The Ocean River Institute is raising a cacophony of savvy voices to be heard by decision-makers.
We are speaking out to the Governor to stop the South Florida Water Management District from closing the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Politics is personal. You can save wildlife and natural places by joining with us for $5. We will work with you to craft the most effective personal statement as to why you care. We will then organize with others and present in a chorus of diverse opinions. For the price of two regular coffees or one latte, your thoughts expressed in your voice will be heard.
If you are writing from outside of Florida, the Governor will take note because he has no idea how many of your family and friends share in your beliefs, no clue how much of the tip of a social iceberg you represent. He might not wish to gain a national reputation as the Florida vacation buster. To date, we’ve received articulate comments from 50 states, Washington DC, US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
We’re the Ocean River Institute. If you would take the time to comment, you’re assistance will be most welcomed. Click here to save the Loxatachee, a Seminole word meaning “river of turtles.”
Here’s a choice selection of comments from all over this land. Note the more detailed and personal the better. Be respectful. Make it easy for the Governor to please a nation and to stop the destruction of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
As a Floridian and one who’s mom and brother live on the Loxahatchee with their home backing to a natural Everglades fed canal. I Desperately Ask you to continue the agreement and management of the Refuge. All of the species that live and thrive there have been needed and loved by all for so long!! “Gumbo Limbo” demonstrates all the good and necessary accomplishments they have made for the turtles. They and my family frequent that establishment often. PLEASE STOP SFWMD from from revoking the agreement. YOU can make this VITAL Difference, PLEASE HELP~~~WE NEED YOU~~~ Laurie Hein, Homosassa FL
[Loxahatchee] turtles are the canaries in the coal mine. We need to preserve the environment for creatures other than ourselves, or we will end up destroying it for ourselves as well. L.M. Holmes, Honolulu HI
I am planning a move to Florida this year and am very dismayed to hear this and hoping we can save the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. Lisa Klepek, Glen Ellyn IL
Wildlife is disappearing at an alarming rate everywhere. Do not retreat from your commitment to manage the refuge to preserve the natural habitat for a rich array of wildlife. Mrion Tidwell, Merrillville IN
There aren’t many places you can still enjoy the beauty of an undisturbed place like Loxahatchee. I love turtles and birds and want my granddaughter to be able to go there with me and enjoy the beauty. Please continue to co-manage this beautiful place with USFW for our children and their children. Thank you. Lara Beard, Elizabethtown KY
Loxahatchee was part of the January term course . . . I often found wildlife there that students saw nowhere else during the trips. It was an important educational resource. Vinnedge Lawrence, West Baldwin ME
Hopefully, Florida will make good decisions about its environment and wildlife; and, hopefully, we will continue to visit Florida often to enjoy your natural resources and bring our vacation dollars to you. Annie McCombs, Kalamazoo MI
I know and cherish the Loxahatchee. Please do not let it be degraded. Skip Lazell, Jackson MS
Why would you give this up? Once it’s gone, there’s no getting it back and we need wild areas, desperately! We need to all step up to the plate to try to save our Earth. NASA isn’t going to magically figure out how to colonize somewhere else, you know. Susan Harrie, Grand Forks ND
It includes a critical cypress strand habitat for hundreds of species including two species of rare turtles. Terry Forrest, Bristol TN
Please figure out other ways to manage the city’s waste water. Preserve the Loxahatchee for recreation and wildlife! Thomas Turiano, Wilson WY
It was working! Maureen Wheeler, Silver Spring, MD
It is very important to protect wildlife. A wildlife refuge is an excellent way to help preserve and protect wildlife. Please support the continuation of the collaborative management of the Loxahatchee Natioinal Wildlife Refuge. Thank you. Salme Armijo, Blue Diamond NE
I have been a resident of Florida and still have many family members who live in the state. Florida has been ravaged by weather, the rising ocean level, and diseases. CAN WE AT LEAST NOT DELIBERATELY destroy the Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge? Jeanne Bradbury, Flemington NJ
Protect Florida wildlife by working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and the wildlife within. The Refuge is a Florida treasure which you, as governor, should value and protect. Thank you. Susan Selbin, Albuquerque NM
River of the Turtles, River of Promises, of Agreements and Collaborative Management. Your governorship too was a promise to the people and the people do not exist separate from the land, the water, from Nature. Neither people nor Nature are objects or abstraction. Thank you for reflecting on your responsibility and promises and Please honor them. Edythe Ann Quinn, Unadilla NY
