FFCU Logo Header Photo
SWFL ENews:
Oct 6 / go to archive


BIG CYPRESS

Skunk ape expert spotted by Travel Channel, and yet his prospects grow dim
Darron Silva /Naples Daily News /Sep 22
It's a pleasant September morning in the Everglades, and David Shealy — best known as Southwest Florida's self-appointed skunk ape expert — is sitting on a bench outside his Ochopee campground gift shop. Today, Shealy's not wearing his trademark black hat, the one with the gator-tooth band. His dark wraparound sunglasses are gone, too. And no snakebite-proof boots. ...

City recognized for outstanding preservation of natural resurces
Carol Glassman /Marco Island Sun Tim/Sep 22
The Board of Big Cypress Basin passed a formal resolution recognizing the City of Marco Island for its work in implementing conservation water rates and for committing to eliminate septic systems. ...

Coyle to seek eminent domain options for zoo land
Laura Layden /Naples Daily News /Sep 21
A month ago, Collier County Commission Chairman Fred Coyle said he wasn't likely to consider taking land underneath the Naples Zoo by force. But now that negotiations have hit the wall with the landowners, he plans to ask staff to examine whether eminent domain should be used to save the landmark attraction. ...

Skunktober Fest
Christine Barretta /Marco Island Sun Tim/Oct 10
For those of you who don't know what a Skunk Ape is, it's the Southwest Florida cousin of Bigfoot, all seven feet and 300 pounds of it. The first documented sighting was in 1963. ...

Arsenic in dredged Lake Trafford muck threatens ORV riding site
Lexy Swall /Naples Daily News /Oct 5
Arsenic in the lake muck to be pumped into the disposal site is prompting Collier County officials to question the suitability of using the disposal area as an ORV-riding site. ...

SOUTHWEST COAST

Sanibel leaders: Lake O. releases make red tide worse
staff /NBC2 News /Sep 28
The city of Sanibel is asking the state to declare a state of emergency. City leaders claim Lake Okeechobee's fresh water releases are causing red tide. The South Florida Water Management District is defending the release saying it isn't causing the problem. "I'm not sure if it's the red tide or the decaying, rotting fish that makes you gag," said Dennis Roberts. ...

Stop compromising our waters
Opinion /Herald Tribune /Sep 27
The government should stop issuing phosphate-mining permits, especially for expansion. Also, it is time for everyone to bite the bullet named pollution. ...

Editorial: Water quality
Editorial /Naples Daily News /Sep 26
Slimy algae that lives up to its name, blue-green, is fouling the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee to Fort Myers. It appears that overflow from the lake has something do with it. ...

Coastal areas need more help
staff /The News-Press /Sep 29
It is time for the Southwest Florida environment and the economy it supports to get a higher priority in the way water is managed across the southern peninsula. ...

Gulf current that turns storms into monsters
Andrew Revkin /NYTimes /Sep 27
A month ago, Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric scientist who has spent decades studying how hurricanes reach their peak strength, "had this terrible feeling of dread" when he saw that Hurricane Katrina's track in the Gulf of Mexico would carry it right over an oceanographic phenomenon known as the loop current. ...

Don't extort counties over water
Opinin /The News Press /Oct 5
Both counties believe they are being treated like dumping grounds for excess water.If you think Lee County has a tense relationship with the South Florida Water Management District over discharges from Lake Okeechobee, look across the state at Martin County. ...

Study finds herbicides from runoff in river
Kevin Lollar /The News Press /Oct 5
The Caloosahatchee River is receiving an unhealthy dose of herbicides, including potential carcinogens, from upstream, a Naples chemist said Tuesday at Mote Marine Laboratory's fourth Charlotte Harbor Conference. ...

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

Lawyer hired in water case
staff /Orlando Sentinel /Sep 26
The Stuart-Martin County Chamber has retained high-profile Stuart lawyer Willie Gary to advise it on legal strategy to try to stop harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. ...

SFWMD studies the flow of water
MaryAnn Morris /Okeechobee News /Sep 2005
The increased amount of drainage from the Chain of Lakes area down the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee, adding to the rainfall on the Lake Okeechobee area itself, caused the water level in the lake to rise to 18.02 feet on Oct. 1, 2004. The amount of water coming into the lake was the greatest since 1972 and compares to the El Nino year, 1995. Consequently, discharges out the Caloosahatchee and ...

Development puts pressure on state's environment
Eleanor Foerste /Orlando Sentinel /Sep 25
While development expands across the middle of the state, a diverse group of concerned business leaders is making plans to connect and protect the integrity of remaining ecologically significant lands. ...

Protest springs up on St. Lucie Estuary
Eric Hasert /TCPalm /Sep 25
More than 70 boaters protested the poor quality of the St. Lucie Estuary during a giant flotilla Saturday along the St. Lucie River in Stuart. Dan Hall, left, and Matt Keller, both of Stuart, dressed in hazardous materials suits for the occasion. ...

Activists to form river 'defense fund'
Rachel Harris /Palm Beach Post /Sep 24
A group of local river activists agreed Friday to hire an attorney and start a nonprofit corporation to accept donations for a lawsuit to stop destructive discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie River.But the Rivers Coalition held off on sending letters of intent to sue water managers the required first step to sue government agencies — after some members said details of the pending lawsu ...

