Dear Friends,
I joined the Springs Alliance and this is what
they sent me so I thought I would pass this info on to you. If you are so
inclined, it costs only $15 to join the alliance. It is a very worthy
cause. This is an example of how big money is draining Florida of all it’s
natural resources to line the pockets of a few. It should be a crime to
keep issuing water withdrawal permits in a severe drought. What we have
here is the Fox guarding the hen house. It is about time to call for our
water management board members to be elected locally instead of letting the
Governor appoint all of his cronies who apparently care more about making money
than protecting our water.
Jackie
ATTACHMENTS:
Dear New Member,
On
behalf of the Board of Directors, we welcome you to the Silver Springs
Alliance. Thank you for your interest, support, and participation. We
look forward to working together to preserve Silver Springs and keep the
Springshed flourishing.
SSA
is very new. Its founders include springs scientists, water specialists, a
former county Commissioner, veteran environmental activists, teachers,
community leaders and students. We are united by our scientifically
supported conviction that Silver Springs-Florida’s most famous springs-needs
our help. Its waters are degraded and its flow is diminished.
That’s
why our main purpose is to be an advocate for Silver Springs; to restore
and protect the Springs for future generations. We are also committed to
protecting and preserving the Floridan Aquifer; source of the Springs,
rivers and waterways, as well as the water we drink, bathe in and grow
our food in.
The
biggest threat to Silver Springs right now is the Adena Springs Ranch project
now being constructed in the Fort McCoy area within the Springshed. This
project includes a projected 30,000 head of cattle, a slaughterhouse, 135 large
diameter wells, and a pending water permit (CUP-consumptive use permit) for
13.27 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY. Water from OUR aquifer!
Robert
Knight, PHD, of the Florida Springs Institute, and an SSA Board member states
“That’s more than the city of Ocala consumes every day. The manure generated
daily by the herd of 30,000 cattle expected on the ranch would be the
equivalent to that of 240,00 humans.”
We
have a website! www.silverspringsalliance.org. We are in the process of
improving and expanding it every day, so tune in often.
I
am forwarding and attaching information about taking action on the Adena
project. Please pass on to other interested people and give them our email/web
addresses if they would like to join.
Upcoming
events are as follows:
Saturday,
April 28: EarthFest @ Tuscawilla Park in Ocala. We will have an information
table there.
Thursday,
May 3: Dr. Knight will be addressing the Conservation Trust of Florida. I will
attach the information.
Tuesday,
May 15: Public Forum in Jacksonville. In conjunction with the Saint
Johns Riverkeeper. Attached.
Wednesday,
May 16: Rainbow Springs event. Attached
Saturday,
May 19: Rainbow River cleanup & Rainbow River Coalition event. More to come.
Barbara Schwartz
Secretary, BOD
Silver Springs Alliance
