P.O Box 1833, VERO BEACH, FL 32961 772-567-3520 Fax 772-567-3521 www.pelicanislandaudubon.

org
Our 42nd Year Vol. 42 No. 6 September 2006
Our Mission: To preserve and protect the animals, plants, and natural communities in Indian River County
through advocacy, education, and public awareness.

General Meeting
September 18, 2006
7:30 p.m.
Vero Beach Community Center

Ospreys of
Pelican Island
National Wildlife Refuge
 Pelican Island Audubon Society OSPREYS OF
Officers
President, Richard H. Baker PELICAN ISLAND
1st Vice President, Lynne Larkin
2nd Vice President, Robert Adair
Recording Sec., Darlene Halliday GENERAL MEETING
Cor. Sec., Deborah Ecker
Treasurer, Andrew Barr
Directors The September 18, 2006 general meeting at the
Jens Tripson ‘09 David Cox ‘09 Vero Beach Community Center, 2266 14th Avenue,
Nancy Irvin ’07 Robert Smith ’07 in downtown Vero Beach starting at 7:30 p.m. will
Susan Boyd ’08 Joseph Carroll ‘08
present the premiere of Ospreys of Pelican Island
Board by Bob Montanaro. The movie follows the nesting
Maggy Bowman Kevin Doty Melissa Tripson attempt by a pair of Ospreys at Pelican Island Na-
Janice Broda Tina Marchese Paul Tritaik
Joel Day Sue Richardson tional Wildlife Refuge throughout the 2006 nesting
season. Approximately 30,000 images were taken
Founding Member & President Emeritus Maggy Bowman during the season of which about 500 images were
Office Manager Bob Montanaro
selected for the movie to chronicle the lives of the
Pelican Island Audubon Society, Inc. is registered with the Florida Dept. of
Agriculture and Consumer Services. A copy of the official registration and Ospreys along with showing the great variety of
financial information may be obtained from the Div. of Consumer Services other wildlife that live in the nation’s first estab-
by calling toll-free within Florida 1-800-435-7352. Registration does not
imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the State lished wildlife refuge. Refreshments will be served
following the program.
COASTAL CLEANUP
SEPTEMBER 16, 2006
8:00 – 11:00 a.m.
In partnership with The Ocean Conservancy, the Peli-
can Island Audubon Society will be conducting the
2006 Coastal Cleanup at Wabasso Beach, Jaycee
Beach, South Beach, and Round Island. Approxi-
mately 4,000 volunteers took part in 2005 to remove
several tons of garbage from shorelines, beaches, parks,
spoil islands, highways, and school campuses to make
Indian River County a cleaner place for everyone. If
you or your organization would like to help with this
worthwhile cause, please call 772-567-3520 to volun-
teer. A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers
fledged two young from a cavity
near the Osprey nest.
ORCA CANOE TRIP
SEPTEMBER 10, 2006
8:00 A.M. TO NOON
Richard Baker and Alice Rowe, using Audubon-
supplied canoes and equipment, will be leading a canoe
trip through the coastal wetlands of the mangrove- Buy a copy today!
fringed “back country” of the Oslo Riverfront Conser- You can now purchase your copy of Reflections of Blue
vation Area and a nearby bird rookery. This fun and Cypress on our website using Visa or Mastercard! Visit
leisurely paddle usually offers memorable views of us at pelicanislandaudubon.org to see how!!
birds and other Lagoon wildlife and plants. For reser-
vations and directions, please call 772-567-3520. Cost
is $5 for members and $20 for non-members.

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DECISION TIME…. ordinance was passed. After much delay the county and
Audubon are in the process of revising a landscaping
Knowing where we are heading, ordinance. But the management of growth seems out of
but what can we do to change it? control. We even watched these last two years while
new houses were being built madly in excess of need,
If in doubt about where we are heading in Indian River but we could not find people to repair the houses we
County, there are at least two books that help us see our have that were damaged by the hurricanes.
future. One of my favorites, A Land Remembered by
Patrick D. Smith, published in 1984, should be recom- After spending public funds in prior years on reviewing
mended reading for all who settle in Indian River the sentiment of the county’s growth and finding that
County. Using a compelling, earthy novel, Smith there was a consensus of opinion, including our county
chronicles Florida’s transformation from wilderness to commissioners, that new towns were not wanted, unfor-
agriculture, and finally tunately three county commissioners changed their
to development by minds from no new towns to now wanting new towns.
following three genera- Instead of allowing the urban area to be built out with its
tions of one family available 118,000 lots, more than double what we utilize
from 1858 to 1968. today, they may want to extend the boundaries outward
The first generation very soon. Destroying large blocks of remaining unde-
fights for survival in veloped lands is cheaper than holding the line.
Florida’s beautiful
wilderness, the second develops cattle ranching and cit- In the meantime, there are major concerns with our
rus, and sadly ends when the 3rd generation exploits the planning for the expected effects of growth:
land by developing south Florida as we see it today.
Unfortunately, we can see many parallels in the Treasure • We are discovering that we have major water is-
Coast, which should cause some concern and alarm. In sues. St. Johns Water Management District is
the novel, Sol of the 3rd generation explains that some prohibiting the county from drilling new wells in
people including himself were just stupid not knowing the south county to protect St. Lucie County’s
what they had done to south Florida, while with others it water supply. With our growth and water mis-
was all greed: “More is better, bigger is better. Well, use, the county now plans to drill 6 huge new
you bastards are too stupid to know there soon won’t be wells in north county, but we now know this
no more. Else you haven’t been here long enough to may have serious impacts on the water pressure
remember.” and salinity of our thousands of agriculture and
residential wells. Moreover, how do we resolve
Sol further laments to a gala of the rich and famous to the excess brine (salt) from the reverse osmosis
honor him for his successful development of south Flor- process? Dumping it into the Indian River La-
ida: “If I could rip out the concrete and put back the goon is not acceptable to SJRWMD, NOAA,
woods, I would. But I can’t. Progress ain’t reversible. and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as to
What’s done is done forever, and I’m sure as hell not Audubon. It may have to be injected back into
proud of it. If any of you idiots had the brains of a jay- the ground. County officials say we have plenty
bird you’d stop right now too. From what we’ve done to of water, but in fact, we are restricted to water-
this place in just the past fifty years, what the hell you ing our lawns to two days a week.
think it’s going to be like in another fifty?”
• Our transportation systems are not keeping up
The second, a recent book, is The Swamp by Michael with the growth or encouraging reduced pollu-
Grunwald, a Washington Post reporter, who recently tion or encouraging people getting exercise. We
was a speaker at Harbor Branch. It covers the history find we need to widen our roads (e.g. 66th, 43rd
and politics of the Everglades and Florida including the and 27th Avenues), which destroy homes and
present efforts to repair the ecological mess. the neighborhoods of people who have lived
there for years. Many of our major intersections
With the primary election in only a few weeks and the are broken. Better public transportation with the
general election in a few months, we might reflect on ability to transport bicycles is needed, along
what has happened recently in Indian River County. On with increased bike paths.
Audubon’s initiative both a $50 million bond issue to
preserve environmental, agricultural, and historical lands Continued on page 4….
was voted in by 67% of our citizens and a tougher tree
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 Pelican Island Audubon Society Non-Profit Org
P.O. Box 1833 U.S. Postage Paid
Vero Beach, FL 32961-1833 Vero Beach, FL
Permit No. 101
….The President’s Hoot, continued from page 3

In Conclusion:
• We have made a mess of much of our growth.
• We must change course
• We can change the way we do things in Indian
River County

This is paradise, and we need to keep it that way. Every

so often, citizens have a chance to make to their voices
heard. Now is the time for you to exercise this right.
Two county commission positions will be decided in the
primary, the Republican primary. The only way for in-
dependents or Democrats to have a say was to switch
parties for the primary before August 7th. Few people
turn out for primaries; therefore if you vote in the Re-
publican primary, your vote will have a heavy weight.
The candidates differ on their stand on development, so
your vote will make a difference, even one vote. Hope
to see you at the polls on September 7th. This is your
chance to preserve our county.

Richard Baker, President

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE
PELICAN ISLAND AUDUBON SOCIETY
VOLUNTEERING FOR WILDLIFE
Membership benefits include subscriptions to
The next Pelican Island Wildlife Festival is scheduled Audubon magazine, Florida Naturalist, and the
for Saturday, March 10, 2007 at Sebastian’s Riverview PIAS newsletter The Peligram. Additionally,
Park. The festival is in its fifteenth year and celebrates members have full borrowing privileges to the
the Treasure Coast’s unique natural resources and the PIAS nature library and much more!
Birthday of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge.
The event has grown to become dependant on over 130 Please choose a membership:
volunteers to execute and the expected guest attendance
$20 one-year membership
is approximately 7,000. The festival planning commit-
$30 two-year membership
tee has begun to meet monthly to plan next year’s event.
$15 one-year student membership
Volunteer opportunities include joining the planning
$20 Friend (receive The Peligram only)
committee, assisting with event preparations the two
Check box if a MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL.
weeks before the event and day-of-event volunteers.

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is also seeking NAME:__________________________________

new Refuge volunteers for: 1) Outdoor Refuge Mainte-
nance Assistant; and 2) Office Assistant. For more in- ADDRESS:_______________________________
formation about these and other volunteer opportunities
with the Refuge, contact the Refuge Volunteer Coordi- ________________________________________
nator, Joanna Taylor at (772)562-3909 ext. 258 or e-mail
[email protected] E-Mail__________________________________
Please send your name and address along with a
check payable to the “Pelican Island Audubon
Society” to: Pelican Island Audubon Society,
P.O. Box 1833, Vero Beach, FL 32961

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