Florida Environments

Wildlife expedition holds scientific value even if biologist has regrets

By BRUCE RITCHIE
Floridaenvironments.com

Biologist Joe Guthrie sounds like he’s being too hard on himself for not taking more notes or recording data on his recent 1,000-mile trek with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition.

Guthrie and photographer Carlton Ward Jr., conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmett and documentary filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus finished their journey April 22 in the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

They began Jan. 17 from Flamingo on Florida Bay and walked, paddled, bicycled and rode horses through the middle and eastern side of the Florida peninsula. They sought to raise awareness of the need for connecting public lands and conserving habitat through the corridor.

Ward shot photos of wild turkeys, sandhill cranes, wood storks, indigo snakes and the ranchers and public lands managers who work the lands.

In a blog on the expedition web site, Guthrie describes their interactions with people and issues involving the landscape connections.

But Guthrie said he’s frustrated at himself for not having the foresight — or the time, really — to record and keep data along the trip.

“I kept some notes. Often that was impossible to do — for days and weeks at a time,” he said.

“We did host a lot of people and had various groups joining us along the way. I’m the kind of person if someone is around I tend to want to be sociable, hang out and enjoy people’s company. It comes at a cost of isolating yourself (while) taking your thoughts and putting them down on paper.”

And it’s obvious that hanging out with people is important in creating awareness.

The expedition was joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. and Nick Wiley, executive director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

And there were the scientists and researchers such as explorer J. Michael Fay of National Geographic, state bear biologist Brian Sheick, Hilary Swain of Archbold Biological Station, snake researcher Zach Forsburg of the Orriane Society and Jennifer Smith of Virginia Tech, who is researching crested caracaras.

Creating awareness on such a trip is an important, Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson said last week in Tallahassee when he was asked to comment on the expedition. Wilson gave a commencement address at Florida State University.

“I wasn’t familiar with the details (of the expedition) but it has value for sure,” Wilson said. “Even if it just for public awareness that leads to support for serious kinds of research.”

Tom Hoctor, director of the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, said the trip will have a scientific benefit with the photographs, documentary film and Guthrie’s observations on where bottlenecks and challenges exist for creating a landscape corridor through the region.

“Folks who do science-based planning work like I do have good access to geographic information data,” said Hoctor, who Guthrie credits for creating the Florida Wildlife Corridor concept.

“It (data) is still not the same as paddling it, walking it, biking it like they did,” Hoctor said. “We haven’t had that experience.”

And Hoctor said Guthrie and the crew members haven’t had time to gather their thoughts and prepare the story of their expedition.

Guthrie said he has in his head now knowledge of the conservation connections that can be made to preserve black bear habitat. He said when he has some time to relax, he will write a paper about the expedition and possibly an article for the popular press.

Every day along the trip, he said, was full of surprises — such as the scale of the aptly named Big Scrub in the Ocala National Forest, the frequency of nest cavities for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, the vast remaining stretches of longleaf pine forests and the conservation tracts in Volusia County and the outlying towns around Orlando.

“Just the fact in a state of 19 million people there is still the kind of landscape that would allow wide ranging animals to connect all the way from mainland to North America, that is a surprise,” he said.

And it was some of the social bonds that were created — apart from the pure science of recording data — that will be an important part of the expedition’s legacy, Guthrie said.

At an area north of Lake Okeechobee where Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last year announced the creation of the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge, the group met with ranchers, environmentalists and federal and state wildlife officials and ranchers — all together.

“At a couple of stops along the way you could look around the room and say, ‘Look at all these people who are here to connect with us and our story and express their interest in seeing conservation happen.’” Guthrie said.

“I’m hopeful that forms some lasting relationships,” he said, “and carries some momentum to carry the refuge forward, get it funded and secure a swath of land that can stay in (conservation) in perpetuity.”

(Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and Floridaenvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained from brucebritchie@gmail.com. Photos copyrighted by  Carlton Ward Jr/CarltonWard.com, used with permission.)

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Cabinet members join group on expedition across Florida

By BRUCE RITCHIE

A team of conservationists on a 1,000-mile expedition across Florida was joined by two Cabinet officials last week just past midway on their trek.

Photographer Carlton Ward Jr., biologist Joe Guthrie and filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus began their journey on Jan. 9 from Florida Bay at the tip of Everglades National Park. They are making their way to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge at the Georgia line to raise awareness of the need for a conserving natural areas throughout the corridor.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam joined Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition this week as they paddled in kayaks along the St. Johns River near Titusville. As Cabinet members, Bondi and Putnam approve state land purchases — and Putnam’s Florida Forestry Services manages some of those natural areas.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s beautiful,” Bondi said. “We saw all these species of birds that I had never seen before — some I had never heard of. I think we need to promote families to do more of this in our state — it’s incredible.”

