February 2001

Editor: Deborah Green

Associate Editor: Deede Sharpe -  Mailing: John Parker/Deede Sharpe/Barbara Howell

Back Issues

This Issue with Pictures and Columns (requires Acrobat Reader)

• Seminole-Wekiva Trail Debuts - Polly Miller
• Road Matters: OOCEA Road Plan Success - Jennifer McMurtrey
• Road Expansion Projects Threaten Bears
• Power Plant Could Spell Trouble in Lake County - Keith Schue
• Plan for Earth Day 2001 
• Better Bridge for Wildlife - Jennifer McMurtrey
• The Importance of Wekiva Uplands - Dameron Black
• Living a Dual Life - Deborah Green
• Wekiva Christmas Bird Count - Fred Harden
• Earth Kinship Conference Focuses on the St. Johns River
• Documentary Reaches a Quarter Million Viewers 
• A River Riddle - Steve Phelan
• New Currents Editor Takes the Reins - Bill Belleville
• Notes and Events
  
  
  February-March
  2001
  SEMINOLE-WEKIVA TRAIL DEBUTS
  by Polly Miller, FOWR Board Member
  
  
  On November 7 Seminole County residents for the third time voiced their wish to buy endangered lands for preservation and passive recreational use. In 1970 --a year when revenue measures were defeated across the nation--Seminole County voters passed a $1,700,000 bond referendum to buy the County parks we enjoy today.
  
  Since passage in 1990 of a $20 million Natural Lands referendum, some 5,600 more acres have been added, out of which Seminole County has already created five Wilderness Areas near Lake Jessup, the Econ River, Chuluota, Geneva and Lake Proctor. A major thrust of the $25 million Natural Lands 2000 referendum is to consolidate the already popular trails and greenways into a county-wide network of urban (paved) and wilderness (unpaved) trails that will connect natural lands to local schools, parks and neighborhoods. The Seminole Wekiva Trail
  is designated one of the County ’s “Showcase Trails.” The segment already built (2.2 miles) runs from SR 436 to SR434 in Altamonte Springs, with parking at the County ’s Softball Complex, Sanlando Park and the San Sebastian Trailhead on SR 438 near the Christmas Store. Also built is a .5 mile segment in the Oakmonte area of Lake Mary.
  
  When complete, the 14 mile long Seminole Wekiva Trail will run from Altamonte Springs to the Wekiva Protection area west of Sanford, where it will make connections to create a 30-mile continuous trail through Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Lake Mary, Winter Springs, and Oviedo to the Cady Way Trail in Orange County, and provide access to 3 parks, Heathrow and Wilson Elementary schools and Wekiva River nature preserves! 
  
  Editor ’s note:
  An important thing the Trail will not do -thanks to the vigilant efforts of the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and Jennifer McMurtray for FOWR - is sever the black bear ’s migratory corridor between Lower Wekiva State Preserve and Wekiva Springs GeoPark. See Dec 2000 issue of Currents.
  
  
  ROAD MATTERS:
  OOCEA Road Plan Success
  by Jennifer McMurtrey, FOWR Board Member
  
  The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA) drafted a 2025 Master Plan that was a blueprint for sprawl. The plan contained 5 new, unjustified toll-road projects which would have encroached into 7 adjacent counties, bringing urban sprawl, destroying rural areas, and compromising important conservation lands, from the Green Swamp to the St. Johns National Wildlife Refuge. After three months of lobbying, Defenders was successful in getting all 5 unjustified, sprawl-inducing road projects removed from the Plan. The OOCEA Board agreed to remove the projects after local environmental organizations unanimously requested the change, and after receiving over 800 responses from Defenders of Wildlife’s DEN action alert. One Board member even recommended that the environmental community be included more heavily in the process in the next planning cycle! This was a major victory for central Florida.
  
  
  Road Expansion Projects Threaten Bears
  
  Florida DOT proposes to add expansion projects for SR 46 and SR 40 to their Five Year Work Program, DOT’s funded ‘To Do ’list.Both roads traverse critical bear habitat within the Ocala-Wekiva conservation area, and both are proposed for expansion to four lanes. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) determined that SR 46 was the deadliest road in Florida for bears. Three sections of SR 40 ranked 2nd,4th,and 5th on the FFWCC list. Improving the roads to support higher volumes of traffic will result in greater mortality for the threatened Florida black bear. In fact, regression analysis of historic road-kill and traffic volume data show
  that we can expect one additional bear death for every 2,500 additional vehicles/day on SR 46,and every 830 additional vehicles/day on SR 40.
  
