Everglades Fishing – Captain Ned Small

August 2009

SUMMARY OF COMMENTS ON NEWSLETTER #5
(Revised Preliminary Alternatives for Marine Waters)
General Management Plan/East Everglades Wilderness Study
Everglades National Park

Dear Friends,

In March 2009, the Everglades planning team published Newsletter #5, which
described four revised preliminary alternatives (named Alternatives 1-4)
for managing Everglades National Park’s marine waters. In March and April
2009, we hosted seven public meetings in South Florida to gather your
comments about these revised alternatives. Six hundred and thirty people
attended the public meetings.  We also met with various stakeholder groups
to discuss the alternatives and gather input; 250 people attended the 16
stakeholder meetings. In addition, we received nearly 600 written comments
from individuals and organizations.

At the public meetings and on the newsletter/online comment forms, we asked
which revised alternative, if any, is close to your idea of a preferred
alternative.  We also asked which elements of the various alternatives you
would like to see included in a preferred alternative, and which elements
you would not like to see included.

Based on your responses, the planning team has challenging work ahead!
Substantial numbers of people expressed support for each of four revised
alternatives that were described in Newsletter #5, including the no-action
or “business as usual” alternative.  In addition, many people expressed
support for “Alternative E/2.5”, a modified version of Alternative 3 that
was developed by a group of Florida Keys citizens.

Elements of the alternatives that people commonly mentioned as desirable
(and undesirable) to include in the preferred alternative are listed below
in the following two sections.  Note that different perspectives are
represented both within and between these two lists.

Elements Most Commonly Mentioned as Desirable to Include in the Preferred
Alternative
   Better markings or navigation aids on the water
   More/increased education efforts to protect marine natural resources
      such as seagrass
   More ranger patrols and/or enforcement on the water to protect resources
   More backcountry campsites
   More launch sites on the main park road and 18 mile stretch
   More idle speed-no wake, pole/troll, and paddle only zones to protect
      resources
   Limit where motorboats can go (e.g., water less than 2 feet deep) to
      protect seagrass
   Boat size or horsepower limits to protect shallow areas
   Limit where motorboats can go for visitor experience reasons
   Keep the Crocodile Sanctuary closed to public access
   Open the Crocodile Sanctuary to paddlers
   Open the Crocodile Sanctuary as a pole/troll zone
   Establish alternative wilderness waterway
   Establish alternative wilderness waterway for paddlers only
   Use adaptive management during GMP implementation
   Improved visitor facilities at Flamingo

Elements Most Commonly Mentioned as Undesirable to Include in the Preferred
Alternative
   Restrictions on motorboat access
   Extensive pole/troll zones, especially without reasonable access routes
   Navigation markers (too many or too large) that would ruin the scenic
      beauty or wildness of the park
   Establish alternative wilderness waterway
   Reduction (compared to now) in Florida Bay marked channels
   Idle speed-no wake zone along shore of Florida Bay

Please check the Everglades General Management Plan (GMP) website (follow
the “General Management Plan” link from the main Everglades National Park
website: www.nps.gov/ever) for a link to this summary and other GMP
information, or contact Fred Herling, Park Planner, at 305-242-7704 or
fred_herling@nps.gov. We will provide periodic updates from the general
management plan team to keep you informed of our progress.

The planning team is currently working to develop park-wide GMP documents –
integrating the recent marine areas work with work previously developed for
all other areas of Everglades National Park. The planning team has begun
developing the draft preferred alternative and over the next year will be
writing the draft General Management Plan/East Everglades Wilderness Study
(EEWS)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Our expectation is that the
draft GMP/EEWS/EIS will be completed and we will receive the required NPS
Washington Office permission to release the draft plan to the public in
late 2010. It is also our expectation that an extensive public review and
meeting process will begin in January 2011.

Thank you for your continued interest and involvement in the planning
process. Together we will develop a plan that provides a variety of visitor
opportunities while continuing to preserve and protect the resources that
make Everglades National Park so special.

(Embedded image moved to file: pic30175.jpg)

Dan B. Kimball, Superintendent

—————————————————————————-

Fred Herling, Supervisory Park Planner
Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks
40001 SR 9336, Homestead, FL 33034
305-242-7704 (phone), 305-242-7711 (fax)
fred_herling@nps.gov

Guess who.

Dear FLORIDA NACO Member,

 EVERGLADES: Fla., Army Corps sign deal to end restoration logjam (08/13/2009) Taryn Luntz, E&E reporterThe federal government and the state of Florida today reached a cost-sharing deal for restoring the Everglades after eight years of disputes that have held up the massive series of projects.

The “master agreement” between the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers sets a baseline cost-sharing model for the more than 60 individual projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

Congress and the state agreed in 2000 to split the cost of the $10.9 billion program, but the federal government has proved a poor partner thus far, with the state outspending it, 6 to 1. President Obama has pledged a renewed federal commitment to the project, proposing $210 million for it in fiscal 2010.

Much of the wrangling between Florida and the Army Corps centered on how much credit the state would get for the $3 billion it has already spent.

“This master agreement is kind of the opening of the logjam between us and the federal government,” said Ken Ammon, the water district’s deputy executive director of Everglades restoration and capital projects. “The agreement essentially gives us the credit for the work we’ve already done and authorizes the future projects to be cost-shared 50-50.”

While each of the individual Everglades restoration projects will need its own cost-sharing agreement as it moves forward, the master agreement provides a detailed model, Ammon said.

Florida and the Army Corps today also signed their first individual project partnership agreement, advancing a plan to reclaim 55,000 acres in the Picayune Strand, a failed development site slated for wetlands restoration.

Florida already has purchased the land, and the project received initial construction funding this year from the federal stimulus package.

Keeping You Informed
National Association of Charterboat Operators