Putnam called it a “fantastic” experience and said the corridor could create a priority ranking for state land purchases through the area.

The area extends through a “quilt” of state-owned lands, tracts with conservation agreements along with working ranches and farms, Putnam said.

He said the corridor concept emphasizes the need for land purchases and conservation agreements that allow bears, panthers or other mammals to roam great distances as opposed to isolated purchases elsewhere.

“I’m not suggesting that be the only consideration,” Putnam said. “But the policy implication could be you give additional weight where you have the opportunity to close gaps.”

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January announced the creation of the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area through a portion of the corridor north of Lake Okeechobee. The initiative involves the federal purchase of land and protection agreements across 150,000 acres.

Florida’s land acquisition program, Florida Forever, was the largest in the nation from 1990 through 2008. But its $300 million annual funding was sharply reduced by the Legislature beginning in 2009.

The proposed 2012-13 state budget includes $8.3 million for Florida Forever. Gov. Rick Scott had requested $15 million for the program.

(Photos courtesy of Carlton Ward Photography courtesy of Carlton Ward Photography, used with permission. Story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and Floridaenvironments.com. Please do not copy or redistribute without permission, which can be obtained from brucebritchie@gmail.com.)

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Septic tanks bill will hurt Wakulla Springs, Tallahassee official says

BY BRUCE RITCHIE

There’s new opposition to bills that would repeal a state septic tank inspection requirement: A Tallahassee official told senators this week that the bill could make it more difficult to restore Wakulla Springs.

The Legislature in 2010 adopted a statewide septic tank inspection requirement that supporters said would protect springs and groundwater. Scientists say Wakulla Springs has become choked with weeds and algae because of nitrogen from sources including wastewater, septic tanks, fertilizer and dirty stormwater runoff.

The 2010 legislation led to a backlash from tea party opponents who said the inspections were an expensive and unnecessary government intrusion. The inspections, required every five years, cost between $83 and $215 in three counties where inspections already are required, according to a House staff analysis.

HB 999 would repeal the statewide requirement and establish limits on inspection programs in counties. Nineteen counties with large springs, such as Wakulla County, would have to vote not to require inspections. The bill passed the House last week 105-11, according to the Florida Current.

The bill has support from groups including the Florida Onsite Wastewater Association, the Florida Home Builders Association, Associated Industries of Florida, Florida Realtors, Audubon of Florida and the Coalition for Property Rights. Sierra Club Florida and the Florida Stormwater Association oppose the bill.

John Buss, the city of Tallahassee’s director of water resource engineer, told the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday that the bill will make it more difficult to reduce nitrate-nitrogen levels in Wakulla Springs State Park.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday set a nitrate-nitrogen limit of .35 milligrams per liter for the springs 15 miles south of the Capitol. The new limits, which are about one-third highest nitrate levels in Wakulla Springs, take effect on March 21.

State law now requires a 24-inch separation between a septic tank drainfield and groundwater to prevent contamination. HB 999 prohibits inspectors from requiring the separation during inspections of existing septic tanks.

Without that separation, Buss said, the soil is unable to treat septic tank wastewater to remove nitrogen. A septic tank with a clogged drainfield, he said, won’t be in violation unless raw sewage is flowing from the surface.

The city of Tallahassee has spent $220 million to upgrade its sewage treatment plants to protect Wakulla Springs, Buss said. Reducing nitrogen from septic tanks, he said, also will be important in reducing nitrogen in the springs.

“The biggest source of loading now for Wakulla Springs is septic tanks,” Buss said. “And you are tying our hands with regards to trying to manage that problem.”

Keith Hetrick, general counsel for the Florida Home Builders Association, said the separation requirement was established as a permitting standard during construction, not an inspection requirement. He said the separation requirement in 2010 law created the backlash against inspections.

“That groundwater table fluctuates over time,” he continued. “If you are unlucky enough to be 23 inches when they go down and poke a stick in the ground you have to replace your whole system. That is not fair to the citizens.”

The Senate version of the bill, SB 820, passed the Budget Committee 19-2 and is headed to the Senate floor. Senators, such as Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, voted for the bill with no mention of Wakulla Springs or the city’s opposition.

“Thank you for doing this,” Montford told Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness and the SB 820 sponsor. “It may not be perfect. What we have here is a result of two years of waiting and studying and discussion.”

(Graphic art courtesy from U. S. Environmental Protection Agency educational materials. Photo and story copyrighted by Bruce Ritchie and Floridaenvironments.com. Do not copy or redistribute without permission).

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