Most environmental stories are sad enough to make a writer load a gun,
put the barrel in his or her mouth, and pull the trigger. Bang! one more
dead environmentalist who has seen and heard too much.

As an environmental writer, which I primarily have been, I learned, for
example that the Fenholloway River had 200 times the allowable levels of
dioxin. Effluent from the river has wiped out ten square miles of
seagrass beds near the river mouth. The paper mill responsible for this
mess wants to build a pipeline from Perry to Gulf of Mexico to dump its
wastes into your Gulf instead of the river.

That, by the way, is not "News of the Weird," a feature in the Weekly
Planet, but it certainly should be.

As a writer, the story you might be working on could be the plight of
the Florida panther, whose numbers may have reached 100 after decades of
efforts, but whose ranges and corridors are being annihilated by human
expansion in Collier and Lee counties. All you have to do to confirm
this story is drive SR-80 east or take I-75 south from Ft. Myers through
Naples.

People who want to drive boats fast will tell you what a successful
comeback manatees have made and suggest that's a happy story. It's
better than what the story could be. To hear some boaters tell it,
however, there are so many manatees around we might have to start
hunting them to thin their numbers. I wonder if speed enthusiasts would
consider humans endangered if there were only a few thousand left in
Florida. Or how they would feel if it was their kids scared by boat
propellers.

Mountains of acidic, toxic waste waters in phosphogypsum stacks tower
over Central Florida. Sometimes massive phosphate accidents wash down
our rivers killing everything living in the accident's path, except
(inexplicably to me) phosphate mining.

With this article, however, the gun goes back into the night stand. For
there is hope after all. There is an environmental good news story. And
it is right here in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Over the past decade, an accumulation of small actions by local and
state governments, spurred through the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, has
wreaked, not havoc on the natural world, but reversal of human damage.
This is also true in Tampa Bay to the north.

In Manatee and Sarasota counties, these accomplishments extend from
Anna Maria Island to Venice Inlet south of Casey Key. They exist along
our roads and in our cities. They are a testament to the cooperation of
two counties, many cities, the water management district, the Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency - and the Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program which
supplies coordination, vision, and sometimes funds. While there is
always more to be done, in these achievements there is not only hope,
but an inkling of how to solve problems elsewhere.

    Of Men and Ospreys

Walking on the trail at South Lido Park, a net began to descend over my
head. Young, crewcut, blond Jack Watson held the descending net in the
air with his left hand, while looking elsewhere.

Having once been a boy in eighth grade, I could sympathize as I ducked.
There were plentiful distractions for any net holder; for example,
joking-boy and pretty-girl classmates. Sarasota Bay was clear and
wonderfully blue that day too, beckoning any youngster.

One student at a time walking the trail - kids the estuary program is
educating for the future. Overall, thousands of area students have
become informed about estuaries.

Using a computerized mechanical device, Jack sampled the nearby bay
water for the amount of dissolved oxygen, important for fish since they
breath it.

The students learned to tell the types of mangroves apart, and what
creatures lived in the mangroves. A fearless raccoon came out of the
mangroves to look at the kids with curiosity. An great blue heron flew
overheard squawking loudly, while schools of mullet swam under the
boardwalk.

At the conclusion of the two-hour program, the kids were circled like
wagons, something like a freedom ring. They stood on a sea-grape leaf
designating their osprey nest and were instructed to imagine being
ospreys fishing for survival.

Two of the ospreys became a mated pair. If you think its hard as an
adult being part of a mated pair, you should try being ospreys. Or for
that matter being Christian Kwikowski and Chelsea Hoffman, who in eighth
grade seemed both embarrassed and bemused to be mated osprey.
There was a designated eagle, Secoya Black, a pretty young woman with a
big smile who said I must make a lot of money because I was a writer. As
an eagle, Secoya is allowed to swipe fish from other ospreys, including
the mated pair.

There was also a blind osprey, blind-folded Jordan Bentley, injured
tangling with fishing line. Shawn Katzenberger, hopping about with one
leg tied behind him, was an osprey with a broken leg, shot by a careless
hunter.

About thirty kids present were from Bill Payne and Layla Wilson's
classes at Heron Creek Middle School in North Port. The teachers too got
the fun of being ospreys hunting for fish.

Brie Willett, who conducted this educational game, scattered laminated
cards labeled "fish" in the middle of the circle. Brie, who has a
remarkable ability to match every kid's name to their face, counted to
three, then osprey-children rushed to gather as many fish-cards as
possible. Brie, who is trained in environmental science, is the Public
Outreach Coordinator for the estuary program.

While I watched the kids and teachers scamper, I thought how like human
life this game was - and probably more fun.

A circle of adults sitting on their nests might have cash in the
center. Fully-grown humans would swoop up as many bills as possible in
order to buy food, rent or purchase nests, and acquire  wings to get
around.

Some humans rushing for dollars might have extra advantages, like our
eagle, Secoya, who can take fish from others. Still others might have
disadvantages in the great money game, like blind or wounded Jordan and
Shawn. In every community, there are many mated pairs, like Christian
and Chelsea, who must make provisions for their young while dollar
hunting.

