White Papers on Pelican Bay Issues
Index to Articles
I. The Function, Duties and Power of PBSDper the Ordinances - Linda Roth, Analyst, MAG
II. Navigation Markers versus Information Signs - Pelican Post, Feb. 2010
III Outer Clam Bay: Nearly Natural State Rich in Grasses, Mangroves, Marine Animals
- Kathy Worley, Conservancy SWFl
IV. Mangroves: Carbon-Rich Forests Lower Greenhouse Gases - Science Daily, Apr 5, 2011
V. Excessive Dredging: Excerpt of Letter to Army Corp of Engineers
- Linda Roth, Analyst, MAG
VI. Management of NRPA: History and Evolution of Control
- Linda Roth, Analyst, MAG
VII. Sugar and the Water We Drink - Ray Judah, former Lee County Commissioner
VIII. How Pelican Bay Was Developed - Compilation of Published Reports
I. Functions, Powers, Duties as listed in the Ordinances: Clarification of roles of
PBSD and Administrator
Collier County Board of Commissioners
• The BCC shall accept the direction of the PBSD Board in its policy decisions relating to the PB MSTBU, to the maximum extent allowed by law, unless and except when there is some overriding governmental reason to do otherwise.
• All ultimate policy making powers are reserved unto the BCC, sitting as ex-officio Board of the PB MSTBU pursuant to Florida Law. (The reason some decisions made by the PBSD Board require BCC approval)
• The County Manager shall accept the direction of the PB MSTBU Board in its exercise of decision and control of the day to day operations, to the maximum extent allowed by law, unless and except when there is some overriding governmental reasons to do otherwise.
• All ultimate administrative and ministerial powers related to the operations of PB MSTBU are retained by the County Manager under the policy direction of the BCC, sitting as the ex-officio Board of the PB MSTBU .
• All ultimate policy making powers are reserved unto the BCC, sitting as ex-officio Board of the PB MSTBU pursuant to Florida Law. (The reason some decisions made by the PBSD Board require BCC approval)
• The County Manager shall accept the direction of the PB MSTBU Board in its exercise of decision and control of the day to day operations, to the maximum extent allowed by law, unless and except when there is some overriding governmental reasons to do otherwise.
• All ultimate administrative and ministerial powers related to the operations of PB MSTBU are retained by the County Manager under the policy direction of the BCC, sitting as the ex-officio Board of the PB MSTBU .
PBSD Administrator:
• The Administrator, hired by the PBSD Board, has no decision making ability or power.
• The PBSD Administrator is a liaison between the PBSD Board and the County Manager. He is to report periodically to the County Manager on the activities of the PB MSTBU. ("Report to" does not mean "answer to”.)
• He has a contract with the PB MSTBU.
• The salaries of the PBSD Administrator and staff are paid by the PB MSTBU.
• The duty of the Administrator is to implement the decisions made by the PBSD Board. (Some decisions require BCC approval, e.g., annual budget, Clam Pass.)
• The PBSD Administrator is a liaison between the PBSD Board and the County Manager. He is to report periodically to the County Manager on the activities of the PB MSTBU. ("Report to" does not mean "answer to”.)
• He has a contract with the PB MSTBU.
• The salaries of the PBSD Administrator and staff are paid by the PB MSTBU.
• The duty of the Administrator is to implement the decisions made by the PBSD Board. (Some decisions require BCC approval, e.g., annual budget, Clam Pass.)
In Summary . . .
The Board both advises and makes decisions.
• The Board is much more than an advisory committee to the BCC. Unlike the Coastal Advisory Committee, or the Library Advisory Committee among others, the PBSD makes decisions . The Adminstrator implements the decisions
• Pelican Bay Blvd. is a County Road. All County citizens, especially those residing in neighborhoods, have the right to be involved in the reconstruction of the road and median.
• The Amended Memorandum of Letter of Agreement/Understanding for the BCC and the County Manager with the PB MSTBU Board clearly define the authority and responsibility of the PBSD Board. Functions, Powers and Duties of the Board are listed in Ordinances 2002-27, 2006-05, 2013-19, 2013-61.
These PB MSTBU Ordinances, together with the Letters of Agreement/Understanding, are agreed-upon contracts between the Board of County Commissioners and the Pelican Bay Community.
-- Linda Roth, MAG, August 27, 2015
• The Board is much more than an advisory committee to the BCC. Unlike the Coastal Advisory Committee, or the Library Advisory Committee among others, the PBSD makes decisions . The Adminstrator implements the decisions
• Pelican Bay Blvd. is a County Road. All County citizens, especially those residing in neighborhoods, have the right to be involved in the reconstruction of the road and median.
• The Amended Memorandum of Letter of Agreement/Understanding for the BCC and the County Manager with the PB MSTBU Board clearly define the authority and responsibility of the PBSD Board. Functions, Powers and Duties of the Board are listed in Ordinances 2002-27, 2006-05, 2013-19, 2013-61.
