Policy Action Alerts
Sent April 16, 2008
Letters are needed to preserve Florida Forever and Everglades Restoration. The Florida House has no money budgeted for these programs. The Senate has proposed funding at historic levels of $200 million and $300 million a year, respectively.
Please send a letter of support for these two programs TODAY to Representative Stan Mayfield, chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Council and our local delegation, listed below. We also suggest contacting Governor Crist asking him to encourage House Speaker Marco Rubio to fund these critical programs. Sample letters are included below with email addresses of the members we think most need to hear from us. Thank you for taking action!
Re: Support funding for Florida Forever and Everglades Restoration
Honorable (Senators and Representatives):
Florida must not abandon Florida Forever and Everglades Restoration. These projects are critical to the economy and quality of life of our great State. Failing to fund Everglades Restoration could endanger Federal money for the Everglades as well. I strongly urge you to provide funding in the House budget for Everglades Restoration and Florida Forever to assure the continuation of these two projects. These programs are an investment in the quality of our lives and the quality of our economy. Please take action to restore funding for the Everglades and Florida Forever!
Sincerely,
Speaker of the House Marco Rubio / marco.rubio@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Stan Mayfield / stan.mayfield@myfloridahouse.gov
Speaker of the House Marco Rubio / marco.rubio@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Ray Sansom / ray.sansom@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Trudi K. Williams / trudi.williams@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep Gary Aubuchon / gary.aubuchon@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep Nick Thompson / nicholas.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov
Rep. Paige Kreegel / paige.kreegel@myfloridahouse.gov
Senator Dave Aronberg / aronberg.dave.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Mike Bennett / bennett.mike.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Burt L. Saunders / saunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov
Dear Governor Crist:
Your support of Florida Forever and Everglades Restoration has underscored your commitment to the people of this State to provide a viable Florida for generations to come. We now risk losing both programs because the House has not seen fit to fund these critical programs. Without State support we fear that Federal funding could be at risk at this critical juncture. With this letter we urge your intervention with House Speaker Rubio to assure that the past investment in Florida and the Everglades will not be lost. Thank you for your service to this great state.
Sincerely,
Governor Charlie Crist / Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com
Sent April 8, 2008
The House leadership has proposed cutting $300 million from Florida Forever and $100 million from Everglades funding in the House budget this year. The Senate budget retains funding for Florida Forever at the current $300. million level and keeps $100. million for Everglades restoration projects.
Funding for these two programs is critical if they are to survive. Letters are needed to the House Speaker in particular as he decides on the final allocation of funds in the House budget. Without funding on the House side there will be no funding for these two critical projects that have huge implications for Southwest Florida.
Please send a letter TODAY to the House Speaker, Budget Chair and copy members of our local delegation. A sample letter is included below with the email addresses of the members we think most need to hear from us. Thank you,
Re: Support funding for Florida Forever and Everglades Restoration
Honorable Speaker Rubio:
I am writing to strongly urge you to provide funding in the House budget for Everglades restoration and Florida Forever. The investment in Everglades restoration is paying to correct the actions of the past with an eye toward growth in the future. We must continue to fund restoration and preservation in tandem with growth or we will be passing along our costs and failings to future generations at greater cost. These projects directly affect everyone in this State and the economy of Florida as people from all over the nation and world come to enjoy the unique nature of Florida. These programs are an investment in the quality of our lives and the quality of our economy. Clean water, clean air, expanses of old Florida available to the human and native creatures of our great State. These fundamentals are what are at risk. Florida uniquely has had the foresight to create and invest in these programs with great benefit. Please do not discard these vital programs. Restore funding for the Everglades and Florida Forever!
