Environmentally-Friendly Gardening Tips
Do you use fertilizer on your lawn or landscape? Do you know if you’ve been applying fertilizer correctly? When over-applied or applied incorrectly, fertilizer can be very harmful for the environment. Over-fertilizing plants in a lawn or landscape can lead to pest problems, excessive growth, and the pollution of waterways and groundwater.
Have you noticed abandoned or derelict vessels in Biscayne Bay? These vessels are both navigational hazards and eyesores for our community. Derelict vessels ranging from large commercial ships to smaller recreational boats can shift during storms, destroying crucial benthic habitat – the bottom of a body of water, such as seagrass or coral reefs. Furthermore, toxic chemicals that were onboard at the time of sinking, or oil spills from the vessel itself, pose a threat to surrounding ecosystems and to human health. Additional debris from the vessels such as fishing gear, nets, and other dispersed trash can harm marine life as well.
David Bouck presenting his Master's thesis entitled "Determining Trends in Water Quality Using High Resolution Land Use Data"
Biscayne Bay and its surrounding waterways are widely known as ecologically important areas. Coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves protect nearly everything from juvenile fish to us as inhabitants of this large urban region. As part of their Habitat Blue Print program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made this loud and clear when they chose Biscayne Bay as one of 10 Habitat Focus Areas to focus their time and resources on conserving this important estuary. the Habitat Focus Areas have one thing in common- they are at an ecological tipping point and need help from scientists and other advocates to save them before it is too late. Miami Waterkeeper headed up a NOAA Habitat Focus Area grant, in partnership with many key players at the University of Miami and UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant, to address "The Human Dimensions of Biscayne Bay: Socioeconomics, Spatial Modeling, and Community Engagement." Under this grant, Master's candidate David Bouck completed research related to nutrient loading in Biscayne Bay that was crucial to enhancing our understanding of the Bay's evolving water quality. Learn more about Bouck and his contribution to protecting this focus area!
Your Waterkeeper, Dr. Rachel Silverstein, sampling water quality in Biscayne Bay.
As Miami Waterkeeper continues to collaborate with other local groups in combating the ongoing threat of marine debris, we also continue our work on an equally serious but less visually perceivable marine issue: water quality. Water quality problems have persisted in the region but go largely unnoticed because it’s easier to turn a blind eye to something that you cannot see. However, the health issues for both marine life and humans is extensive, and so it is important that the issue gets the attention it deserves.
Marine Debris and Good Water Quality are Ranked the Highest in Importance by the Public
It is no secret that outreach and education are the cornerstones of what we do at Miami Waterkeeper. Our jurisdiction lies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but we hope to see the positive impact of our work expand way beyond our local waterways. Jessica Perkins, known as Miss Perkins to her students, is an art educator working in Wallingford, Vermont, and a friend to Miami Waterkeeper. She carried our message up to the land-locked state of Vermont, and her students made our organization “thank you notes” in the form of art. Read more about Miss Perkins inspiration, and how no matter your connection to water, you can share the lessons of conservation in your everyday jobs.
September 9, 1958 in Key West. From the Monroe County Library Archives.
Historical exploitation of goliath grouper greatly reduced the number of reproductive adults, and led to their protection in the Caribbean since 1993.
ACTION ALERT:
On Thursday April 26, 2018, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will vote on a “limited take” proposal for the Goliath Grouper. This would allow for the killing of 400 breeding adults of this species by those holding permits! Goliath grouper is critically endangered on the IUCN red list.
This "take" would reverse the successful protection of these species, which has been in place for 28 years. Protections are working and the population is slowly recovering, but this harvest would be a major set back.
For more information on this vote, click HERE!
Metabolic Studio provides support to Miami Waterkeeper to Protect South Florida’s Watershed
Miami, FL – Miami Waterkeeper has received support from the Metabolic Studio for the ongoing and future efforts to monitor water quality in Biscayne Bay and the surrounding waterways.
One of the successes of the Climate Compact is the development of a unified sea-level rise projection that will avoid more scenarios like this in the future. Image Credit: Miami Today News
For Immediate Release, February 14, 2018
Contact:
Rachel Silverstein, Miami Waterkeeper, (305) 905-0856, rachel@miamiwaterkeeper.org
Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper, (904) 509-3260 lisa@stjohnsriverkeeper.org
Tania Galloni, Earthjustice, (305) 440-5432
