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Our Mission is to stop discharges into the St. Lucie River from Lake Okeechobee and to fight for a safe, healthy and ecologically balanced St. Lucie River Estuary and Indian River Lagoon, and the natural resources that are vital to the economy and quality of life of Martin County and the Treasure Coast |
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January 2024 Newsletter
Friends of the Rivers Coalition E-Newsletter
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Rivers Coalition Meeting
Thursday, January 18, 2024
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Stuart City Hall Chambers
121 SW Flagler Ave, Stuart, FL
This meeting is in person and via Zoom, and is open to the public, with plenty of free parking available. Email info@riverscoalition.org for Zoom link.
TRACKING TALLAHASSEE: A LOOK AT THE BAD (AND GOOD) BILLS TO BE CONSIDERED DURING THE 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
by Gil Smart, Executive Director of VoteWater
The Florida Legislature began its annual 60-day session on January 9, 2024. More than four dozen bills that could have an impact on clean water have been filed. Now more than ever it is important to stay informed and involved.
Join us on January 18th as Gil Smart takes a deep dive through the bad (and some good) bills and gives a summary of the ones to keep an eye on.
Gil Smart is Executive Director of VoteWater and Policy Director for Friends of the Everglades, where he tracks legislative proposals out of Tallahassee as part of Friends' Legislative Accountability Project. A newspaper columnist and investigative journalist for more than three decades, he joined Friends of the Everglades and VoteWater in 2021.
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Business Matters:
- Call to Order and Chairman’s Comments: Mark Perry, President
- Rivers Coalition, Inc. Business matters and Membership roll call
- Introduction of 2024 Rivers Coalition Officers and 2024 Annual Meeting Announcements
- Presentation:
TRACKING TALLAHASSEE: A LOOK AT THE BAD (AND GOOD) BILLS TO BE CONSIDERED DURING THE 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
by Gil Smart, Executive Director of VoteWater
Government & Agency Progress Reports:
- Martin County: John Maehl
- City of Stuart/LOSOM: Ben Hogarth
- South Florida Water Management District: TBD
- State and Federal Agencies: FDEP, USACE, FWC
- Lake Okeechobee Update: Dr. Paul Gray
- State and Federal Legislation: Eve Samples/Gil Smart
Coalition Reports:
- Rivers Coalition Committee Updates:
- River Kidz: Nic Mader
- Speakers Bureau: Todd Weissing
- Local Issues & Estuary Water Quality: Mark Perry
- Seagrass Update: Todd Thurlow/Jim Moir
- Riverkeeper Update: Jim Moir(Indian River)
- Member Comments and Announcements
- Adjourn
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2024 Landscape Conference
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To keep our waters clean and preserve our unique Florida Habitat in IRC, the Pelican Island Audubon Society invites you to attend their 5th annual conference, "Transforming Landscapes for a Sustainable Future," on Jan 20, 2024 at the Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32960. Registration starts at 8 a.m.; speaker presentations a 9 a.m. See the schedule, info, and bios of the speakers on their website at the link below:
Pelican Island Audubon Society Landscape Conference
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Get Involved, Stay Informed, Be Prepared
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Remember that Rivers Coalition meetings are open to the public! Please spread the word and bring one or two (or more) people to our monthly meetings. We may not be in crisis mode right now, but we do need you to STAY INFORMED and BE PREPARED to mobilize when the need arises. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on January 18th!
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Rivers Coalition Meeting Minutes: November 16, 2023
Summary of Comments
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Mark Perry called the meeting to order at 11:01 am. There were 45 attendees in person, 13 attendees on ZOOM call.
Minutes taken by Miki Blumenthal, Administrative Assistant
Opening Comments: Mark Perry welcomed everyone and reminded them that this is the last public meeting of 2023. The next meeting will be the Rivers Coalition annual meeting on January 18, 2024. He also announced that there is currently a task force meeting happening in Washington, DC and that there will be a meeting held by the USACE at the C-44 canal tomorrow morning.
