The Florida Legislature passed – and the Governor signed into law -- the State Park Preservation Act – marking a monumental victory for the permanent protection of Florida’s state parks and wild places. A truly bi-partisan effort.
None of this would have been possible without YOU and all our allies around the state who have been fighting every single day to defend and protect our wild places.
Since last summer, Sierra Club Florida and its members have been on the front lines fighting to keep development out of our state parks. From rallies and protests to delegation meetings, district visits, State Park Love Fests, and Lobby Day. Our voices were impossible to ignore.
We can proudly say Our State Parks Won!
We can claim wins in other ways: helping to keep bad bills from even making it to the floor for a vote and getting good bills discussed in the committees. 2026 will be a new ball game!
We were against HB 565 Regulation of Auxiliary Containers. This bill would have stripped cities and counties of their authority to control plastic bags, polystyrene containers, plastic utensils, straws, etc. This died, so as good as a win!
We were for HB 1063/SB Carbon Sequestration. This would have established a carbon sequestration task force under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Unfortunately, the bill died, but the fact that it was discussed is great news.
We were against HB 585/SB 832 Former Phosphate Mining Lands. This bill was indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration.
You might know of more... let me know.
Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group will continue working to stop the new $1.5 Billion Trash Incinerator. Do we really want our area to have the largest and most expensive, toxic trash burning facility in the United States? Check out the report by Mike Ewall, Energy Justice: “It’s Not Green.” To access an online copy of this report, go to: www.energyjustice.net/fl/pbcincin.pdf.
Finally, our campaign against burning sugar cane in the Glades had a big boost last month with a special showing of the Emmy-nominated documentary “Bittersweet Muck” at the Mandell Library on May 31st.
Remember to check out our website for committee meetings, events and special articles and Facebook.
Presented by Javier Estevez, Sierra Club Florida Chapter Political and Legislative Director
Program: Join us for a wrap-up of the good, the bad, and the unknown from the 2025 Florida Legislative Session
Where: Zoom: The Zoom link will be emailed to you after you register
Speaker: Javier Estevez has been with Sierra Club Florida since 2022. He previously served as the organization’s Operations & Legislative Coordinator and is now the Chapter’s Political and Legislative Director. Born and raised in Miami, Javier brings a wealth of experience to his role, including running for Florida State House in 2018, and serving his local party as both Legislative Liaison and Campaign Chair from 2019-2021.
Our Gala last November - Under the Sea - was a fantastic success! Everyone feasted. The camaraderie and conversations were sparkling. The food and drinks were plentiful and delicious!!! Everyone loved it.
And we made a lot of money to support our Inspiring Connection Outdoors and Elaine Usherson Scholarship programs to educate youth and our Loxahatchee Group conservation efforts.
Take a little trip down memory lane and check our photos from that event. Go to our Facebook Album
We are taking you on this nostalgia trip to point out that we need your help coming up with future fundraising ideas and plans.
We need a new venue, somewhere central to our Loxahatchee Group area. Maybe you know of a place that is nice and affordable. Does your community have a nice place to hold +/- 100 people?
We need a new chair for the event, maybe it’s you? Maybe it’s you and a few of your friends? You can decide how or if you want to collect silent auction items, the catering, and the theme.
We can raise money in a variety of ways: One or two big events a year or lots of little ones. Maybe this year we will concentrate on lots of little ones?
We have some ideas:
· Pickleball events: inside in the summer, outside in the winter.
· Tour a winery with a tasting. We know Florida is not famous for wine, but at least we don’t have to pay a tariff.
· Ceramic painting with wine and cheese. Make a plate or cup of your own.
· A bikeathon through our natural areas with a picnic in a pavilion.
· A breakfast at Applebee’s with a speaker: We pay for the food and wait on the tables. We keep the profits and tips.
· Book Club: pick a favorite book on nature or nature photography, ask the author to speak and sign copies of their book.
· “Your Great Next Idea!”
We are open to suggestions and ideas, but what we really need is one or two people to pick a project and run with it. Just let the Loxahatchee Group leadership know what you need and, hopefully, we will be able to provide it or at least help.
All photos courtesy of Ann Mathews, Senior Environmental Analyst, Outreach & Science Communication
Linda Smithe and Brian Ducharme
Sabrina Carle
The hardworking Volunteers and Mosquito Control Staff removed an estimated 1,500 pounds of trash during the April 30 cleanup event at Lake Ida. Thanks to everyone for helping the Department preserve and protect this Palm Beach County natural treasure.
