Calusa Waterkeeper is among five conservation organizations and the City of Stuart, Florida to petition the Environmental Protection Agency to set limits on the dangerous algae bloom toxins that now routinely threaten the health of Floridians and wildlife. It has now...
Originally published by The News-Press on November 3, 2021 by Amy Bennett Williams with contributions by Chad Gillis & Karl Schneider Florida’s soaring population is good for business, but there may be a hidden price: the health of the state’s...
Originally published by NBC-2 News on May 19, 2021 Thick, smelly clumps of blue-green algae have been decaying along the Caloosahatchee near the south side of the Franklin Lock this week. It comes as several water conservancy groups in our area urged the Florida...
As New Algae Bloom Spreads Across Lake Okeechobee, Environmental Groups Urge the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to Set Standards for Harmful Toxins Originally released by the The Center for Biological Diversity on May 19, 2021 on behalf of the Center...
Originally published in The News-Press on May 10, 2021 by Chad Gillis Several environmental groups have asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency for communities impacted by what appears to be a growing toxic blue-green algae outbreak in the Lake...
Officials Announce a Second Breach Concern in Florida Phosphate Reservoir Originally published by WINK News on April 5, 2021 A wastewater reservoir in Manatee County is on the verge of collapse. If the Piney Point reservoir collapses, a 20-foot wall of water is...
Originally released by the Center for Biological Diversity on March 19, 2021 A scientific study published this week concludes that Florida manatees are chronically exposed to glyphosate because of application of the pesticide to sugarcane and aquatic weeds. The study...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on February 9, 2021 Septic tank leakage is one of the top causes of damaging nutrients flowing to Florida’s ailing waterways, but the state is looking to cut down on that pollution through a $100 million...
Originally published in Keys News by Theresa Java on November 12, 2020 A federal judge ruled recently that water discharges from Lake Okeechobee managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are to be evaluated to make sure they’re not harmful to native and protected...
Judge Orders Engineers Study Lake O Water Release Effects on Algal Blooms and Endangered Species Originally published by WINK News on October 29, 2020 Lake Okeechobee is going under the microscope to protect Florida’s endangered species and its habitat from toxic...
Federal Judge orders the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider toxic algae when releasing water from Lake Okeechobee FORT MYERS, FL. (Oct. 29, 2020) – Calusa Waterkeeper is proud to be involved with a recent win in federal court regarding the management of Lake...
Conservation groups filed a proposal in federal court today to ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ discharges from Lake Okeechobee don’t harm protected wildlife. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Fort Pierce ordered the parties...
A partial ruling was recently reached by a federal judge on our lawsuit involving the Army Corps’ failure to assess Lake Okeechobee discharges’ impacts on downstream endangered species. In the wake of this recent decision, we received the following letter...
Conservation groups filed a notice today of their intent to sue the Trump administration for failing to acknowledge the harms that toxic releases from Lake Okeechobee pose to protected wildlife like sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish. The Center for Biological...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 16, 2020 Lawyers are still battling over a suit filed by environmental groups over the management of Lake Okeechobee, but a decision could come as soon as this summer. Several environmental groups filed a...
Originally published in The Associated Press by Bobby Caina Calvan on January 22, 2020 The scum of blue-green algae was so thick and invasive in Florida two years ago that it suffocated fish by the thousands. Birds dropped dead. And people stayed out of the water....
Conservation Groups Send a Letter Urging Florida Officials to Set Water-quality Standards for the Harmful Toxins in Algal Blooms. The groups are calling on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to establish legal limits for cyanotoxins that pose severe...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on August 30, 2019 When Florida’s blue-green algae task force meets next, public health will be first on the agenda. Hurricane Dorian postponed the scientists’ Friday’s meeting in Gainesville,...
Originally published in The Tampa Bay Times by Craig Pittman on July 08, 2019 Blue-green algae is popping up all over Florida this summer. It’s in the canals of Gulfport and the Intracoastal Waterway in Treasure Island. In Bradenton, the Manatee River has turned...
An Op-Ed written by Jaclyn Lopez and originally published in The Orlando Sentinel on June 18, 2019 Like a summer rerun of “The Return of Swamp Thing,” Floridians re-awakened in recent days to our own annual horror show: The return of highly toxic blue-green algae. But...
A very rare opportunity was awarded to citizens, constituents and concerned parties of South Florida when the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) opened a six-week window for public comment regarding an upcoming revision to the Lake Okeechobee System Operations Manual....
Originally published by Jaclyn Lopez of the Center for Biological Diversity on April 22, 2019 Five conservation groups urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today to expedite efforts to curb releases of toxic, nutrient-rich waters from Lake Okeechobee that help drive...
