Staying Above the Floodline
Hello Crew,
I first want to fill you in on the good news. My older cousins survived the hurricane without personal or property damage. Mike Owen wisely waited out the hurricane on the other side of the peninsula. The Fakahatchee Strand itself did have very high water levels, but as it is an intact (non-fragmented) managed wilderness - and really a GIANT SPONGE- it is just fine.
From the Corkscrew Audubon Sanctuary:
"Hurricane Ian brought record-breaking rainfall to Florida. Though Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary remained on the “dry” side of the storm, we received 5.8 inches of rainfall over the course of four days. Data loggers recorded near-record high water levels immediately following the storm, but water levels have already begun to slowly fall as fresh water moves toward our estuaries and coast. The Swamp is Doing It's Job This is the beauty and value of wetlands like ours: they protect habitat and local communities from flooding. When so much rain falls in a short time, floodwaters must go somewhere. Our wetlands not only hold this water during severe weather events, but they also remove nutrients from surface water, reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in our community, and provide habitat to many of our threatened and thriving wading birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals that call these wetlands home. As rivers to our north have finally crested, we are watching as our restoration efforts continue to improve conditions for wildlife while enabling this surface water to percolate down and recharge freshwater aquifers below ground."
Ted Thoughts
This update from the Corkscrew Audubon Sanctuary carries the crucial, timely message that natural ecosystems carry a crucial role in protecting communities. As a writer, I rarely like to make the same words bold in a single message, but this understanding is so important. Forest and wetland fragmentation lead to serious problems ranging from a decline in songbird populations to flooded towns and cities. Trees take the brunt of heavy winds. The sponge-like bogs and swamps of the Glades not only capture excess water, but this natural ecosystem filters the water, so by the time it reaches the coastal estuaries it is ready for use by spawning fish and fish-eating birds.
I'll leave you with this today, if you can make any impact protecting the wetlands of Florida or the Old Growth Forests of Minnesota, please do so. As I was writing this, I was contacted by a rep from Environment Minnesota. I'm ending my Showtime subscription so that I can give a little more to Enviro MN each month. Their current push is the protection of Old Growth Forests. Though you guys already get this it seems that many in our communities don't. We're no longer in a sustainable place to view natural resources as extraction only. It's gotta shift to resource and reciprocity.