Ixia Chapter -- Florida Native Plant Society

The Ixia Chapter Conservation Newsletter is written weekly by Chadd Scott, an art, culture & travel writer, talk radio personality, and podcast producer and coach as well as the Ixia Chapter Conservation Chair. To receive his weekly Conservation Newsletter directly to your email, complete the Subscribe form at the bottom of this page.

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September 25, 2022

How do developers in Florida seem to always get their way despite what state laws, local ordinances and regulatory boards are supposed to do in defense of the environment. Bribes. Proof.

LINK: https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/09/15/when-it-comes-to-florida-developers-and-water-board-chair-grease-is-the-word/

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The Attala butterfly, once thought to be extinct, is making a comeback in Florida. The reason? The increased popularity of its host plant, the coontie.

Coonties are one of the very few native plants used with any regularity by commercial landscapers in north Florida due to their hardiness and year-round green color. Unfortunately, the Attala butterfly doesn’t come this far north.

LINK: https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/butterfly-thought-to-be-extinct-making-south-florida-return/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axioslocal_tampa&stream=top

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Numerous events in October allow you to join the St. Marys Riverkeeper in celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Clean Water Act.

LINK: https://www.stmarysriverkeeper.org/toasttocleanwater2022/

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Scientific evidence finally backs up common sense assumptions and shows how human sources of pollution feed red tide algae blooms in the Gulf.

LINK: https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2022-09-16/florida-researchers-say-freshwater-discharges-from-lake-okeechobee-feed-red-tide-algae-blooms-in-the-gulf-of-mexico?utm_src=newstwitter

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Good news from South Florida where Miami-Dade Commissioners again vetoed a developers plan to expand the county’s urban development border into conservation land to build a massive logistics center. Commissioners will give the developer a THIRD chance at resubmitting a proposal the board can stomach.

LINK: https://commercialobserver.com/2022/09/miami-dade-rejects-downsized-south-dade-logistics-park-again/

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Nearly 70 exotic species of lizards from around the world now live wild in Florida.

LINK: https://www.news-press.com/story/tech/science/environment/2022/09/20/nearly-70-species-lizards-have-invaded-florida-everglades/10364872002/

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In order for the Inflation Reduction Act to be passed, Senate Democrats had to cut a side deal with West Virginia’s coal-backed Joe Manchin to support a spate of pro-fossil fuel legislation he desires. The dirty details of that side deal have come to light and are now the hottest environmental issue on the national political landscape.

LINK: https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/manchin-pushes-most-significant-environmental-rollback-in-decades-2022-09-21/?utm_source=eeo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eeo1159utm_term%3dClimate&emci=c1569455-f339-ed11-a27c-281878b83d8a&emdi=77f16351-b53a-ed11-a27c-281878b83d8a&ceid=2023608

LINK: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/climate-activists-protesting-manchin-s-permitting-bill-arrested-in-dc/ar-AA128tYi

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More than 30 national, state and local organizations urged Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland and the U.S. Department of the Interior to formally authorize the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge’s bid for World Heritage listing. Nomination and inscription on the World Heritage List is the highest honor in the world for sites of ecological importance like the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

The designation does not impose any new rules and regulations, but would highlight the Refuge’s exceptional ecology and increase global visibility, providing opportunities for growth in sustainable tourism, with related economic benefits for local communities, while hopefully, simultaneous, discouraging development in the area.

LINK: https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/dozens-of-groups-urge-interior-department-to-greenlight-okefenokee-world-heritage-bid-2022-09-20/?utm_source=eeo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eeo1159utm_term%3dEndangeredSpecies&emci=c1569455-f339-ed11-a27c-281878b83d8a&emdi=77f16351-b53a-ed11-a27c-281878b83d8a&ceid=2023608

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Conservation

The mission of the Florida Native Plant Society is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.