Florida’s Big Dig

In 2009, a group of civic leaders, including Broward County Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger, met at the north end of the Kline tract now known as part of the John U. Lloyd State Beach Park to witness the installation of a State Historic Marker memorializing the County’s purchase of a one mile stretch of beach south of the Port Everglades Inlet in the summer of 1954.

The purpose of the purchase was to maintain segregated beaches in Broward County.  The 1954 purchase cost the county $1.5 million to buy what became known as the ‘Colored Beach’ during the dark days of segregation.  The county promised road access to the beach. Seven years later, the only access to the secluded beach was by ferry from Port Everglades. There were no bathroom facilities, concession stands, water or electricity. The black community believed that the county commission had not kept its word.

On July 4, 1961, seven years after the opening of the ‘Colored Beach’, and seven moths after the world premiere of Where the Boys Are,” Eula Jihnson and Dr. Von D. Mizell led five young black men to the first of what would become a series of wade-ins at the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, culminating a month later The wade-ins attracted worldwide attention. The City of Ft. Lauderdale filed suit to stop the wade-ins. A year after the first wade-ins In August 1962, Broward County Circuit Judge Ted Cabot, a white, elected state court jurist held that the black community had a constitutional right to enjoy the beach on an equal basis with th the white community. Segregated beaches had become a thing

This well-researched documentary, “From the Water,” tells the story of how the Indian River Lagoon has become out of balance as a self-sustaining ecosystem.  Important sea grasses, clams, and crabs which had become abundant for centuries have been affected by run-off from land development, browning of the water from bacteria external to this portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, and other external sources with the result of heavy, thick “muck” now covering the bottom lands.

This muck is not conducive to the growth of the smallest food sources for clams and crabs, long the basis of employment for those who have harvested crabs and clams for generations along the Indian River Lagoon.  The documentary explores the efforts of research institutes and universities engaged in finding answers to the reduction in populations of crabs and clams as well as the elimination of sea grass growth. An important takeaway from this documentary is how quickly ecosystems that have sustained sea life and the livelihoods of those engaged in harvesting sea foods for generations can become out of balance by human intervention, often unintentional and entirely innocent.  The film is informative, taking neutral political positions and emphasizing the importance of disseminating the science behind how ecosystems become out of balance.

From the Water: Healing the Indian River Lagoon

December 14, 2015

There are several news outlets confirming the story.  Likewise, there is confirmation today that a large dam in Iran is in danger of failing for lack of neglect and not from any terrorist act.

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