Mark introduced members of “Martin County Forever,” Merritt Matheson, Jim Snedeker, and Lorraine Kayser.
Presentation: “Martin County Forever”
Merritt Matheson, Rivers Coalition board member and also committee member of Martin County Forever, explained who and what Martin County Forever is, and then gave a presentation on the initiative the group is trying to add to the November 2024 ballot. Jim Snedeker joined him.
Q&A session after the presentation.
**Discussion ensued after the presentation regarding the Rivers Coalition supporting the initiative by Martin County Forever. Paul Laura motioned that the Rivers Coalition members present vote today to support the initiative, conditional on approval of the final language of the initiative. Diane Goldberg seconded. It was unanimously voted in favor. Motion carried. The Rivers Coalition board will send a letter of support of the Martin County Forever initiative to the Martin County Commission.
The above presentation in its entirety can be seen at www.riverscoalition.org.
Discussion: (summary of discussion-not verbatim)
Government & Agency Reports:
Martin County: Dr. Elizabeth Kelly gave a water quality update and said that the county has the same dry-season plan as they did last year. There is currently no plan for discharges to the east of Lake Okeechobee. The county is working with Indian River Lagoon regarding grant opportunities for water-quality and land-use studies.
City of Stuart/LOSOM: Ben Hogarth announced that the city had completed comments for their amicus brief with the Everglades Law Center. The city also met with USACE regarding a dry-season strategy.
SFWMD: Mark Perry gave an update on the most recent SFWMD meeting. The two main topics at the meeting were (1) reservoirs in Lake Worth and (2) alternative water supply. The next SFWMD meeting will be on December 14, 2023. He reminded the group of the CERP and NEEPP reports available on the SFWMD website.
USACE: Jeff Prater introduced himself as a public affairs specialist with the USACE and gave a brief biography. He stated the USACE will be holding an update meeting at the C-44 canal at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.
Lake O Update: In the absence of Paul Gray, Mark Perry mentioned that he had recently gone to a presentation by Paul on bird migration, where the importance of Lake Okeechobee as a stopover for the birds was discussed.
Todd Thurlow gave an update on current Lake Okeechobee conditions, predicting that the lake level will go above 16 feet within the next few days. He showed a preview of an upcoming page on his site that shows a visual graphic of the phosphorus levels in the Lake O watershed.
State and Federal Legislation: Gil Smart said there is not much water-related legislation being talked about right now in the Florida legislature committee meetings. He will have an update at the January Rivers Coalition meeting about the legislative session. He expects fertilizer bills to be brought up that would not be beneficial to clean water. The new Senate President will be Ben Albritton, who is known to be a friend to agriculture and not to clean water.
Coalition Reports:.
River Kidz: Casey Kniffin and Kelli Dore talked about the River Kidz sharing their stories at the “Community Conversations” event hosted by the Florida Oceanographic Society. There are no upcoming events for the River Kidz, but they are encouraging the students to stay involved in their local communities during the school holidays.
Speakers Bureau: N/A. Todd Weissing not present.
Riverkeeper Update: Jim Moir stated there is some seagrass recovery in the Mosquito Lagoon and the northern part of the IRL. There have been many reports of boat collisions with sea turtles and manatees.
Water Quality: Mark Perry gave an update on the latest water quality report. Current rating is a B+.
Public Comments:
Comments and discussion on boating traffic–speed limits, effect on seagrass, etc.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 pm.
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The Newest Version of the River Kidz Workbook has been published!
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The River Kidz workbooks have arrived from Southeastern Printing
The workbooks were distributed to the
4th grade classes of all Martin County Schools
FREE OF CHARGE
Thanks to the generous donations of kind supporters of the River Kidz
If you are a homeschool or a private school
please email info@riverscoalition.org
to receive your free copies
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All Meetings are at 11:00 a.m.
