SFWMD Governing Board Vice Chair Melanie Peterson said last week, “So I’m just wondering. . .”

“. . . I’m just wondering at what point do we have a serious discussion, a high level discussion about relocating a small contingent of an endangered species to where they belong so that we can get along with the restoration projects as well as flood control for eight million people.”


The entire quote by Melanie Peterson from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board meeting held on June 14th is below and at the very end of this blog post is a question.

At issue is what to do with an endangered species of bird that nests near the ground. This little bird has become a very big topic of discussion vis-à-vis public safety, water management, flooding, and wildlife protections here in South Florida.

That very big issue in need of a solution is about an endangered bird called the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. To learn more about this sparrow click on this link for the species profile.

This issue is not a new one by any means. Click on this link to learn more about what happened in 2017 as was reported in The Palm Beach Post about SFWMD:


     District spokesman Randy Smith, said the district had hoped to avoid the back pumping [into Lake Okeechobee] by opening flood gates that would allow excess water to flow south into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
     But that option has so far been blocked to protect the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, [emphasis added] Smith said. “The obvious solution, the quick solution, is to open the gates and let it go into the park,” Smith said.
     “That is the logical thing to do to provide immediate relief, but so far we’ve gotten no response from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.”


This problem came to the forefront once again this year after the heavy rainfall in May that caused the water levels here in Palm Beach County to rise so high. Those rainfalls were 300% above normal and very early in the Wet Season as well. The problem comes down to how best to get the water moving south through Broward and Miami-Dade counties and then through Everglades National Park and into tide at Florida Bay. Besides being in Wet Season this is also Hurricane Season.

SFWMD has a lot of control over where water flows. But that control ends when up against the U.S. Dept. of Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And that’s where the little endangered sparrow comes into play.

The Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow was a topic of discussion at the SFWMD Governing Board meeting last week and what we’ll focus on is what was said from the 2 hour and two minute mark to the 2:10 minute mark. For reference click on this link for the video from that Governing Board meeting.

To start things off board member James Moran had a comment followed by a question:


We often mention the bird here, Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow, which during certain times of the year prevent water from flowing south. In our discussions at high level like in Washington [D.C.] are we mentioning that conflict between trying to save that one species of bird at the sacrifice of hundreds of millions of dollars in these fixtures and projects we’re building and as we weigh the salvation of the species of the bird against flooding in people’s homes and ruining the agricultural industry in southwest Dade, is that on the table?

Briefly, before we get to the remarks from Vice Chair Peterson, here is a map of how water flows from Palm Beach County to the Broward/Miami-Dade county line.


Click on image to enlarge:

Note the Palm Beach/Broward county line
and the Water Control Areas (WCAs) in
Broward County (light green).

Here is a close-up of WCA 2 & 3:

Click on this link to read more about these WCAs, information from SFWMD.

Now back to the SFWMD Governing Board meeting last week. Chair Federico Fernandez asked the Board if anyone else had any comments to make on the topic of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow. The Vice Chair Peterson had a lot to say.

The issue of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow goes way beyond South Florida. It goes to the issue of the role of the Federal Government vs. the States. To the role of the Jacksonville Army Corps of Engineers and determining when to begin water release east and west from Lake Okeechobee and how SFWMD manages those water releases. And it filters down to how the SFWMD coordinates with Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and other counties here in South Florida. It is a very complicated issue.

And one of those very big issues right smack in the middle is that little sparrow. Without further ado, in response to the Governing Board Chairman Federico Fernandez asking if there were any more comments from the board, the Vice Chair said this:


So in the discussions that you’re having in [Washington] D.C., and I appreciate the initiative and the activity that’s happening not only with Ernie* and the Chair, but we have some WRAC† members that have been talking to the Congressional delegation about the specifics of the constraints in the system, the constraints with implementing CEPP‡ and so I appreciate them and their diligence and their time in doing that.
     But I’m just wondering, because it’s my understanding that the [Cape Sable Seaside] sparrow nests that we’re working and spending millions and almost billions of dollars to circumvent wasn’t even . . . that area isn’t even a natural habitat for them, it’s sort of like a home away from home. They kind of moved there because their home got flooded and then now they’ve established there and the DOI§ is kind of hellbent on shoring up that area and keeping that nesting area strategic in their habitat and my question is has anyone discussed the possibility of relocating this habitat, these birds, to where they belong so that we can implement this system, because I think it’s really crazy to think that we’re spending millions and nearly billions on diverting water around an artificial area that they were never meant to nest in the first place.
     So I’m just wondering if relocation of this species is even on the table because as we know — we’ve talked about this, Terri‖ and I’ve talked about this extensively — if the water rises the birds will move. We’ve shown that throughout our whole system. We’ve shown where birds have proliferated in our STAs¶ because we’ve created habitat that is more conducive to them. They were never really there before. Now they’re there.
     We’ve seen on the lake [Lake Okeechobee] a major resurgence of wading birds because we’ve made that right.
     So I’m just wondering does anyone really think that birds will just stand still and drown? It’s a silly question but I’m just wondering at what point do we have a serious discussion, a high level discussion about relocating a small contingent of an endangered species to where they belong so that we can get along with the restoration projects as well as flood control for eight million people.


So as to the question, is Vice Chair Peterson right about relocating the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow? And as Governing Board member James Moran pointed out, should this endangered sparrow be relocated to another habitat to resolve the “conflict between trying to save that one species of bird at the sacrifice of hundreds of millions of dollars . . . the salvation of the species of the bird against flooding in people’s homes”?

Stay tuned as they say. And don’t be surprised to hear about some “high level discussion” in Tallahassee and in Washington, D.C. to try and resolve this vexing issue here in South Florida so we don’t have to risk a repeat in 2019 and beyond.

Save The Date: A good place to make your voice heard is at the next WRAC meeting to be held on August 2nd at the main headquarters of SFWMD located at 3301 Gun Club Rd. in suburban West Palm Beach. WRAC public forums begin at 9:00 a.m. and Recreational Issues Forums begin at 5:00 p.m.


*Ernie Marks, Executive Director of SFWMD (click on this link for the Executive Management team at SFWMD).
†WRAC  =  Water Resources Analysis Coalition.
‡CEPP  =  Central Everglades Planning Project.
§DOI  =  U.S. Dept. of Interior.
‖Terri Bates, Water Resources, SFWMD Executive Management.
¶STA  =  Stormwater Treatment Area.