Todd Tongen Local 10 ABC News MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Parts of Florida’s Everglades are so waterlogged that deer, wading birds and other animals are running out of dry ground. State officials said heavy rains this month have left water levels 2 feet higher than normal in the wetlands in western Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The water levels top 11 feet in some places. Wooded “tree islands” usually offer animals dry refuge when water levels…
Eric Chaney weather.com The Everglades are in the midst of a “catastrophic” flood event. So says Ron Bergeron, a 10-year commissioner with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who has watched heavy rains in South Florida over the past month push water levels in the conservation areas of the swamp to historic heights. All but a few of the tree islands in the Everglades, which are used by white-tailed deer and other…
Nancy Smith Sunshine State News South Florida Water Management District staff were in emergency-operations mode Wednesday to control severely flooded Everglades water conservation areas (WCAs) and relieve inundated stormwater treatment areas (STAs). Heavy June rainfall throughout South Florida, with some areas receiving more than 2.5 times the average, has increased stormwater to more than triple the capacity of the STAs in the southern Everglades — particularly in Water Conservation Area 3A in western Miami-Dade and…
Kimberly Miller Palm Beach Post Water will be allowed to flow south out of swollen water conservation areas to alleviate flood concerns and save wildlife, but the move could damage nests of the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had barred the opening of flood gates into the sparrow’s nesting area through July 15 – the end of nesting season. But Ken Warren, a spokesman for the service, said…
Emergency pumping to ease Everglades flooding could end up worsening pollution in Lake Okeechobee. At the start of the summer rainy season, western Broward and Miami-Dade counties are already filling up with too much water too fast. That has triggered extra pumping to save swamped wildlife and to also head off future risks for western communities. The emergency pumping is moving water north through Palm Beach County and into Lake Okeechobee —…
Epic rains this month quenched Florida’s drought, but sparked a tragic battle for survival in the Everglades with officials forced to choose which flora and fauna will live or die. To protect the nearly extinct Cape Sable seaside sparrow, federal wildlife managers are refusing to open floodgates that would drain water from more bloated areas, including southwest of Palm Beach County. Water levels are two feet higher than what is sustainable in…
By Steve Waters Sun Sentinel Heavy rains earlier this month caused water to rise so high that the Everglades could be irreparably damaged, says a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official. “We have the highest water level ever since records were kept going into the rainy season,” said Ron Bergeron, of Weston, who is an FWC commissioner. “This event, if it’s not addressed properly, will have the greatest impact to our…
By Anthony Man | Contact Reporter Sun-Sentinel on Bergeron, the Broward County developer, entrepreneur and conservationist, is still actively considering running for Florida governor. The man known as Alligator Ron said in an interview he’d probably announce his plans “somewhere around August.” That’s a slightly later timetable than he suggested earlier this year when he suggested an announcement would be closer to June. Bergeron sounded late Wednesday like someone who wants to…
By Chad Gillis | Contact Reporter News-Press Environmental groups breathed a sigh of relief Wednesday after the state voted to not hold a bear hunt this year. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted 4-3 Wednesday to hold off on a 2017 hunt. A hunt was held in 2015, and it garnered national and international coverage due to public outrage. “When you’re approaching the capacity, then a hunt is a management…
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_youtube id=”https://youtu.be/p9QL2sKO-rs” width=”840″ height=”475″ autoplay=”yes” api_params=”&rel=0″ class=””] Watch The Video – Green Glades West with Guy Harvey – Ron Bergeron & Guy Harvey team up to discuss the importance of Everglades Preservation.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
