News from Bonefish & Tarpon Trust:
Healthy recreational fisheries require healthy habitats. Healthy habitats require healthy, natural freshwater flows. It’s that simple.
Current water management practices in Florida are gravely threatening Florida’s recreational fisheries. At the center of this crisis are the Florida Everglades, where natural freshwater flows have been severely disrupted.
What needs to happen? Appropriate freshwater flows need to be restored!
- The plans to make this happen are in place – known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project or CERP – they just haven’t been adequately funded or implemented as promised. This plan needs to be funded and implemented immediately. This will supply Florida Bay with sufficient freshwater and stop the drastic discharges of water into other areas.
- The Central Everglades Planning Project needs to be fast-tracked.
- The state needs to purchase the land already identified for creating reservoirs to store and help clean the freshwater.
- The state needs to implement strategies to reduce the amount of nutrients in freshwater entering the estuaries.
It’s not going to be an easy or short-term effort, but if action isn’t taken now, the future of these habitats and fisheries is not bright.
We need you to ACT NOW, before it’s too late! Contact your local, state, and federal political representatives and tell them to fast-track CERP, purchase the land to create reservoirs to store and clean freshwater, and implement strategies to reduce nutrients in the freshwater entering the estuaries.
In order to Take Action, please find the links to your representatives, here:
http://www.bonefishtarpontrust.org/general/statement-on-everglades-restoration-please-act-now.html