  
  Power Plant Could Spell Trouble in Lake County
  by Keith Shue, FOWR Board Member
  
  "Trouble in River City" has a new name--Merchant Power. In February, Lake County officials will consider a proposal by Duke Energy Corporation to build a 640 Megawatt electrical power plant in east Lake County, adjacent to the state recognized Wekiva River Protection Area. Duke Energy, a North Carolina based utility, seeks to operate the proposed facility as a merchant plant that is as an independent producer of electricity, selling on the wholesale, short-term market. The trouble which Duke suggests it can prevent is a shortage of power looming on the horizon. Interestingly, however, as a merchant operation, the proposed plant would not be required to provide service to local residents, Lake County, or even within the state.
  
  The Duke Energy plant is being considered for a rural community, located near SR 44 and CR 437,east of Eustis and north of Mt. Plymouth/Sorrento. Plans call for the use of eight simple-cycle ”jet-engine style ” gas-burning generators, which consume more fuel and create more pollution per megawatt than the more efficient combined-cycle alternative. Annually,  hundred of tons of pollutants including nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and particulate matter could potentially be released from eight smoke stacks and carried by prevailing winds across the Wekiva River basin. In addition to degrading air quality, significant quantities of water would be withdrawn from the aquifer to operate the plant. This is of particular concern since the proposed site in located only about one mile from natural springs critical to the Wekiva system. Fortunately, unlike naive town folk from “The Music Man ”--that 1961 musical referenced in this article--residents of East Lake County have educated themselves on the issue of merchant power. 
  
  Finding allies among organizations including Friends of the Wekiva River, Sierra Club, and the Florida-based action group Citizens for Responsible Energy Planning (CREP), residents are preparing to voice their concerns before the Planning and Zoning board on February 7th and the Lake County Commission on February 27th. 
  
  Editor's Note:
  Certain details of the Duke proposal were in flux at the time of this newsletter’s printing. For more information and to learn how you can become involved, contact Carol Peters or Diane Dammiller at 352-435-1885. Also check out the CREP website, http://www.c4rep.org, or contact Ann Vanek from CREP at 813-493-5624. 
  
  
  Plan for Earth Day 2001
  The 4th Annual Earth Day Symposium will be held on April 21 at Rollins College at Bush Auditorium. The morning will have a scientific lecture format. The lunch speaker (lunch provided no charge) is Virginia Seachrist of Ichnetucknee cement plant fame. The afternoon includes a 2-hour activist workshop. Four Continuing Medical Education Units can be earned by registered attendees in the health care field. On April 22 we will have a tree planting and canoe clean-up in Lake Virginia.  For more information, call Beth Hollenback of ECO-Action (the Ecostore), 407-426-9949 or 407-649-3148 
  
  Better Bridge For Wildlife
  by Jennifer McMurtrey, FOWR Board Member
  
  Defenders of Wildlife was able to turn a routine bridge replacement into an opportunity to help wildlife cross a deadly road through important bear habitat. State Road 19,within in the Ocala National Forest in central
  Florida, has been a mortality hotspot for the Florida black bear. The Florida Department of Transportation now plans to study how the new bridge could be improved for wildlife. The new bridge likely will be extended on both sides to help terrestrial wildlife cross safely beneath the road. The bridge replacement offers a great opportunity to get an additional wildlife crossing in a major bear/traffic hazard area with much less expense than building a separate underpass.
  
  
  Wekiva Christmas Bird Count
  By Fred Harden, FOWR Board Member
  
  Forty-two Central Florida birders, on December 16,2000,set out by foot and canoe to conduct our Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC). We were not alone. Over 50,000 volunteers from all 50 states, Canada, Central and South America, Bermuda, the West Indies and some Pacific Islands recorded every individual bird and species spotted on their respective Count Day, a selected day in mid-December through early January.
  