Join ERM's team to preserve, protect, and restore our eco-treasures. Do you need community service hours or are you looking to give back your time and attention to the environment? There are many programs that allow volunteers to lend a hand occasionally or on a regular basis. The choice is yours!
Palm Beach Post Letter to the Editor
Gov. DeSantis, do the right thing by state parks.
Bravo! The Florida Legislature passed the State Park Preservation Act, marking a monumental victory for the permanent protection of Florida’s state parks and wild places. This is so exciting since Floridians from all walks of life and political affiliations banded together and fought back against an ill-conceived plan that would have allowed our parks to be taken over for golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts.
Our voices were heard loud and clear and even more importantly, our local lawmakers — Rep. John Snyder and Sen. Gayle Harrell — stepped up and supported our call to action. Thank you to the state legislators who were listening and passed this important bill, and saved our state’s parks so that our children, grandchildren and all the generations to follow can enjoy our beautiful parks.
Gov. DeSantis the ‘pickleball’ is in your court now, and it’s time for you to take the final step to save our parks. Please sign this very important bill, and let’s make sure our parks remain beautiful for all of your constituents to enjoy.
Sheila Calderon, Boynton Beach
Editors’ note: DeSantis did sign the bill.
Event at Limestone Creek Natural Area Great American Cleanup
Preston Ducharme and his grandmother, Linda Smithe, who is also the Loxahatchee Group chair
Volunteers removed 160 pounds of trash during the April 26, 2025 Great American Clean-up and we all received free tee shirts!
Exotic Plant Removal at Galaxy Sand Pine Preserve
Sierra Club member Chris Lockhart in grey shirt Photos by Image Galaxy Group
Chris Lockhart helped to facilitate the City of Boynton Beach follow-up to the” Weed Wrangle 2” on Saturday, May 10th. The area is really starting to look like a gopher tortoise meadow. Keep up the good work.
2025 Alan Parmalee Memorial Scholarship Winner
Max Fernandez, center, with Loxahatchee Group members Carol Stender and Ricardo Zambrano Photo Leonard Bryant Photography
Congratulations to Max Fernandez, this year’s recipient of the 2025 Alan Parmalee Memorial Scholarship. Max is a 2025 graduate of the Gale Academy of Environmental Science and Technology at Forest Hill Community High School. Ricardo Zambrano presented the $4,000 scholarship to Max at the 25th Nicholas McGrath Dinner and Awards Ceremony on May 9.
Max will be attending the University of North Florida this summer, majoring in economics and business with the thought of becoming a sustainability manager someday. Max loves the ocean and all things related to it. He swam for the school swimming team for 4 years and was co-captain his senior year. His coach describes Max as dedicated, serious, selfless, and reliable, and said, “He demonstrates a willingness to contribute to the success of the group.”
Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group annually funds a $2,000 college scholarship for a deserving student at the Gale Academy as part of the Alan Parmalee Scholarship Award. Alan Parmalee was a long-time member of the Loxahatchee Group, a former executive committee member and an environmental activist. He was passionate about science and the environment and empowering the next generation to become stewards of the environment. This year, Dylan Harrison added an extra $2,000 to our scholarship. Dylan is a former graduate of the Gale Academy.
The Gale Academy is a Choice School and offers a hands-on approach to environmental science education and involvement with the community through events such as beach cleanups, native landscape projects, public outreach events, and on-campus recycling.
Chris McVoy Presents Everglades 101: Past and Present
Chris McVoy
By Carol Stender, Loxahatchee Group Secretary and Newsletter Editor
Longtime Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group member Chris McVoy shared an informative presentation on Everglades 101: Past and Present at the April General Membership Meeting held at the Lake Worth Beach Library on April 24.
McVoy is also a board member of Friends of the Everglades and a member of the Lake Worth Beach City Council.
McVoy began his presentation with an explanation of the basic, but truly unique, characteristics of the Everglades. First is the very slight slope of the entire area, a mere 6 inches per mile, which causes water to travel very slowly down the peninsula. Transverse glades, or rivers, separate any high ground. Subsequently, a landscape of alternating high and low grounds is created which features three distinct ecosystems: sloughs, saw grass, and tree islands.
• Sloughs are areas of water, distinguished by the prevalence of water lilies.
• Sawgrass grows on areas of peat, which is mostly or just partially covered by water. Small fish hide among the detritus under the sawgrass.
• Tree islands, or hammocks, can be small or very large.
Although the changes in elevation between the three areas only amounts to 6 feet throughout, the three ecosystems are totally different. It is a very precise system that relies on water for fish, birds, and vegetation.
Slough surrounded by sawgrass with hammock in far distance. Photo by C. McVoy
In the past, water on the Florida peninsula flowed through the Everglades virtually unimpeded. As Lake Okeechobee filled during the rainy season, water would “burp” over its banks, head south and replenish the rest of the peninsula.
Currently, man-made obstacles prohibit the southern flow of water, and the Everglades is literally dying from lack of water. Major issues include:
• Water that gathers in Lake O is toxic due to fertilizer runoff from agriculture to the north; therefore, it must be cured before letting it head south
• Areas of the Sawgrass Expressway and the sugar cane fields no longer have the necessary slope to move the water south
• Increased compartmentalization by Alligator Alley and various levees bar water flow
Even with a hostile federal government, climate change advocates remain hopeful
When it comes to slowing climate change, the ball is rolling down the hill too fast for even our currently hostile federal government to stop it. That’s the conclusion of an article in the April issue of Prevention Magazine that interviewed Sierra Club Florida chapter director Susannah Randolph as one of the experts.
“The momentum from smart moves we’re already making, along with future technological advances, makes progress inevitable,” the article states, noting “unstoppable market forces” that continue to make clean technology better and cheaper. For example, induction stoves which are three times more energy-efficient than gas—and don’t cause asthma and other respiratory problems—are now available for $60 a plate at IKEA, compared to the thousands of dollars these stoves cost five years ago.
The same holds for wind, solar, and other green technology. Whereas landowners in Texas might have previously leased their land for oil drilling, “in the new world, you put wind turbines and solar panels there,” according to a Columbia University business professor quoted in the piece.
Sierra Club Florida Director Randolph notes that money from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and other laws also jump-started green transformations that are continuing at the local level. “A lot of solar went up on municipal buildings, and grants helped people with things like replacing home insulation to make it more energy-efficient,” Randolph said. Even large companies like Florida Power & Light are shifting dramatically towards solar.
The article, written by independent journalist and Loxahatchee Group member Meryl Davids Landau, ends by suggesting actions individuals can keep taking regardless of what happens in Washington (or Tallahassee). These include updating appliances with climate-friendly versions such as tankless water heaters, buying less or pre-owned stuff, and supporting companies taking climate change seriously, some of whom can be found at https://greencitizen.com/
Good News for the St Lucie Estuary!
By R. Stephen Mahoney
After 109 days of harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges, the US Army Corps of engineers has announced that they stopped the discharges into the Saint Lucie estuary on March 29.
Unfortunately, during this time, the estuary endured an average of 1,200 cubic feet per second of polluted water or a whopping 80.6 billion gallons. This is equivalent to over 63 years of water supply for the city of Stuart.
These discharges have the potential to impact our waters by changing the salinity levels and damaging marine life and habitats. They're known to promote harmful algae blooms that suffocate seagrass and could potentially harm human health. These algae blooms block sunlight, preventing seagrasses from getting the energy that they need to thrive.
Our voices made a difference! At the recent Rivers Coalition meeting, Col. Bowman of the Corps acknowledged receiving nearly 3,000 emails from advocates like us, urging him to stop the discharges. Your advocacy, alongside the start of oyster spawning season, played a critical role in this decision.
Please Stay Engaged. Sierra Club and others will keep making waves for clean water.
Welcome to The Forum
If hearing from us once a month with this newsletter doesn’t quite fill your need to stay informed and you would like a few more ways to take action and get involved during the month, the Loxahatchee Group Forum is just the thing for you.
It is an email discussion list where leaders of our group post timely action alerts and other environmental news. It is NOT a barrage of emails. You will get maybe one or two a week and there is the opportunity to enter a discussion if you have more questions, or if maybe you want to ask other subscribers for help, such as getting to a meeting or how to find out about something.
There is no cost to join and you can unsubscribe yourself at any time. To get signed up, simply send an email with your name and email address to Ron Haines ronaldhaines@bellsouth.net. Put “Forum Please” in the subject line.
AN EMAIL TIP!
Getting too many Sierra Club emails? Don’t hit unsubscribe! Use the Manage Preferences option at the bottom of this or any other Sierra Club email to choose what you want and what you don’t want. Please keep on subscribing to My Chapter, the first option, so you continue to receive Turtle Tracks, our local newsletter. The rest of the email options? Decide for yourself. If you have any questions, contact Ron Haines at ronaldhaines@bellsouth.net.
