The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners voted to take an important step closer to passing a one-year moratorium on new rock mining.
Audubon supported the ban and thanks all advocates who helped call on the County to freeze new mining permits. The third and final vote needed to make this decision final will be at the end of August and as that time nears, Audubon will provide more details and information on how to help.
Wes Skiles, photographed at Ginnie Springs in 2001, shortly before departing to co-lead a National Geographic-sponsored expedition to Antarctica to document and photograph the largest iceberg in history. Photo by John Moran.
By John Moran
World-class explorer and image maker Wes Skiles, 52, died July 21 in a reef-diving incident in Palm Beach County, where he had been working on assignment for National Geographic.
Wes was best known for his work in educational and adventure science films and for his pioneering exploration and documentation of Forida’s springs. His death comes days before publication of his cover story on the Blue Holes of the Bahamas in the August National Geographic.
Over the past 20 years, Wes created and produced more than a dozen films for major networks including PBS and was a pioneer in the field of high definition imaging, employing innovative techniques as both an underwater and topside shooter. In addition to his acclaimed Water’s Journey series of films, he directed the IMAX film “Journey into Amazing Caves” and led a major National Geographic expedition to Antarctica to film the largest iceberg in recorded history. His primary goal was to focus public attention on the earth’s most important resource, water.
Wes successfully filmed where no one had before. His unstoppable spirit of adventure led him to exotic destinations and fantastic voyages. At ease with both motion and still photography he divided his time working on assignment for National Geographic Magazine and with television’s top producers of science, adventure and natural history programming.
Wes’s devotion to the study and protection of Florida’s springs led him to serve as the education chairman of the Florida Springs Task Force. His work in exploration and survey within Florida’s groundwater systems has been widely published in scientific journals and publications. He established both Karst Environmental Services and Karst Productions in order to pursue a career centered on his primary interest.
His bio goes on and on, with tales of escaping shark attacks and collapsing caves and dodging hurricanes over many years, all the while making fantastic pictures and managing to come home in one piece. Skiles’s life story reads like a screenplay from a Jules Verne movie.
So how did he get this job? This is my favorite part of Wes’s story. He’d be the first to tell you that in spite of an early love of science, he barely made it out of high school, and never went to college. He enrolled in the School of Life and pursued a degree in “curiology,” as he called it. Shortly thereafter he had a boat and was running a diving business in Haiti, setting the stage for a life of adventure to follow.
Along the way he developed sound business acumen and figured out how to actually get paid to shoot the pictures he loved to shoot. Wes’s adventures took him all over the world but his first love, apart from his family, was exploring the waters of Florida: the rivers, lakes, coasts, swamps and especially the springs. The writer Loren Eisley said that if there’s magic to be found on the planet, it is to be found in water. Eisley and Skiles would have found much in common.
Wes was about more than just adventuring for the sake of a good time. He was a man on a mission, and his mission was to educate and to inspire the people of Florida; to show us and teach us about our remarkable array of water resources and how each of us has a role to play in safeguarding this precious resource.
Wes largely directed his efforts to reach out to people who generally paid little attention to the environment, and was equally at ease talking to schoolchildren, dairy farmers and governors. He knew his work made a difference when he got letters such as the one that read, “You’ve done for the springs of Florida what Jacques Cousteau did for the oceans.”
Wes was a towering inspiration. His work took us places we could never imagine, and helped us to see and appreciate the world in a new light. His impact lives on. And for that, Wes, on behalf of my grandchildren yet unborn, and for all the people of Florida who never had a chance to personally acknowledge the important work you did, I say thank you.
The Palm Beach Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is scheduled to vote Thursday on a proposal to restrict applications for new limestone rock mining in the County for one year.
If approved, the moratorium will allow time for the BOCC to consider changing the way mining applications are approved- a process the County is in the midst of reviewing that could give them greater discretion to consider the impacts of new mines. Audubon and conservation partners support changes requiring a land use change to the County’s Comprehensive Plan and reviewing the cumulative impacts of such mining on Everglades restoration and other environmental issues.
More than 20,000 acres of new rock mines have been approved in the past few years. This temporary freeze on mining applications should allow the BOCC to develop new rules to address ongoing debates and recognize changed circumstances, including the importance of maintaining lands for sustainable agriculture and Everglades restoration in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
The BOCC has already taken the first step toward putting this moratorium in place, but Thursday’s vote is critical to moving it forward. If you live in Palm Beach County, please write your Commissioner and ask that he or she approve the mining moratorium. To find your Commissioner, click here.
The Florida House and Senate convened a Special Session today, called by Governor Charlie Crist, to place an amendment on the November ballot that would enshrine Florida’s prohibition against nearshore oil drilling in the Florida Constitution.
While Florida has a drilling ban in statute, that law has narrowly escaped being overturned in the last two legislative sessions by legislators at the behest of the oil industry.
The decision before legislators today was whether they would allow the people to decide on a permanent oil drilling ban. If 60 percent of voters agreed this November, the prohibition would have become constitutional, removing the Legislature’s ability to overturn it.
Rather than consider the measure, the House decided it would rather not let the people vote. In a strategy described by some as “gavel and go,” the House convened and a majority voted to adjourn without taking up the constitutional amendment resolution. See how your representative voted here (a “yes” vote was a vote to adjourn the session without considering the drilling ban amendment. “No” votes wanted the issue to be heard.)
The Florida Senate convened shortly before the House adjourned, discussed the issue briefly and also voted to adjourn without considering the matter. Senators Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland), Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey), and bill sponsor Alex Villalobos (R-Miami), dissented that the public deserved for them to vote on the constitutional amendment, even if it could not be placed on the ballot without House concurrence. Nevertheless, the Senate voted to adjourn without a vote on the drilling ban. See how your senator voted here (again, a “yes” vote was a vote to adjourn the session without considering the issue).
Hundreds of Floridians from around the state converged on the Capitol today to urge the Legislature to let the people vote and were essentially ignored by this swift decision. The House of Representatives’ behavior today was a sobering display of the petroleum industry’s influence in the political process at the expense of the people of Florida.
The Florida Legislature begins a special session at noon today to consider putting a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling in state waters on the November ballot. Public support for such a measure is building and it is time to call on your state senators and representatives to support permanent protection for Florida’s beaches.
Read about the growing public support for a ban on oil drilling in state waters Here.
Tell your representatives to Let the People Decide: Amend Florida’s Constitution to Permanently Ban Drilling in Florida’s Waters.
Some legislators argue Florida already has a ban in general law, but this rule can be easily be overturned with legislation. For the last two years, in fact, a coalition of advocates for Florida’s coastal environment and economy have only narrowly staved off the attempts by the oil industry and certain legislators to open Florida’s nearshore waters to oil drilling.
The BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is a clear example of why we need a permanent ban on oil drilling in Florida’s jurisdictional waters. Click Here to Write Your Legislator Today. Click Here to Find Your State Legislator and Call Him or Her to Let the Voters Decide.
We can win this battle so our children don’t have to.
Audubon of Florida applauded the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement at a press conference in Kissimmee today that it will dedicate funds to help restore a substantial tract of privately-owned wetlands north of Lake Okeechobee.
The largest undertaking in the history of the Wetlands Reserve Program, USDA will provide funding for agricultural landowners to store water and restore wetlands on their properties. One of the greatest challenges to restoring Lake Okeechobee’s health, preventing harmful estuary discharges, storing enough water for droughts, and cleaning water, is finding enough beneficial places to store valuable rain water. This project funds such storage capacity in the area of the Fisheating Creek tributary, truly a monumental effort.
“This is a pioneering approach to achieving ecological benefits in a cost effective way, without displacing agricultural interests,” said Charles Lee, Audubon of Florida Director of Advocacy. “By restoring these wetlands with the assistance of USDA, we create healthy habitat and stimulate abundant wildlife populations even when public conservation land acquisition is not an option.”
Fisheating Creek is the last free-flowing tributary to Lake Okeechobee—and home to some of the most pristine habitats in central Florida. The Wetlands Reserve Program will help enhance and protect the region and serve to connect lands in a wildlife corridor between inland natural areas and coastal natural areas, including conservation lands in Babcock Ranch.
“Redirecting government agency efforts to restore the hydrology and water quality of the Northern Everglades has long been one of our goals,” Lee said. “Cooperative projects with landowners and the acquisition of easements is more cost effective, and more likely to receive broad public support, than conventional efforts to manage water through large engineered public works projects in this area.”
USDA’s easement purchase coupled with nearby efforts of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) to establish a cooperative dispersed storage project with Lykes Brothers on 16,000 acres of Nicodemus Slough will help re-establish a more natural water table and restore wetlands on nearly 45,000 acres on the northwest shoreline of Lake Okeechobee. Audubon and other Everglades advocates celebrate this important partnership between USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy and the SFWMD to restore and manage the property.
Florida Audubon and 15 of its leading Audubon chapters in Florida will bring the beach and birds threatened by the Gulf Oil Disaster to 15 Simon Shopping Malls in the state from 12, noon, to 5 p.m. , Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25. CBS Neighbors 4 Neighbors has also joined the collaboration to raise awareness about wildlife affected by the spill and will host a phonebank during the CBS4 News in Miami from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 23, in Miami.