  This year marked the 101st Anniversary of that Christmas Day,1900,when 27 conservationists in 25 localities, led by Frank Chapman, changed the course of environmental history. There had been an annual "side hunt" in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds. Chapman led conservationists in an alternative event, counting the birds they saw, starting a century-old tradition.
  
  Today ’s count areas consist of circles with 15-mile diameters, encompassing approximately 177 square miles. The Wekiva CBC area includes Lake Monroe, Sanford, Lake Mary, the Little Wekiva River, Wekiva Springs State Park, Rock Springs Run, Blackwater Creek, Seminole State Forest and the Lower Wekiva River State Reserve. Counting the same area from year to year yields important bird census data and may signal trends to ornithologists. For instance, last year ’s cold, wet, windy Wekiva CBC yielded 122 species and 17,118 individuals. This year, on a beautiful 82 degree day, we counted only 119 species.( Individuals are still being totaled.) A continued species drop in the next few years could provide cause for alarm.
  
  A quick look at some of this year ’s highlights:13 bald eagles,53 wild turkeys, 19 scrub jays,224 white ibis,801 tree swallows,20 American goldfinch,2 hermit thrush,4 cedar waxwings,1 barn owl,7 barred owls, 63 pileated woodpeckers,37 wood ducks,149 hooded mergansers, and 1532 American robins. We hope that the next Wekiva Christmas Bird Count will yield more species. Join us to help in spotting every single species in our area. If you are an experienced birder, we especially need your help. If you are a novice, we need your eyes and ears. We ’ll pair you with an experienced birder, so you can hone your identification skills. Binoculars and a bird book are the only tools you need. E-mail me (gatorfred@aol.com) or call me at (407)323-5678 and leave your name and number, if you ’d like to join the team for our next Christmas Bird Count.
  
  
  Earth Kinship Conference Focuses on St. Johns River
  
  The 12th annual Earth Kinship Conference will be held in Jacksonville on Feb. 2, 3, and 4 at the University Center of the UNF. This year the conference is themed to “A River Runs Through Us: Connecting with our Bioregion. ”The river of the theme is the St. Johns, and featured speakers and workshop facilitators will address different aspects of our state ’s longest and most historic river, and discuss ways we can connect with its sense of place. Featured speakers include FOWR board member Bill Belleville, author of River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida ’s St. Johns River and Kirkpatrick Sale, author of Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision. Diana Teetens, the new River Keeper hired to keep watch on the St. Johns will also give a presentation. Sponsors include the Environmental Education Resource Council of Northeast Florida, the Sea Grant Extension program, the University of Florida and the University of North Florida.
  
  “In many ways, this year ’s conference provides a framework for all of our efforts over the years to shape a vision of humans living in harmony with the Earth ’s natural systems,” according to Pat Jeremiah, co-chair of the conference. For info, call Sea Grant at 904-461-4014 or email:jgh@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu.
  
  
  Documentary Reaches A Quarter Million Viewers
  
  After four showings of the documentary Wekiva: Legacy or Loss? on WMFE-TV, Channel 24,it is estimated that one-quarter million viewers have seen the program in the Central Florida area. The hour-long documentary premiered on November 15,and was kicked off by an invite-only premier at the Enzian Theater. Plans are underway to distribute the film nationally via the American Public Television syndication network. It has already been nominated for several awards, including the national 22nd Annual Telly Awards for non-network productions.
  
  Funded with a grant from the Florida Wildlife Commission,Wekiva: Legacy or Loss is being sold as a video cassette on our web site (www.wekivariver.org), where relevant curriculum development information is also posted. The film was a co-production of BBG Productions and WMFE-TV and featured a number of FOWR members, both on camera and as advisors. On February 12,the film will again be shown on the big screen during a special event sponsored by the Environmental Studies department of Rollins College. At this event, a reception will be held from 6:30-7:15 and the video shown from 7:15-8:15.Afterwards the new FOWR web page will be demonstrated. Bill Belleville will also talk about his new non-profit film company, Equinox Inc. The event is free and open to the public .No registration is necessary, unless you are bringing a group. If so, call the Environmental Studies Department at (407)646-2392.
  
