In the January 2024 issue of Boca, we feature five intrepid nonprofits working to better the environment in our ecologically beleaguered state. Here is more on the most serious issues facing Florida from Eve Samples of Friends of the Everglades, followed by a special statement from the Florida Coalition for Preservation.
Overdevelopment
Florida is the fastest-growing state in the country right now, and we unfortunately have seen an unraveling of our growth management laws that coincide with this huge population boom. Florida used to be a leader in the country in terms of responsible growth; the Growth Management Act was passed decades ago by the Florida Legislature, and it really made a Florida a leader in terms of sound development practices. Starting in 2011, however, a lot of those protections were unraveled at the state level [including former Governor Scott’s dismantling of the state’s growth management agency, the Department of Community Affairs]. So now we’re facing this really intense development pressure, including low-lying areas that are really flood-prone, so there are real impacts in terms of our water and our wildlife. And our quality of life.
Water quality
Florida is really facing a crisis in terms of nutrient pollution into its waterways—mainly phosphorous and nitrogen. The largest single source into Lake Okeechobee, which is the liquid heart of the Everglades region, is agriculture north of the lake. These phosphorous and nitrogen loads contribute to toxic algae blooms which have created really dire public health situations over the past decade or decade and a half in Florida. We’ve seen toxic algae blooms in the St. Lucie River, the Caloosahatchee River, Lake Worth Lagoon and of course Lake Okeechobee itself. Farther south in the Everglades ecosystem we see serious issues related to phosphorous. … Add to that, Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay have also struggled with water quality. In Florida Bay there has also been hypersalinity … As our waters are warming, these nutrient-dense waters can really light up into concerning algae blooms because algae likes to grow in warm water. That’s adding an additional challenge.
Water management
We have the fastest-growing state of the country built on what was once all swampland—the greater Everglades. And we have drained and re-plumbed the system to allow for commercial, residential and agricultural development, and now we are artificially managing this system and trying to keep all these competing stakeholders happy and protected. Unfortunately, in recent years, flawed water management has opened the floodgates to toxic algae into populated areas—and meanwhile, we are still starving the southern Everglades of needed clean water. We really need to de-compartmentalize the system in a more holistic way. Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote River of Grass in 1947 and helped the world understand that this is one big connected ecosystem and once flowed in a wide slow river of grass. And now we’ve re-plumbed it with all these water management structures—canals, gates—and the way we operate these structures is really important. We need to build more features into the system that look like Mother Nature. We need to work with nature, not against nature. Get more water flowing south. The half million acres of sugarcane south of Lake Okeechobee is a major blockade to restoring the flow.
Climate change and sea level rise
Florida is arguably ground zero for sea level rise and the challenges the world will be facing there. Our response to these is really going to be important, not only as our future as a state but for the rest of the world as an example. We have to be thinking about sending more clean water south to hold back saltwater intrusion. As seal levels rise, it’s going to pose a major threat to our drinking supply of water to South Florida’s more than 8 million people. If we don’t get serious about restoring the flow of clean water to replenish the aquifer, our drinking water supply is going to be in major trouble. It ties into the other things—we can’t just install diesel-powered pumps at the edge of the shore to keep our developed areas dry—we have to take a holistic approach: smart growth management practices, not allowing inappropriate development in flood-prone areas, all these things work together.
Invasive species
We’ve seen the pythons in the headlines as one very dramatic example of what can happen to an ecosystem when an invasive species runs rampant. Nut there are also other examples. We have to monitor them—Brazilian pepper trees, water hyacinths.
A Statement from The Florida Coalition for Preservation
The Florida Coalition for Preservation has been in business for the past 16 years. During that time, the landscape for public service nonprofits has changed dramatically. Virtually all critical Florida growth management laws have disappeared. Residents no longer have a meaningful voice in contentious development decisions. Local zoning laws have almost universally been revised to permit more height and density in new construction. This is particularly true at the base of barrier island bridges, snarling traffic and compromising response times for emergency vehicles. Rising sea levels and aging infrastructure has compromised seawalls and roadways. Add the impact of COVID to the mix, and it is a wonder that any grassroots preservation organization has survived.
Heraclitus said, “There is nothing permanent except change.” The Florida Coalition has been adapting to significant upheaval in the process of how small barrier-island communities can deal with shared growth management and preservation issues. Former days of grassroots activism are now better served with long-range strategic planning and having a seat at the negotiating table. We still have a role to play in preparing our barrier island future. The Coalition is ready to serve in the next decade.
—Kristine de Haseth, Florida Coalition for Preservation
This Web Extra is from the January 2024 issue of Boca magazine. For more like this, click here to subscribe to the magazine.
