Betty Osceola Protests State Takeover December 24, 2020 Cartoon used by permission of Andy Marlette and the Pensacola News Journal. Little by little the State of Florida is increasing its independence by power grabs such as this. A quick look at the recent history of the state’s protection of its waters and natural resources reveals that Florida’s once pristine and unique rivers and springs are steadily decreasing under the state’s promotion of over-pumping and excessive fertilizer application. This ill-advised DEP move was promoted by industry and developers and aided by a ransacked and gutted federal EPA which has become a destructive tool under the current Washington administration to destroy the very resources they are supposed to protect. Read the original article here in the Okeechobee News. Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum. [email protected] – A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum Miccosukee Tribe representative protests plan to let State of Florida rule on wetlands permits Posted Monday, December 21, 2020 3:04 pm By Katrina Elsken BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE — “It’s never too late to fight. It’s too late if you don’t fight. Warrior up.” Betty Osceola of the Miccosukee Tribe has taken to social media to protest the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to allow the State of Florida to assume responsibility for the portion of the federal Clean Water Act that governs the filling in of wetlands (Section 404). The 404 decision could impact all tribes in the United States, she explained in a Facebook Live video on Dec. 16. “Indian territory is about to be taken away. “Here in Florida, the two tribes have codified rights to these lands,” said Osceola. “But with the stroke of the pen, EPA plans to help the Army Corps of Engineers do away with that and turn over Indian territory — take it away, and give it to the state.” She explained the Miccosukee Tribe has rights in Big Cypress National Preserve, within Everglades National Park and in Water Conservation Area 3-A. She said they are trying to redefine Indian territory as being only within reservation boundaries. This precedent would allow them to nullify all of the agreements made with tribes throughout the country, she added. “I’m angry this will take away protections,” she said. She said she knows some are frustrated that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting process takes a long time and they want to streamline it. She said she is concerned the state will just “rubber-stamp” plans to dig in or fill in wetlands instead of giving each permit the careful study it deserves. Betty Osceola chats with OSFR board member Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson in Tallahassee in 2016. Photo by Jim Tatum. “My tribe has rights with the federal government and they just want to take it away,” Osceola continued. “Our ancestors always talked about it and as a kid I always heard it … that one day the government is going to work to corral all of the Indians back in the reservations like they did in the time of the initial settling of the United States. “They always said that day will come again, but they are going to use a different way to do it.” She plans a 36-mile protest walk across the Big Cypress preserve on Jan. 2 and 3. She welcomes others to walk with her. “This is approximately 36 miles in two days. I will be camping somewhere along the way. Anyone who decides to walk with me must be prepared and self-sufficient. There will be no support vehicles to shuttle people back and forth,” she explained…. .