These PB MSTBU Ordinances, together with the Letters of Agreement/Understanding, are agreed-upon contracts between the Board of County Commissioners and the Pelican Bay Community.
-- Linda Roth, MAG, August 27, 2015
II Navigation Markers versus Infornational Markers
In 2009, installing navigational markers (versus informational markers) became an issue in when the County insisted that the 1998 Corps permit required red and green lateral navigational markers.
Bear in mind, to get to the Gulf, Seagate boat users must traverse Outer Clam which is often 18 inches at its deepest points at low tide and often impassable; and that Clam Pass closes from time to time, and is kept open only by dredging.
After extensive study, the Foundation determined that the red/ /green lateral navigational markers would be detrimental to the interests of Clam Bay and Pelican Bay for these reasons:
The proposed markers would far exceed anything contemplated in the Clam Bay Restoration and Management Plan.
The BCC voted in June 2009 to approve the installation of the red and green lateral navigational markers by a vote of four to one. Commissioner Tom Henning voted against installation. Following that vote, County staff began the permitting process with applications with the Corps, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
In return, the Foundation over the next five months began an opposing process of opposing each and every application on multiple grounds.
The result was that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission denied the permits. While the County could again file its permit applications, it would have to do so under much more stringent standards. The County may well not be able to meet the new standards.
– Pelican Bay Post, precis by JF, MAG
Bear in mind, to get to the Gulf, Seagate boat users must traverse Outer Clam which is often 18 inches at its deepest points at low tide and often impassable; and that Clam Pass closes from time to time, and is kept open only by dredging.
After extensive study, the Foundation determined that the red/ /green lateral navigational markers would be detrimental to the interests of Clam Bay and Pelican Bay for these reasons:
The proposed markers would far exceed anything contemplated in the Clam Bay Restoration and Management Plan.
- They were inappropriate for a shallow, fragile preservation area in a designated Natural Resource Protection Area.
- They had the inevitable secondary effects of more and larger boats, more oil, more gasoline, more trash, and the degradation of submerged aquatic vegetation in Clam Bay.
- They would have implied navigability when there is none for more than kayaks.
- They would encourage the idea that dredging in Clam Bay to foster power boat navigation is acceptable. That would be inconsistent with the nature of Clam Bay and not contemplated or approved by either the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or the Corps, nor permitted by the protective covenants and restrictions of the Foundation.
- The Foundation was concerned that the placement of these markers at the mouth of Clam Pass will encourage boaters to believe that Clam Bay is navigable and appropriate for power boats (with deep draft) that would have damaging impact to the Bay, to the uninformed boaters wanting to explore Clam Bay who are unaware of its severe boating limitations, and the danger to the many waders and swimmers and waders from Clam Pass Park and from Pelican Bay’s South Beach.
- Finally, the protective covenants and restrictions would require the approval of the Foundation before they may be installed, and the County had explicitly refused to ask for that approval. The Foundation did not want the county to establish the precedent of being able to disregard the protective covenants and restrictions.
- Seagate would drop its insistence on the installation of the markers,
- The Foundation would support dredging Outer Clam Bay to maintain the current 18-inch minimum depth.
- Keep the red and green navigational markers in Clam Bay,
- Dredge Clam Bay to a depth of four feet, deep enough to accommodate a 60-to-70-foot boat that has a deep-draft.
The BCC voted in June 2009 to approve the installation of the red and green lateral navigational markers by a vote of four to one. Commissioner Tom Henning voted against installation. Following that vote, County staff began the permitting process with applications with the Corps, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
In return, the Foundation over the next five months began an opposing process of opposing each and every application on multiple grounds.
The result was that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission denied the permits. While the County could again file its permit applications, it would have to do so under much more stringent standards. The County may well not be able to meet the new standards.
– Pelican Bay Post, precis by JF, MAG
III. Outer Clam Bay Is Rich in Grasses, Marine Animals, and in a Nearly Natural State,
A Summary of the Study by the Conservancy of SW Florida that MAG Commissioned
A Summary of the Study by the Conservancy of SW Florida that MAG Commissioned
Lower Clam Bay, sometimes referred to as Outer Clam Bay, is an estimated 72-acre lagoon connected to the Gulf by a small channel leading north, then west to Clam Pass.
The channel has a natural tendency to be constricted in places, thus at times restricting flow to the southern parts of the bay. Depths vary from less than one to four feet with an average depth of three feet. The north end of the bay and channel is usually exposed twice daily at low tide.
This bay is strongly influenced by mixed tides (diurnal and semi-diurnal) and is usually turbid due to the suspension of fine sands in tidal currents. Salinities range from 15 to 35 parts per thousand.
This bay has been reported to have the highest algal diversity of the back bay system, consisting mainly of epiphytic species found on the prop roots of red mangroves in the intertidal zone (Humm and Rehm, 1972).
