MARCH 2006 NEWSLETTER

Calendar of Events

March 9th at 7 p.m. - Next Surfrider meeting at the Sebastian Inlet Fisherman’s Museum.  Guest speaker – Margaret Roth – Winner of the District Science Fair in Biochemistry for her work on water quality testing along the Indian River Lagoon and beaches. Find out if our rivers and oceans are safe to swim in? Open to the public.

March 12th at 10 a.m. – Beach cleanup at Spanish House – ½ mile north of Sebastian Inlet – Bags, gloves, water provided. Dawn patrol possible based on wave conditions and temperatures.

April 13th at 7:30 p.m. – Surfrider meeting at the Satellite Beach Recreation Center

April 14-16th – Volunteers needed to help out at the Easter Surf Contest at the Cocoa Beach Pier

Campaign update (3/1)

Clean Oceans Act – HB313/SB732 – To enforce that gambling boats pump out their sewage rather than dump it off the coast. Surfrider has created an action alert to inform Florida residents on this issue (LIKE YOU!!!) and ask them to write to their state representatives. http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/gaming_ships 

The goal is to get 500 letters sent by March 7th and 5000 by the end of the summer. Beachgoers on both coasts deserve to swim in unpolluted waters, and dilution (mixing chlorine with toilet water and the pumping it into the ocean as close as three miles from the coast) is not the solution.

** FYI – There’s a national Clean Cruise Ship Act as well right now under review in the US Congress. To get your representatives to support this – go to http://takeaction.oceana.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=596

Ramada/Gemini Project – Surfrider members have been attending City Council meetings voicing their concern of allowing an increase in population density and height limits for buildings. With a rally at DaClan’s Pub in Satellite Beach, they got the neighborhood to come out to protect their way of life. Right now they are discussing keeping the south entrance public and only building a structure up to 108’ tall. The bigger issue is rezoning the commercial property on the west side of A1A and the need for more public input before the City Council votes to change the laws to appease a developer.

Dredge and Fill Projects – FEMA has helped the county pay for 176,000 cubic yards of truckhauled sand from inland to be placed on the dunes of the southern and central portion of Brevard County beaches. 125,000 cubic yards are scheduled for the Mid-reach – home of RC’s, Lums, and Futch Park – popular places to surf due to the underwater reef system that hosts over 500 species of fish and invertebrates. Volunteers are needed to help monitor the sand after the trucks have left for consistency with the more natural beachsand. What’s more, the county is working on approving a $33+ million dredge project to put 600,000 more cubic yards of sand on the Mid-reach, which is feared with bury the reef habitat. If you don’t like the idea, email the A.C.O.E. at irene.sadowski@saj02.usace.army.mil and tell them why.

News from February

Florida has a new Surfrider State Manager -  Ericka D’avanzo lives in Jupiter and is in charge of coordinating the Florida chapters statewide campaigns (like gambling boat pollution and the Florida Open Beaches Act) She brings years of experience volunteering with Surfrider in Long Island and in Jupiter as well as a Master’s degree in Environmental Planning. The position is Surfrider Foundation's first full time staff hire in Florida, and signals the beginning of a long term effort by the Foundation to expand its influence in what is widely regarded as the epicenter of East Coast surfing.

Historical Florida Lake Worth Surf Break Saved from Devious Ploy - On February 21, 2006, at the Lake Worth City Council meeting, activists from the Surfrider Foundation's Palm Beach Chapter helped convince the City Council to vote down a disastrous dredge-and-fill project that would have significantly degraded the Lake Worth surf break that has been home to 7 pro surfers since the 1950s. As convincing evidence, Surfrider activists brought to the council meeting samples of the native beach sediments and juxtaposed that with the unattractive offshore silt that was being pumped, with very poor results, on the beaches north in St. Lucie County. In addition, the local dive clubs also showed up at the council meeting and gave support to Surfrider's position. The Lake Worth City Council ultimately voted unanimously to refuse to allow the easement and any future beach fill projects, and voted to write the Army Corps a very nasty letter.

Paradise Park Beach Cleanup – Over 40 volunteers helped out to clean the beach and learn more about the issues that face their coastline. Snacks and coffee were provided by Sunseed Food Co-op and after the cleanup raffles were held for the beach cleaners to all win prizes, including 10 free insane burritos from Dakine Diegos. To find out when and where the next cleanup is, check the SI website at www.surfrider.org/sebastianinlet

Surfrider National has a new website – check out the SAVE TRESTLES campaign at www.surfrider.org

Surfrider members are the Keepers of the Coast. We speak up for those that want to keep the ocean, waves, and beaches clean and accessible. To volunteer, call our chairman Rick Hayes 779-0279 or email surfridersi@yahoo.com. Or to join - go to www.surfrider.org/join .

Respectfully submitted by Greg Gordon