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In this edition, you will find the latest news and information about the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and community outreach efforts throughout south Florida. As you read through this issue, you will discover more about what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District are doing to inform, involve, and engage our citizens, businesses and communities in the Everglades restoration plan and the protection of our future water supply. |
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Did you know that the Florida Everglades was once a vibrant, free-flowing river of grass that provided clean water from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay? Today, this extraordinary ecosystem is dying. Over the past half-century, the health and size of the Everglades have steadily declined. Severely impacted by drainage and development, the Everglades is suffering from a critical shortage of clean, reliable water sources. To restore and preserve south Florida's natural environment, enhance water supplies, and maintain flood protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District and numerous other federal, state, local and tribal partners, has developed a plan to save the Everglades. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) includes a series of ecological and water system improvements. During the next 30 years, the Corps, the District, and their sponsoring partners will restore water quality, quantity, timing, and distribution in what is being referred to as "the largest environmental restoration project in history." To find out more about Everglades restoration, visit our official website at www.evergladesplan.org. |
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A partnership of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District and many other federal, state, local and tribal partners. |
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| November - December 2006 | |||||||||||||
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This past year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District engaged in a public-private partnership to provide the latest information directly to Glades area residents about Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover Dike. The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, coupled with recent news about the Herbert Hoover Dike, created a need for additional outreach to Glades area communities that are near Lake Okeechobee. In 2006, the Corps partnered with Project H.O.P.E. of Southwest Florida (Helping Our People in Emergencies) to provide outreach services to residents of the Glades area. Project H.O.P.E. was established in 2005 following Hurricane Wilma to provide outreach, crisis counseling, and social service support to victims of Wilma. The Corps manages Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding Herbert Hoover Dike which has provided flood protection for 40,000 residents of lakeside communities for more than 70 years. At the invitation of Project H.O.P.E. Regional Manager Doug Fowler, the Corps provided workshops and seminars to his staff and other social service providers to equip them to address residents’ questions and concerns about the lake’s water levels and stability of the Herbert Hoover Dike. “Project H.O.P.E. staff are talented communicators,” reports Nanciann Regalado, chief of corporate communication for the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. “They can answer an individual’s questions in the preferred language, at the appropriate level of complexity, and in consideration of cultural influences.” Project H.O.P.E. also hosted hurricane awareness festivals in Moore Haven, Clewiston and Belle Glade to observe the anniversaries of past hurricanes and to provide information to people of all age levels. The Corps was on hand at each to talk about the Herbert Hoover Dike, lake levels and CERP. In Clewiston, at the event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the 1928 “Killer ‘Cane,” Mayor Mali Chamness thanked Project H.O.P.E. and the Corps for their work with residents who have strong ties to Lake Okeechobee and the events that have had such lasting effects on the lake and the surrounding communities. |
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This fall, an informative newspaper insert about the plan to restore America’s Everglades is being delivered to African American and Hispanic households and readers, via weekly newspapers and community organizations. Community Outreach in Action, and its companion Spanish-language Servicios Comunitarios En Acción, is produced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District in partnership with the South Florida Water Management District. The agencies are leading the way to restore the Everglades and a key goal of both is to ensure awareness and involvement by south Florida’s diverse communities. Community Outreach in Action is a four-page, full-color upbeat publication which is issued twice a year. There are 150,000 copies printed of each issue. The issue was distributed to households via African American-owned weekly newspapers from Orlando to Miami in late October. It will be distributed through Spanish-language weekly newspapers in mid-November. Both are also sent to community organizations and are available online at www.evergladesplan.org under “news and events.” The fall 2006 issue features stories on why restoring the Everglades is important; outreach materials for south Florida’s African American, Haitian and Hispanic residents; new leadership at the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District which oversees Corps’ activities in Florida; games; and other information. To receive copies for your organization, please contact Ellen Underwood at 561-472-8885. |
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In recognition of Kwanzaa, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District will release a screensaver in December that connects the meaning of Kwanzaa to the protection of the natural environment in south Florida. The screensaver supports the goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) and is an outreach tool for CERP. Kwanzaa is an African holiday celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 each year. It is observed by millions of people throughout the world. The screensaver will feature the seven principles of Kwanzaa, messages that connect these principles to south Florida’s natural resources, and background music. This is the third consecutive year the Corps of Engineers has released a screensaver about CERP for Kwanzaa. The first, produced in 2004, was very popular and in demand at many community events. “This is a way for us to raise awareness about our precious and fragile natural environment, its connection to our daily lives, and the plan to restore the Everglades,” reports Nanciann Regalado, chief of corporate communication for the Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. The screensaver will be available for download at the www.evergladesplan.org website. For a limited time, individual copies on CD will be available at neighborhood events for the African American community. For additional information, please contact Ellen Underwood at 561-472-8885. |
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| These friends were among many visitors at the CERP display at the 4th Annual South Dade E-Fair & Festival in Homestead. The event was organized by Sweet Vine Youth Center and Florida International University and sponsored by Miami-Dade County. | A colorful show by the “Flamenco Dancers” was held at the JFK Library in Hialeah to celebrate the Hispanic Heritage Month. One dancer is taking time in between performances to enjoy the first English-Spanish CERP kiosk placed at the library. | ||||||||||||
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If you are interested in learning about business opportunities with the Water Management District, please call the Procurement Hotline at 1-800-472-5290. If you would like to request a presentation for your organization, please contact Erica Robbins at 561-683-1577, ext. 32 or Bernadette Morris at 305-948-8063, ext. 201. |
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If you are interested in learning about business
opportunities with the Corps, please contact
Bernadette Morris at 305-948-8063, ext. 201. 