Sea beds, mainly shoal grass (Halodule beaudettei also known as Halodule wrightii) (Devlin, et al, 1987), were historically present along with eighty-four species of flora and fauna (Coral Ridge Collier Properties, 1979). Included are tunicates, horn and dove shells, pink shrimp, xanthid and portunid crabs, lizardfish, mullet, perch, file and pinfish, mojarra, goby and juvenile gray snapper (FDER, 1984).
Lower Clam Bay (aka Outer Clam Bay) and its surrounding mangrove forest appear at a glance to be in a nearly natural state, although 14 acres were altered by illegal fill activity by a previous property owner in 1972 in the northern portion of the bay.
The channel has a natural tendency to be constricted in places, thus at times restricting flow to the southern parts of the bay. Depths vary from less than one to four feet with an average depth of three feet. The north end of the bay and channel is usually exposed twice daily at low tide.
This bay is strongly influenced by mixed tides (diurnal and semi-diurnal) and is usually turbid due to the suspension of fine sands in tidal currents. Salinities range from 15 to 35 parts per thousand.
This bay has been reported to have the highest algal diversity of the back bay system, consisting mainly of epiphytic species found on the prop roots of red mangroves in the intertidal zone (Humm and Rehm, 1972).
Sea beds, mainly shoal grass (Halodule beaudettei also known as Halodule wrightii) (Devlin, et al, 1987), were historically present along with eighty-four species of flora and fauna (Coral Ridge Collier Properties, 1979). Included are tunicates, horn and dove shells, pink shrimp, xanthid and portunid crabs, lizardfish, mullet, perch, file and pinfish, mojarra, goby and juvenile gray snapper (FDER, 1984).
Lower Clam Bay (aka Outer Clam Bay) and its surrounding mangrove forest appear at a glance to be in a nearly natural state, although 14 acres were altered by illegal fill activity by a previous property owner in 1972 in the northern portion of the bay.
IV. Mangroves, One of the Most Carbon-Rich Forests, Lower Greenhouse Gases
ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2011) — Coastal mangrove forests store more carbon than almost any other forest on Earth, according to a study conducted by a team of U.S. Forest Service and university scientists. Their findings are published online in the journal Nature Geoscience.
A research team from the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest and Northern research stations, University of Helsinki and the Center for International Forestry Research examined the carbon content of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo-Pacific region and found that per hectare mangrove forests store up to four times more carbon than most other tropical forests around the world.
"Mangroves have long been known as extremely productive ecosystems that cycle carbon quickly, but until now there had been no estimate of how much carbon resides in these systems. That's essential information because when land-use change occurs, much of that standing carbon stock can be released to the atmosphere," says Daniel Donato, a postdoctoral research ecologist at the Pacific Southwest Research Station in Hilo, Hawaii.
The mangrove forest's ability to store such large amounts of carbon can be attributed, in part, to the deep organic-rich soils in which it thrives. Mangrove-sediment carbon stores were on average five times larger than those typically observed in temperate, boreal and tropical terrestrial forests, on a per-unit-area basis. The mangrove forest's complex root systems, which anchor the plants into underwater sediment, slow down incoming tidal waters allowing organic and inorganic material to settle into the sediment surface. Low oxygen conditions slow decay rates, resulting in much of the carbon accumulating in the soil. In fact, mangroves have more carbon in their soil alone than most tropical forests have in all their biomass and soil combined.
This high-carbon storage suggests mangroves may play an important role in climate change management. Aside from the main greenhouse gas contributor of fossil-fuel burning, the forestry sector can play a part -- especially carbon-rich forests that are being cleared rapidly on a global scale, such as mangroves.
"When we did the math, we were surprised to see just how much carbon is likely being released from mangrove clearing," says Donato. This suggests, says Donato, that . . . mangroves may be strong candidates for programs aiming to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation rates.
Recently, mangroves have experienced rapid deforestation worldwide -- a 30-50 percent decline in the past 50 years. Mangrove deforestation generates greenhouse gas emissions of 0.02-0.12 petagrams of carbon per year, which is equivalent to up to 10 percent of carbon emissions from global deforestation, according to the research team's findings.
Source: Marine Biological Laboratory (2011, May 31). Global warming may increase the capacity of trees to store carbon. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/05/110525120050.htm
A research team from the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest and Northern research stations, University of Helsinki and the Center for International Forestry Research examined the carbon content of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo-Pacific region and found that per hectare mangrove forests store up to four times more carbon than most other tropical forests around the world.
"Mangroves have long been known as extremely productive ecosystems that cycle carbon quickly, but until now there had been no estimate of how much carbon resides in these systems. That's essential information because when land-use change occurs, much of that standing carbon stock can be released to the atmosphere," says Daniel Donato, a postdoctoral research ecologist at the Pacific Southwest Research Station in Hilo, Hawaii.
