Kelly Jessop
11-07-2005, 07:24 PM
Dear Friends and Family,
Please see the letter below from me, and even if you are out-of-state or out-of-town and realize the value of Wakulla Springs, take the time to write. Thank you so much. This is a very important issue to me. (Sorry for any duplications)
Della
Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park, Inc.
A citizen group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Wakulla Springs State Park
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friend,
Wakulla Springs needs your help! Our once pristine spring is now choked with hydrilla and matted with algae. If you walk down to the dive platform or boat tour dock, you can see long strands of hydrilla covered with filmy algae. This is the result of excess nutrients.
Considerable research points to the Tallahassee sprayfield (wastewater disposal site) as the major source of nutrients. Other research suggests that unrestricted septic tanks add to the nutrient load.
The Friends of Wakulla Springs, a citizen support organization, has been trying to negotiate with the City of Tallahassee and DEP to reduce nutrients as the City’s wastewater management permit is up for renewal and reconsideration this year.
You can help! Please take time to contact the City of Tallahassee Commissioners, Mayor Marks, and the Department of Environmental Protection and urge them to include language in the permit renewal that would significantly reduce the nutrient pollution of the groundwater that flows to Wakulla Springs. Please copy us with a letter to the above address, and forward this e-mail to all those who you think care about the health of Wakulla Springs.
If you would like more information regarding the scientific evidence about the condition of Wakulla Springs, contributing factors to its pollution, and recommended solutions, please visit the website of one of our partners, the Florida Wildlife Federation: www.fwfonline.org. Click on the Wakulla Springs slideshow.
Our organization has also created a Speakers Bureau, and we will be glad to give a presentation to your group. Please contact me at (della.parker@earthlink.net) to request a speaker.
Together we can make a difference. Contact information and talking points are below this letter. Thank you for your help.
Della Parker-Hanson
President of the Friends of Wakulla Springs
What You Can Do
to Help Restore Wakulla Springs
¨ Contact Mayor John Marks at 891-2000 or marks@talgov.com
Contact City Commissioners
at 891-8181 or City of Tallahassee
300 South Adams Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32304
o Debbie Lightsey
o Andrew Gillum
o Allan Katz
o Mark Mustian
¨ Contact Jim Oskowis, Water Utility Manager at 891-6155
or Ric Fernandez, Asst. City Manager for Utility Services at 891-8580, and remind them that as a utility customer and owner you want nutrients removed from Tallahassee wastewater before it is sent down to Wakulla Springs.
¨ Tell City Officials to:
o Stop Adding Fertilizer to the “Farming Operation”
o Refocus the “Farm” on Removing Nutrients
o Expand Reuse Options North of the Cody Scarp
o Begin finding wastewater management alternatives to the sprayfield if the city is to continue to grow
¨ Write a letter to the Editor of the Tallahassee Democrat letters@tallahassee.com
¨ Contact Dick Fancher, District Director of DEP, who is responsible for issuing the new permit, and tell him you support language that restricts nutrients flowing to Wakulla Springs. His email is dick.fancher@dep.state.fl.us or address:
Department of Environmental Protection
160 Governmental Center
Pensacola, Florida 32501-5794
¨ Show your support with an I Love Wakulla Springs bumper sticker (available from Wakulla Springs).
¨ Join the Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park
¨ Tell your friends about what is happening. Distribute this e-mail to all those that you think will be interested.
Please see the letter below from me, and even if you are out-of-state or out-of-town and realize the value of Wakulla Springs, take the time to write. Thank you so much. This is a very important issue to me. (Sorry for any duplications)
Della
Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park, Inc.
A citizen group dedicated to the protection and enhancement of Wakulla Springs State Park
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friend,
Wakulla Springs needs your help! Our once pristine spring is now choked with hydrilla and matted with algae. If you walk down to the dive platform or boat tour dock, you can see long strands of hydrilla covered with filmy algae. This is the result of excess nutrients.
Considerable research points to the Tallahassee sprayfield (wastewater disposal site) as the major source of nutrients. Other research suggests that unrestricted septic tanks add to the nutrient load.
The Friends of Wakulla Springs, a citizen support organization, has been trying to negotiate with the City of Tallahassee and DEP to reduce nutrients as the City’s wastewater management permit is up for renewal and reconsideration this year.
You can help! Please take time to contact the City of Tallahassee Commissioners, Mayor Marks, and the Department of Environmental Protection and urge them to include language in the permit renewal that would significantly reduce the nutrient pollution of the groundwater that flows to Wakulla Springs. Please copy us with a letter to the above address, and forward this e-mail to all those who you think care about the health of Wakulla Springs.
If you would like more information regarding the scientific evidence about the condition of Wakulla Springs, contributing factors to its pollution, and recommended solutions, please visit the website of one of our partners, the Florida Wildlife Federation: www.fwfonline.org. Click on the Wakulla Springs slideshow.
Our organization has also created a Speakers Bureau, and we will be glad to give a presentation to your group. Please contact me at (della.parker@earthlink.net) to request a speaker.
Together we can make a difference. Contact information and talking points are below this letter. Thank you for your help.
Della Parker-Hanson
President of the Friends of Wakulla Springs
What You Can Do
to Help Restore Wakulla Springs
¨ Contact Mayor John Marks at 891-2000 or marks@talgov.com
Contact City Commissioners
at 891-8181 or City of Tallahassee
300 South Adams Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32304
o Debbie Lightsey
o Andrew Gillum
o Allan Katz
o Mark Mustian
¨ Contact Jim Oskowis, Water Utility Manager at 891-6155
or Ric Fernandez, Asst. City Manager for Utility Services at 891-8580, and remind them that as a utility customer and owner you want nutrients removed from Tallahassee wastewater before it is sent down to Wakulla Springs.
¨ Tell City Officials to:
o Stop Adding Fertilizer to the “Farming Operation”
o Refocus the “Farm” on Removing Nutrients
o Expand Reuse Options North of the Cody Scarp
o Begin finding wastewater management alternatives to the sprayfield if the city is to continue to grow
¨ Write a letter to the Editor of the Tallahassee Democrat letters@tallahassee.com
¨ Contact Dick Fancher, District Director of DEP, who is responsible for issuing the new permit, and tell him you support language that restricts nutrients flowing to Wakulla Springs. His email is dick.fancher@dep.state.fl.us or address:
Department of Environmental Protection
160 Governmental Center
Pensacola, Florida 32501-5794
¨ Show your support with an I Love Wakulla Springs bumper sticker (available from Wakulla Springs).
¨ Join the Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park
¨ Tell your friends about what is happening. Distribute this e-mail to all those that you think will be interested.