FWC Closer To Enacting Rule For Freshwater Turtles

Florida moved toward adopting strong conservation measures for the harvest of freshwater turtles at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s meeting in Tallahasee

Foster Folly News: A Washington County Florida Community Newsletter
April 15th, 2009

Full article

Here comes the flooding

By Rachael Anne Ryals
High Springs Herald
April 16, 2009

As of Wednesday, April 15, the Santa Fe River was projected to crest sometime over the weekend. The projected crest level is far lower than the projections of last week, which put the river cresting closer to its historic levels.

Full article

Robert Knight: Now is the time to save Florida's springs

Springs protection is not just about protecting fish and wildlife habitat and popular crystal clear swimming holes from overgrowth by filamentous algae - it is mostly about protecting our underground aquifer.
Robert Knight, Wetland Solutions, Inc.
Gainesville Sun
April 12, 2009
Full Text

Springs Working Group Meeting - March 19, 2009

The March 19th Sante Fe Springs Working Group meeting was held at the Poe Springs Lodge from 9:30 – 3pm.

Agenda and Meeting Notes

Presentations:

• SJRWMD Water Supply Planning - David Hornsby
• SRWMD Water Supply Planning - Carlos Herd
• Santa Fe River Turtle Project - Jerry Johnston, Professor of Biology, Santa Fe College
• Ichetucknee Partnership, Cindy Johnson

FWC staff proposes the country’s strongest conservation measures for freshwater turtles

After months of reviewing and discussing the issue of freshwater turtle harvest in Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) staff will present a draft rule at the Commission meeting in Tallahassee on April 15.

“Staff is proposing a draft rule that represents the most comprehensive set of protections and conservation measures for freshwater turtles in the United States,” said Tim Breault, the FWC’s director of Habitat and Species Conservation. “Few places in North America have the rich diversity of turtles that we have here in Florida, and this proposed rule ensures their long-term survival.”

Full Press Release

Cleaning up the Santa Fe River

Roughly 3,500 pounds of trash was collected from the Santa Fe River and the adjacent floodplain by 172 people who signed up to help clean the area Saturday, March 7.

See the full article at:
http://www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2009/03/20/news/news20.txt

SB 274

The Springs Protection bill, sponsored by Senator Constantine, was brought up in the Environmental Preservation and Conservation committee yesterday as scheduled. There were presentations by environmental groups, Marion county, and homebuilders about the bill as currently written. Senator Constantine stated that he proposes now to expand the protection from the 4 springs named (Silver, Rainbow, Ichetucknee, and Wakulla) to all 1st and 2nd magnitude springs in the state. In order to do this, the bill will need to be greatly revised. A “strike all” amendment to this bill will be introduced once it is written (perhaps as early as later this week). In the meanwhile, the current bill has been TP’d (temporarily postponed) until the amendment and bill gets back on the committee schedule. I will let you know about the amendment as soon as I hear about it. Stay tuned!

Connie Bersok
Florida Springs Initiative