The mangrove forest's ability to store such large amounts of carbon can be attributed, in part, to the deep organic-rich soils in which it thrives. Mangrove-sediment carbon stores were on average five times larger than those typically observed in temperate, boreal and tropical terrestrial forests, on a per-unit-area basis. The mangrove forest's complex root systems, which anchor the plants into underwater sediment, slow down incoming tidal waters allowing organic and inorganic material to settle into the sediment surface. Low oxygen conditions slow decay rates, resulting in much of the carbon accumulating in the soil. In fact, mangroves have more carbon in their soil alone than most tropical forests have in all their biomass and soil combined.
This high-carbon storage suggests mangroves may play an important role in climate change management. Aside from the main greenhouse gas contributor of fossil-fuel burning, the forestry sector can play a part -- especially carbon-rich forests that are being cleared rapidly on a global scale, such as mangroves.
"When we did the math, we were surprised to see just how much carbon is likely being released from mangrove clearing," says Donato. This suggests, says Donato, that . . . mangroves may be strong candidates for programs aiming to mitigate climate change by reducing deforestation rates.
Recently, mangroves have experienced rapid deforestation worldwide -- a 30-50 percent decline in the past 50 years. Mangrove deforestation generates greenhouse gas emissions of 0.02-0.12 petagrams of carbon per year, which is equivalent to up to 10 percent of carbon emissions from global deforestation, according to the research team's findings.
Source: Marine Biological Laboratory (2011, May 31). Global warming may increase the capacity of trees to store carbon. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/05/110525120050.htm
V. How the Management of the NRPA Evolved
CURRENT MANAGEMENT
Pelican Bay Services Division (PBSD) is part of Collier County government. The PBSD board is the governing body of the Pelican Bay Municipal Services Taxing and Benefit Unit (PB MSTBU). This entity was established by Collier County in 1990.
• PBSD serves as an advisory committee to the Collier County Commission.
• It has 11 members appointed by the Collier County Commission.
• Its purpose and power are to maintain the conservation and preserve areas. These are not its only purpose. All are stated in multiple Collier County Ordinances, the first instance in 1990, the most recent in 2013.
County Ordinance 2013-61, Section Four states that the Unit was formed “for the purpose of providing street lighting, water management, beach re-nourishment, ambient noise management, extra-ordinary law enforcement service, and beautification including but not limited to beautification of recreation facilities, sidewalk, street and median areas, identification markers, the maintenance of conservation or preserve areas including the restoration of the mangrove forest preserve, and to finance the landscaping beautification of only that portion of U.S. 41 from Pine Ridge Road to Vanderbilt Beach Road in the above-described taxing and benefit unit and to that end shall possess all the powers to do all things reasonably necessary to provide such services.
The Unit will be solely responsible for advising the County on dredging and maintaining Clam Pass for the purpose of enhancing the health of the affected mangrove forest, and will manage such activities for the County."
DISSENTING VOICES:
Beginning in 2006, the County’s Coastal Zone Manager (CZM) with strong influence by the Seagate Community proceeded to move the management of Clam Pass/Clam Bay Natural Resources Protection Area (NRPA) from the Pelican Bay Services Division to that of the Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC) and CZM.
Although this change violated the County’s PB MSTBU Ordinances and such change requires the approval of the Commission, it nevertheless happened. The PBSD was unable to initiate or affect any proposal. The majority(4-of-5) commissioners simply approved whatever CZM and CAC recommended.
These successive actions are recorded in the CAC and BCC meeting Minutes.
In December 2012, the make-up of the Collier Country Commission had changed. In a majority vote–three of the commissioners reaffirmed the PB MSTBU Ordinance; returned maintenance of the Clam Bay conservation/preserve areas to PBSD, and directed PBSD to develop a new Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan.
Let’s suppose: If that power had not been returned to PBSD . . .
• CZM would have dredged Clam Pass to mine sand to re-nourish Clam Pass Park beach, increase navigation for powerboats, and flush three private Seagate canals.
• The dredging template would have been a draconian 80 feet wide at the mouth of the Pass, and 5.5 to 6.5 feet deep throughout the Pass. Seagate asked that the cut continue all the way to the Seagate canals.
• There would not be a management plan to maintain Clam Pass/Clam Bay as a NRPA–a slow-flowing mangrove estuarine ecosystem and a critical nursery for marine fauna and flora.
STRATEGY OF MAG AND OTHERS COMMITTED TO THE HEALTH OF THE NRPA
It is vital that Pelican Bay property owners, environmentalists, kayakers, canoeists, fishers of the Clam Bay estuary elect at least three Commissioners who are dedicated to the legal mandate that the health of the NRPA – its mangroves and waters, its flora and fauna – are the priority concern; and committed to the maintenance of Clam Bay as a Nature Preserve where the greater public can safely enjoy passive recreational activities. Seagate–whose sole interest is in having a deep boating channel to the Gulf available at low tide, is working hard towards changing the majority vote on the Commission. They are trying to convince the Commission and media that “Clam Bay should not be in the hands of a few individuals from Pelican Bay.”
