Summer 1999

Editors: Bill Belleville and John Parker

That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology,
but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics.

• New President Sets Agenda
• Ospreys and Swallowtail Kites
• We Need Help on Commitees
• How to be a Trail Walker in the Seminole Forest
• Hydrological Realities about the Springs of Wekiva
• Sound Policy, not Sound Bites: a Sentinnel "My Word" Article

by Phares Heindl, FOWR President 

Henry Brooks Adams said " One friend in a lifetime is much, two are

many, three are hardly possible. Friendship needs a certain parallelism of

life, a community of thought, a rivalry of aim"

Although as pointed out by Henry Adams, it is difficult to

cultivate true friends, it is much easier to develop friendships with

people who share a mutual friend. We must understand what it means to be a

friend of the Wekiva and as we do we will become friends with one another.

Anyone spending significant time on the Wekiva becomes its friend.

When we canoe the waters or walk along its banks, we sense more than a

mechanical convergence of physics and biology, we sense the spirit of the

river. It seems like the Wekiva has a life of its own and something within

us resonates with its life and communes with its pure waters and

ceaseless flow.

When we see a flock of white Ibis arrayed against a bright blue

sky, the friendly face of inquisitive otter, or a limpkin searching for

apple snails among the egg-rimmed lilies, we sense the mind of the Wekiva

and experience community of thought with our river friend.

As friends of the Wekiva we easily become friends with one another.

The aim of the Wekiva is to teach us sublime truths about ourselves. Our

aim is to protect the Wekiva from the mindless greed that comes from

neglecting her teachings.

We face many challenges in the coming years in our efforts protect

the river from the pressures of development and we must work together to

perverse the efforts of those who have worked so long and hard for her

protection. We must work as a team and draw from the collective talents of

all of us. As a busy trial lawyer and father of two young boys, I don't

have time to champion the cause. Instead, I must endeavor to organize and

involve the entire membership.

In an attempt to organize our efforts, I have established eight

standing work groups or committees. Each work group will draft a statement

of purpose and formulate specific goals. By working together in a

coordinated and organized fashion, we will be able to preserve the

accomplishments of those who have labored to protect the Wekiva.

I will soon provide you a detailed description of the work groups

along with the plans and activities so you can determine how you can assist

in the effort to protect the river.

As friends of the Wekiva we are friends of one another. As friends of one

another we will be able to work as a team to protect and preserve the

Wekiva. Please feel free at all time to call me with your concerns or ideas

or just to talk about our mutual friend.

[You can reach Phares via email at <pmheindl@compuserve.com> or at home at

Tel. 407-321-9630]

 ***** 

"It is time to go Outside, farther than we have ever gone

together before. It is time to hear the seabirds singing

at the edge of the world and to bring them back,

freshly, into our cultural stories, into our dreams."

--From Cultures of Habitat : On Nature, Culture, and

Story, by Gary Paul Nabhan. © 1997 by Gary Paul Nabhan,

used by permission

****

by Deborah Green

FOWR Member 

Ospreys and American swallow-tailed kites are two raptors (birds of prey)

whose habitats intersect slightly at the edges of rivers and lakes. Ospreys

have white heads, like bald eagles, but can be distinguished from eagles by

their white undersides and their dark streak through the eye. Ninety-nine

percent of an osprey's diet is live fish, and they are sometimes called

"fish hawks." With excellent eyesight, an osprey can spot a fish from as

high as 100 feet above the water and will plunge to grab it with its

talons.

Ospreys build stick nests high in trees, not far from water. The same nest

is used by a pair year after year. The male osprey brings a fish to the

nest, and the female tears it into pieces and feeds it to the chicks.

Fledglings begin flying after about 2 months, but feeding by parents

continues another month. Three chicks require 6 pounds of fish a day. This

is why you see the male fishing and carrying fish back to the nest so

frequently. The female must stay at the nest and shade the chicks from

direct, hot sunlight. The pairs communicate with shrill ascending whistles.

Ospreys are listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

because their populations declined drastically by the l960s from effects of

DDT and other long-lasting pesticides. Ospreys in Florida seem abundant,

but populations need to be watched. Around many of our lakes the large

cypress trees in which ospreys nest have been cut down. Fortunately,

ospreys can nest on utility poles and other artificial structures. So far,

decline in water quality in our lakes also does not seem to have hurt

ospreys. According to the Audubon Birds of Prey Center, most injuries and

deaths are from collisions with towers, power lines, and other unnatural

objects. Inexperienced juvenile ospreys are most likely to be injured or

killed.

