Calusa Waterkeeper 25th Anniversary Commemorative Report

Despite COVID-19, we have found sufficient resources for two new hires; Administrative Coordinator Cindy Swisher to help John Cassani, KC Schulberg and the Board handle administrative challenges as we grow and take on larger projects; and Nonnel Galaviz-Johnson, Coordinator of Community Outreach for our Billy’s Creek Community Action Plan (BCCAP). In 2020, our work on Billy’s Creek takes a significant step forward as the grant we received allows us to ramp up important source tracing on the Creek. The Calusa Waterkeeper study will use a stable isotope of nitrogen to differentiate the variable origins of nitrogen in the Billy’s Creek basin. Adding additional relevance to the study is the fact that Billy’s Creek runs through the historic and predominantly African American community of Dunbar. So, restoring the Creek sits squarely at the nexus of public health, the environment and social justice. Nonnel was brought on board to generally assist John with BCCAP but also to serve as our community liaison for this important work. [CONTD.] 2020 got off to a roaring start. We were informed in January that we had been awarded a second and larger grant from the Southwest Florida Community Foundation, allowing us to expand our work on water quality and public health, bolster our advocacy and produce a follow-up movie to “TROUBLED WATERS.” All through January, February and March, we were in the planning stages for our tent-pole event for 2020 – the successor to The Big Calusa - an all-day family-friendly water-themed festival in Centennial Park, followed by a twilight concert for 2500 attendees called the “CALOOSA PALOOZA Concert for Clean Water.” Calusa Palooza was to feature the world’s original Eagles Tribute Band, “Hotel California.” By March 1, sponsors were lined up, permits secured, advertising booked, retailers, vendors and food trucks signed, stage, lighting and sound on order and street banner erected downtown. Volunteers had worked hundreds of hours to organize the event and the Mayor had prepared another proclamation. The event date was to be March 22. But the universe had other plans. On March 12 - ten days before the event - we pulled the plug and began to dismantle the festival. We could not put our volunteers, entertainers and the public at risk, even as the enormity of the pandemic was not yet fully understood. Astonishingly each and every one of our sponsors stuck with us and we have now rescheduled the event for December 13. COVID-19 has created a new way of life for all of us. And we have adjusted accordingly. We are, once again in go-mode, with a movie planned to commemorate the 30 th anniversary of the Estero Bay’s designation as an Outstanding Florida Water, the full-length documentary follow-up to TROUBLED WATERS, tentative titled TAINTED WATERS, and a comprehensive program to put Billy’s Creek on the road to restoration. This year, we’ll be digging in on advocacy. We have laid out a set of Policy Priority Objectives outlined on the following page. OUR MISSION : TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE TO THE COASTAL WATERS Though John, KC, our staff, Board, Rangers and volunteers may all work tirelessly to achieve that goal, the battle is not won, and success is far from guaranteed. We face daunting challenges of recurring HABs, increasingly warming waters, extreme precipitation events, severe droughts, nutrient overloading, wetland loss, aging infrastructure and sewage plants strained by an exploding population base. It is clear that barring enactment of strong corrective measures – far stronger than those we have seen thus far – the next quarter century may bring further degradation to our River, as well as consequential environmental devastation, challenges to our health, our tourism and quality of life, and the very real possibility that large swaths of our state may be submerged. And so, there is a bittersweet reckoning as we mark this important 25 th anniversary with a heightened sense of responsibility towards those who toiled to found and nurture the organization. Humbled and energized, our team, with your critical support, will now carry the fight for drinkable, fishable, swimmable water into the next quarter century.