Now, let's examine the County Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC). It is supposed to represent all Collier County citizens, but it does not. Its members include three from the City of Naples, three from Marco Island, and three from Unincorporated Collier County, which covers an extensive area and a large population. Pelican Bay has one representative who has never advocated for Pelican Bay residents or the users of Clam Bay; that person endorses every thing CZM proposes.
Furthermore, the majority of the CAC representatives are powerboat owners recruited by CZM, whose primary concern is dredging inlets for navigation and beach renourishment.
Conservationists cannot allow the management of the priceless, irreplaceable Clam Bay estuary to be in the hands of a group whose interests are diametrically opposed to the health of this NRPA. Based on its past and current actions, it is naïve to believe that this group will give up their goal to manage Clam Pass and Clam Bay primarily to mine sand, enhance powerboat navigation, and flush the private Seagate canals.
The PBSD has been a responsible steward of the Clam Bay mangrove conservation area. Under its management,
• the mangrove die-off was arrested and the forest restored.
• the Pass has been kept open.
• the development of the 2014 Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan, over a period of 18 months, was conducted in a very inclusive and transparent manner.
• the 26 publicly noticed PBSD meetings; agenda; minutes; as well as the 12 versions of the Plan have been posted on the County PBSD website for the public to review.
Numerous stakeholders, including Seagate and Naples Cay were invited to participate in the development of the Plan. Seagate chose not to participate, but opposed the Plan when it was finished. If these opponents have read the 189-page Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan (developed by environmental scientists, coastal engineers, and stakeholders), they would see that the three issues they raise (monitoring water quality, sand placement, dredging interconnecting waterway) are addressed in the solid comprehensive Plan. Of course, Seagate argues that future modifications of the Plan be done by BCC, rather than by conservation-minded PBSD.
Oddly, Seagate that opposed the 1998 Clam Bay Restoration & Management Plan now believes that its language– that no longer reflects the current conditions of the Clam Bay ecosystem– is acceptable and wants it retained.
Linda Roth, MAG Board, has the PB MSTBU Ordinances and other official documents pertaining to Clam Pass/Clam Bay. She will make them available to anyone who wishes to study them.
– Linda Roth, MAG
VI. SUGAR AND THE WATER WE DRINK: Paradise Adrift:
- Ray Judah, former Lee County Commissioner
The dark discoloration of water in our estuaries and massive clumps of red drift algae along our gulf beaches is a vivid reminder of the harmful discharge of polluted water from lake Okeechobee during the summer of 2013. Once pristine blue waters so essential to our quality of life and multibillion dollar tourism and real estate industries has rapidly degraded due to excessive discharge of water laden with chemical waste such as insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers including nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural operations including sugar cane fields in the Lake Okeechobee watershed.
In the 2014 Legislative session, a Senate Select Committee on the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin will present a report with recommendations to address short and long-term solutions to reduce or eliminate excessive releases from Lake Okeechobee.
Although the report states that "providing a path southward for water in Lake Okeechobee is a key component to fully managing discharges east and west from the lake", the report dismisses a proposed flow-way in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) south of Lake Okeechobee as a viable solution to store, treat and convey water south from the lake to Everglades National Park. In 2008, George Cavros prepared an analysis of a storage flow-way plan to restore and protect the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades in a comprehensive and detailed report for the Rivers Coalition that demonstrated a flow-way south of the lake to be the most practical and cost effective solution to alleviating the massive releases of water from Lake Okeechobee that is causing adverse harm to coastal estuaries.
The Senate Committee's report further states that "there are a number of water projects, both proposed and underway that, once completed, will significantly increase the water storage capacity in south Florida". Unfortunately, the numbers pertaining to the water storage capacity of the referenced projects do not add up to adequately address the devastating discharges from Lake Okeechobee.
The Central Everglades Planning Project including the additional 2.6 miles of bridging along the Tamiami Trail proposed under the joint partnership between the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Interior is important to enhancing flow under the Tamiami Trail but will only convey approximately 210,000 acre feet (68 billion gallons) of water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park. The balance of the drainage flowing south is from the EAA. The C-44 Reservoir, with a 6,000 acre filtration wetland, that is under construction on the east coast will store approximately 50,000 acre feet (16 billion gallons) of water from surrounding agricultural drainage with no relief for Lake Okeechobee water release.
The C-43 Reservoir to be constructed with funding from the Water Resource Development and Reform Act is designed to only store 170,000 acre feet of water (55 billion gallons or less than 5 inches off Lake Okeechobee) and with no water quality component.
In an average year, approximately 1.4 million acre feet (455 billion gallons ) of water from Lake Okeechobee is released to the St. Lucie (400,000 acre feet or 130 billion gallons) and Caloosahatchee (1,000,000 acre feet or 325 billion gallons) that flows to the estuaries on the east and west coast of south Florida. In wet years, such as 2005 and 2013, approximately 2.5 million acre feet ( 812 billion gallons ) of water was released from Lake Okeechobee to tide.