In contrast to the osprey, the American swallow-tailed kite is a truly rare

species that has no federal protection. The beautiful swallow-tailed kite

has black and white plumage and a deeply forked tail. Its wings as wide as

4 feet, on a 2-foot long body, the lightness of its body, along with its

split tail adapt it perfectly for soaring on thermals. Swallow-tailed kites

eat dragonflies. They also swoop to grab frogs, green anoles, snakes, and

large insects out of trees. They remain on the wing most of the day,

hunting over marshes, dipping to drink out of a lake or stream, and

devouring their prey as they sail leisurely along. Only at night do they

roost on tall trees, far from civilization.

Swallow-tailed kites once nested throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River

valleys, but today the majority are confined to Florida. The population is

estimated to be as low as 5,000 individuals. With such a low population,

this species should qualify to be listed as endangered. Unfortunately, in

the l970s when federal listing began, there was no population data. Today

for a species to acquire the endangered status is almost impossible,

because of the backlog of species awaiting listing.

The optimal breeding site for swallow-tailed kites is wet pine flatwoods

not too far from cypress swamps. They make their nests in the tops of pines

but make them out of cypress twigs (which are easier for the kite to snap

off than pine twigs). Nest sites have been located in the Wekiva River

Basin.

Swallow-tailed kites are seen here from mid March to late July. Where do

they go for the rest of the year? Biologists have learned they migrate

south through Central America to south-central Brazil. They make their long

migration in flocks, and in July and August begin gathering for the flight.

The final congregations in South Florida reportedly number in the

thousands.

One July my friend and I saw 12 swallow-tailed kites soaring and feeding on

dragonflies over a marshy area along the St. Johns River, near its junction

with the Wekiva River. Seeing one kite is thrilling enough, but 12 was

amazing. We watched the way they caught dragonflies with their talons and

bowed their heads to transfer each dragonfly from talon to beak, all in

graceful flight.

Then two ospreys, possibly youngsters, tried soaring with the kites.

Ospreys soaring on thermals does not really work, since they have heavier

bodies, proportionately shorter wings, and no forked tails. The ospreys

soon gave up.

Birds imitate the behavior of their parents in learning to survive, and

"learned" behaviors complement those that are "instinctual." Attempts at

imitation of birds of other species are probably not that rare in nature.

Watching the graceful soaring kites, it doesn't surprise me that ospreys

would want to imitate them. Will these interesting birds be here for our

grandchildren to observe and enjoy? Only if we save our rivers and lakes.

[Deborah Green is author of Wekiwa Springs State Park Habitat Tour and

Watching Wildlife in the Wekiva River Basin.]

****

1. Technical - To screen, review, and comment on permits having

potential effect on the Wekiva. Chair, Nancy Prine (NPLA@aol.com)

2. Membership - To set goals and establish programs to increase

membership. Chair, Deb Deal (ddeal@firstmarketinggroup.com).

3. Programs, Field Trips, Member services, Newsletter, Web Site, etc.

Chair, Pat Harden (Pat4fla@aol.com)

4. Education - To help develop interest of educational institutions

in the Wekiva for use as a Study tool or for art, photography, writing etc.

Chair, Steve Phelan (phelan@rollins.edu)

5. Media Relations. Chair, Bill Belleville (billybx@gate.net).

6. Historical - To gather and index all information available

regarding the history of the Wekiva River including tapes, CD's, books,

articles, as well as develop a chronology of enviro protection efforts for

the Wekiva River System. The historical committee should have input in

activities that would assist in developing the understanding of the

historical heritage. Chair, Fred Harden (Gatorfred@aol.com)

7. Political- Legal - To enlist the support of legislators, county

officials, and state employees for the protection of the Wekiva, as well as

to monitor and institute any necessary legal action. This committee will

coordinate with the technical and media relations committees. Contact:

Phares Heindl.

(pmheindl@compuserve.com)

8. Administrative - To assist in helping the other committees fulfill

their goals and missions. Activities may include coordinating activities,

raising money, developing organizational infrastructure. Chair, Deede

Sharpe (deede@parkave.net)

****

by Adam Zion

FOWR Intern

One of the uses of state forests is for recreation, and hiking is a

preferred activity. In an effort to encourage the public to explore the

beauty and mystery of the forests, Florida's Division of Forestry has

created the Florida State Forests Trailwalker Program. And you can

participate at the Seminole State Forest, which wraps around the Blackwater

Creek, a tributary of the Wekiva River.

The Division of Forestry has created a list of trails and a log to

keep track of the trails hiked and on what day a trail was traversed. The

Division of Forestry then places a sticker on a log entry officially

declaring that a certain trail has been explored.

There are three levels of the trailwalker program: Beginner,

Trailblazer, and Trailmaster. When one level is completed a patch is given

by the Division of Forestry to signify completion of a desired level. When

all three levels have been concluded, the three patches form an

interlocking design.