Stuart City Hall Chambers
121 SW Flagler Ave, Stuart, FL
January 18, 2024 - Thursday
February 22, 2024 - Thursday
March 28, 2024 - Thursday
April 25, 2024 - Thursday
May 23, 2024 - Thursday
June 27, 2024 - Thursday
July 25, 2024 - Thursday
August 2024 - no meeting
September 26, 2024 - Thursday
October 24, 2024 - Thursday
November 21, 2024 - Thursday
December 2024- no meeting
For updates, please visit our Facebook page by clicking below:
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Check out the Rivers Coalition website
https://riverscoalition.org/
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2023 Rivers Coalition Board Members
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Mark Perry, President
Charles Grande, Vice President
Jim Moir, Secretary
Darrell Brand, Treasurer
Eve Samples, Director
Nicole Mader, Director
Todd Thurlow, Director
Todd Weissing, Director
Blair Wickstrom, Director
Gil Smart, Director
Merritt Matheson, Director
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Rivers Coalition Organizational Members
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Members: 1000 Friends of Florida, 27-80 Paddlers, American Association of University Women, Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, Atlantic Point Yacht Club & Marina of Stuart, Audubon Florida, Audubon of Martin County, Ballantrae Anglers Club, Ballantrae Yacht Club, Beau Rivage HOA, Business Development Board of Martin County, Citizens for Clean Water, Computer Network Services, Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie Co. Inc, Cypress Lake HOA, Dolphin Ecology Project, Driftwood Motel of Jensen Beach. Economic Council of Martin County, Florida Oceanographic Society, Florida Sportsman, Fort Pierce Yacht Club, Four Rivers Property Association, Four Winds Condo Association, Friends of The Everglades, Friends of Harbor Branch - FAU, Guardians of Martin County, Harborage Yacht Condominiums, Harbour Ridge Yacht Club, Hutchinson Island Preservation Initiative, Humanists of the Treasure Coast, Indian Riverkeeper, Indian River Plantation POA, Jensen Beach Chamber of Commerce, Joe's Point HOA, Keep Martin Beautiful, Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative, Lake Worth Waterkeeper, Leadership Martin, League of Women Voters of Martin Co., League of Women’s Voters of SLC Co., Lighthouse Point Association Inc., Locks Landing HOA, Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc., Marine Industries Assoc. of Treasure Coast, Marine Resources Council, Martin County Anglers, Martin County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, Martin County Conservation Alliance, Martin County Democratic Environmental Caucus, Martin County Farm Bureau, Martin County Future Group, Martin County Hotel & Motel Association,Miramar POA, Nettles Island Community Action Assoc., North River Shores Prop. Assoc., Ocean Research and Conservation Association, Palm City Civic Assn, Palm Cove Yacht Club, Palm Cove HOA, Pierpoint Condominium Assoc., Port Salerno Commercial Fishing Dock Assoc., Port Sewall Harbor & Tennis Club Owners Ass, Port Sewall Property Owners Assoc., Port St Lucie Anglers, President’s Council of Hutchinson Island, Realtor Association of Martin County, Rio Civic Club, River Club Dock Owners Association Inc., River Kidz, River Vista HOA, River Warriors, Royal Harbor Homeowners Assn, Sandhill Cove Retirement Living, Sailfish Point POA, Sailfish Point Yacht Club, Savanna Fishing Club, Save the Manatee Club, Seagate Harbor Homeowners Assoc., Sierra Club-:Loxahatchee Group, Snug Harbor Yacht Club, St. Lucie Audubon Society, St. Lucie River Yacht Club, St. Lucie Sailing Club, St. Lucie Settlement Inc., Stuart Corinthian Yacht Club, Stuart Heritage, Stuart Rod & Reel Club, Stuart/Martin County Chamber, Surfrider Foundation, Teamsters Local 769, The Garden Club of Stuart Inc, The Estuary at North River Shores, The Junior League of Martin County, Treasure Coast Buddhist Cooperative, Treasure Coast Builders Association, Treasure Coast Golf Course Superintendents Association, Treasure Coast Rowing Club, Treasure Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, US Sailing Center of Martin County, Venture Three Community, VoteWater, Windjammer Condo Association
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PO Box 2627
Stuart, FL 34995
772-225-6849
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