Sincerely,
Send to:
Speaker of the House Marco Rubio
http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4180&SessionId=57
Rep. Ray Sansom
http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4262&SessionId=57
Consider sending copies to:
Rep. Trudi K. Williams
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4338&SessionId=57
Rep. Gary Aubuchon
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4363&SessionId=57
Senator Burt L. Saunders
saunders.burt.web@flsenate.gov
Senate Pres Ken Pruitt
pruitt.ken.web@flsenate.gov
Senate Pres Pro Tempore Lisa Carlton
carlton.lisa.web@flsenate.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge will hold a series of meetings to solicit public comment on the development of their long-term management plan - the Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) - for the five regional National Wildlife Refuges: "Ding" Darling, Pine Island, Caloosahatchee, Matlacha Pass and Island Bay.
Every National Wildlife Refuge is required to develop a CCP. The purpose of the plan is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and policies. In addition to outlining broad management guidelines for conserving wildlife and their habitats, CCPs identify wildlife dependent recreational opportunities available to the public, including opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, and environmental education and interpretation. Each CCP is reviewed and update at least every 15 years. Public comment will be taken at these meetings.
Local meetings will be held THIS WEEK:
April 8 on Sanibel at the Sanibel School, 3840 Sanibel Captiva Road, 5 – 9 pm
From 5 -6 there will be a chance to meet the new Refuge Manager, Paul Tritaik
April 9 in Fort Myers at Cypress Lake Middle School from 6 - 9 p.m.
April 10 on Pine Island at Pine Island Elementary School from 6 - 9 p.m.
For Details call the Refuge at 472-1100 x0 or go to the website:
www.fws.gov/dingdarling and click on Public Meetings
Written comments will be accepted through May 19, 2008 and should be sent to:
Laura Housh, Regional Planner,
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,
Route 2, Box 3330, Folkston, GA 31537
March 31, 2008
The latest version of the
Fertilizer bill has several amendments but it is still bad legislation. SB 2352 is scheduled for the Senate Committee
on Environmental Preservation and Conservation this week. We can stop this bill with three votes of the
committee. Your calls and letters are needed NOW to stop the fertilizer bill in
committee.
Our best chance is letters and telephone calls to
members of the committee and the bill’s sponsor Senator Dave Aronberg
explaining that any preemption on local government is bad policy.
Our objections
to this bill are the bill preempts local government from adopting stricter
standards to protect water quality by:
- Requiring
communities qualify for stricter local regulations by demonstrating that they
already have polluted waters
- Requiring
Counties that meet the test for impaired waters consult with the DEP, Dept of
Agriculture and IFAS to get approval in establishing standards for a more
stringent ordinance.
- Exempting only
those communities who passed a local ordinance prior to January 15, 2008
Please send a letter, sample included below, to
the six members of the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and
Conservation and the bill sponsor, Dave Aronberg, in opposition to the poorly named Protection of Urban and Residential Environments and Water Act, SB 2352. Email addresses are listed below.
Sample Letter
Dear Senator:
I am writing to express my strong opposition to SB 2352.
This legislation preempts local governments from acting in the best interests
of their communities both ecologically and economically. At a minimum, Section
3 paragraphs (1) through (3) of this bill need to be cut. First, this bill backdates an exemption to
January 15, 2008 which would undermine all the work, public and private
community effort and expense that has gone into local regulation research and
development. Second, the bill requires
that in order to do what is needed to protect water quality a community would
have to first identify that the water is already polluted or impaired before they could adopt protective
standards. Third, once a community
demonstrates such degradation they would need to consult and get the blessing
of the DEP, Dept of Agriculture and U of FL IFAS to establish and adopt stricter standards. Even if this were a good idea, in this era of
budget cutting are these agencies staffed and funded to provide such support in
a timely manner?
As drafted, this bill is
preemption legislation that undermines both local control and responsibility
and will not protect our State water quality or economy.
I urge you to vote against this
bill in order to protect Florida’s local jurisdictions, economy and most
important natural resource.
Respectfully,
Send your letter to:
Senate Bill Sponsor
Dave Aronberg aronberg.dave.web@flsenate.gov
Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation