Tuesday, August 7, 2018

8/7/18.. After a week into this month, I finally have gotten around to posting again. The fly fishing scene is not all we hoped it would be this midsummer.  Here in S.W. Florida we have been hit with a double "whammy" of Green Algae and Red Tide "blooms".  The word from the Executive Industry Committee to the Florida incumbent Governor in office last year at ICAST was "You fix this Okeechobbe / Everglades water problem or start looking for a different line of occupation than a politician, as you will not be elected even as dog catcher any place in this State. Well, a year has come and gone and the situation is worse than last year.  I understand that no Governor can make federal authorities do anything by ordering them to do so. ie: Army Corp of Engineers running water releases from the dam at Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River but he can publically use his office to protest federal actions concerning these activities through the Media which he has ready access to and he can also refuse political contributions made to his fundraising. neither of which he has done except for recent press statements since the problem has been headlining on the News outlets. Quite frankly I normally prefer Republican politicians and their policies to those of tax and spend socialist programs that most Democrats prefer. In this case, however, it is so basic a need for correction that I would support a Democrat, Liberal, Socialist, Monarchist or any other political party affiliate that will actually fix this mess, because if it is not fixed "fairly" soon then everything here in the American tropics will eventually collapse.  The State Governors do have the power to remove residents from areas that are directly negatively impacting the welfare and economy of their States and the overall health of the economy of their States. People living in "shabby" trailer parks or farms close by Lake O's southern perimeter will have to be removed and resettled into other areas (like it or not) so that water releases from Lake O can be fed more directly into the Everglades after water treatment has been performed on this Lake water, which is too high in chemical composition from farming and ranching in areas north of Lake O which are feeding the excessive harmful "nutrients", pesticides, etc. into the watercourse that leads naturally south through Lake O then on to the Glades and eventually out into the Gulf.  Miners, Farmers, Citrus Growers, Ranchers, Communities and their residents located north of Lake O will have to comply with all regulations imposed for clean water release in this area. As for the Red Tide blooms and the massive fish and wildlife kills they bring along the coastline, there is less that can be done about this, other than the speedy removal of its casualties until science perfects an antidote to this bacteria that removes oxygen from seawater. Some years due to tides, currents, wind and inner ocean forces we receive less or more Red Tide along our beaches.  This year has been worse than other years and coupled with the unrelated Algae problem it has simply compounded and worsened the entire sad situation.  A fellow resident of the "Village" that I live in posted his comments about this problem on the O.B.Village F.B. Page yesterday and put it very well into historic context that is worth reading to better understand the situation at hand and how it got this way.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

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