Florida has a most unusual climate and ecosystem. When endangered as it is from invasive flora and fauna extra efforts to contain and eradicate these threats must be taken, or you will lose it all. Lam Weisman, Oklahoma City OK
Florida should not only preserve its unique treasures like this for ethical and moral grounds, it is also a money-maker and the principal reason that many of us visit the state. We have nice sandy beaches here in New England, too, but we do not have the natural features of Loxahatchee Refuge, the Everglades, and the Keys. John Burridge, East Providence RI
Please help save our National Wildlife areas of Florida. Please help control invasive plants in Loxahatchee , the River of Turtles. Please protect our last areas of wildlife and ecosystems. Linda Heagy, Arlington TX
This is the only way that the natural treasure, the Great Florida Birding Trail of the Loxahatchee NWR, can be preserved! James Hadden, Grafton VA
I visit FL almost once a year and the Loxahatchee Nat’l Wildlife Refuge has been a stop for me several times. I am asking you to protect this place and all the animals that it contains. It is a jewel that Florida has. Please be strong in its protections and do not waver. Diane Clark, Woolwine VA
We need to save what little land we have left, especially critical habitats such as the Loxahatchee. Angela Mayle, Fairview WV
Remember, we’re the Ocean River Institute. If you would take the time to comment on the Loxahatchee, you’re assistance will be most welcomed. You will be in good company but time is limited. Once the judge rules it could be closed. Click here to save the Loxatachee, a Seminole word meaning “river of turtles.”
My family has visited the refuge for many years. This is a treasure that needs to be protected.
Michael,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard. Here is the website
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
Please save the Loxahatchahee as a precious asset for those who value nature. You never know what is valuable until it is gone.
Nancy Mueller, Chapel Hill, NC
Nancy,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard.
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
The Loxahatchee preserve is a must save from pollution. I was
born in a tropical place (Panama Canal Zone) and value greatly
the myriad species in the jungle. Florida is the richer for its
wild places. Please keep this preserve pristine for turtles and its
many other inhabitants.
Claire,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard.
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
Gone is gone. All the noise we are hearing now about too “burdensome” regulations tears my heart out. You wouldn’t need regulations if people did the right thing to start with. The wild places left on this earth are precious beyond belief. We have so few of them and we have a rising human population. Dirty water, steel and concrete do not make for peace of mind or habitat for wild creatures. If you don’t think beauty, solitude, & wilderness have value, at least think about the financial gains that Florida receives from tourists. Please act to save our Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. You’ve been doing a good job so far; please continue offer wild places to the world.
Marla,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard. Here is the website address:
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
I have seen this awesome place America as citizens we must stop destruction of these beloved parks.
Rev. Beasley,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard. Here is the website address:
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
What part of “refuge” is not understood here? It is such a shame that it seems when something envisioned works as intended, there has to be a ridiculous and not-so-good reason to ruin it. This refuge is more than an agreement, it is a true essential to the environment, the flora, fauna, and people, for heaven’s sake!
Diane,
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog post to friends so that their concerns may also be heard. Here is the website address:
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob
The Loxahatchee Refuge was put aside by wise and forward thinking people to PROTECT the rare and vanishing species of sub-tropical America. All over the country, wild places are being eaten up by so-called progress. Meanwhile humanity just grows relentlessly out of control, crushing all in their path. The life that was here FIRST, is all to often swept aside to accommodate our reckless development. The Loxahatchee was intended as a last stand for the imperiled wildlife that gives life wonder and meaning to so many, and insures the biodiversity that keeps the ecosystem in balance and the water clean. PLEASE do not allow this special place to fall to the chainsaw or bulldozer or to the toxic crap that often ends up poisoning our water supplies! it is too important to let our guard down on this!
Robert
Well said. Thank you for speaking out to stop the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a Florida water management district. Would you permit me to tell the Governor your town and state to demonstrate a national distribution of citizens caring for this particular wildlife refuge? You may post here or email me to rob at ocean river dot org. Please forward this blog posts to friends so that their concerns may also be heard. Here is the website address:
For the river of turtles, the Loxahatchee,
Rob