The essence of the struggle for existence is basically the same for
ospreys and humans, and for all living things. It is just more
complicated for the two-legged bipeds, who in turn complicate the life
of the natural world.

    A Living House

Consider a bay something like an old house. It has become run down,
parts have been destroyed. Termites have taken over devouring wooden
supports and the roof. Appliances don't work. Air circulation is poor.
Specialists are brought in to see what needs fixing, perhaps placed on
a technical committee. Advice is sought from an advisory committee. The
problem is studied by experts. A set of plans is drawn. People are
hired, funds are provided. Brick-by-brick and board-by-board work
begins.

An estuary is not a house, of course, although things do live there. An
estuary is much more complicated than a house, and it is home for
millions of living organisms. It is a place where fresh and saltwater
mingle, producing life. Healthy estuaries in Florida are usually
measured visibly by the seagrasses and invisibly through such things as
dissolved oxygen, like Jack Watson measured.

The estuary program has a comprehensive plan, which was based on
recommendations from advisory committees, with input from various local
and state governments. It's aim is to restore conditions in the bay to
the conditions of the 1950s.

How is the house of living creatures coming along? Pretty well,
although it is not fully restored yet.

    Plant-by-Plant

Down by Cortez School House, the sweat poured quickly through my shirt.
I was looking for more school kids who were restoring the edge of a
wetland. It was ninety degrees in the shade, when I could find shade. On
such a day, sprinters walk, walkers stay home in the a/c.

I found the kids in Cortez Village drinking cold soft drinks, since
they were exhausted from the heat and work. They were thirteen and
fourteen-year-olds who had done the work of men and women. Six kids and
two adults planted 750 plants in 3.5 hours.

Like thousands of other volunteers, these kids were chipping away
plant-by-plant at stormwater runoff into Sarasota Bay. These seventh
graders were led by Ann Marie Shields, the Science Department Chair at
Saint Stephen's Episcopal School.

Among the native plants the kids had put in the ground were sea grape,
spartina, and sea ox-eye daisy.

Around the two bays (Sarasota and Little Sarasota), the kids have been
joined by thousands of adults at other restoration sites who have dug
holes and hand planted a small reconnection of the natural world around
the near shore of the bay.

Plants gobble up excess runoff. Native plants gather up runoff much
more effectively. Runoff carries nitrogen, responsible for historic
seagrass losses in Sarasota Bay. The nitrogen in the stormwater comes
from pesticides and fertilizer, largely from our well-manicured lawns.
Too much nitrogen in the water causes algae to bloom. Too much algae
shades out seagrasses.

There are a lot of individual actions during eleven years of progress
lead by the vision of the estuary program, many reducing nitrogen load
to the bay. Other projects have improved habitat. Here are some.
Local governments and the estuary program have encouraged and supported
Certified Florida Yards. Some of the twelve demonstration yards exist at
Florida House, Island Library, Sarasota City Hall, Sarasota County
Cooperative Extension Service Office, Tingley Library, and Twin Lakes
Park.

Other efforts have created new mangrove habitat. At Ken Thompson Park,
where Gary Raulerson was yanking out invasive Australian pine sprouts by
hand, restored habitat teemed with fishes.

According to Gary, Senior ("and only") Scientist for the estuary
program, each acre restored supports "up to 65,000 fishes."  At South
Lido Park, plans are being implemented which will lower spoil mounds and
remove exotics to create new shoreline. The mangroves will expand
naturally into this lower area, creating more precious, fish-supporting
acres for Sarasota Bay. This project involves the estuary program, the
Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Southwest Florida Water Management
District.

To date, the estuary program has encouraged or sponsored fourteen
habitat restorations at places like Shelby Gardens and Crosley Museum.
In most cases, invasive species are ripped out and replaced with native
plants.

Twelve current restorations are underway. Some are like Perico Bayou,
where natural flow will be restored by the work of contractors hired
through the estuary program. Others, like that at GWIZ (pronounced
Gee-Whiz), are accomplished largely by the work of volunteers.

Where feasible, previously dredged and silted areas of bay bottom have
been returned to normal condition allowing seagrasses to return. In some
cases, new artificial habitat has been added to the bay. Twenty-one
artificial reef projects have been completed or are in progress. Land
has also been acquired to protect the estuary at five locations,
including two at Sisters Keys.

An astonishing 3,600 reef balls have been placed into Sarasota Bay.
These are artificial habitats, ranging from twenty pounds to hundreds,
where fish can prosper. The reef balls are so effective that The
Sarasota Sportsman's Association donated $5,000 in October 2003 for more
to be placed in the bay.

A transition to advanced wastewater treatment reduced pollution from
wastewater. Several municipalities re-use water for irrigation. Manatee
County was first to put an aquifer storage system in effect
From Sarasota south, the county is largely on septic tanks. Many of
these leak into creeks. Here is perhaps the largest remaining challenge
and certainly the most time consuming.

Estuary programs and environmental agencies talk in terms of
"impairments," a word for poor water quality or pollution. There are
virtually no impairments thought to exist in the two Sarasota bays
themselves, but three creeks are consistently considered impaired:
Bowlees Creek, Phillippi Creek, and Whitaker Bayou. The cause is
primarily septic tanks.

