Voice of the Everglades: The positive impact of public action

Since 1969, we've found power and strength in grassroots voices

Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser. Welcome to the April edition of Voice of the Everglades. On deck today: Do you believe Floridians deserve clean water? Who will be the next $10,000 scholarship awardee? Who are taxpayer-funded STAs working for anyways?  WATCH — EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ADDRESS Lake O discharges: What happened and what's next?   manoj,  Let me start with a big thank you. When we asked you to take action in response to damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges this spring, more than 1,500 of you stepped up and sent messages to water managers. Your messages, and our direct pressure, made a difference. The Army Corps of Engineers — acting on advice from the South Florida Water Management District — announced it would halt harmful Lake O flows to the St. Lucie River, Caloosahatchee River and Lake Worth Lagoon through at least June 1. Only beneficial releases will be allowed to the Caloosahatchee, which needs some lake water to maintain healthy salinity levels and prevent stagnant conditions. How long will this reprieve last? A higher-up with the Army Corps told me he hopes they can keep the floodgates closed until fall, if weather cooperates during storm season. That's a big IF. Hurricane forecasters are predicting a very busy storm season as conditions shift from El Niño to La Niña. The path and precipitation of those storms will determine whether the floodgates from Lake Okeechobee are re-opened. With your help, we bought ourselves some time. Now, Friends of the Everglades will continue to push for lasting solutions to fix the rigged system and ensure water management and water quality are restored across the River of Grass, from Lake Okeechobee and the northern estuaries to Florida Bay.  Since our founding by Marjory Stoneman Douglas in 1969, we've found power and strength in grassroots voices. Thank you for soldiering on with us as we work for a better future in Florida. For the Everglades,  Eve Samples  Executive Director SUPPORT OUR GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY BY MAKING A DONATION EVENTS Join us LIVE on Thursday: Register now! Clean water as an enforceable, fundamental right? Where there's a will, there's a way. The renewed Florida Right to Clean Water movement will take thousands of Floridians banding together to demand responsible governance and accountability when it comes to our most important natural resource. With enough signatures, we can ensure that this important amendment makes it on the 2026 ballot. Find out what it will take in a live discussion from noon-1 p.m. Thursday, April 18, via Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).  Register Now.  SCIENCE STAs work... for Big Sugar, mostly Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) are arguably the most effective scientific solution we have in Everglades restoration because they emulate Mother Nature. Using native and non-native aquatic vegetation, these man-made marshes clean water of damaging nutrients before it flows south to nourish the River of Grass. But there's one big problem: Water managers prioritize about 90% of STA capacity for runoff from Big Sugar's fields, leaving no room to move water south from Lake O. Our friends at VoteWater took a closer look at this and determined that if capacity had been reserved for lake water, Lake O would stand nearly two feet lower than it does today — meaning discharges could have been avoided entirely. And here's the real kicker: Our tax dollars not only helped build the STAs but continue to maintain 75% of expenses to keep them operational. Nothing like asking us to fund our own destruction while the sugarcane empire sits high and dry. Read VoteWater's latest Deep Dive YOUNG FRIENDS OF THE EVERGLADES $10,000 environmental scholarship opportunity  Calling all students! Friends of the Everglades is pleased to launch the second year of our Karen Mashburn Environmental Scholars Program scholarship and internship. One undergraduate or graduate recipient will be awarded $10,000 and participate in a 14-week internship this fall at Friends of the Everglades in Stuart, Florida, for 15 hours per week. While supporting the work of the Young Friends of the Everglades program, the intern will complete a capstone project aligned to their interests and area of study. The deadline to Apply is May 15, 2024. Not sure if you're interested? Don't take it from us. Click here to listen to what our 2023 recipient Autumn Bryan had to say about her experience. Apply Now LAKE O DISCHARGE WATCH Keeping the public engaged and the pressure on Tackling Florida's water crisis takes a village and that means reaching and engaging with as many supporters as possible on as many channels as we can. As we continue to closely monitor the management of Lake Okeechobee, you can keep up with all our latest updates on Instagram. Don't follow us yet? Let's change that! You applied the pressure and now we're seeing results. Harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges have been suspended for the foreseeable future, pending any major storms this hurricane season. According to a VoteWater Deep Dive, if STAs treated water from Lake O instead of prioritizing agricultural runoff, we could have avoided discharges entirely this year.  The SFWMD has the power to make more capacity for lake water in the existing STAs —manmade marshes where agricultural runoff accounts for about 90% of storage volume in a typical year. TOGETHER WITH PARTNERS Chalk one up for Biscayne Bay and the Everglades! Our years of fighting with allies paid off when the proposed South Dade Logistics and Technology District was forced back to the drawing board after missing a statutory deadline. This industrial park NEVER should have been proposed for 800 acres of flood-prone land in Homestead. Our hats are off to Hold the Line, Tropical Audubon, 1000 Friends of Florida, Everglades Law Center and all the individuals who fought to protect Biscayne Bay, honor Miami-Dade County's resiliency needs, and safeguard the public investment in Everglades restoration. Read more about this Everglades WIN here. MSD LEGACY  Parting words from Marjory Stoneman Douglas Flock of birds in the Everglades, circa 1900 (Florida Memory Project) "Glaring under the sun or bleak in the rain, flat, with patches of scrub and bright salt weeds, this is the country of the birds." — Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades: River of Grass BE THE FIRST TO KNOW Texts = Instant Everglades Updates Some of you received a text alert from us this month asking you to send a message to Governing Board members of the South Florida Water Management District before their April 11 meeting. Board members' comments at that meeting reflected the issue of STA capacity, showing us that quick action can have impactful results. If you'd like to sign up for text alerts from Friends of the Everglades, use the button below. We promise to only contact you via text when it's really important and we see an opportunity for meaningful action. Sign up for Text Alerts Founded in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Friends of the Everglades' mission is to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world. We are science-driven and solutions-oriented. Support the movement for a truly restored Everglades by donating now! DONATE SUBSCRIBE   Friends of the Everglades 3727 SE Ocean Blvd Suite 200 Stuart, FL 34996 United States If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.