The proposed flow-way in the EAA south of Lake Okeechobee requires state acquisition of approximately 20,000 acres of U.S. Sugar lands and approximately 30,000 acres of Florida Crystals lands to provide sufficient storage, treatment and conveyance of water from Lake Okeechobee south to the Everglades. The combined acreage of 50,000 acres is only 7% of agricultural lands in the EAA and 15% of sugar cane fields thereby assuring a sustainable agricultural industry and restoration of Lake Okeechobee and Everglades and protection of coastal estuaries.
A Clean Water Action Event is scheduled on February 1, 2014 from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Lee County Alliance of the Arts.
VII. HOW PELICAN BAY WAS DEVELOPED
Pelican Bay development was guided by the goals of preservation and conservation of its 560 acres of mangroves and open water areas within its 2,330 acres. A division of Westinghouse, (now, WCI Communities) purchased the property from Barron Collier and created what is today called, “a model of environmental planning.”
Pelican Bay was originally called Clam Bay, but was renamed Pelican Bay in 1974. The Clam Bay Conservation Area was deeded with restrictions to Collier County in 1982. It was designated a Natural Resource Protection Area by Collier County in 1995.
As the master developer, Westinghouse set a number of common areas aside that would be maintained in perpetuity under the guidance of the Pelican Bay Foundation. Residents pay dues to the Foundation and taxes to the Pelican Bay Services Division (PBSD) in addition to their property taxes.
The PBSD is an advisory board and an arm of Collier County. It maintains areas such as streetscape beautification, identification markers, street lighting, water management, mangrove and conservation-preserve area maintenance.
A 2,900-foot long by 10-foot wide boardwalk leading to Clam Pass Park was constructed through the mangroves over a narrow section of Outer Clam Bay in 1986.
Stressors to the ecosystem include overland flow of fresh water from neighboring communities and storm-water from Seagate. Pelican Bay maintains an effective storm water management system.
Bays, Birds, and Bio-Diversity of Clam Bay and Estuarin)
Clam Bay, consisting of Upper, Inner, Outer Clam Bays, and its connecting waterways was isolated north and south when Seagate Drive and Vanderbilt Beach Road were constructed.
Outer Clam Bay with its high algal diversity consists mainly of epiphytic species found on the prop roots of red mangroves. Seagrass beds, mainly shoal grass, are historically present along with eighty-four species of flora and fauna. Included are tunicates, horn and dove shells, pink shrimp, xanthid and portunid crabs, lizardfish, mullet, perch, file and pinfish, mojarra, goby and juvenile gray snapper.
Inner and Upper Clams Bays and the surrounding mangrove forest remain in a nearly natural state, providing rookeries and fishing grounds for a multitude of shore and migratory birds.
The rich bird and wildlife supports our claim that Clam Bay Conservation Area has more bio-diversity than Corkscrew Sanctuary.
The bays and meandering creeks that exit into the Gulf of Mexico at Clam Pass is a water playground for bathers and anglers, for kayaking and canoeing. The Beaches from Seagate Drive north to Vanderbilt Beach Road is second most popular beach in the County.
• PBSD serves as an advisory committee to the Collier County Commission.
• It has 11 members appointed by the Collier County Commission.
• Its purpose and power are to maintain the conservation and preserve areas. These are not its only purpose. All are stated in multiple Collier County Ordinances, the first instance in 1990, the most recent in 2013.
County Ordinance 2013-61, Section Four states that the Unit was formed “for the purpose of providing street lighting, water management, beach re-nourishment, ambient noise management, extra-ordinary law enforcement service, and beautification including but not limited to beautification of recreation facilities, sidewalk, street and median areas, identification markers, the maintenance of conservation or preserve areas including the restoration of the mangrove forest preserve, and to finance the landscaping beautification of only that portion of U.S. 41 from Pine Ridge Road to Vanderbilt Beach Road in the above-described taxing and benefit unit and to that end shall possess all the powers to do all things reasonably necessary to provide such services.
The Unit will be solely responsible for advising the County on dredging and maintaining Clam Pass for the purpose of enhancing the health of the affected mangrove forest, and will manage such activities for the County."
DISSENTING VOICES:
Beginning in 2006, the County’s Coastal Zone Manager (CZM) with strong influence by the Seagate Community proceeded to move the management of Clam Pass/Clam Bay Natural Resources Protection Area (NRPA) from the Pelican Bay Services Division to that of the Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC) and CZM.
Although this change violated the County’s PB MSTBU Ordinances and such change requires the approval of the Commission, it nevertheless happened. The PBSD was unable to initiate or affect any proposal. The majority(4-of-5) commissioners simply approved whatever CZM and CAC recommended.