Stuart-Martin County Chamber hires Gary for possible St. Lucie River suit
Jim Turner /TCPalm /Sep 24
The Stuart-Martin County Chamber has retained high-profile Stuart attorney Willie Gary to advise on legal strategy to try to stop the harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. ...

Hurricane experts weigh state's worst-case scenario
Neil Santaniello /Okeechobee Sentinel /Oct 3
It's a possibility that frightens: A slow-moving Category 5 hurricane rolls toward South Florida with the worst possible conditions -- a raging storm surge and soaking rains that drop a foot or more of water. ...

Lake Okeechobee discharges into St. Lucie Estuary could halt next week
Megan Kenny /TCPalm /Oct 2
And discharges from Lake Okeechobee could stop as early as next week, according to Dean Powell, director of watershed resources with the South Florida Water Management District, who sat on a panel convened to answer questions. ...

Kissimmee river comes back to life
Daphne Sashin /Orlando Sentinel /Oct 2
Four decades later, scientists say the thriving marsh in Highlands County is proof that the initial phase of a $578 million state and federal plan to return part of the Kissimmee River to its original state is having the intended effect. ...

Water managers plan for future
MaryAnn Morris /NewsZap /Oct 2005
As state and federal officials plan for future water and environmental needs of South Florida, the public is invited to comment on the proposals. The draft of the 2006 South Florida Environmental Report (SFER) is available on-line at www.sfwmd.gov/reports and directly from South Florida Water Management District at the local office in Okeechobee on the second floor of the Nations Bank Building on ...

EVERGLADES RESTORATION

Everglades plan criticized
Suzanne Wentley /TCPalm /Sep 21
A Bush administration letter critical of local Everglades restoration efforts has officials with the Army Corps of Engineers scurrying to save federal funding for the project. ...

Woman to be first executive director of Everglades foundation
Lady Hereford /Palm Beach Post /Sep 21
About 3 months ago, Josette Kaufman became executive director of the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation in West Palm Beach, an organization devoted to Everglades restoration ...

Big Win for Bass Fishermen
Staff /Florida Sportsman /Sep 23
Dade anglers sent the Army Corps of Engineers back to the drawing board, and the agency came back with a plan everyone can live with. Thanks to a cooperative effort between sportsmen, environmental groups and government officials, South Florida’s number one bass fishing spot won't be sacrificed to Everglades Restoration -- at least not immediately. Kim Taplin of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers an ...

Treasure Coast growth panel nears complete report
Jim Turner /TCPalm /Sep 23
A group of community leaders is close to finishing an 18-month effort to outline the best ways to deal with continued growth while preserving the quality of life on the Treasure Coast. ...

Report urges continued push to finish Everglades project
Sofia Santana /Palm Beach Post /Sep 25
Eighteen months of hourslong discussions over how the Treasure Coast can manage growth without killing the region's quaint charm have amounted to a thick report of recommendations compiled by community leaders and elected officials.The 37-member Committee for a Sustainable Treasure Coast, which Gov. Jeb Bush created in April 2004 at the urging of state Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, finalized ...

Scripps pivots on judges view of corps permit
Stacey Singer /Palm Beach Post /Sep 29
When the attorneys for Palm Beach County, The Scripps Research Institute, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Wildlife Federation gathered in that 75-year-old courtroom this week, they agreed on one point: There could not be a more perfect setting to argue for the future of Florida biotechnology — the high-wage sector that Gov. Jeb Bush hopes will propel Florida commerce into a prospe ...

Guest columnist: House bill is passed; time for Senate to act
Bob Smith /TC Palm /Oct 4
Preparing for natural disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita can be a lot cheaper than cleaning up after them, which is one reason why Congress needs to move forward with approving the next stage of Everglades restoration. ...

Editorial: Bureaucratic misunderstanding means trouble for our waters
Editorial /TCPalm /Oct 3
These shortcomings of a deputy associate director in the Office of Management and Budget normally would not be a problem because he is faraway in Washington, crunching numbers and reviewing reports. But now he is offering opinions that spell trouble for the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. ...

Scripps pivots on judge's view of corps permit
Stacey Singer /Palm Beach Post /Sep 29
When the attorneys for Palm Beach County, The Scripps Research Institute, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Wildlife Federation gathered in that 75-year-old courtroom this week, they agreed on one point: There could not be a more perfect setting to argue for the future of Florida biotechnology — the high-wage sector that Gov. Jeb Bush hopes will propel Florida commerce into a prospe ...

Everglades restoration's cost jumps $2.1 billion
Robert King /Palm Beach Post /Oct 6
Just like insuring your house and fueling your car, restoring the Everglades is getting more expensive — $10.5 billion, to be exact. That's the federal government's latest estimated price for the Everglades restoration, a project that originally was supposed to cost $7.5 billion when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District unveiled it seven years ago. The c ...

Python's gut-busting gator meal draws scientists' attention
Denise Kalette /Sarasota Herald Trib/Oct 6
Alligators have clashed with nonnative pythons before in Everglades National Park. But when a 6-foot gator tangled with a 13-foot python recently, the result wasn't pretty.The snake apparently tried to swallow the gator whole -- and then exploded. Scientists stumbled upon the gory remains last week. ...



© FGCU 2006. This is an official FGCU web page.
Florida Gulf Coast University is accredited by the
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(1866 Southern lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; Telephone number 404-679-4501)
to award associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degrees.

Florida Gulf Coast University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd S., Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
Contact the Webmaster