Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 19)

father, Sonny, said they have installed a structure that will hold water in a 250-acre former marsh that drains an additional 650 upland acres. “Slowing the drainage will help assimilate much of the phosphorus and store water that would normally enter Lake Okeechobee,” he said. UF researchers are measuring the value of three different environmental services and developing practical methods that are acceptable to the buyer and seller, Clark said. The water retention service will hold water in ranch soils, low-lying areas and ditches during high rainfall. The service has value because it changes the volume, pattern and timing of water flow in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, thereby reducing peak discharges into coastal estuaries. “The phosphorus load retention service will help address phosphorus loading targets and has value because it will increase oxygen levels in the lake, limit algal blooms and protect fish,” he said. “The wetlands habitat expansion service often comes in conjunction with practices to retain more water and has value because it helps reverse the loss of wetlands to drainage, thereby improving the habitat for wildlife,” Clark said. Shukla said the first step in the design of a pay-for-environmentalservices program is assuring that state agencies and others who buy the services — and the ranchers who sell them — agree on the definition of services. “Once these services are defined, knowing what to measure and what to do with the data becomes critical,” he said. “We can collect all sorts of data from these sites, but the key to an eventual large-scale application of this concept will be to develop a method that can quantify the environmental services with reasonable accuracy and do it at a relatively low cost.” Richard Budell, director of the office of agricultural water policy with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said the pilot project will also help address important questions such as how to establish a dedicated, multi-year funding source to pay for environmental services provided by ranchers, how to establish what prices will be paid for services and how to integrate the new pay-for- services program with other state and federal programs in the Everglades region. Benita Whalen, director of the South Florida Water Management District’s Okeechobee Service Center, said the projects will allow water storage on private land north of Lake Okeechobee, thereby helping reduce inflows to the lake and discharges into coastal estuaries, which is one of the northern Everglades initiative goals. “The water management district is committed to developing innovative solutions that will provide benefits to the environment,” she said. n – chuck woods FeATure For more information, contact: patrick bohlen (863) 699-0242 pbohlen@archbold-station.org (850) 617-1704 budellr@doacs.state.fl.us mark clark (352) 392-1803 clarkmw@ufl.edu sarah lynch (202) 778-9781 sarah.lynch@wwfus.org sanjay shukla (239) 658-3400 sshukla@ufl.edu benita whalen (863) 462-5260 bwhalen@sfwmd.gov wes williamson (863) 634-7151 williamsonfww@aol.com richard budell At the Lykes Bros. Inc. property in Glades County, water is pumped from the Indian Prairie canal into a 2,500-acre marsh, which filters the water and removes phosphorus before the water is returned further downstream to the public canal. photo by thomas wright IMPACT | Spring 2008 19

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents A Big Boost for Biofuels Top Priority Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture Eliminating the Evil Weevil Invasive Pest Defeating Resistant Roaches Biodiesel Boon User-Friendly Updates for FAWN Flat-Out Great for the Grill! Laser Labeling Cashing in on Caviar Saving Water with Soil-Moisture Sensors Spotlight IFAS Development News

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

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