These successive actions are recorded in the CAC and BCC meeting Minutes.
In December 2012, the make-up of the Collier Country Commission had changed. In a majority vote–three of the commissioners reaffirmed the PB MSTBU Ordinance; returned maintenance of the Clam Bay conservation/preserve areas to PBSD, and directed PBSD to develop a new Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan.
Let’s suppose: If that power had not been returned to PBSD . . .
• CZM would have dredged Clam Pass to mine sand to re-nourish Clam Pass Park beach, increase navigation for powerboats, and flush three private Seagate canals.
• The dredging template would have been a draconian 80 feet wide at the mouth of the Pass, and 5.5 to 6.5 feet deep throughout the Pass. Seagate asked that the cut continue all the way to the Seagate canals.
• There would not be a management plan to maintain Clam Pass/Clam Bay as a NRPA–a slow-flowing mangrove estuarine ecosystem and a critical nursery for marine fauna and flora.
STRATEGY OF MAG AND OTHERS COMMITTED TO THE HEALTH OF THE NRPA
It is vital that Pelican Bay property owners, environmentalists, kayakers, canoeists, fishers of the Clam Bay estuary elect at least three Commissioners who are dedicated to the legal mandate that the health of the NRPA – its mangroves and waters, its flora and fauna – are the priority concern; and committed to the maintenance of Clam Bay as a Nature Preserve where the greater public can safely enjoy passive recreational activities. Seagate–whose sole interest is in having a deep boating channel to the Gulf available at low tide, is working hard towards changing the majority vote on the Commission. They are trying to convince the Commission and media that “Clam Bay should not be in the hands of a few individuals from Pelican Bay.”
Now, let's examine the County Coastal Advisory Committee (CAC). It is supposed to represent all Collier County citizens, but it does not. Its members include three from the City of Naples, three from Marco Island, and three from Unincorporated Collier County, which covers an extensive area and a large population. Pelican Bay has one representative who has never advocated for Pelican Bay residents or the users of Clam Bay; that person endorses every thing CZM proposes.
Furthermore, the majority of the CAC representatives are powerboat owners recruited by CZM, whose primary concern is dredging inlets for navigation and beach renourishment.
Conservationists cannot allow the management of the priceless, irreplaceable Clam Bay estuary to be in the hands of a group whose interests are diametrically opposed to the health of this NRPA. Based on its past and current actions, it is naïve to believe that this group will give up their goal to manage Clam Pass and Clam Bay primarily to mine sand, enhance powerboat navigation, and flush the private Seagate canals.
The PBSD has been a responsible steward of the Clam Bay mangrove conservation area. Under its management,
• the mangrove die-off was arrested and the forest restored.
• the Pass has been kept open.
• the development of the 2014 Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan, over a period of 18 months, was conducted in a very inclusive and transparent manner.
• the 26 publicly noticed PBSD meetings; agenda; minutes; as well as the 12 versions of the Plan have been posted on the County PBSD website for the public to review.
Numerous stakeholders, including Seagate and Naples Cay were invited to participate in the development of the Plan. Seagate chose not to participate, but opposed the Plan when it was finished. If these opponents have read the 189-page Clam Bay NRPA Management Plan (developed by environmental scientists, coastal engineers, and stakeholders), they would see that the three issues they raise (monitoring water quality, sand placement, dredging interconnecting waterway) are addressed in the solid comprehensive Plan. Of course, Seagate argues that future modifications of the Plan be done by BCC, rather than by conservation-minded PBSD.
Oddly, Seagate that opposed the 1998 Clam Bay Restoration & Management Plan now believes that its language– that no longer reflects the current conditions of the Clam Bay ecosystem– is acceptable and wants it retained.
Linda Roth, MAG Board, has the PB MSTBU Ordinances and other official documents pertaining to Clam Pass/Clam Bay. She will make them available to anyone who wishes to study them.
– Linda Roth, MAG
VI. SUGAR AND THE WATER WE DRINK: Paradise Adrift:
- Ray Judah, former Lee County Commissioner
The dark discoloration of water in our estuaries and massive clumps of red drift algae along our gulf beaches is a vivid reminder of the harmful discharge of polluted water from lake Okeechobee during the summer of 2013. Once pristine blue waters so essential to our quality of life and multibillion dollar tourism and real estate industries has rapidly degraded due to excessive discharge of water laden with chemical waste such as insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers including nitrogen and phosphorous from agricultural operations including sugar cane fields in the Lake Okeechobee watershed.
In the 2014 Legislative session, a Senate Select Committee on the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin will present a report with recommendations to address short and long-term solutions to reduce or eliminate excessive releases from Lake Okeechobee.
