Polar Bears City forms Medical Advisory Committee on water quality • eady tor By EMILIE ALFINO ple from Bowman's Beach showed plunge 0=?. tir-/« s. '~e/3. , t^jv.uo'".,'' high levels of an organism Loflin San-Cap ciub City council last week appointed said requires further testing. There gets ready for three Sanibel doctors to a new Water are 76 species of this organism, he annual New Year's Day Quality Medical Advisory explained, only three of which can dip in the chilly gulf. Committee at the request of cause human disease. It is not known Councilman Steve Brown, also a which of the 76 species are present 19 physician. The committee's purpose in Sanibel water but the number of is to review and provide recommen- cells was high enough to warrant dations on health issues related to additional testing, Loflin said the quality of water in Sanibel's The new Medical Advisory Sanibe! bays and estuaries. Committee will review the issue and School Drs. David Berger, John Harries council voted that if they recom- and Phillip Marks will serve on the Dr. David Berger Dr. John Harries Dr. Phillip Marks mend it, the city will proceed with committee until Dec. 18, 2007, with Loflin's suggestion to have graduate The Brown serving as city council liai- assistance as deemed appropriate. Although samples from Sanibel students from the University of December son. Two additional people can be The committee's first official act beaches showed "nothing alarming," North Carolina at Charlotte conduct issue of the appointed to the committee if coun- will be to review Loflin's recom- Loflin said staff looked further for some studies. "It doesn't mean school news- cil chooses to do so. Sanibel Natural mendation for further studies of bac- human pathogens using samples there's anything toxic, but there's a paper by the Resources Director Rob Loflin will teria found in the algae and waters from five island locations including potential and we need to find out," students is here serve as staff liaison and provide surrounding Sanibel. one from San Carlos Bay. The sam- Loflin said. 8 again. Goodby Sanibel - Hello Erie New plan better The Reporter for island estuary wants your By EMILIE ALFiNO >aners>co>ii Post to the Sanibel's efforts to get the Army Corps of Engineers virtual to change its tentative new water management plan for newsroom: Lake Okeechobee have resulted in "a major step for- breezenewspapers.com ward," according to Natural Resources Director Rob Loflin. Loflin said of all the proposed plans, the latest one "does the best for the Caloosahatchee." Army Corps of Answer me this... Engineers Jacksonville Take part in our Commander Col. Paul "We are not talking online poll. Grosskruger approved miracles here." This week's ques- the latest contingent fj J tion is: schedule largely in r response to the grass- — Hcb toftn Resources Director , Do you plan to roots campaign against ~i& travel more in its predecessor, led by —————— 2007 than 2006? the city of Sanibel. More than 2,000 postcards from the Answer online at island area were directed to Army Corps leaders during island-reporter.com and see the public comment period last fall. what others have said. See NEW PLAN, page 2 Art Night to showcase LAURA BLASKOWITZ Christmas Bird Count island talent While influential islander John Veenschoten, who recently resigned from the city's Planning Commission, will move back to Pennsylvania, he leaves better than last year's 'Art in Paradise' behind a legacy of environmental consciousness, compassion and hard will be an island work. first for artists and crafts- By EMILIE ALFINO people. Get the full story in this week's ISLANDER. More birds were on Sanibel and Captiva this Island pioneer to bid farewell Christmas than last Christmas, according Every Issue By LAURA BLASKOWITZ raised and ran two businesses," Veenschoten to the Sanibel-Captiva M?"JKOWS'Z %* D. eaifT«j«srnpci£ com said. Audubon Society. Tides & For the past 80 years, islander John A permanent resident of the island for 21 About 120 volunteers counted 18,507 birds Police Beat 7 Veenschoten has watched Sanibel grow, years, the decision to leave certainly has not change and stay the same. From his child- been an easy one, "I love Sanibel. Like of 99 different species Deaths 7 hood visits in the late 20s to his more recent everyone else, I like the weather and I like during the annual Christmas Bird Count Community Calender.... 