Safeguarding our Environment
Florida’s environment is a natural treasure that is on loan to us by future generations. It is our responsibility to protect our air, water, coastlines, wildlife, and most importantly, our children’s future.
Some key environmental achievements include:
- Continuing efforts to clean up the Florida Everglades by allowing the state to bond up to $100 Million per year to pay our share of the cleanup effort. Unfortunately, this good bill also contained a troubling provisions Representative Ausley could not support which threatens the ability of Floridians to challenge bad environmental decisions made by government agencies.
- Safeguarding Florida Forever program which remains one of the most successful and aggressive land preservation programs in the country, despite numerous legislative attempts to shift critical trust fund dollars to non-conservation purposes.
- Safeguarding Florida’s manatees by providing local input on manatee protection zones and requiring the State the develop criteria to determine when the manatee population has ‘recovered’.
- Protecting Florida’s waterways and drinking water by funding wastewater, stormwater and surface water projects at $18 Million.
- Restoring Florida’s beaches with $30 Million for restoration and renourishment of critically eroded beaches.
- 2001 Legislative Leadership Award
presented by TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND for "commitment to protecting Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever"