Water Rule methodology. Upcoming activities: Next year starts the monitoring to fill data gaps so that they can be run through the Impaired Water Rule. Questions, answers and discussion followed. Utilization of Rest Area on River Road – Marlene Guffey “We ran into a little problem, so we (MRMCC) wrote the letter in April 2002, asking FDOT not to mow so close to the river. They contract their maintenance mowing out. They quit mowing under the bridge, which we would like to continue. She’s requesting that somebody write another letter (if the council still feels they want to keep it maintained under the bridge). “We appreciate the fact that they pulled back the lawn mowing between the last loop and the river.” She’s been working with the County to clear debris and exotics from Blackburn/Curry Creek Canal. “When the County called and asked FDOT if they use that for a staging area, they (FDOT) said “Oh, no!” because the environmentalists told them not to cut x number of feet from the river. Well this is not the river, this is still the canal, but it is within 50 feet of the river. So there’s 100 feet there that they haven’t been able to clean, and FDOT would be glad to let them use that if we told them to.” Marlene said they’re doing a beautiful job.
Dan Yoder seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously. Myakka River Biologist’s Report – Chris Becker Chris reported that his canoe trip was really nice (kayak trip) from inside the park down to the lower lake and then back for National Estuary Day. Their 81-year-old guest decided she wanted to go swimming with alligators, but Chris saved her. Chris summarized river inspections and other activities in a report that was distributed. It contains interesting wildlife sightings, activities that require permits, violations of the river rule, water levels from a gauge by Chuck Downs’ Dam, etc. The most interesting observation for October was a bald eagle chasing an osprey until it dropped its fish at the Lower Myakka Lake. One odd observation: there was a gopher tortoise that had a fiberglass shell patch, that was found floating, dead in the river. A contractor had been hired by the City of North Port to replace channel markers. A letter was sent to the city of North Port that a Wild and Scenic River permit is required, which also gave background information. An “intent to issue permit” letter had been sent to Sarasota County for informational signs that would serve the same purpose. That application got held up, because of a petition against the permit. The file has been closed (on the petition), and a permit to Sarasota County should be issued in January for them to place the informational signs. This January the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) plan to capture three to five manatees for a study. FWC will put a satellite transmitter on them so they can monitor their whereabouts. FWC is trying to determine if the manatees with calves teach the calves to return to the warm water refuge. This is the last year of this project. Chris showed pictures that documented stress and mortality of trees within Myakka River State Park. Also included were pictures from the 780 bridge down to the park boundary owned by the Myakka Conservancy. There were about 101 acres of dead trees in the park reported in the 2000 study. Chris showed pictures of properties where vegetation was removed from the river area, which is a violation of the Wild & Scenic River Rule. Owners were sent letters of violation and asked to replant the native vegetation. Chris mentioned that the Myakka Wild and Scenic River Program tries to be proactive by sending out letters to property owners on the river every three years explaining that it is still a Wild & Scenic river and what is and isn’t allowed. New Business Bill Byle voiced his concern about “persistent pesticides” that stay in the environment taken from a book called Our Stolen Future by Dianne Dumanoski which is basically all about endocrine interrupters on the environment. Endocrine interrupters are chemicals that are used in pesticides (which are used on plants like the tomato or cucumber crop) to interfere with the reproductive systems of insects. They are persistent chemicals that do not disappear. They stay in the environment forever and they have been strongly and directly linked to the declines of the panther, bald eagles, sea otters on the Pacific coast, alligators in Lake Apopka. They end up in humans. It doesn’t show up in parent, or daughter. It shows up in granddaughter as being sterile or not being able to have children. Of particular concern is that these endocrine interrupter chemicals are not being measured for in routine water quality samples either by DEP or anybody. Even the water utilities are only required to test twice a year, then if they show up, they will have to test more frequently. The problem is endocrine interrupters can cause the damage, not in parts per million, but in parts per billion. These are so small they don’t show up on any routine tests. With 10,000 acres draining into the Myakka River (as Aliki showed us) all that effects everything downstream. This should be a red flag to this group. Maran Hilgendorf speaks about public information and education allocation from Charlotte Harbor NEP’s current workplan. They were hoping that this group would express an interest and come up with a plan on how to allocate the funds. Exotic plants were mentioned, home school groups, and websites were all discussed. Maran mentioned perhaps someone could be hired to produce a booklet, and wanted to know about forming a subcommittee. Chris said he would discuss this with Jono. Dan Yoder is interested in helping out. It was mentioned that this is Mike Massieu’s last meeting. He leaves Christmas Day for Tennessee. It was decided that the next meeting date would be April 18th. Dan Yoder moved to adjourn the meeting. Doug Means seconded the motion. The motion was carried unanimously.
Becky Ayech Doris Schember
Chris Becker Dallas Robinson |
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Myakka Wild and Scenic River Management Program
1843 South Tamiami Trail
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(941)486-2052
Fax (941)483-5941
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