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Tell Your Friends Send this message to friends and family members. Tell them to help Florida's birds and wildlife too. Florida's Birds and Wildlife Need Your Help Your funds will go into an exclusive conservation fund to be used to influence decision-makers to keep our water clean and flowing and to keep our wildlife safe from the impacts of habitat loss.   Florida Forever Audubon is a leading member of the Florida Forever Coalition, a broad group of conservation groups, local governments, businesses and land owners advocating for the continuation of Florida's essential conservation land buying program. Join the coalition yourself, enlist organizations of which you are a member to join, and encourage their boards to pass a resolution in favor of restored funding for Florida Forever! Details and sample resolutions can be found at supportfloridaforever.org.

Advocate: Legislative Session Has Begun
Read on to help conserve Florida

Tuesday marked the first day of the 2010 Legislative Session, with the looming $1-3 Billion deficit setting the tone for this year's deliberations. Despite the significant challenges of the economic situation, this Session presents tremendous conservation opportunities as well as for continued Everglades restoration, water quality protection, exotic species management, Florida Forever continuation and more. Thanks for your continued advocacy on behalf of these natural resources and more. ~ Audubon of Florida Policy Team

 
Florida Forever and Everglades Funding

The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Committee heard a presentation this week from the Department of State Lands on the state's conservation land inventory. Funding for land acquisition for Florida Forever and Everglades hangs in the balance this year, with some members expressing concerns about the importance of conservation land acquisition. Reps. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach) and Adam Fetterman (D-Port St. Lucie) offered well-articulated, common sense arguments in defense of wildlife and wildlands. Earlier that day, House Speaker Larry Cretul (R-Ocala) released allocations to appropriations committees with the direction that committees should "Prioritize education, health and public safety over program areas such as transportation, general government and environment, even though funding in the latter two areas make up a very small portion of the state budget." (emphasis ours)

At the same time that the House committee was debating the value of conservation lands, the Florida Forever Coalition and the Florida Chamber of Commerce were holding a joint press conference announcing the Chamber's endorsement of Governor Crist's recommended ~$5M in funding for Florida Forever this year (which would fund the launch of a $50M bond series). For more, read the Tallahassee Democrat's coverage.


Energy

The House Energy Committee held a hearing to get input on a vision for a new energy policy for Florida.  Audubon has worked with the Committee to frame policies that would make renewable energy a major part of electric power production in Florida.  The key we have said is to shift to a longer term view of affordability and reliability.  Fuel costs and fluctuation in world demand for and control of fossil fuels make renewable energy a more affordable option for the future.  Audubon is still pushing for a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring that 20 percent of electric supplies come from renewable sources.  However, many legislators are shying away from any mandatory requirement that utilities use rates to underwrite renewable energy.  HB 1471 by Rep Trudi Williams will provide for up to700 megawatts of solar power with full cost recovery by investor owned utilities.   Audubon supports this legislation as filed along with our call for an RPS and broader renewable policy.


Nearshore Oil and Gas Drilling

House Speaker Elect Dean Cannon's Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning met twice this week, hearing testimony on drilling technology, the challenges of spill clean up, and the challenge drilling could pose to the mission of Florida's military bases. A list of components of a future bill was released during today's meeting and a list of policy questions is anticipated to be released Monday for a week's comment period. The Senate has not yet discussed this issue in committee.


Growth Management

The House Government Accountability Act Council workshopped the committee's bill to reenact the Department of Community Affairs. Discussion was limited and suggested that the Century Commission, previously scheduled to be abolished by the bill, would be continued. Reenactment of DCA this year is important to the future of growth management in Florida.
 

Burmese Pythons and Conservation Lands   

This week, the House Policy Council heard and unanimously passed HB 709 by Rep. Trudi Williams (R-Ft. Myers), proposing to prohibit ownership of six large constrictor species including Burmese Pythons. Audubon and other conservation groups spoke in favor of the measure, recognizing that eradicating exotic species once they are established in our conservation lands is always more expensive and less effective than meaningful source control. Senate legislation by Sen. Sobel (SB 318) and Sen Constantine (SB 572) did not move this week.

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