GCRA
OVERVIEW
FAQ
NEWS
ARTICLES
PHOTOS
REEF ISSUES
RESTORATION
PAPERS
LINKS
|
|
|
|
Official Request to File a
Grievance July 29 2004 Roger Griffis U.S. Coral Reef Task Force U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 1305 East West Highway ORR, 10116) Silver Springs, MD 20910 Dear Sir, We request the urgent support and assistance of the US Coral Reef Task Force to ensure that 1) the unique inshore coral reef of Broward County, the nearest, healthiest, and most threatened in the US, is officially declared a Coral Reef Habitat subject to the fullest protection under the Coral Reef Preservation Executive Order 13089, and officially designated Essential Fish Habitat under the Magnusson-Stevens Act, 2) that a survey urgently and simultaneously quantifies water quality and ecosystem health of the reef to determine all sources of pollution, and 3) a plan be devised to eliminate excess nutrient pollution in the reef. The inshore coral reefs of Broward County are the only healthy coral reefs in the continental US that can be swum to from shore. They have miles of some of the highest live coral cover of any US reef, are densely packed with fish, contain large numbers of ancient thousand year old corals, and the largest known area left in the entire Caribbean region of the rare and critically endangered staghorn coral (Appendix). This species is the most sediment sensitive of all Caribbean corals. The dredged sand that would be dumped is too high in fine-grained sediments and in fragile particles that will break down into mud for these corals to survive beach dredge-dumping. Staghorn coral is now under consideration for designation under the Endangered Species Act. As the northernmost coral reefs in Florida they are the only place corals can spread north from if global warming continues. These reefs are the last remaining part of coral reefs that once stretched all along southeast Florida. All the rest were killed by prior beach dredge-fill ("renourishment") projects. The Broward reefs survived because they are in the only stretch that was not dredge-filled, because no beach erosion was taking place. In fact the beaches in this segment are growing, but Broward County and the US Army Corps of Engineers have chosen to ignore the latest data showing this, and relied on old and outdated information (Appendix). These unique reefs, are now imminently threatened by several factors, the most imminent being the plan by Broward County, approved by the Governor and Cabinet of Florida, to dredge-fill the only remaining stretch of beach that has not been done, even though this no needed. These reefs are also threatened by overgrowth by expanding rings of bacteria and algae spreading outward from offshore sewage outfalls, and from places where deep well injected sewage material is rising from cracks in the bottom (Appendix). In addition coral diseases and bleaching are taking a toll (Appendix). All of these threats will be made worse by the movement of sand and mud from dredge-fill material dumped on the beach and washed into the sea. In the last few weeks these cyanobacterial mats have spread to the area of the largest and healthiest staghorn patch, and many corals have already been smothered. The cyanobacteria have never reached this area before, and emergency action is needed NOW to reduce nutrient inputs to this site. Amazingly, these reefs have no legal protection of any kind because they have never been designated coral reef habitat. The Coral Reef Protection Executive Order is not now being observed by Broward County, The State of Florida, the US Army Corps of Engineers, or EPA in permitting this destructive, irresponsible, and unnecessary dredging to kill a reef that generates billions of dollars a year in economic benefits. The environmental impact assessments made for the dredging project basically claim that there is no real reef there, and if there was, it couldn't possibly be harmed! They are based on models which claim that sand and mud will not move from the beach onto the corals right in front of them, in violation of the laws of physics, and which assume that no hurricanes or winter storms will take place. They have deliberately ignored the latest data showing that he beach in Segment II next to the best reef has been growing, not eroding. The best reefs have never been properly mapped nor has any proper study been done to identify and quantify all the sources of land-based pollution affecting them. No management plan has been prepared for their protection. It is urgent that the US Coral Reef Task Force takes an immediate stand on enforcing the US Coral Reef Protection Executive Order 13089 if it is to have any credibility in protecting US Coral Reef according to its mandate. These reefs are the number one coral reef conservation priority in the United States at this time. They are like the last grove of giant redwoods, with a plan approved for their imminent clear-cutting. The next International Coral Reef Symposium will be held in Fort Lauderdale, a short swim from this magnificent reef, in 2008. If the dredging plan is allowed to proceed the US will be in the embarrassing position of showing thousands of reef experts from around the world that they have killed the last best reef in North America. This should be an opportunity to demonstrate that the US is committed to protecting and restoring its coral reefs. We therefore request that the US Coral Reef Task Force: 1) Issue a statement that these reefs are of unique importance, and deserve the fullest protection designated under the US Coral Reef Protection Executive Order 13089 and the Magnusson-Stevens Act. 2) Authorize and fund an immediate study to simultaneously map the abundance and health of the hard corals, soft corals, sponges, and algae along the entire reef tract, along with simultaneously mapping the water quality, and to determine the locations and magnitudes of all land-based sources of pollution affecting them. 3) Authorize and fund the development of a management plan to protect these reefs and eliminate all sources of land-based pollution affecting them. 4) Support the designation of staghorn coral under the Endangered Species Act. 5) Call for emergency action to reduce nutrient inputs to the area so that the cyanobacteria mats will die back before they kill the remaining coral. 6) Call for the dredging of Segment II to be stopped. 7) Make preservation of Broward reefs a major example and theme of responsible US coral reef management at the next International Coral Reef Symposium. 8) We request that this grievance be circulated to all members of the US Coral Reef Task Force 9) We request that these issues be raised as an official agenda item at the US Coral Reef Task Force Meeting in Miami in September 2004. Thank you for your help in saving North America's last remaining nearshore reef. Sincerely, Dan Clark, President, Cry of the Water Thomas J.Goreau, Ph.D., President, Global Coral Reef Alliance APPENDICES: http://globalcoral.org/Broward%20Petition.htm http://globalcoral.org/reef_protection_in_broward_count.htm
http://globalcoral.org/ABC%20World%20News%20Features%20Broward%20County%20Dredging%20Project.htm
http://globalcoral.org/South%20Florida%20Sun-Sentinel.htm
http://globalcoral.org/Coral%20Bleaching%20and%20Disease%20Affect%20Broward%20Reefs.htm
http://globalcoral.org/Divers%20Plunge%20into%20Countywide%20Effort.htm
http://globalcoral.org/White%20Water%20to%20Blue%20Water%20Partnership%20Conference.htm
http://globalcoral.org/THOUSANDS%20OF%20MARINE%20CORALS%20TO%20BE%20BURIED.htm
http://globalcoral.org/Broward%20Coral%20Reefs%20Need%20Protection%20Now..htm
http://globalcoral.org/Comments%20on%20the%20EIS%20for%20Broward%20County.htm
http://globalcoral.org/Broward%20Coral%20Reefs%20Need%20Protection%20Now..htm
http://globalcoral.org/broward_county_beach_dredging_pr.htm
http://globalcoral.org/Broward%20County%20Dredge%20and%20Fill%20Final%20Environmental%20Impact%20Statement%20(EIS).htm
http://globalcoral.org/Goreau%20Testimony%20Regarding%20Broward%20County%20Dredging%20Project.htm
Dr. Thomas J. Goreau President Global Coral Reef Alliance 37 Pleasant Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA telephone: 617-864-4226, 617-864-0433 E-mail: goreau@bestweb.net Web site: http://www.globalcoral.org
Cry of the Water Monitoring and Protecting Broward Reefs P.O. Box 8143 Coral Springs, FL 33075 (954) 753-9737 reefteam2@yahoo.com www.cryofthewater.org
|
|