START is pleased to report that the Sarasota Bay Watch’s clam seeding program near the Pier in Bradenton Beach has just been completed with the installation of another 93,000 clams. The seeding was sponsored by the City’s Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) with a major assist from Gold Coast Eagle Distributing via the use of their [...]
The Ocean Conservancy recently released a report laying out what it will take to bring Florida’s coasts back from the brink. Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.. The organization helps formulate ocean policy at the federal and state government levels based on peer reviewed science. Through several program areas, [...]
If you visit the website of 1000 Friends of Florida, a not for profit, smart growth advocacy organizations founded in 1986, you will see that their Mission promotes vibrant, sustainable, walkable, livable communities which provide residents with affordable housing choices and transportation alternatives. They work to protect natural lands that cleanse and store fresh water [...]
Every year for 33 years scientists have monitored the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone which forms every spring. Last year’s dead zone was approximately 8,185 square miles, making it the largest the Gulf had seen since mapping began in 1985. This year NOAA scientists are forecasting this summer’s Gulf of Mexico dead [...]
In 2015, a survey was conducted of more than 600 Lakewood Ranch residents that showed they did not understand the link between landscape management and the health of the stormwater ponds. According to the survey: 65% of residents did not know about the Manatee County ban on summer applications of nitrogen fertilizer. 78% [...]
Thanks to a generous grant from the Manatee Fish & Game Association through their Conservation Fund with the Manatee Community Foundation, START will be able to expand our landmark Gulf Coast Oyster Recycle and Renewal (GCORR) Program. Oysters are a keystone species in our marine environment as active water filterers that play a major role [...]
Just 10 years ago, few homeowners recognized the link between a lush green lawn and the sick green ponds in their neighborhoods. That’s changing, particularly in Florida, where education programs directed at homeowners are beginning to pay big dividends for water quality in nearby ponds, rivers and Tampa Bay. “We still have a long way [...]