  The Importance of Wekiva Uplands
  by Dameron Black, FOWR Board Member
  
  One of the unique features of the Wekiva Basin is its relatively unspoiled diversity. Many of the same habitats of the Basin range throughout the coastal plain of the southeastern United States. There is an ancient hydrologic and pyrogenic relationship between high elevation sandhill savannas and the low elevation wetlands.
  
  Narrowly distributed and archaic plant types are associated with these habitats. Some interesting examples are the Venus Fly Trap of the Carolinas, White Topped Pitcher Plants of the Florida Panhandle, and Clasping Warea of the Lake Wales Ridge and Wekiva River Basin. Clasping Warea looks like, and is related to, the popular garden ornamental Cleome, which is native to the savannas of South America. Our Warea appears to be a relic of tropical savannas that once extended continuously from South America to the southeastern U. S.. Lightning fires were carried by grasses and pine needles across the landscape and into wetlands, and were important in maintaining the unique plant communities of these ancient savannas of the southeast.
  
  The sandy soils of the uplands allow rain water to percolate through and recharge the groundwater. Springs, rivers, lakes, and wetlands depend on this recharge. Spring runs in the Wekiva Basin appear to have had a long stable hydrologic history, as indicated by thousand year old cypress trees. Ancient Indian middens made of snails and mussels also testify to the long history of the springs and river. 
  
  Human activities on the uplands undoubtedly influence all surrounding areas. In order not to ruin one of the last remaining examples of the southeastern coastal plain's intact ecosystems, the uplands of the Wekiva Basin must retain their functions.
  
  
  Living a dual life
  by Deborah Green, Currents Editor
  
  The Eastern indigo snake is the largest snake in North America with a record length of 8 1/2 feet. This beautiful blue-black snake has suffered from killing by humans, who don’t realize it is harmless. Unlike nocturnal snakes that can hide, the indigo snake is day-active (diurnal). In addition to being an easy target for destructive humans, the indigo snake has a specialized and declining habitat.
  
  The indigo snake lives in the burrows of the gopher tortoise. As you know, the gopher tortoise lives only in sandy habitats, like scrub or sandhill, where it can make a deep burrow in sandy soil. Since these habitats in
  their natural state are almost gone in Florida, the gopher tortoise is classified by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a species of special concern.
  
  Although the indigo snake rests at night in the gopher tortoise burrow, it feeds by day at the edges of wetlands on fish, frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, birds and small mammals. When was the last time you saw a sandy upland habitat close to a wetland? This combination is hard to find except in our preserved natural areas, like the Wekiva Basin GEOPark. Even there, indigo snakes have become scarcer and scarcer. The Eastern indigo snake was listed as threatened on the Federal endangered species list in 1979.
  
  The gopher tortoise burrow has, at one time or another, provided shelter to 360 species of animals. An unusual guest, uninvited I ’m sure, is the gopher frog .This 4-inch frog has dark spots and 2 attractive bronzy- gold stripes down the back. Although named for the gopher tortoise burrows it inhabits, the gopher frog may seek shelter in crayfish burrows. After heavy rains, males make a mating and territorial call that sounds like snoring. How does a frog, with an aquatic tadpole stage, survive in the scrub habitat of the gopher tortoise? 
  
  Gopher frogs lay their eggs, which produce tadpoles, in cypress swamps. Areas which have sandy soil suitable for gopher tortoise burrows and cypress swamps near each other are not common anymore in Florida. The gopher frog is classified as a species of special concern. 
  
  The indigo snake and gopher frog are just two species that live a dual life in the uplands and wetlands. Wild turkeys feed in uplands, but rest at night on the branches of cypress trees in the safety of cypress swamps. Deer browse in uplands but drink out of rivers and lakes. Uplands or wetlands?: When preservation dollars are short, it is hard to choose. Both are important, if the diversity of life, that is our legacy to the future, is to survive.
  
