Educational info-- Saving our rivers--- More good reads: Dec.1st -2013 Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, left, inspects one of the culverts built to hold back water from one storage area. When they pull the boards, gravity takes more of the water from one storage prairie to the next. Eventually, it flows off the property and into the Kissimmee watershed. At right is ranch owner Jimmy Wohl. By Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau Chief 6:50 pm, December 1, 2013 SEBRING — Adam Putnam looks over the flooded prairie of the Rafter T Ranch and can smell the opportunity, stronger than cow flop. The Republican Florida agriculture commissioner from Bartow has been decidedly low-profile during his first term in the office in dealing with a billion-dollar issue that doesnt usually grab big headlines: Floridas dwindling water supplies and growing thirst. But now Putnam is facing a watershed moment of sorts, with a series of environmental calamities over the last year intensifying pressure for policymakers to tackle Floridas water woes. Lawmakers this spring will consider steering part of an $840 million expected budget surplus into the re-plumbing of South Floridas Everglades. Putnam is lobbying to send more of those dollars to places like the Rafter T Ranch about 90 miles south of Orlando. Theres not much that goes on around Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades that is cheap, he says. For a fraction of what you spend on those projects, you could do a lot of good elsewhere in the state. For instance, Central Floridas Silver Springs and others are threatened from development and agricultural operations trying to pump more water. In the Indian River Lagoon, two massive plankton blooms that began in 2011 have killed off dolphins, manatees, pelicans and sea grasses. Thanks to a wetter-than-usual rainy season, water from Lake Okeechobee — fueled by flows from fertilizer-laden Central Florida — had to be pumped into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers in South Florida. The discharges fueled stinky algae blooms and damaged tourism in those coastal communities. At Rafter T in rural Highlands County — one of eight pilot projects along the Kissimmee River watershed — Putnam is trying to promote part of the solution, he says. A third of the 5,200-acre cattle ranch is a connected chain of low-lying fields converted into grassy basins that store and filter water. We think Mother Nature is really smart and weve probably used too much technology to try to tame her, explains ranch owner Jimmy Wohl, whose family-owned company is paid $61,000 a year to put previously drained pasture lands underwater part of the year. Wooden boards cover culverts connecting the ponds. Gravity instead of pumps push the water through earthen berms separating the fields, which are drained and used as cattle prairie during winter. The low-tech system catches the phosphorus and nitrogen fouling South Floridas rivers. You dont have to talk to space to manage water, Putnam said from the flatbed of a pickup, decked out in blue jeans and scuffed boots while touring the ranch recently. Its an interesting change of pace for a guy who was the youngest-ever politician elected to Congress, once third in line for U.S. House speaker, and a short-list contender for governor some day. I could be wearing earmuffs, he said, answering questions about cocaine, referring to a recent drug scandal in Washington. Putnam can afford to take long drives on farms these days. Democrats concede they are unlikely to field a competitive challenger to him next year. Putnam fended off calls to challenge fellow Republican Gov. Rick Scott last year. While current GOP Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater may have designs on the Governors Mansion in coming years, Putnam is 39 and can bide his time until a surer path to higher office — governor, or maybe U.S. Senate — presents itself. Hes young enough where he doesnt really have to look for the next opportunity. Hell have plenty of opportunities, said Republican lobbyist and fundraiser Brian Ballard. Putnam has largely won over Floridas environmental lobby, even though he opposes a land-conservation constitutional amendment that environmentalists have poured more than $1.7 million into placing on the 2014 ballot. He has the unique experience of someone whose family has lived in Florida for a long time, said Janet Bowman, a lawyer and lobbyist for the Nature Conservancy. I suspect hell run for governor eventually, but he doesnt look like someone interested in quick political payoff. This spring, that credibility will be put to the test. Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, wants more than $220 million for improved plumbing and studies around the Kissimmee River, Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee. The big-ticket projects include concrete and intensively engineered system of dams and levees surrounding the southern edges of the lake. When youre in the emergency room, the first thing they do is stop the bleeding, Negron said. I support the direction [Putnam] is going in, but right now Im going to remain focused on Lake O and the Indian River Lagoon. Putnams office has asked for more than $20 million for water projects such as the Rafter T Ranch. There needs to be a more equitable allocation toward water projects scattered around the state because of the unique challenges of those areas, he said.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 04:48:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015