Official CALUSA WATERKEEPER January Newsletter

To all our supporters, members, Rangers and to all Floridians concerned with Water Quality, we, at Calusa Waterkeeper, thank you for your support and wish you a cleaner New Year!

JOIN US ON MONDAY JANUARY 21
for the First Annual
FLORIDA WATER POLICY SUMMIT
Broadway Palm Theatre - 1380 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33907
Monday, January 21 (MLKJr. Day) from 6:00 - 8:00 pm - $10 donation

Clean Water is a basic human right. So, on January 21, to coincide with the celebration of social justice icon, Martin Luther King, Jr., and as a follow up to our Florida Economic
Water Summit, CALUSA WATERKEEPER
will host a Town Hall focused on
CLEAN WATER POLICY, REGULATION, AND LEGISLATION.

Panelists include (alphabetical):
JOHN CASSANI - The Calusa Waterkeeper
MARISA CARROZZO - Senior Environmental Policy Specialist / Conservancy of Southwest Florida
JACLYN LOPEZ - Florida Director, Senior Attorney / Center for Biological Diversity
WILLIAM J. ("BILL") MITSCH - Eminent Scholar and Director, Everglades Wetland Research Park
RAE ANN WESSEL - Natural Resource Policy Director / Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation

Tickets for the 2-hour Forum and Public Q&A can be purchased for a $10 Donation

On December 19 2018, Calusa Waterkeeper joined fellow petitioners, the Center for Biologocial Diversity and the Waterkeeper Alliance, to file a 60-day Notice of Intent (NOI) to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), claiming that discharges from Lake Okeechobee were causing illegal harm to endangered Manatees, Sea Turtles and Smalltooth Sawfish, which happen to be the mascot on Calusa Waterkeeper's logo.

To read the entire 40-page NOI, please click here.

In order to put the lawsuit in context and explain Calusa Waterkeeper's rational for entering into litigation, John Cassani wrote the following Op Ed, which appeared in the New Press on December 25th.

John Cassani: December 25, 2018
"Why we are suing the Federal Government over the Water Crisis"

The popular expression “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” seems an appropriate metaphor for the water quality crisis afflicting Florida. This problem is complex and some suggest staying the course of state and federal Everglades restoration as currently planned.... (to read more. click here)

The NOI was widely reported throughout Florida and the Nation. Click below for selected articles:

Shout out to our Rangers

Billy's Creek in Ft. Myers is seriously contaminated with enterococci bacteria. Note Calusa Waterkeeper's test results from December 27th. Enterococci are considered fecal indicator bacteria. The upper reaches of the Creek are particularly contaminated. This situation has been ongoing since 2001. To set the gravity of the situation in context, beaches in Florida are posted or closed when enterococci values exceed 70 MPN. Our testing reveals MPN values as high as 3,448

A NOTE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KC SCHULBERG, ABOUT CALUSA WATERKEEPER'S SPRINGTIME FLAGSHIP EVENT, "THE BIG CALUSA" - APRIL 27 & 28

Calusa Waterkeeper works all year, testing and reporting on water quality, advocating for clean water regulation, and informing fellow residents and stakeholders of the risks of neglect and the inevitable damage to our economy and environment that ensue from misguided or under-enforced policy.  We find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time delivering news that is not good. Our waterways are contaminated and nutrient-impaired, our marine life is suffering untold harm, our economy is in distress, our citizens are experiencing respiratory illness, certain among us have lost jobs, even businesses due to these water quality maladies.

Earlier this year, we held two major town halls highlighting the health risks associated with Red Tide and Blue-Green Algae. On October 15, we organized the first Florida Economic Water Summit, gathering industry stakeholders to weigh in on the economic damage caused by these harmful algae blooms (HABs). On January 21, we'll do a follow up to the economic town hall with the first Florida Water Policy Summit, focusing on policy and legislation initiatives which might begin to remedy these ills.

But, in the Spring, we want to turn that all around to deliver a positive message, reconnect the community with our waterways and celebrate all the reasons we love our region - for its exceptional beaches, rivers and tributaries, its recreational opportunities and its sheer beauty.

THE BIG CALUSA will be an annual, multi-platform week-end festival including recreational, educational, cultural and environmental components. The week prior, starting Earth Day, Monday, April 22, we will encourage partner organizations, schools, non-profits, and civic associations to participate in a week-long clean-up of our waterways and beaches.

OUR NEXT PLANNING MEETING FOR "THE BIG CALUSA" IS JANUARY 15TH FROM 4-6PM. IF YOU WANT TO PITCH IN, VOLUNTEER, AND ADD YOUR TALENT TO OUR TEAM, EMAIL US AT [email protected] OR CALL (239) 784-0880.

CALUSA WATERKEEPER is an entirely donation- and member-funded nonprofit.
Our project area covers more than 1,000 square miles, and our mission is to
Protect and Preserve the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee
to the Coastal Waters.
Your support helps us continue critical testing & reporting, provide regulatory advisories, educational & community outreach and sustained public advocacy.

CALUSA WATERKEEPER is a member of the international WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE, the largest and fastest growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water, with more than 300 Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates on the frontlines of the global water crisis, patrolling and protecting more than 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents.

- JANUARY 2019 -