Comments on: A New Year’s Resolution: Protecting the Nation’s Waters for Wildlife http://blog.nwf.org/2010/12/a-new-year%e2%80%99s-resolution-protecting-the-nation%e2%80%99s-waters-for-wildlife/ The National Wildlife Federation's blog Sat, 25 May 2013 00:27:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Bud Cates http://blog.nwf.org/2010/12/a-new-year%e2%80%99s-resolution-protecting-the-nation%e2%80%99s-waters-for-wildlife/comment-page-1/#comment-6456 Bud Cates Sun, 26 Dec 2010 04:35:00 +0000 http://blog.nwf.org/wildlifepromise/?p=10237#comment-6456 My recent world of the Peace River, as well as the Alafia & Hillsborough Rivers, are prime examples of the type of “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face” that your blog speaks to. Majors impacts in these basins are to the headwater portions, while the major surface water users are at the far downstream ends. The Floridan Aquifier beginning to “peter-out” the further south you go, downstream development where most of the Yanqui reside is dependent upon surface water collection. The Hillsborough Bypass Canal (sort of a wide, linear reservoir near the Hillsborough River & major Tampa drinking water source) is also “the” major dumping-ground for stolen cars, motorcycles, vending machines, etc. The Upper Peace (state-owned now) is dry and full of sink-holes due to Floridan Acquifier drawdown by Lakeland, Auburndale, Bartow. Therefore Port Charlotte, and all the development near Charlotte Harbor, is dependent upon an above ground reservoir fed by surface water skimmed from the Peace River at Arcadia.

For years now I’ve preached on the Northeast Model (NYC, Mass/Vt/NH) where the headwater WATERSHED is protected and managed to assure that the mega-populations downstream have a source of surface water. In the northeast, the mountain watersheds (and minimal groundwater) feed the downstream reservoirs. In Central Florida, the potentiometric-high of the Floridan feeds the downstream flow and is augmented by surface run-off as the Floridan peters-out. Dry-up the upstream source in both cases, and the downstream end is SCREWED.

Adaptive Management (recent article in TWS Wildlife Professional) that I’ve preached for years, would lead you to look at similar problem areas for likewise similar solutions. Hasn’t happened yet because everyone is too busy pointing the finger at the other guy, AND despite efforts like our Peace River Cumulative Impact Study / Management Plan & Peace River Basin Resource Management Advisory Committee – no agency has the nerve to recommend a large-scale solution and thus “rock-the-boat”. Will the Corps’ regretfully promised Area-Wide Impact Study recommend such a solution? We’ll see – but don’t hold your breath!

Bud Cates, Certified Wildlife Manager
formerly manager of the Peace River Management Plan

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