10 position as a member of the city planning the island and I know the island so well, commission, Veenschoten has been an inte- back long before the Causeway was in," he Dec. 16. Gardening 15 gral part of the community. explained. "Counts are way Classified Ads It In November, much to the regret of the Veenschoten's appreciation for Sanibel up," Tim Gardner said. Gardner is a Weather Map 19 city, Veenschoten announced his resignation began with his first visits to the area in 1927. from the planning commission. He and his "My father purchased about a mile of West member of the San- Word on the Island " 0 wife Muriel have decided to return to the Gulf Drive from Rabbit Road west and all Cap Audubon Society place of his birth. "We are going to sell our the way down to the Sanibel River," he said. and led a group of house here and move back to Erie, "Those were sort of boom times. When the volunteers counting in one of eight or nine Baltimore Oriole f CWS-p'ipft I- Pennsylvania. That's where I was born, <,voted paper See VEENSCHOTEN, page 5 See BIRDS, page 14 ENJOY ISLAND LIFE 3 bedrooms 2 baths. One of the Toll Free 800.233,8829 |tfcest Old Style Florida homes; in Main Office 239.472.1511 RESORTQIJEST, Captiva Viifage, spilt floor plan, Causeway 239,472.4121 REAL. ESTATE ^ i»^<»« * Over 50 Years of Real | newer pool & enclosure. Short Captiva 239,472,3154 stroll to beach, shops & Summcriin Roid 239.466,5533 teaIEstate.com restaurants $1,495,000 Fort Myers. Beach 239.463,1141 Sx57Sanibel, FL33957 Kim Herre* 239.472.5154 « Plan from page 1 The new tentatively selected plan, or TSP, best balances a substantial improvement over the existing water release "As far as the new TSP, anything outside the optimum the multiple and sometimes competing needs of various schedule for the lake," Loflin wrote. He is recommending flows that the scientists say are best for the river and estuary stakeholders, Loflin said, including Lake Okeechobee and the city support the new plan with the following additions: are simply unacceptable," PURRE Executive Director Mary its dike, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, and the Rawl said. Everglades. The plan is named 1B-T3 and, if adopted, will (1) a requirement to keep discharges below biologists' rec- Michael Valiquette, PURRE chairman, said measuring • ommended maximum of 2,800 cfs unless the Herbert 00 control Lake Okeechobee operations until 2010. from Franklin Lock and also requiring a 2,800 cfs limit, Hoover Dike is in danger and public health and safety are at while certainly desirable, would make it practically impos- What makes this a better plan is that water flow meas- risk; and urements would be taken at a different location, Loflin said, sible for the Corps to release any water at the Moore Haven "something Sanibel has advocated for over a year." The new (2) that the Army Corps identify all public lands that can be Lock during the wet season when the Caloosahatchee plan calls for water flow to be measured at the S-79 Franklin used for emergency water storage AND require discharges basin watershed is feeding into the river. "They would have I Lock at Alva instead of at the S-77 Moore Haven Lock at the be made to these lands PRIOR to any discharges to the to close up the Moore Haven lock and never release any edge of the lake. This should result in a significant reduction Caloosahatchee in excess of 2.800 cfs AND prior to any dis- water from it, or at least fill the river basin east of the in the number of times excessive flows are discharged from charges to the St. Lucie in excess of 2,000 cfs (emphasis Franklin Lock, which could cause flodmg in the Labelle and Franklin Locks into the Caloosahatchee estuary. Lofiin's). Alva areas." "Although we are not talking miracles here, as projec- People United to Restore our Rivers and Estuaries He predicted the Army Corps won't agree to adhere to tions still call for unacceptable extreme releases to the (PURRE) agrees the plan is an improvement but that more both conditions. "Until we can figure out a way to move the Caloosahatchee under very wet conditions," the new TSP "is needs to be done. water south, they cannot commit to those numbers." H Valiquette concluded. O Valiquette used this example to explain: It's rainy season and storm water runoff from Kissimmee is filling Lake Number of times proposed discharge criteria Okeechobee. If the new plan is adopted and the 2,800 cfs maximum is imposed, the Army Corps can't release more (Mean Monthly Flow) would have been exceeded from 1965 - 2000 than that from the Franklin Lock into the Caloosahatchee which scientists agree would be a good thing for the estuary. But if the lake is filling up. they will release that 2,800 cfs maximum from Franklin Lock, which contains primarily 70- Kissimmee basin watershed runoff, not Lake Okeechobee water.