Florida Audubon is accepting contributions for Gifts for the Gulf from people who want to help wildlife threatened by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Funds are placed in an account used just for oil spill response. To donate, click here.
To sign up for our Gulf Spill Response volunteer network, click here.
We were all thrilled with the news reports that the BP Deepwater Horizon well appears to be capped. Tar balls and sheen are washing up on Florida beaches, however, and the Gulf is still awash in oil. We need to focus on long-term clean up and a permanent ban on drilling in Florida’s state waters.
Governor Charlie Crist has called a special session of the Legislature to craft a permanent ban on oil drilling in state waters and proposed amending Florida’s constitution to make our state jurisdictional waters between three and 10 miles off limits to oil production.
Conservation groups are organizing a Hands Across the Capitol event at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Tallahassee. Hands Across the Capitol is an extension of Hands Across the Sand. Join us in Tallahassee and then meet with your legislators to urge them to give the people of Florida the power to protect our beaches, ecology and economy.
Some legislators argue Florida already has a ban in general law. Unfortunately, these rules can easily be overturned with legislation. In fact, for the last two years, a coalition of advocates for Florida’s coastal environment and economy have only narrowly staved off the attempts of the oil industry and certain legislators who would open Florida’s nearshore waters to oil drilling.
Now with the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, the time has come to permanently ban oil drilling in Florida’s jurisdictional waters. And you can help make our beaches safer.
Come to Tallahassee Tuesday and SEND your letter today calling on your Florida representative and senator to put a permanent drilling ban on the ballot. Let’s make sure a Gulf oil disaster never happens again in Florida by permanently banning oil drilling in our state waters. We can win this fight so our children don’t have to.
If you cannot make it to Tallahassee you can still contact your legislator and urge them to vote to ban oil drilling.
Check out these resources if you can attend Hands Across the Capitol.
Find your state legislators’ info so you can schedule an appointment.
Want to register? Looking for a ride share? RSVP here so we can get you information on lobby training schedules and details for the big day.
Let the People Decide. Tell your Legislators to put the Oil Drilling Ban on the State Ballot
Governor Charlie Crist – responding to the horrors of the BP Gulf Oil Spill – has convened a special session of the Florida Legislature on July 20.
Your legislators need to hear from you today: Make the ban on oil drilling in Florida’s coastal waters permanent.
The oil on Florida’s beaches is a stark example of why oil drilling should never be allowed in Florida’s coastal waters. While state law limits drilling in Florida waters, the Legislature can undo the ban in a matter of days. At the request of the oil companies they almost did that last year.
To protect Florida’s beaches now and for our children and grandchildren we need to give the people a chance to vote on an amendment banning nearshore drilling on November’s ballot. Once the people of Florida place this ban in the Constitution, only the people of Florida—not legislators—can remove it.
Please call or write your legislators. Let the people decide to Protect Florida’s Beaches. Put the oil drilling ban on the November ballot.
Click here to write to your legislator today. And thank you for caring about Florida’s special places. We can win this fight so our children don’t have to.
John C. “Johnny” Jones, Executive Director of the Florida Wildlife Federation during the 1970’s and 1980’s, passed away Sunday, July 11 2010. He was 77.
Jones was the individual most responsible for the successful campaign to restore the Kissimmee River in Central Florida. As a youth, Jones had spent much of his free time hunting and fishing in the Kissimmee River and watched as the Corps of Engineers destroyed the river through channelization. He vowed to reverse the process and convinced the conservation community, including Audubon, to make Kissimmee restoration a major priority.
Jones transformed the Florida Wildlife Federation from a group of local hunting clubs into a powerful statewide conservation organization. Under his leadership, the Florida Wildlife Federation became a major actor in the successful effort to stop the construction of the Everglades Jetport, and the lobbying effort to convince Congress to pass legislation authorizing and funding the acquisition of the Big Cypress National Preserve.
In addition to restoration of the Kissimmee River, Jones will be remembered for his tireless efforts to obtain state support for Florida’s first major land acquisition programs, “Lands for You” the “Environmentally Endangered Lands” program, and the “Conservation and Recreation Lands” program. One of the most significant purchases ever was Jones’ special crusade to preserve the 60,000-acre Three Lakes Ranch wildlife management area in Osceola County.
With the passing of Johnny Jones, the conservation movement in Florida mourns the loss of one of its most important, dynamic, and powerful leaders. Read about it here.
