CURRENT ISSUES

The Suwannee–American Cement Plant (continued)

now a company largely owned by a Brazilian corporation very large and powerful on the international cement scene, continues to be sharply defined on the eco–threat radar screen. This operation has a high probability of damaging the Ichetucknee /Santa Fe / Suwannee riverine system, all the underground streams which connect with it and domestic wells throughout the area of impact while poisoning the sky.

Columbia County Development

Sure, every Florida county wants to see growth and jobs and all the so–called benefits of development. North Florida is not apt to learn from the experience of South Florida because it doesn’t understand the insidious character of the virus. There are clear signals in Columbia County and at Lake City that growth decisions may very well impact the Ichetucknee very negatively and related ecosystems as well. Since Ichetucknee is one of the most popular summer fun destinations in the entire area, if it gets sick, much more gets sick.

The Pipe Line...
THE PIPE LINE!

Over a period of several decades going back to the Florida land boom of the 1920’s South Florida has used up its own resources as if there were no tomorrow. The Sun Coast is running out of fresh water. Now, with one of the densest population concentrations in America, the Tampa–St. Pete metro area is looking northward for & for what? You guessed it. They want to pipe the Suwannee River down to where it’s “really needed.” Well, this issue has arrived. There were noisy and passionate public meetings and the issue has briefly gone away. It will beback. Every day, the river and all its connecting fingers above and below ground work for us in tens of thousands of different ways, nourishing our wildlife, blending at the estuary to sustain marshes and blue crabs, growing our trees, watering our livestock,making our iced tea. Our slogan is not complicated: The Suwannee's Should Stay Where God Put Them.

DREDGING AT MOUTH OF SUWANNEE

Proposed once again with the Army Corps of Engineers ready to plow as soon as they can break loose the funding. Unfortunately, the proposed dredging is deeper and larger than needed and will be highly destructive of the Great Suwannee Reef, a vital, marine ecosystem.Street talk asserts that the dredging is favored by the same interests who want to see larger craft on the river including commercial carriers of such products as cement. Street talk is not always accurate but in this part of Florida it tends to be based on fact.

Bombing of the Big Bend

The U.S. Air Force has some weapons it wants to test. These are flying bombs which they hope can hit their targets. They want to use a platform out in the Gulf of Mexico and shoot bombs at a certain space along the big Bend coast in an attempt to establish relative accuracy. The bombs will vary from minimally explosive to very explosive. Potential sites have been identified in Levy, Dixie and Taylor Counties. Suwannee Audubon opposes the plan since all of the sites so far named are essentially in wilderness areas where Florida beauty with its streams, wet lands, plants and critters would be hit unmercifully hard. We believe other areas can be found that would be more appropriate than along Florida’s Nature Coast. Not only would Nature be impacted by the bombs. People could be killed. Just one bad miss could wipe out a school, a church a small town or a considerable stretch of country road..

Additional Issues: There are many.

Frankly, we do not have the room to list all of the current issues. Watch this space. In future editions we will do updates with the latest threats to the Suwannee. There are new ones almost weekly. We do not meet them with glee butsurely with determination to head off what we can.

THERE IS NOTHING ELSE QUITE LIKE SUWAUD