By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM M. C. Davis, a Walton County developer who became a world-renowned conservationist, died on July 11 after a long bout with lung cancer. He was 70. Davis purchased 50,000 acres in South Walton County to create a massive environmental restoration project he called Nokuse Plantation (pronounced No-GO-see). He also built the […]
Thursday, July 9, 2015
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM MIDWAY — The Northwest Florida Water Management District is in line to receive more than $10 million in springs protection funding from the state budget and could get as much as $21.5 million, the district’s governing board was told Thursday. The eight possible springs projects include $6.4 million for 1,077 acres […]
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Comments Off on DEP says no “critical” funding would force state parks to close
By BRUCE RITCHIE Florida would be forced to close state parks without approval of a new state budget that provides for at least “critical” spending, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. DEP on Monday issued a list of critical funding needs as requested last week by Gov. Rick Scott in advance of a June 1-20 […]
Monday, May 4, 2015
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Gov. Rick Scott on Monday reappointed Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson along with 15 other agency heads following the Senate’s failure to confirm. The Senate failed to vote on many of Scott’s appointments last week as the 2015 legislative session broke down amid an impasse between the House and […]
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Comments Off on Governor provides Amendment 1 spending breakdown
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDA ENVIRONMENTS Gov. Rick Scott’s office on Thursday provided a breakdown of how the governor requests $757 million provided by Amendment 1 be spent in the 2015-16 state budget. Amendment 1, approved by voters in November, provides one third of the revenue from an excise tax on real estate transactions to the […]
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Comments Off on Senate president says five-year land-buying work plan needed
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Sen. President Andy Gardiner said Thursday that a five-year planning process for land purchases and water projects may be a good idea following voter approval last month of Amendment 1. The amendment provides one-third of revenue from an excise tax on real estate to water and land conservation. Amendment 1 was […]
Friday, November 21, 2014
Comments Off on “Thirsty City” traces history of Atlanta’s water crisis and fight with Florida
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Atlanta created its own legal mess over water because in 1950, then-Mayor William B. Hartsfield refused to spend a little more than $1 million to help pay for Lake Lanier, writes Skye Borden in “Thirsty City: Politics, Greed and the Making of Atlanta’s Water Crisis.” Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been locked in a legal […]
Thursday, August 28, 2014
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM APALACHICOLA — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is sharply reducing the number of oysters that can be taken from Apalachicola Bay because the oyster population there remains low. And some seafood workers are warning that oysters soon could be wiped out in a key harvesting area. State officials in […]
Thursday, June 26, 2014
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM EUFAULA, Ala. — The Chattahoochee River is a single stream flowing towards Florida. But there were two very different activities going on this week that showed the contrasting ways in which people and institutions can deal with a water issue. Along the banks of Lake Eufaula, created by a dam across […]
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Several Florida organizations on Tuesday sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to withdraw from a challenge to a Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan. Bondi came under fire in February after Florida joined 20 other states in filing a legal brief supporting an appeal filed by the American Farm […]
Monday, July 13, 2015
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