The goal of the trailwalker program is to get people out of their

automobiles and into the state forests, where they can explore and

experience Florida's unique wilderness firsthand. The trailwalker program

has also been designed to foster public awareness and involvement in the

maintenance of the state's fragile environment. Besides those very

important benefits, others such as improved physical fitness and learning

environmental education come from exploring the state forests. Fall

through Spring are best for hiking, but early Summer mornings can be quite

pleasant.

Participating in the Florida State Forests Trailwalker Program is an

excellent way to improve your fitness as well as your awareness of

Florida's unique ecology.

For more information, contact Division of Forestry, Lake Forestry

Station, 9610 CR 44, Leesburg, FL 34788. Tel. (352) 360-6675.

****

* An artesian spring is visible evidence of discharge or

leakage from the aquifer.

* There are at least 13 known springs that feed the

Wekiva River directly, or which feed its tributaries, the

Little Wekiva and Blackwater Creek.

* Major springs in the Wekiva system include Wekiwa

Springs [48 million gallons of water a day] and Rock

Springs [42 mgd]. On the Blackwater, springs include

Moccasin, Palm, Seminole and Messant, and on the

Little Wekiva, Sanlando and Starbuck.

* Some springs are situated under the river bed, like

"Island Spring", a vent with high sulfur content just

upstream from Katie's Landing. It plunges to 72 feet.

* Since 1934, there has been an overall decline in the

level of the Floridan Aquifer, which feeds most springs.

The greatest long term declines have been in Orlando

and Jacksonville, both major growth centers.

* A USGS study showed a 25 percent decline in the

main Wekiwa spring, and a 20 percent decrease in the

outflow of Rock Springs between 1969 and 1982.

* The Wekiva River and its habitats exist because of

the springs and their thermal protection. What will

happen to this rare wilderness if the springs continue to

decline ? What will happen to our drinking water ?

These questions are not political, but biological.

[ Data taken from studies by the SJRWMD and the USGS, including "Water

Resources Atlas of Florida" ]

****

by Phares Heindl

The Little Wekiva River historically was a quiet, picturesque little stream

flowing through Orange and Seminole Counties and the City of Altamonte

Springs until confluxing with the larger Wekiva River. But humans have

intervened over the last several decades, and their legacy has not been

healthy for the entire Wekiva River system - or for the people who might

derive aesthetic or economic benefits from its presence.

This quiet little stream now transforms into a fierce watercourse whenever

heavy rains fall onto its watershed. This happens because of the intense

development that has encroached upon the basin and the banks of the Little

Wekiva. River banks erode, sending sediment and pollutants downstream,

where they muddy the waters of the big Wekiva and create shoals and

sandbars.

A task force has been working diligently to prevent this. This diligent

partnership is called the Little Wekiva River Technical Working Group

(LWTWG). Their efforts have been supported by the State Legislature from

1995 to 1998. During this past Legislative Session, the keystone of their

plan, the "Little Wekiva River Erosion Protection" project was again listed

to receive funding. But Gov. Jeb Bush included it in the list of

unnecessary "turkeys" and vetoed it.

It is a trite sound bite to describe the fixing of the Little Wekiva as a

"turkey" undeserving of tax money. The reason why this is not a "turkey"

is because---if not addressed---the problem will continue to cloud the

once-clear waters, destroy valuable wildlife habitat, and sooner or later

flood the property of homeowners who live close to the Little Wekiva. Then,

the cost to taxpayers will be far more than the original tab.

Some may write off conservationists trying to provide a fix as "eco

extremists" Yet, the LWTWG includes adjacent property owners and state and

local agencies, as well as environmental groups.

The problems in the Little Wekiva basin occur because agriculture and

residential development push right up against the river banks. Without

natural wetlands to filter and blunt the water's energy, the sandy soils of

the banks and the bottom are set loose by the storm-driven flow and sent

downstream. As the channel deepens, the transport of sediment increases,

worsening the condition.

Nearly $6.5 million has already been spent on the Little Wekiva River

erosion problems, with an additional $2.8 million dedicated to specific

projects. Of the total amount of money, $3.65 million has been funded

through Legislative appropriations. The rest has come from a combination

of local, regional, or federal sources.

The Wekiva River system is the centerpiece of some 50,000 acres worth of

publicly-owned land collectively known as the Wekiva Geopark. To veto a

project like this one jeopardizes not just the park but the honorable

intent of everyone who has worked hard to protect such land.

Let's hope that when the Legislature and Gov. Bush consider the Little

Wekiva River Erosion Protection for funding next year, that they address

the problem---rather than try to make points with facile soundbites.

Phares Heindl, a trial attorney, is the new president of Friends of the

Wekiva River, Inc. He lives in northwest Seminole County.

If you would like to have every issue of Currents mailed to you, become a member of the Friends of the Wekiva River.

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