On Phillippi Creek alone, there are more than 36,000 septic tanks.
According to Mark Alderson, head of the estuary program, county
government is now working on these pollution problems "a septic tank and
a sewer line at a time."

Elevation is a key factor in why septic is not effective in the area,
according to Mark. Distance from waterways also is inadequate. The
recommended distance is 800 feet. The actual distance in many areas is
only a fraction of that.

Nitrogen in the form of human wastes leaks into the waterways. In some
cases, it does more than leak. Special septic tanks which deal with
nitrogen have been tried and found inefficient.

People must also be trusted to maintain septic. To protect the
environment, septic should be cleaned every three or four years.
Unfortunately many septic owners wait for an emergency. And when the
leaks are not noticeable, individual septic owners usually are unaware
of a problem until it becomes noticeable.

When the septic tanks have been converted to sewer a substantial threat
to the estuaries and human health will have been solved. This solution,
however, will take many years.

The condition of the bay in the 1980s was described by Florida's
Department of Environmental Protection as "fair to poor."
The estuary program was established in 1993. By the year 2000, a report
done by Mote Marine Aquarium was able to conclude: "It is estimated that
the Bay now supports 110 million more fish, 71 million more crabs, and
330 million more shrimp than in 1980." "More than 50 miles of shoreline
were created." "More than 100 acres of wetlands have been improved or
restored." And seagrasses had increased by as much as perhaps 1,800
acres.

These improved conditions were as of 2000. Since then, even more
improvement has come to the bay. A study to determine how much more the
bay has improved lies in the future.

A journey of a thousand miles has been made, and it was made in little
steps.

    A Blueprint for Success

It should be noted that while the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program has been
kind enough to educate me on their efforts, the contents of this article
reflect my opinion and not theirs, particularly in what follows.
While learning about the Sarasota program, there was a great dawning
that even a simple writer could not miss. The effect of a few dedicated
people over the years chipping away at environmental problems can be
profound. What is needed is vision, a plan, determination, and
cooperation between various levels of government. The estuary program
demonstrates what can be accomplished with a shared vision and
cooperation.

Although the governor of the state nominates an estuary program, they
exist because people want them locally. Such programs have been provided
for in the Clean Water Act since 1987. Partial funding comes from the
federal budget, but it requires local matching funds, which are raised a
little differently from estuary program to estuary program.
There are places in Florida which could use an estuary program but
don't have it. One is the area from the Ochlockonee River to Cedar Keys
at the mouth of the Suwannee; this large area is considered by
scientists to be one estuary system. A "Big Bend" Estuary Program would
be a great gift for the future of Florida of immeasurable value.
Another potential program would be for Escambia Bay, which clearly has
problems. I doubt either will ever have an estuary program, but they
should. If they were half as effective as the plans implemented in
Sarasota bays, Florida would have gone a long way to clearing up its
share of the Gulf of Mexico problems, while improving and preserving the
estuaries for future generations, not to mention the people and
creatures which live there.

Unfortunately, too much of Florida lacks this kind of vision or
cohesion when dealing with the environment. Counties and cities are
often in competition for residents, industry, and tax base. Most
builders and developers want to build, just like my father did, as
quickly and profitably as possible. Most large landowners are drawn by
the bottom line of development. State efforts at land acquisition are
often mired in offering what the current use value is of the land versus
what the developed valued might be - with some disturbing exceptions. It
seems at times as if the rural counties are in a race to see how many
acres can be developed as fast as possible. For example, in little
Hendry County along the Caloosahatchee River, 7000 new homes are
arriving in the immediate future. In allowing rampant development
without sewage and municipal water sources, the counties are showing a
failure of vision. Water-short areas do not provide for storage and
retrieval, but instead stick thousands of individual straws into the
aquifer in the form of wells. Water management districts are often
concerned more with avoiding floods and saving water for drought.
Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, the place where one
would hope for a unified vision over all this chaos, seems at times at
odds with itself. Despite scores of conscientious and dedicated public
servants, the agency itself appears in the public eye as a reactive,
defensive creature instead of a proactive defender of the environment.
The environmental problems of Florida need a vision and cohesion, much
like the estuary programs have helped provide in Tampa Bay, Charlotte
Harbor, and Sarasota bays. With cooperation and vision, great things can
be accomplished, step-by-step, plant-by-plant. Without such vision,
business continues as usual, and the number of happy environmental
stories will remain small.\

The Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program contacts are
www.sarasotabay.org or 941-951-3650.

Six Things You Can Do to Help Sarasota Bay
1. Participate as a volunteer in the estuary program.
2. If you are able to, donated funds to the program as they go 100% into
education and restoration.
3. If you have a septic tank, have it cleaned every three to four years.
Get onto a sewage systems as soon as possible.
4. Recycle everything possible, because things burned in incinerators
come back to earth and the sea as enriching nitrogen in the form of NOX,
nitrates of oxygen.
5. Use native plants or Florida-friendly ones in landscaping.
6. Become informed about environmental issues and active.