Although the report states that "providing a path southward for water in Lake Okeechobee is a key component to fully managing discharges east and west from the lake", the report dismisses a proposed flow-way in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) south of Lake Okeechobee as a viable solution to store, treat and convey water south from the lake to Everglades National Park. In 2008, George Cavros prepared an analysis of a storage flow-way plan to restore and protect the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades in a comprehensive and detailed report for the Rivers Coalition that demonstrated a flow-way south of the lake to be the most practical and cost effective solution to alleviating the massive releases of water from Lake Okeechobee that is causing adverse harm to coastal estuaries.
The Senate Committee's report further states that "there are a number of water projects, both proposed and underway that, once completed, will significantly increase the water storage capacity in south Florida". Unfortunately, the numbers pertaining to the water storage capacity of the referenced projects do not add up to adequately address the devastating discharges from Lake Okeechobee.
The Central Everglades Planning Project including the additional 2.6 miles of bridging along the Tamiami Trail proposed under the joint partnership between the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of Interior is important to enhancing flow under the Tamiami Trail but will only convey approximately 210,000 acre feet (68 billion gallons) of water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park. The balance of the drainage flowing south is from the EAA. The C-44 Reservoir, with a 6,000 acre filtration wetland, that is under construction on the east coast will store approximately 50,000 acre feet (16 billion gallons) of water from surrounding agricultural drainage with no relief for Lake Okeechobee water release.
The C-43 Reservoir to be constructed with funding from the Water Resource Development and Reform Act is designed to only store 170,000 acre feet of water (55 billion gallons or less than 5 inches off Lake Okeechobee) and with no water quality component.
In an average year, approximately 1.4 million acre feet (455 billion gallons ) of water from Lake Okeechobee is released to the St. Lucie (400,000 acre feet or 130 billion gallons) and Caloosahatchee (1,000,000 acre feet or 325 billion gallons) that flows to the estuaries on the east and west coast of south Florida. In wet years, such as 2005 and 2013, approximately 2.5 million acre feet ( 812 billion gallons ) of water was released from Lake Okeechobee to tide.
The proposed flow-way in the EAA south of Lake Okeechobee requires state acquisition of approximately 20,000 acres of U.S. Sugar lands and approximately 30,000 acres of Florida Crystals lands to provide sufficient storage, treatment and conveyance of water from Lake Okeechobee south to the Everglades. The combined acreage of 50,000 acres is only 7% of agricultural lands in the EAA and 15% of sugar cane fields thereby assuring a sustainable agricultural industry and restoration of Lake Okeechobee and Everglades and protection of coastal estuaries.
A Clean Water Action Event is scheduled on February 1, 2014 from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Lee County Alliance of the Arts.
VII. HOW PELICAN BAY WAS DEVELOPED
Pelican Bay development was guided by the goals of preservation and conservation of its 560 acres of mangroves and open water areas within its 2,330 acres. A division of Westinghouse, (now, WCI Communities) purchased the property from Barron Collier and created what is today called, “a model of environmental planning.”
Pelican Bay was originally called Clam Bay, but was renamed Pelican Bay in 1974. The Clam Bay Conservation Area was deeded with restrictions to Collier County in 1982. It was designated a Natural Resource Protection Area by Collier County in 1995.
As the master developer, Westinghouse set a number of common areas aside that would be maintained in perpetuity under the guidance of the Pelican Bay Foundation. Residents pay dues to the Foundation and taxes to the Pelican Bay Services Division (PBSD) in addition to their property taxes.
The PBSD is an advisory board and an arm of Collier County. It maintains areas such as streetscape beautification, identification markers, street lighting, water management, mangrove and conservation-preserve area maintenance.
A 2,900-foot long by 10-foot wide boardwalk leading to Clam Pass Park was constructed through the mangroves over a narrow section of Outer Clam Bay in 1986.
Stressors to the ecosystem include overland flow of fresh water from neighboring communities and storm-water from Seagate. Pelican Bay maintains an effective storm water management system.
Bays, Birds, and Bio-Diversity of Clam Bay and Estuarin)
Clam Bay, consisting of Upper, Inner, Outer Clam Bays, and its connecting waterways was isolated north and south when Seagate Drive and Vanderbilt Beach Road were constructed.
Outer Clam Bay with its high algal diversity consists mainly of epiphytic species found on the prop roots of red mangroves. Seagrass beds, mainly shoal grass, are historically present along with eighty-four species of flora and fauna. Included are tunicates, horn and dove shells, pink shrimp, xanthid and portunid crabs, lizardfish, mullet, perch, file and pinfish, mojarra, goby and juvenile gray snapper.
Inner and Upper Clams Bays and the surrounding mangrove forest remain in a nearly natural state, providing rookeries and fishing grounds for a multitude of shore and migratory birds.
The rich bird and wildlife supports our claim that Clam Bay Conservation Area has more bio-diversity than Corkscrew Sanctuary.
The bays and meandering creeks that exit into the Gulf of Mexico at Clam Pass is a water playground for bathers and anglers, for kayaking and canoeing. The Beaches from Seagate Drive north to Vanderbilt Beach Road is second most popular beach in the County.