  
  A River Riddle
  (do you recognize this critter of the Wekiva Basin?)
  By Steve Phelan, FOWR Board Member
  
  Descending the ridge bank at Rock Springs, we find a small spring vent, half embraced by an arching limestone rockform about the size and shape of a small manatee. It even has a hole to represent the eye of the graceful mammal. Inside the dark cave of this rock, a creature is flitting that my son Sean begins to remark about. My daughter-in-law Jobie thinks at first it’s a giant daddy longlegs, but it flutters back and forth in this dark space above the little rill as though it might be caught in some web. Then it seems to tumble over or spin. The light bouncing off of its gyrating eight-legged or eight-pointed form makes it attractive. Jobie bends down to catch or touch it, but there is no web around it. It has movement, but almost no direction. Instead, without touching her, the critter rolls over her hand. Underneath this one, we then spot another, a smaller version of the same mystery, two to three inches in diameter. Gradually our pursuit causes them to escape down stream and immediately out of sight. Does anyone know what we saw? email: phelan@rollins.edu
  
  
  New Currents Editor Takes the Reins
  By Bill Belleville, FOWR Board Member
  
  
  In the belief that late is better than never, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Deborah Green as the new Currents editor. Deborah, who has graced the pages of our newsletter with her superbly written pieces on natural history, actually began her tenure with the last newsletter. A very busy November, combined with a strong manana streak, prevented me from giving her an adequate welcome then.
  
  Deborah brings a wealth of experience to the position: Educated as an biologist, she received her doctorate in entomology at the University of California-Berkeley and worked for three years in the field as an entomologist in Puerto Rico. She ’s taught biology and environmental science in the Orlando area since 1985, and currently teaches a class in Central Florida Habitats at Valencia Community College.
  
  Her own education into the Wekiva River system began with hiking the Wekiwa Springs State Park in 1992. After reading that Wekiwa had the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Florida, she researched and wrote the very informative Wekiwa Springs State Park Habitat Tour. Later using a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission grant, she spent five years researching and writing Watching Wildlife in the Wekiva River Basin. The books are being sold via our River Store on our web site www.wekivariver.org, and are excellent resources for all users of the park----as well as for teachers looking for materials to bring the river into the classroom.
  
  Thanks to all who offered kind comments and reaffirmation during the five years I edited Currents. Let ’s all give Deborah our support in the same way---while also offering to contribute articles to the newsletter. After all, this is the tool by which most of our members connect to the organization, and provides valuable outreach for them as for non-members in the community who receive our publication. Once our web committee is up to speed on relevant software, the newslettter content will also be posted on our web site. Please send all contributions to Deborah at <sabal @cfl.rr.com>
  
  Editors note: Thank you, Bill, for encouraging my natural history writing by showcasing it in this publication. And for FOWR members, thank you, Bill, for all you have done over the years to work the PR machine that brings attention to our river.
  
  Old pictures?
  Do you have any old pictures of Rock Springs, Wekiwa Springs, or any of the other springs? Jim Stevenson of DEP (our l999 Annual Banquet speaker) is requesting these. Michelle Pasternak, President of the Friends of Kelly Park, is collecting these for Jim. Call her at (352)383-2654.
  
  Board Meeting Feb.1
  The February 1 meeting will be a board meeting only. The public is
  welcome. Usual place,6PM 
  
  Video showing Feb.11 Wekiva: Legacy or Loss? will be
  rebroadcast on WMFE on Feb. 11, 2001,at noon. 
  
  Showing/reception Feb.12 See Documentary, page 3
  
  Program March 1 For the program on Thursday, March
  1,author Deborah Green will show slides and tell about a Habitat
  Approach to Watching Wildlife. Deborah is author of Wekiwa
  Springs State Park Habitat Tour and Watching Wildlife in the Wekiva
  River Basin. Bring your kids and wildlife questions and anecdotes to
  share with Deborah. Books will be available for sale and autographing.
  The board meeting will begin at 6PM.The program will be held, as
  usual, at the Seventh Day Adventist Church on Markham Woods Road,
  beginning at 7:30 PM.
  
  Annual Banquet
  The FOWR Annual Banquet will be held in April. Date, time and place to be announced. Check the website for details.
  
  
  CURRENTS is published by the Friends of the Wekiva River, Inc.,a not-for-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection of the Wekiva River Basin.

President: Phares Heindl
Currents Editor: Deborah Green
Associate Editor: Deede Sharpe
Mailing: John Parker/Deede Sharpe/Barbara Howell

Contact Us:
P.O.Box 6196,
Longwood, FL 32791
Tel.407 322-4470
Note our new web address:
http://www.wekivariver.org
Friends of the Wekiva River, Inc.

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