A unique State Senate hearing at the annual Everglades Conference featured a discussion on the importance of Florida Forever funding to protection of springs and other water bodies of Florida.
The Select Committee on Florida’s Inland Waters, created last October by Senate President Jeff Atwater and chaired by Senator Lee Constantine, is tasked with freshwater springs protection, one of the more complex environmental challenges facing Florida, and an array of array of related water quality issues. The select committee has the authority to conduct hearings and propose legislation for the 2010 Legislative Session.
Senator Constantine, wisely connecting the committee’s work and the annual meeting on Florida’s famed “river of grass,” took the committee on-the-road to the annual Everglades conference in Palm Beach Gardens. At the special hearing, a series of speakers cited the importance of Florida Forever to water protection and called for continued funding.
Jennifer Hecker of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Paul Gray of Audubon of Florida, Drew Martin of the Sierra Club, and Rae Ann Wessel of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation — all member organizations of the Florida Forever Coalition — made strong statements on the need to fund Florida Forever at this critically important time.
Senator, Constantine, a long-time supporter of Florida Forever, responded by noting that the State is now selling last year’s bonds and that this money will be available for conservation land purchases by late January.